EATING ON THE WILD SIDE: The Missing Link to Optimum Health by Jo Robinson. Author and investigative journalist Jo Robinson is a nationally recognized expert in how to recapture nutrients lost in food production and preparation. Her new book tackles the nutritional history of our fruits and vegetables, and she  begins at the beginning, when wild plants were the staples of the human diet. She then chronicles how 400 generations of farmers have unwittingly squandered a host of essential fiber, protein, vitamins, minerals, and antioxidants. In an engaging blend of science and story, Robinson also takes readers on an enlightening trip down today's produce aisles. Wild apples, for example, have from three to 100 times more antioxidants than Galas and Honeycrisps, and they are five times more effective in killing cancer cells.

How do we begin to recoup the losses of essential nutrients? By "eating on the wild side" - choosing present-day fruits and vegetables that come closest to the nutritional bounty of their wild ancestors. Robinson explains that many of these jewels of nutrition are hiding in plain sight in our supermarkets, farmers markets, and U-pick orchards. She also introduces simple methods of storage and preparation that will preserve and even enhance their health benefits. Two examples: baking potatoes, refrigerating them overnight, and then reheating them before serving will keep them from spiking your blood sugar.  And shredding lettuce the day before you eat it will double its antioxidant activity.

THE DRUNKEN BOTANIST: The Plants That Create the World's Great Drinks by Amy Stewart. If the effort of eating on the wild side seems a bit overwhelming, perhaps having a drink on the wild side first will make things more palatable. Amy Stewart has written six books on the perils and pleasures of the natural world, including Wicked Bugs and Flower Confidential, and she's also co-owner of Eureka Books in Eureka, CA. In The Drunken Botanist, Stewart explores the dizzying array of herbs, flowers, trees, fruits, and fungi that humans have, through ingenuity, inspiration, and sheer desperation, contrived to transform into alcohol. Did you know sake began with a grain of rice? Or that bourbon emerged from corn and tequila from agave? Stewart recounts all that and more, while including growing tips for gardeners and, most important, more than 50 plant-based drink recipes.