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Wednesday, March 24, 2021

FOOD BOOK OF THE MONTH! -- Help Yourself, by Lindsay Maitland Hunt

HELP YOURSELF; a guide to gut health for people who love delicious food (Houghton Mifflin Harcourt, 2020, 369 pages, ISBN 978-0-358-00839-2 $40 hardbound) is by Lindsay Maitland Hunt, author, editor and recipe developer. The book comes well-endowed with eight log rollers, mostly award-winning writers and restaurant owners. She gives more than 125 gut-friendly recipes plus science-backed advice for wellness in body and mind. Some memoir material makes it also a journey back to health. Like all such books, you've got to want to do it without being scared. It's basically a flavour-forward approach to microbe-friendly eating, prioritizing plant-based whole foods (veggies, beans, nuts, eggs) as well as fish, some meat and dairy (both of which can be excluded). You could feel better if you could eliminate the bloat, the stress, and the exhaustion. If you have already been diagnosed, then this book can be used to treat chronic diseases such as diabetes, autoimmune disease, leaky gut, allergies, joint pain and inflammation. The recipes emphasize cutting down processed sugars and salts, while increasing flavours. The first 80 pages cover the basics of the preparations for the new life style. This is followed by the recipes, nutritional indexes and resources. Typical dishes include various roasted veggies such as roasted celery root, roasted romanesco, lemony roasted broccoli rabe, grilled romaine, and then moves on to breakfast, soups, stews, mains, sides, drinks, and desserts. Also, there are some snacks and dips, as well as seeds to assuage hunger. As with most North American Cookbooks, the book could have been improved if it also used metric in the recipes, or at least had a metric conversion chart. Quality/price rating: 90.

Chimo! www.deantudor.com

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