Tastes Like Chicken! Bug-Eating Expert On Her First Book

Daniella Martin may have a stronger stomach than the rest of us. It's not uncommon to see her munching away on a gigantic fried scorpion, or noshing on crickets. Martin is known as the mastermind behind the insect-eating-friendly blog, Girl Meets Bug, and will soon be coming out with her first book, Edible, which details her experience with the bug life.

"Everyone loves the paleo diet these days, but if people were really paleo, they'd be eating insects," Martin told The Daily Meal. "Insects haven't evolved or changed much over the years, so they haven't been tampered with. They're nutritious, fun to eat, and they taste good."

Most people joke that bugs "taste just like chicken" but they actually don't, Martin says. Crickets are one of the most common insects to start putting into your diet; they are a great source of protein and have a slightly nutty flavor and can be stir-fried and seasoned simply.

In her book, Martin details the reasons why we should be eating more insects (for one, they could be the solution to world food shortages and hunger problems), and takes the reader on her own journey of insect tasting, from eating bug sushi in Japan, to presenting a bag of live palm grubs (which taste like squishy, dense potato chips according to Martin) to a hotel chef and asking him to cook them for dinner.

"In certain Asian and African countries, insect-eating is very common, but in America we've moved away from it," said Martin. "So we'd have to un-do hundreds of years of gross-out programming before things change."

Joanna Fantozzi is an Associate Editor with The Daily Meal. Follow her on Twitter @JoannaFantozzi