“Growing up in Winsted, Conn., Ralph Nader would often help his mother cook—kneading the bread dough, chopping fragrant spices to prepare dishes for the family table from his parents’ native Lebanon.”
—NPR, Weekend Edition Sunday

“More than just a collection of recipes, though, this is a window on a culture and a family. Nader’s description of his mother convincing 8-year-old Ralph to eat radishes speaks volumes about this persuasive matriarch and the tireless activist she raised.”
—Washington Post Book Club

“Bound in a colorful cover and awash in white—similar in look and feel to Yottam Ottolenghi’s Plenty—the recipes, compiled over a lifetime, present a nuanced portrait of the culinary upbringing that helped shape Mr. Nader’s view of American life.”
—Chicago Review of Books

“Nader’s anecdotes and chapter introductions made me feel I was a guest at the Nader family enjoying a meal.”
—New Haven Register

“Nader’s cookbook is many things: it is an homage to his mother and her love of simple cooking that her family enjoyed around the kitchen table; a delightful and colorful examination (filled with recipes) of the Lebanese culinary tradition that immigrants to the United States carried with them to a new land; and an endorsement of good eating, cooking with simple, fresh ingredients that Nader hopes will continue to open many individuals’ minds about obesity and the role processed foods play in this national, indeed, global health crises.”
—Litchfield County Times

“One cannot put down this beautifully illustrated book, with a stunning full-page colored photo opposite each recipe. Large print makes it easy to read while you work, and the engaging introduction by Nader relates life as a young boy in Winsted.”
—The Republican-American

“Talking to Ralph Nader about his new cookbook, you can’t help but wish you’d been around the dinner table when he was growing up in Winsted with his brother and two sisters. Not only did they discuss important life issues, but the whole family enjoyed healthy, home-cooked Lebanese cuisine.”
—The Danbury News-Times

“The food that really impacted Nader’s life—and his future career as a crusading advocate for fresh, healthy food—was the Lebanese food that his mother cooked at home, and that she insisted that everyone in her family eat, together at the table, while they discussed the issues of the day.”
—The Lakeville Journal

“Sharing a wide variety of dishes, along with personal commentary from Nader, this book allows the reader a rare glimpse into an important aspect of Nader’s childhood.”
—Princeton Alumni Weekly

“Beautifully and profusely illustrated throughout with full color photography, The Ralph Nader and Family Cookbook: Classic Recipes from Lebanon and Beyond is an extraordinary and inspirational resource for planning palate-pleasing, appetite-satisfying, kitchen cook friendly dishes that will make for truly memorable meals.”
—Midwest Book Review

“Nader’s parents owned and operated a restaurant called the Highland Arms in Connecticut, where they served classic American food by day, but they mostly ate Lebanese food at home, and here Nader shares many of his mother’s traditional Lebanese recipes for hummus, tabouleh, and kibbe (meatballs formed from onions, bulgur, and ground lamb), along with some surprising dishes, such as a creamy apple parsnip soup with cardamon, baked eggplant stuffed with ground lamb and pine nuts, and a light and lemony apple cake.”
—Publishers Weekly

Included in Publishers Weekly’s Cooking & Food Adult Announcements for Spring 2020

“The Ralph Nader and Family Cookbook shares the offerings of an inspired culinary culture, inviting us to try delicious new dishes with a loving emphasis on family health and unity. A wonderful blend of consumer protection and consumer pleasure!”
—Patti Smith, author of Just Kids

“With a generous helping of mind-nourishing wisdom combined with mouthwatering recipes, Ralph Nader provides the ingredients for a life well lived.”
—Andy Shallal, Busboys and Poets founder and CEO

“Rose Nader used family dinners as an opportunity to inform her children about culture, philosophy, as well as nutrition. Her tasty recipes came with a heaping helping of love and knowledge.”
—Phil Donahue

“Rose Nader not only prepared the cuisine of my family’s homeland to perfection, she infused it with heritage. Whenever she brought me a magical plate of Lebanese goodies, she was sure to remind me, in Arabic, of that old motto of the Lebanese kitchen: An empty hand is a dirty hand.”
—Marlo Thomas, actress, author of Growing Up Laughing: My Story and the Story of Funny