Good food is excellent therapy
353260
Having read a good few crime novels and psychological thrillers recently, this book was just the breath of fresh air that I needed. Liz and her husband have separated after Ian fell in love with 20 something year old lifestyle blogger Brittney.
Having gone through the teenage years with my own 2 children I could relate to Liz's struggle to find any common ground with her daughter Saskia after her split from her husband. I loved her ability to stay strong and not lose her sense of humour through life's trials and tribulations. With greedy but loveable pooch Ted adding to Liz's culinary challenges with fabulous comedy effect this book is really good fun. Between the members of Waggy Weight Loss, the canine version of weight watchers, and the 2 other singletons who have enrolled in a beginners cookery course at the local community centre Liz finds new friends as well as a new focus in her life. My only criticism of this book is that I could have kept reading for many more pages and was disappointed that it had all come to an end so soon.
2984355
I am a big health nut and I believe 99% of our health problems from physical to even mental is because
of our unhealthy modern diet. On top of food probably being the best medicine you can talk to cure yourself and stay healthy.
2819096
Eating "clean" can be really challenging, and lonely.  I know, my gym friends and I call it the "anti-social" diet.  I love food, follow food, live for food.  Many of my friends are foodies who will travel great distances for that perfect dish.  It's hard to meet friends in restaurants where there's so much butter, salt and fat.  But, we all crave friends and flavor.

That's where Clean Slate can help.  The photographs are healthy and attractive, showcasing a burst of colors and flavors.  Healthy should never mean boring.  Maybe you can invite some of your foodie friends to taste some of these recipes.  A healthy life helps you feel and look your best.  Who doesn't want to feel their best?

The recipes are pretty basic which proves going healthy doesn't require long hours.  The squash salad with tomatos, zucchini blossoms, and ricotta is a piece of art.  I've wowed guests with my own version.  I like to hit the ground running in the morning, and just get to work so I particularly appreciate the drink recipes.  When I wake up, I prefer to put my thought in what I must accomplish, and these tonics are sure to set me in the right direction.

With so much information swirling about, it can get really confusing.  Clean Slate knows this and offers easy visual charts and lists in the beginning of the book to help reference antioxidants, smart swaps, super detoxifiers, inflammation fighters, digestive aids.

"I received this book from Blogging for Books for this review."
4082172
I REALLY ENJOYED THIS DIET BOOK.  IT HAS ALL THE INFORMATION ON FOODS TO
EAT AND MAINTAIN A GOOD HEALTH.  I ORDERED A BOOK FOR MY DAUGHTER ALSO.
IT ALSO TELLS US WHAT NOURISHMENTS OUR BRAIN NEEDS.  IT IS A GOOD DIET
PLAN AS I'M LOSING WEIGHT AND NOT MISSING ANYTHING.  I AM INTO ALL WHOLE
GRAIN PASTAS, BREAD AND CEREAL.  I ALSO CUT OUT THE SWEETS, WHICH I GET
FROM MY FRUITS.  MY WHOLE SYSTEM IS SO IMPROVED.  THANK YOU, DR BRAVERMAN.

SINCERELY, DIANE LUIKEN
2451321
A friend recommended this book to me when I commented to him on how healthy and youthful he looked. He is in his 60's and never looked better. He lost over 20 pounds and looks and feels great. I was so impressed with our discussion about this book, I bought it for Kindle that night and began reading. After sharing a lot of it with my husband, I ordered the hard copy so that we could begin to implement some of Dr. Fuhrman's dietary suggestions. I really want to do the "six week" program to get back to good healthy eating but my budget is holding me back. Eating healthy is not inexpensive. I have made a few changes so far in our eating habits but I plan to do more. I already feel more energetic. His book is well researched and straight forward and easy to read. I really learned a lot (and I read a lot about healthy eating all the time and watch Dr. Oz). Dr. Oz actually wrote the introduction in the book itself.

I would highly recommend buying it. Just keep in mind that many of Dr. Fuhrman's dietary suggestions require a lot of fruits and vegetables and other ingredients which can be expensive - even if you buy them through Amazon.
Susan from Amawalk
442600
Bought this book on the advice of a relative who is also a massage therapist.  She and her family had tried the program and found it useful for them.  After reading just the first few chapters, I was convinced to give it a try.  The great news was that the plan worked for my family and I!  We are happily eating and enjoying real food.

The book is well layed out and the information presented is complete and informative.  I appreciate that the authors explain in great detail how the body processes and uses the food we eat (or doesn't, depending on what we consume).  The exlaination of "food with no brakes" really helped me understand the reason that even food that *seems* healthy doesn't really improve our health and can in fact, cause health issues.

I was glad to see that the authors, though very invested in and commited to the program, don't believe that you can NEVER again have a piece of cake or a slice of bread.  The emphasis is on following the program for 30 days and then evaluating food groups that have been removed one at a time to determine what effect, if any, they have on YOUR body.  There is great emphasis on being very self-aware.  It is so important to know how each food/food group affects YOU.

I liked that the book also gave suggestions for dealing with those folks who might not appreciate this "new" approach to eating.  We had some of those in our lives and the suggestions for dealing with them worked.  Very helpful.
1226820
Healing with Raw Foods is a beautifully presented source book for those interested in eating healthier through uncooked foods. Although the book is broken down by different parts of the body to heal (e.g., brain, digestion, bones) at heart it is a cookbook by a chef with a holistic and somewhat new age approach.

The book breaks down as follows:  Part 1: Getting Started (mapping a new way, the living foods kitchen, healing basics: the three day jump start); Part II: Healing From Head To Toe (food as preventive medicine, boosting your brain health, armed for good health, healing your heart, eating raw for diabetes, strengthening your frame, your digestive tract: enzymes to the rescue); Part III Healing the Whole (healthy children, healthy families, food for a healthy soul). Afterword, appendices (cook like a chef, a guide to quality utensils, raw food pyramid, biographics). Metric conversion chart, recipe index.

The recipes are nicely presented and easy to read/follow. Many have color photographs that help visualize the final product - very important in a book that has people using non traditional ingredients to create non traditional meals.

The focus is on raw - which means a lot of dehydrating and sprouting - you'll definitely want to invest in a dehydrator. It also means a bit more work to prepare nearly all meals. The author smartly provides an 'easy introduction' for those new to eating raw foods, a 3-day plan of different recipes. After that, there are discussions and recipes addressing different aspects of physical health including vegetarian and diabetes options.

Admittedly, I have seen many of these recipes in other raw books and there weren't as many recipes as I would have liked to see in a book of this type. Many are just a case of throwing several raw ingredients together. But the recipes I tried did taste excellent and were a great alternative to unhealthier options.

There are also a lot of new age accents in here - from yoga/meditation to daily affirmations which I would have preferred to do without. They can often sound like a religion indoctrination and a bit beyond the core eating raw foundation of the book. I respect that the author wants to help people find the peace she did but perhaps that is for a different book.

In all, nicely presented with some excellent recipes make this book a winner.  Reviewed from an arc provided by the publisher.
2421523
I received this book for free from Blogging for Books for this review.

Marco Canora has joined the movement that pushes healthful, clean, unprocessed foods as a means toward health. The idea is if you can make healthful food delicious and easy to prepare, then people can reduce their chances of diet-related complications (such as diabetes, high cholesterol, etc.) without depriving themselves and without having to count calories and eat bland or unappealing food. And of course, all of that should make it much easier to maintain healthful eating habits throughout your life. In addition to recipes, Marco Canoras A Good Food Day: Reboot Your Health with Food That Tastes Great includes lists of foods to keep in ones fridge or pantry to allow for last-minute healthy dishes.  Youll also find a detailed list of 10 principles for a good food day:

  Eating must be enjoyable
  Cooking empowers you to eat better
  Proper prior planning prevents piss-poor performance
  Get in sync with Mother Nature
  Quality ingredients are everything
  Eat real food
  Be a conscious eater
  A twinge of hunger isn't the end of the world
  Diversify
  Make indulgences a guilt-free part of the program

You can easily see Michael Pollans influence here. There are even explanations of the difference between glycemic index and glycemic load, and how both affect our bodies.

We loved nearly every dish we made from this cookbook. Theres a roasted beet salad (with orange and pistachio) thats surprisingly simple and delicious. Breakfasts include a handful of smoothies; also no-cook oatmeal, which is a favorite of mine. One of the great recipes from the salads chapter is My Post-Workout Salad: theres enough to it that its easy to turn into a full-meal salad (it includes chicken, lentils, avocado, and more, and its very good). He also breaks that salad down into a blueprint: how much greenery to include (and a list of good choices), how much of an animal protein to include, tender bean or grain, crunchy vegetables, herbs, avocado, some types of seeds (such as sunflower or pumpkin), and so on. It provides a great amount of room for customization, which should keep it from becoming boring.

A recipe of roasted broccoli with hazelnuts and Pecorino came out better than I expected. Roasted broccoli is good, but by itself not terribly satisfying. The addition of the nuts and cheese gave it depth. There are also some fancier recipes (that still follow his clean & healthy eating mantra) such as a salmon and arugula salad with pomegranate. One of my favorite recipes that we tried was a Thai chicken coconut soup. Its been quite a while since I last went to a Thai restaurant, but this is almost exactly what I remember, with its delicious notes of coconut and lime. Absolutely delightful. The only recipe I wasn't entirely happy with was a coconut cacao cardamom panna cotta. The dish was pretty; the small amount of cacao powder gave it a very gentle note of chocolate; the coconut milk substituted beautifully for heavy cream; but Id halve the amount of cardamom that went in. It overwhelmed most of those other flavors.

A Good Food Day is a great cookbook to have around if you need more diversity and variation in your healthy diet. I expect well keep making recipes from it for quite some time.
1242865
I suffered with IBS for years, painful spasms that interfered with my life -- a lot.  I had tried another IBS diet that helped somewhat but not enough.  I was desperate.  I followed the Healing Diet in this book but was still having some difficulty so I consulted with Dave directly.  I had to tweak things a lot before this worked well for me -- it turns out I don't function well on mostly fruit, so I had to add lots of green juices and tender green veggies (cucumbers, lettuces, zucchini, sprouts, etc), as well as squashes and potatoes, barley grass juice powder, and some diluted apple/cabbage juice recommended by another practitioner.  Once I did these things I began to heal and function well in the process.  My digestion is tremendously improved now -- better than I can remember --  and I consider this an absolute miracle.  I've had other debilitating health issues which are also improving on this diet.  I have more energy and am able to exercise for the first time in many years.  I am more grateful than I can say and I can't recommend this book and Dave's program and heath consultations enough.  They are literally saving my life, giving me my life back.  I am grateful and amazed.
4855400
I shudder to think of how many diets I have tried, how many books I have read, and how many pounds I have lost and gained back, in an effort to achieve good health, a nutritious diet, and weight loss.

Within minutes of opening the cover of Fred Cuellars The Buffer Zone Diet I knew I was in for a good read, and just maybe discover the truth about weight management.  I scanned the endorsements, glanced over the Table of Contents, explored the format of the chapters, and confirmed I was in for a good reading experience and a plan of action that I could initiate and pursue successfully.

The content is well organized, thoroughly researched, with an extensive list of reference for further reading. (Easily digestible, written in bite sized chunks). From the preface to the epilogue I became engrossed. Author Fred Cuellar writes from his real life experiences, personal research, and a personal commitment to make a difference in other peoples lives.

As a result of Cuellars challenge I am taking steps to achieve results in areas of weight management, healthy living, and self-discovery. I am learning to tame my hunger, evaluate my food intake; determine an effective exercise program, regulate my sleep, and control my environment.

The Buffer Zone Diet is endorsed by leaders in the Medical Field, Clinical Nutritionists, and Mental Health Experts. Highly Recommended.

A complimentary copy of this book was provided for review purposes. The opinions expressed are my own.
46900
I would recommend this book to anyone who wants to improve their health.  This book provides a good balance between the biology and the psychology behind eating healthy.  The biology side of the book teaches the reader why he/ she craves certain foods and the psychology side teaches the reader how to redirect his/ her cravings to make healthy choices.  Lessons and techniques are provided to the reader to take control and change his/ her eating habits.

I also use the book as a reference guide.  I have learned that eating healthy makes me feel good and therefore making healthy choices is key to a happy and healthy life.
4155943
I loved this book because it leaves you excited to bring healthy foods, exercise and mental wellness into your life.  Pop is filled with inspiring nutritional, lifestyle, psychological, and practical approaches to eliminate dieting and teach you the path to allow food and mealtime to be a positive, fun, and healthy part of life.  Dr. Cipriano clearly shows the links between poor eating habits and illness, and wholesome foods /lifestyle and wellness, and thus motivates the reader to delight in filling one's home with tasty and nutritious food.  Dr. Herman provides the psychological insight into ways to think and feel good about oneself without turning to food to fill emotional needs.  He talks about the importance of examining one's internal dialogue and providing oneself with the positive messages to boast self-esteem and healthy eating habits.  After finishing this book, I felt motivated to eat a dinner of salmon, peppers, peas and salad, and lost my interest in nibbling on the chocolate chips I had been mindlessly munching for days.  I even stopped reading to take some Omega 3 supplements and made a note to increase these in my daily diet.  The book is also full of easy meal ideas and the health benefits of various foods.  Having just finished the book, I am excited to go food shopping tomorrow to increase the variety of my healthy foods.  Instead of shopping for the cookies that have been on my mind, I am eager to bring back my long-forgotten spaghetti squash, green teas, and replace my desserts (which have been increasing with the holiday season) with fresh berries.  I am also looking forward to making a list of alternative ideas to eating, which I can place on the refrigerator to refer to when I want to eat out of boredom.  Even if you incorporate just a few of the ideas in this book, you will have made lifestyle changes that will allow you to be healthier without the burden of a diet.  This book will excite you!
3138808
Someone said - probably the authors? - that the best medicine is good food.  I got over a major illness just by going from junk food to Healthy Eating - and I'm now getting over a second major illness continuing Healthy Eating!  Thanks for this great guide!
4731898
My Cancer Center Nutritionist highly recommended this book, and I find it very informative. The creative recipes whet the appetite, which is often 'lagging'.  I must for everyone striving to eat healthy during treatment.
3494022
This book is a wonderful combination of excellent state of the art nutritional recommendations combined with an outstanding cookbook.  The information is sound and the rationale is well articulated based on Susan's years of clinical practice.

In addition the health benefits we've reaped, many of the recipes quickly became staples in our home.  The nut mix is excellent as a snack or a topping for yogurt.  The meatballs are incredible.  The list goes on.  Consequently, we've given this book as a gift to many friends and family.
3311945
I found Grace Lawrence's first book&nbsp;<a data-hook="product-link-linked" class="a-link-normal" href="/Stress-Relief-Foods-and-Recipes/dp/B007JE6QFI/ref=cm_cr_arp_d_rvw_txt?ie=UTF8">Stress Relief Foods and Recipes</a>&nbsp;extremely helpful.  So I was really happy to see that she wrote a new book about Smoothies and Stress Relief.  Knowing what foods are good for stress relief is one thing.  But getting recipes that show you how to easily combine stress-relieving fruits, veggies and other ingredients in easy-to-make smoothies is a real time saver!  Grace always tells you the specific benefits of each ingredient.  And her recipes are really tasty.  I had all of the ingredients for the Blueberry Vanilla Smoothie so I made that this morning and it was really good!  Some other recipes that look good are:  Peach Smoothie, Chai Tea Smoothie (I love Chai Tea!), Raspberry & Basil Smoothie and the Chocolate Berry Smoothie.  Those are just a few of the recipes that look good to me.  There are many more.

Stress really is a silent killer.  You don;'t see the negative impact on your body until it's too late.  Eating good, stress-relieving foods can really help to build up your body's defenses and also directly help you to reduce stress.  I highly recommend the dietary approach and this book.
1483934
This books subtitle is A radical new way to heal your body from the inside out. The author, a gastroenterologist, is a faculty member at Georgetown University Hospital. Her first book Gut Bliss introduced the belief that our gut controls our health.  She looks at  bacteria as friend rather than foe, focusing on microbiome, all the organisms that live in or on our body. The imbalance of organisms are responsible for a long list of illnesses, and this imbalance is caused by the processed food we eat, the over-use of antibiotics, and our lifestyle. She states that its actually the lack of germs that is making us sick. She often is very explicit (and graphic) in her suggestions of how to restore this balance. As the subtitle indicates, this is a radical approach. The book is easy to read, unencumbered by medical jargon and terms. It provides recipe and hygiene suggestions. For people (fortunately, Im not one) who are truly suffering from chronic gastrointestinal problems and auto-immune diseases, this approach may provide relief and is worth reading.