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Provisions: Finding Home Through the Food Folklore of the Appalachian Table
A sensory celebration of Appalachian culinary traditions, and a call to reclaim the lost rituals, recipes, and food folklore of the places you call home.
Amanda Held Opelt’s childhood was shaped by the shared, multi-generational table that brought everyone at her Granny’s 100-acre farm to breakfast over buttered biscuits, fried brook trout, wild honey, and blackberry jam. But as she came of age at the peak of the nineties’ diet culture, her relationship with her body became fraught, and she began to resent the culinary culture of her Appalachian heritage. It wasn’t until her own daughter was born that she realized another body depended upon her nourishment. That was when she set out to learn how to cook and reclaim her ancestor’s food traditions.
In Provisions, Opelt devotes herself to attending local sorghum boil parties and apple festivals, interviewing farmers, foragers, and herders, and recreating the meals she remembers her Granny serving at her own table. She confronts the false food narratives that dominated the religious landscape of her Southern, conservative roots. Along the way, she rediscovers the joy of eating, and with newfound faith learns to love her body again and the places it calls home.
A love letter to Appalachia as much as a corrective to the mountain culture “hillbilly” and “tradwife” tropes, Provisions is a heart-forward exploration of the ways food draws us all into sustenance, healing, community, and delight. Opelt charts our broken relationship with food through body image, consumer culture, political stereotypes, and forgotten history, as well as the vitality that can be ours again as
reconnect with our roots and learn to cook from our ancestors' recipes and table traditions,unlearn our individualism and take our place at the table of nourishing community,and come home to joyful embodiment.
Amanda Held Opelt’s childhood was shaped by the shared, multi-generational table that brought everyone at her Granny’s 100-acre farm to breakfast over buttered biscuits, fried brook trout, wild honey, and blackberry jam. But as she came of age at the peak of the nineties’ diet culture, her relationship with her body became fraught, and she began to resent the culinary culture of her Appalachian heritage. It wasn’t until her own daughter was born that she realized another body depended upon her nourishment. That was when she set out to learn how to cook and reclaim her ancestor’s food traditions.
In Provisions, Opelt devotes herself to attending local sorghum boil parties and apple festivals, interviewing farmers, foragers, and herders, and recreating the meals she remembers her Granny serving at her own table. She confronts the false food narratives that dominated the religious landscape of her Southern, conservative roots. Along the way, she rediscovers the joy of eating, and with newfound faith learns to love her body again and the places it calls home.
A love letter to Appalachia as much as a corrective to the mountain culture “hillbilly” and “tradwife” tropes, Provisions is a heart-forward exploration of the ways food draws us all into sustenance, healing, community, and delight. Opelt charts our broken relationship with food through body image, consumer culture, political stereotypes, and forgotten history, as well as the vitality that can be ours again as
reconnect with our roots and learn to cook from our ancestors' recipes and table traditions,unlearn our individualism and take our place at the table of nourishing community,and come home to joyful embodiment.
267 pages, Kindle Edition
Published November 10, 2026
About the author
Amanda Held Opelt
6 books109 followersAmanda Held Opelt is a songwriter, speaker, and author of the books A Hole in the World, Holy Unhappiness, and the forthcoming Provisions. She writes about faith, grief, community, and life in Southern Appalachia. She is proud to call the mountains of Boone, North Carolina home with her husband and two young daughters.
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Displaying 1 - 14 of 14 reviews
Review of advance copy received from NetGalley
Provisions is a love letter to Appalachia that weaves the author’s devout Christianity, family history and relationships with food and her own body with Appalachian history and essays on hunting, fishing, gardening, foraging, herding, cooking, worshipping and more in the region. Along the way she also shares a few of her own recipes for things like ramps and taters and chicken and dumplings. Beautifully written and full of information, lore and heart.
I read a digital ARC of this book via netgalley.
I read a digital ARC of this book via netgalley.
November 10, 2026
Provisions
Finding Home Through the Food Folklore of the Appalachian Table
by Amanda Held Opelt
Rated: 5 star rating
I just finished reading Provisions by Amanda Held Opelt. If you are looking for something good, this is way more than just a cookbook. It is a personal story about a woman learning to appreciate her family's country roots and changing the way she thinks about food and her body.
The author talks about growing up around her Granny’s farm. Mornings there were all about family breakfasts with biscuits, fresh trout, and wild honey. But as she grew up around 90s diet culture, she started feeling bad about her body and kind of embarrassed by her Appalachian background.
Everything changes when she has her own daughter. Realizing she has to feed this new baby makes her want to learn the old ways. She goes out and talks to local elders, foragers, and seed keepers. She even hangs out at community apple festivals and sorghum boils to see how people used to live.
What I loved about this book is that it does not use any lazy hillbilly stereotypes. It just shows a lot of respect for mountain people and their traditions. She explains how simple things like using a cast-iron skillet, gardening, and saving old recipes are like keeping your family's history alive.
She even puts real recipes between the chapters, so it feels like you are sitting by a stove chatting with a friend. It is a eye-opening read that makes you want to cook a good meal and learn more about where your own family came from.
Content Warning: The book does talk a lot about 1990s diet culture, body image struggles, and eating disorders. It also touches heavily on grief, losing family members, and the historic hardships of mountain life. If those topics are sensitive for you, you might want to take your time reading it.
Thank you, NetGalley, HarperOne, author Amanda Held Opelt, for this ebook review consideration. All review opinions are my own.
#NetGalley
#HarperOne
#AmandaHeldOpelt
#Provisions
http://goodreads.com/patriciasreading...
http://www.patriciasreadingroom.blogs...
Finding Home Through the Food Folklore of the Appalachian Table
by Amanda Held Opelt
Rated: 5 star rating
I just finished reading Provisions by Amanda Held Opelt. If you are looking for something good, this is way more than just a cookbook. It is a personal story about a woman learning to appreciate her family's country roots and changing the way she thinks about food and her body.
The author talks about growing up around her Granny’s farm. Mornings there were all about family breakfasts with biscuits, fresh trout, and wild honey. But as she grew up around 90s diet culture, she started feeling bad about her body and kind of embarrassed by her Appalachian background.
Everything changes when she has her own daughter. Realizing she has to feed this new baby makes her want to learn the old ways. She goes out and talks to local elders, foragers, and seed keepers. She even hangs out at community apple festivals and sorghum boils to see how people used to live.
What I loved about this book is that it does not use any lazy hillbilly stereotypes. It just shows a lot of respect for mountain people and their traditions. She explains how simple things like using a cast-iron skillet, gardening, and saving old recipes are like keeping your family's history alive.
She even puts real recipes between the chapters, so it feels like you are sitting by a stove chatting with a friend. It is a eye-opening read that makes you want to cook a good meal and learn more about where your own family came from.
Content Warning: The book does talk a lot about 1990s diet culture, body image struggles, and eating disorders. It also touches heavily on grief, losing family members, and the historic hardships of mountain life. If those topics are sensitive for you, you might want to take your time reading it.
Thank you, NetGalley, HarperOne, author Amanda Held Opelt, for this ebook review consideration. All review opinions are my own.
#NetGalley
#HarperOne
#AmandaHeldOpelt
#Provisions
http://goodreads.com/patriciasreading...
http://www.patriciasreadingroom.blogs...
Review of advance copy received from NetGalley
An exploration through a series of culinary and social science essays - and recipes - of Appalachian foods, customs and traditions that is sure to delight readers who enjoy good food, insights into American culture and other things that remind us of home.
This is my first read by this author who I discovered is a Christian author, songwriter (mainly Appalachian folk) and speaker; she also has a Substack newsletter called Provisions. While her current book isn’t so much about her Christian roots - though she will reference how something relates to “scripture”, - it’s more a reflection of her gratitude for what life has given her told through stories of her Appalachian roots. And what a story: she regales us with tidbits of mountain life - hunting, gardening, wood stoves, iron skillets, granny women (and a lot more). The recipes were good (they are narratives rather than how a traditional recipe might look) - if only I could cook. You learn a wealth of things that captivate. For example, in Granny Women you learn they aren’t little old ladies sitting in a rocking chair in the porch. These are healers, midwives - women who have administered to healing and comfort for many years. And her chapter titles are misleading in a good way - like Leather Britches which I thought would be about pants is really about a method of preserving beans!
Another thing Opelt does is address Appalachian stereotypes and how corporate America has exploited the region.
Provisions is a heartfelt paean to tradition and roots. Dispelling stereotypes like “hillbillies” and even the “tradwife” wife trope, the book reflects on how food builds community and how reconnecting with that brings us a better appreciation for life and purpose. These were some of the reasons I gave this book five stars.
My thanks to NetGalley and HarperOne for granting me access to this ARC.
This is my first read by this author who I discovered is a Christian author, songwriter (mainly Appalachian folk) and speaker; she also has a Substack newsletter called Provisions. While her current book isn’t so much about her Christian roots - though she will reference how something relates to “scripture”, - it’s more a reflection of her gratitude for what life has given her told through stories of her Appalachian roots. And what a story: she regales us with tidbits of mountain life - hunting, gardening, wood stoves, iron skillets, granny women (and a lot more). The recipes were good (they are narratives rather than how a traditional recipe might look) - if only I could cook. You learn a wealth of things that captivate. For example, in Granny Women you learn they aren’t little old ladies sitting in a rocking chair in the porch. These are healers, midwives - women who have administered to healing and comfort for many years. And her chapter titles are misleading in a good way - like Leather Britches which I thought would be about pants is really about a method of preserving beans!
Another thing Opelt does is address Appalachian stereotypes and how corporate America has exploited the region.
Provisions is a heartfelt paean to tradition and roots. Dispelling stereotypes like “hillbillies” and even the “tradwife” wife trope, the book reflects on how food builds community and how reconnecting with that brings us a better appreciation for life and purpose. These were some of the reasons I gave this book five stars.
My thanks to NetGalley and HarperOne for granting me access to this ARC.
Review of advance copy received from NetGalley
*This book was received as an Advanced Reviewer's Copy from NetGalley.
Part journalistic, part cookbook, part food history/sociology, and a lot memoir, this book contained multitudes. Opelt explores the food traditions of Appalachia and the history behind why certain food recipes originated there or the prevalence of some ingredients usage (trout, apples, sorghum, etc.).
The book is separated into four parts; breakfast, lunch, supper, and dessert and contains a recipe at the end of the chapters (there are multiple chapters per part). Stories of the mealtimes of the author and the foods that are typically served during those meals are organized into these parts. The combination of this storytelling and food narrative is comfortable, like pulling up to your grandparents and hearing their stories.
While there were sometimes that the book drifted off into more the memoir focus and less on the food, if you take the book through the lens of it being more about the authors journey through Appalachia and its foodways, it fits. But if you're looking for strictly food history this may deviate a bit from that.
Definitely interesting (and I miss Boone, my favorite restaurant is there), it brings back memories of an area I loved to visit while living nearby for nearly a decade.
Part journalistic, part cookbook, part food history/sociology, and a lot memoir, this book contained multitudes. Opelt explores the food traditions of Appalachia and the history behind why certain food recipes originated there or the prevalence of some ingredients usage (trout, apples, sorghum, etc.).
The book is separated into four parts; breakfast, lunch, supper, and dessert and contains a recipe at the end of the chapters (there are multiple chapters per part). Stories of the mealtimes of the author and the foods that are typically served during those meals are organized into these parts. The combination of this storytelling and food narrative is comfortable, like pulling up to your grandparents and hearing their stories.
While there were sometimes that the book drifted off into more the memoir focus and less on the food, if you take the book through the lens of it being more about the authors journey through Appalachia and its foodways, it fits. But if you're looking for strictly food history this may deviate a bit from that.
Definitely interesting (and I miss Boone, my favorite restaurant is there), it brings back memories of an area I loved to visit while living nearby for nearly a decade.
Review of advance copy received from NetGalley
Provisions: Finding Home Through the Food Folklore of the Appalachian Table by Amanda Held Opelt is a heartwarming and comforting book based on the foods of Appalachian traditions and centered around home, family, and love. The book shares a great history of the philosophy, religion, psychology, economy, and anthropological history of the Appalachian people and culture. The author shares many anecdotes about her own journey with food that many can relate to. She also shares a lot of Appalachian recipe's, some from her own family and others from the region, that I cannot wait to try out! The book is divided into four sections; breakfast, lunch, dinner and dessert. I really enjoyed getting to know more about this culture and region of the United States and how the traditions of the people were an integral part of their families and communities. Thank you to NetGalley and HarperOne for the advanced review copy of this book. All opinions are my own.
Review of advance copy received from NetGalley
Provisions is a book about home, about family, about healing and about the author's relationship with food. There is a lot of philosophy, religion, anthropology and psychology written in a memoir-esque fashion with a few classic Appalachian recipes added here and there. The book is broken into four parts: breakfast, lunch, supper and dessert. Within those chapters are headings like hunting, herding, granny women, preserves, and cookbooks. Each takes a look at how things are and were done in the Appalachian regions, but also how they tied into the author's life and psyche. The book was a fascinating read, not only for the history, but for the deep, emotional story of her life.
I received a free advance reader copy. All opinions are my own.
I received a free advance reader copy. All opinions are my own.
Review of advance copy received from NetGalley
Thank you to HarperOne and NetGalley for the opportunity to read this ARC. I received an advanced digital review copy for free, and I am leaving this review voluntarily.
5 stars
Provisions by Amanda Held Opelt feels like Appalachia.
This isn't a cookbook, though if this author released one, I'd likely pick up a copy.
This is Appalachian food as history, tradition, community.
The book is divided into four sections: breakfast, lunch, supper, and dessert. Each section connected to both the region and the author's life.
The author does a beautiful job of weaving together a deeply touching memoir with philosophy, psychology, economy, religion, and anthropology of the Appalachian culture.
I highly recommend this to everyone.
5 stars
Provisions by Amanda Held Opelt feels like Appalachia.
This isn't a cookbook, though if this author released one, I'd likely pick up a copy.
This is Appalachian food as history, tradition, community.
The book is divided into four sections: breakfast, lunch, supper, and dessert. Each section connected to both the region and the author's life.
The author does a beautiful job of weaving together a deeply touching memoir with philosophy, psychology, economy, religion, and anthropology of the Appalachian culture.
I highly recommend this to everyone.
Review of advance copy received from NetGalley
I loved this book about Appalachian traditions in food, in thought, in culture, and its lovely blend of those traditions with the present. I am not from Appalachia, but her stories about her grandmothers reminded me strongly of mine, especially the way they cooked and ate and thought about life. This book made me think again about the ways we have historically gathered and how to do better with this today. I also really appreciated the way she discussed food and body image. This was a contemplative read that I never wanted to end, and I am already looking forward to reading it again. Thanks to NetGalley and HarperOne for the advance copy.
Review of advance copy received from NetGalley
A memoir of growing up in, leaving, and returning to Appalachia through the lens of food, community, religion, and land. Readers expecting a cookbook will be disappointed, as there are only a few recipes written in a conversational style rather than a list of ingredients and instructions. Each chapter is its own essay; some of my favorites were the chapters on Corn, The Commons, and Stills. This is a book that rewards dipping into and savoring. I received a free advance copy of the book; all opinions are my own.
Review of advance copy received from NetGalley
Review is for an ARC made available to me through NetGalley. Opinions are my own.
This is an in depth survey of Appalachian culture as it relates to food, nourishment and sustenance with discussions of commons foods, traditions and culture, including a sprinkle of Evangelical Christian scripture and its important place at the Appalachian table, breaking bread.
Some essential recipes are included, but this is more food writing than cookbook per se. However, to have a good mindset of what Appalachian food is about, this edition is vital.
#Provisions #NetGalley
This is an in depth survey of Appalachian culture as it relates to food, nourishment and sustenance with discussions of commons foods, traditions and culture, including a sprinkle of Evangelical Christian scripture and its important place at the Appalachian table, breaking bread.
Some essential recipes are included, but this is more food writing than cookbook per se. However, to have a good mindset of what Appalachian food is about, this edition is vital.
#Provisions #NetGalley
November 11, 2026
Just gorgeous. I loved learning more about Applachian history and culture, as told through Opelt's personal and communal lens. The sections on reclaiming her relationship to food were especially resonant, and the recipes were the cherry on top! A must read for all lovers of passed-down stories and passed-around food.
Review of advance copy received from NetGalley
I love history and this author shares hers with this foodie. It is well written and really feels like the author is sharing herself and not just recipes and memories. I loved every page of it!
Review of advance copy received from Author
As a lifelong Appalachian who has struggled with her relationship to her body (and to her homeplace), this book felt like it was written just for me. Such a gorgeous, evocative, and richly researched book about healing and home.
October 29, 2026
I think that Amanda is a gem among humanity. She brings such meaningful and soulful riffs to everything she touches. Her words on the page make you feel things and yearn for a richer life. You will want to step back into a more simple kitchen and table. I suggest that you take her up on the offer. Make her recipes and seek after what truly matters. You can enjoy a nice healthy side of all things beautifully Appalachian as you partake. Lovely.
Displaying 1 - 14 of 14 reviews