Veggie Smarts
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Veggie Smarts is a book for everyone to get smart about vegetables.
In it, I explain our vegetables and how to get smart about eating them. I describe how nearly all of our vegetables fall within eight families of plants, from among more than 400 families of plants. With Veggie Smarts, you’ll come to understand how all of our different vegetables are or are not related to one another and a smart way to eat them from across eight families (the Brassicas, the Alliums, the Legumes, the Chenopods, the “Aster Greens” (my new term), the Umbellifers, the Cucurbits, and the Nightshades), thereby providing the best nutrition possible.
The book also details my journey from growing up on a dairy farm drinking raw milk to a mid-life burst of energy in which I built from scratch a small organic veggie farm, replete with experiences like crying over stolen cabbage, the magic of growing garlic, my annual failures at growing spinach, and almost inventing a new variety of summer squash. I also describe the old stone house where I wrote in the depths of winter waiting for springtime, and the Delamater family who built that house and farmed my land some 200 years ago.
As I explain eight families of vegetables, I share some strange scientific facts like why some people despise kale, how onions make us cry, why beans make us fart, and the fact that beets can make our pee pink. It’s a bit irreverent—snarky and sarcastic—at times, like when explaining why our underwear is made with GMO cotton, the fact that fake hamburgers have laxatives in them, my strong dislike of tasteless iceberg lettuce, and why blueberry muffins should definitely be made with real blueberries.
Veggie Smarts is guaranteed to improve your health by coming to eat more delicious vegetables and by considering my “Free Health Advice.”
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Praise for Veggie Smarts
“This endearingly quirky book describes Compton’s love affair with eight families of vegetables for their growing habits, diversity, nutritional value, flavor, texture, and deliciousness, and he offers science, experience, charm, and recipes to prove it. His dietary advice? Eat your veggies!”
– Marion Nestle, Professor of Nutrition, Food Studies, and Public Health, Emerita, New York University, and author of Slow Cooked: An Unexpected Life in Food Politics
“As a small-scale organic grower, I know firsthand the joy of cultivating a diverse range of vegetables, and Dr. Michael Compton beautifully captures that same passion. His approach to simplifying plant families into ‘eight on my plate’ is both enlightening and practical for anyone looking to deepen their connection with food. The journey from city life to organic farming that he shares resonates deeply with those of us who cherish the land and its bounty. Dr. Compton’s unique blend of scientific insight, nutritional wisdom, and personal stories makes this book an engaging and educational read for aspiring growers and vegetable lovers alike.”
– Jean-Martin Fortier, author of The Market Gardener and teacher at the Market Gardener Institute
“In Veggie Smarts, Dr. Michael Compton drills down on the psychology of our nation’s inherent food system issues and celebrates the pure joy of eating fresh, seasonal produce. He describes being magically drawn to the farmers market on his long journey from supermarket shopper to proud garden grower. We all need to eat more seasonal and local vegetables and appreciate the process of how they are cared for and tended to, and this book spells out the smart path to get there, whether you have space to grow your own veggies or just a few fresh herbs.”
– Steven Satterfield, Executive Chef, Miller Union and Madeira Park, and author of the cookbook Vegetable Revelations
“How can we most smartly eat more plants? This informative book from psychiatrist, preventionist, and farmer, Dr. Michael Compton, answers that question by delving deep into the families of plants we eat along with their many health and mental health benefits. Veggie Smarts is a wonderful new addition to the canon on eating for health.”
– Drew Ramsey, MD, Nutritional Psychiatrist and author of Eat to Beat Depression and Anxiety and Healing the Modern Brain
“Veggie Smarts magically weaves humor, passion, farming, and medicine into a creative package that leaves you searching up new recipe ideas while simultaneously feeling inspired to write poetry. Seriously—read this to learn about how to love and cook vibrant, diverse vegetables. Or read it to better understand the beautiful role each family of veggies plays in our health. You might find yourself dreaming of how you, too, can grow a garden and find joy, healing, and inspiration along the journey. Vegetable Nerds, Unite!”
– Jaclyn Lewis Albin, MD, CCMS, Dip ABLM, mom, physician, culinary and lifestyle medicine specialist, and backyard gardener
“Dr. Michael Compton’s Veggie Smarts is a delightful and memorable book. Vegetable novices and seasoned veggie professionals alike will gain new insights and inspiration on how to incorporate a wider variety of vegetables into their diets to optimize physical and mental health. I am left inspired to plan meals around ‘eight on my plate’ and to start a garden to supplement my supermarket vegetable selection. This is an excellent book for both patients and healthcare professionals.”
– Jonathan Burgess, MD, MPH, Clinical Assistant Professor, Lifestyle Psychiatry Clinic, Department of Psychiatry and Behavioral Sciences, Stanford University School of Medicine
“Getting smarter about vegetables—so highly diverse but from just a few plant families—offers us a way to promote health, reduce risk for (and even reverse) diseases, and support longevity. Veggie Smarts, written by a preventionist, lifestyle medicine physician, and organic vegetable farmer, explains our veggies, shares insights from both nutritional science and farming, provides ‘Free Health Advice,’ and gives poignant, engaging, and humorous stories of a doctor turned farmer. Veggie Smarts is a must-read for anyone who wants to be healthier, happier, and more satisfied with their food, and who wants to be inspired by the possible!”
– Erica Frank, MD, MPH, FACPM, Professor, Faculty of Medicine, University of British Columbia, Inventor/Founder, www.NextGenU.org
“Vegetables are a vital part of our diet, but many people do not understand them well enough. Veggie Smarts explains our vegetables from the perspective of a lifestyle medicine physician and organic vegetable farmer. I highly recommend this essential book—packed full of vitamins, minerals, vegetable stories, and poignant confessions of a doctor turned farmer. Veggie Smarts is a must-read for lifestyle medicine clinicians, for their clients, and for everyone because eating vegetables is so important for health.”
– Beth Frates, MD, Associate Professor, Part-Time at Harvard Medical School and President of the American College of Lifestyle Medicine
“A refreshing book on vegetables and the pleasures of growing and enjoying them fresh from the garden. Dr. Compton’s personal style and welcoming tone provide an excellent book to savor all year—in winter when dreaming of a garden and in summer while raising and eating healthy vegetables.”
– Frederic B. Mayo, former dean of the faculty at The Culinary Institute of America
“I should eat more vegetables. Many of us have had that thought, but when it occurred to physician farmer Michael Compton, a fellow expert in lifestyle medicine, it fueled a deep yet engaging journey into eight different families of vegetables, their health benefits, and history. Veggie Smarts will inform and delight the reader with compelling stories and interesting details of the bounties of farm and garden, inspiring them to bring plant diversity to their diet…a vital step on the road toward optimal health.”
– Brad B. Moore, MD, MPH, FACP, Dip ABLM, Director of Lifestyle Medicine, Associate Professor of Medicine, The George Washington University School of Medicine and Health Sciences
“As the former Executive Director for the Hunter College NYC Food Policy Center, with extensive experience with agriculture, food, nutrition, and health programs, I can attest to the importance of people getting smart about vegetables. Dr. Michael Compton’s Veggie Smarts is an essential read for all practitioners in the agriculture, food, nutrition and health space—bringing indispensable information to all of us who care about eating sustainably—for the sake of people and the planet.”
– Annette Nielsen, Journalist
“In this illuminating, vegetable-packed journey, Dr. Compton not only shares how his passion for farming revealed the health benefits of putting eight families of plants on your plate, but also how doing so can be a delicious way to enhance our overall well-being and the world around us. Intertwining nutritional wisdom and its impact on lifestyle medicine with his mid-life foray into small organic farming and practical recipe ideas, Veggies Smarts is a must-read for anyone interested in discovering the power and joy of primarily plant-based eating.”
– Douglas Noordsy, MD, Clinical Professor and Director of Lifestyle & Sports Psychiatry Initiative, Associate Director of Stanford Lifestyle Medicine, Stanford University School of Medicine
“Veggie Smarts is a thoughtful blend of farming wisdom and nutritional insight. Dr. Compton brings vegetables to life, not only through his expertise as a farmer but with his deep understanding of the health benefits they offer. This book is an essential guide for anyone looking to optimize their diet through the power of diverse, plant-focused nutrition.”
– Heather Seid, DCN, RDN, Program Manager, Bionutrition Research Core at Columbia University’s Irving Institute for Clinical and Translational Research
“Michael Compton’s wonderful book clearly explains why eating a diverse, plant-based diet is good for you and the planet. It is also a lovely narrative about how an academic doctor became a devoted farmer.”
– Laura Sorkin, author of Vegetables: The Ultimate Cookbook Featuring 300+ Delicious Plant-Based Recipes
“Vegetable Nerds, Rejoice! As a passionate gardener, I too, have cried over unexpected ‘losses’ in my home garden, and been astounded by the wonders of old recipes like leek omelet reborn from super fresh ingredients. This book is an ode to transitioning from home gardener to farmer, tracing history, a few recipes along the way, and improving well-being from the power of rediscovering vegetables.”
– Julie C. Suarez, Associate Dean for Land Grant Affairs, Cornell University, College of Agriculture and Life Sciences
“Dr. Michael Compton teaches us how to have ‘veggie smarts’ when it comes to tapping into the power of vegetables in our diets for improving our health and wellbeing.”
– John Westerdahl, PhD, MPH, RDN, FAND, Dip ABLM, Plant-Based Registered Dietitian Nutritionist, Radio Talk Show Host, Health & Longevity–LifeTalk Radio Network
