Brazil is one of my favorite places. It’s a land filled with delicious brain food dishes and some of the happiest people on the planet. Ever since I first visited Rio to work on a mental health project in 2003, I’ve always thought that diet is one of the secrets to the Brazilian attitude toward life – cheerful, laid back and always ready to dance and sing. Traditional Sunday dinner in Brazil is a happy meal called feijoada, a rich stew of black beans and prime meats served with collard greens, orange slices and yucca flour or farofa.
So when Vogue Brazil contacted me for an interview about my book (A Dieta da Felicidade in Portuguese), I was overjoyed, as you might expect. Here is the full article in Portuguese. I love the headline “Adeus códigos de barra.” It means “Goodbye bar codes,” a sly reference to packaged, processed foods with UPC labels. As a prescription maybe that’s a little over oversimplified, but it serves as a good reminder. Look carefully at the ingredients on any food sold with a bar code if you want to stay with The Happiness Diet!
