Would you prefer a boiling vat or leaden brick of winter health food?

Now that we're in winter proper, it's time to return to The Book of Whole Meals (Annemarie Colbin, 1983, but feels like it's from the '70s!) to find out what kinds of leaden, bland health food Colbin thinks will help readers survive the winter.

While I have no objection to making extra food to make easy leftover-based meals later, the choices in this book are about as flavorless and unimaginative as they get. For instance, start with a Millet Casserole.

Don't worry, it's generously seasoned with onion, bell pepper, celery, and salt! So it's basically Cajun, right? I mean it does have the holy trinity (and not much else).

For a side, enjoy some luxurious Baked Squash and Turnips.

They're lavishly seasoned with a bay leaf, sesame oil, and salt! 

And then the next day all you have to do is dump the leftovers together, dilute them with over a quart of water, and serve them as a soup!

I'm sure the addition of shoyu with a little garlic and parsley will spark it right up so it won't taste like you're eating the boiled contents of the dustpan after someone swept out the health food co-op.

If a soup for lunch just won't scratch the '70s health food itch, there's always a loaf. For dinner, enjoy steaming Lentil Soup. (Soup is apparently a must-have in winter).

This version has onions, carrots, bay leaves, parsley, and miso, so we're really going all-out on flavor.

Better dial it back with the side and make it as bland and hippie-ish as humanly possible.

Yep-- brown rice! Barley! And the '70s health food favorite, sunflower seeds.

Mix them together the next day, et voilà!

It's Rice-Lentil Loaf! Leaden as a cloudy day in January. Will the Scallion-Kuzu sauce help?

Meh. It's your call, but I'd honestly rather dump a can of cream of mushroom over the lentil brick, even if Colbin would not approve.

Oh, and we have a winter dessert too, in case you still feel the urge to bake cookies, but don't care whether they're particularly palatable.

At least these have actual spices! And coconut, if you like that kind of thing! Will they be enough to make whole wheat pastry flour, corn oil, and barley malt or rice syrup delicious? Well, maybe by '70s health food standards. At least there's no carob!

Now we've choked down summer, fall, and winter health food crazes! Only spring left to go. What do you bet that it's also loaded with brown rice and root vegetables and barely flavored with shoyu? We'll see in a few months....