Last week, I chatted with nutritionist and cookbook author Cara Clark about her brand-new cookbook, The Feel-Good Way. I’ve been flipping through and flagging recipes I want to try, and y’all already know the Lemon Cake immediately caught my eye! It came together in no time, was naturally sweetened, gluten-free, and, surprisingly, none of that felt like a compromise. I topped mine with fresh whipped cream sweetened with a touch of honey and lemon juice, and let’s just say... I felt good about that decision. 💛
Below, I’m sharing my full conversation with Cara, in which we discuss diet culture, desserts, and how to make healthy eating less intimidating and a lot more joyful. Enjoy!
Please note that this interview has been edited for length and clarity.
You have a pretty impressive roster of people you’ve helped with their nutrition — athletes, celebrities. Now you have a book that can help those of us who are just trying to survive on coffee and vibes. What inspired you to write The Feel-Good Way now? Was there a lightbulb moment?
I wish it were more of a light bulb moment, but I felt like it was just doors opening. I felt like this needed to be done, and it needs to be done right. This book is not about me at all; it's for my readers, it's for my members, it's for my community, my clients, and I wanted them to feel that way. I wanted them to feel like this is super approachable. I wanted to take the celebrity out of it and write it for the readers, the everyday people who are struggling with the energy and struggling with being overwhelmed because they can't hire people to do everything for them. Or even the people who are concerned about their grocery bill. I talk a lot about leftovers, and I talk a lot about reusing the same meal and feeding the whole family. It's the way I've worked with over a hundred thousand people. I wanted that to prevail over some of these approaches that may feel unapproachable to people who might not have the same access.
You mention in your book how your approach is not about weight or calories, but rather just feeling good. The word “diet” comes with a lot of baggage, especially for those who grew up in the early 2000s diet culture. I think there are a lot of people out there who are very adverse to the word “diet”, including myself. How do you navigate that word in your work and help people find a balance between wellness and living your life?
I know, it has such a negative connotation to it and that's the American language. That's what I tell my daughters, that word can be really heavy or it can be really empowering. I choose to teach them the empowering part of it because a diet is simply how we eat. The connotation that creates negativity is all these different rigid protocols that are not even diets. Each person has a set diet that they eat. So, it’s about trying to talk people out of the negative connotation when it comes to it.
Is there one myth about “healthy” food or wellness that you wish people would stop believing already?
Yes, and it's the protein forward movement. I love protein, I think it's just as essential as carbs and fat. But the female body is extraordinarily delicate, meaning that we have fluctuations that are natural, and the best way we can support those is by balancing our macros and not focusing on one.
I think protein is a little over-sensationalized in multiple ways. One, there's little support that it does to help regulate the female cycle. Two, our kidneys, our gallbladder, and our digestive tract have to be able to break it down. It takes a lot of acids and coenzymes to break down protein. And so we want to make sure that the amount that we're eating is suitable for energy, sustainability, long-term health and wellness. I think the hype around just protein or keto or carnivore is too much. If it were that easy, everybody would do it and it would work for everybody, but it doesn't.
One thing I’ve noticed is that a lot of people want to eat better, but they feel kind of lost. There’s a huge disconnect between our bodies and the food we eat, and it seems like it has become really up to the individual to do their own research and find reliable sources to determine what's "healthy" and what's not. Do you have any advice for people who want to cut through all the noise and simply rebuild their relationship with food?
Something I heard a long time ago that I felt was really helpful was that if you don't see yourself doing it a year from now, don't even start it because that's not something that's going to work for you. The way that I approach teaching people how to eat is rather than 180 their life, try to fit it into how their life is already running. The only way to keep people coming back for more is not the scale (shocking, right?), but it's how they feel.
People sometimes think they're not supposed to feel good if they're eating right, especially if it feels too easy. I think that there are certain spaces in the fitness world that are teaching overly restrictive diets for the trade-off of quicker results. The sustainable model of The Feel-Good Way is that the body you desire will come to you with consistency. These recipes are a way to be consistent because you are not sacrificing calories, you're not sacrificing tastes, and you're not sacrificing substance.
I’ve cooked from a lot of cookbooks, and I’ve always been curious about the recipe testing process. What did that look like for you with this book? How many rounds does a recipe usually go through, and how do you know when it’s ready to share with the world?
It varies on the recipe, how many times it's been changed, adapted and tested, but I would say unless we nail it the first time, it's going to go like three, four times with people making suggestions before we make it refined. [This book] was unique because I've been doing seasonal challenges for twelve years and most of these recipes are either from these challenges or they've been adapted to be even better.
I’m very much a dessert person; I always want a little something sweet after a good meal. So I really appreciated that your book includes legit dessert options, like the [list examples]. I feel like in the health food world, sweets can get a bad rap and it can be a little patronizing. Like, don’t give me an apple with cinnamon and tell me it tastes like a Snickers. How do you find a balance between joy and nutrition when it comes to sweets?"
I just always make sure there's a combination of healthy fat and protein options we can add in, or that we're eating dessert with our dinner. Actually, some of the desserts [in this book] honestly could replace a meal and be guilt-free, while others are best supplemental to dinner.
The balance has come over time because I definitely used to be a little more like, “the darker the chocolate the better,” and not really even enjoy it. Then, as my kids got older, they became competitive athletes and it was honestly hard to keep their weight on. So I'm always offering nutrition-dense treat options to go with dinner to sustain them and their energy needs.
Lastly, you’re having friends over for dinner at the last minute. What are you putting on the table?
The Mexican Caesar Salad (pg. 135) with grilled chicken and the Southern Peach Cobbler (pg. 250) for dessert.
The Feel-Good Way is available for pre-order here and is officially out on May 13th!
Thank you to Penguin Random House for an advanced copy! 🍎
Share this post