This cookbook has most of the recipes created at Alive Juice Bar from its inception in 2010 to its closing (and relocation to downtown Everett, WA) in 2020. It’s a farewell present to the customers we’re leaving, a thank you for their patronage.  This cookbook is also a collection of memories to look back on and to show how we’ve evolved over the years.  

The title How to Make the Nasty Shit Taste Good references how most people relate to vegetables as food — they’re “nasty” and to be avoided.  According to the Center for Disease Control’s (CDC) data, just 12.2% of American adults are meeting the standard for fruit, and 9.3% are meeting the standard for vegetables.  (I consider CDC’s “standard” a low bar).  Alive Juice Bar’s mission, then, is to train those who hate eating veggies to *enjoy* eating them.  I say “train” because there’s a psychological element to people’s disdain for eating veggies, and palates can be trained to appreciate a variety of flavors, textures, and combinations.   

That said, use this cookbook judiciously.  Don’t assume that every recipe in here is going to be liked by everyone, or even by most people.  This cookbook isn’t a collection of the most popular hits — Alive Juice Bar has never tried to be popular — it’s an exploration of what’s possible for each of us to cook and eat.  I don’t expect everyone to like our Kale Smoothie, and I expect most to not like the Nasty Shit (what I drink every morning).        

Use the recipes as guides, not as hard rules.  Don’t hesitate to make adjustments according to your taste and dietary needs.  Add more apple and less kale if you prefer a sweeter drink.  And vice versa.  

Those interested in the psychological and political dimensions of cooking and eating should read the companion to this cookbook, How to Cook Like a Racist, available on Amazon, Kindle, and at Alive Juice Bar.  

We’ll also be publishing a third cookbook, which will have recipes from our upcoming restaurant The Soup Nazi Kitchen, hopefully by the end of 2020.  That cookbook will provide a much more in depth exploration of how we make our soups than does this one.  There’ll be 40 soup recipes in that one, whereas this one has four.  

Love and hate letters and comments welcomed.  Send to foodyap@gmail.com.  

Bon Appetit and Cheers,