Superb book, and it has changed my life!
I purchased this book after seeing Dale Pinnock cooking his recipes on ITV ‘This Morning’ programme. I have always been a ‘foodie’ and have tried to eat healthily, but at the age of 54, I have developed Rheumatoid Arthritis and bad skin and my nails have become very flaky.
What impressed me initially about Dale, was that he looked so healthy and his approach was non-preaching. The science behind the food combinations, etc., were simply put and reasonably easy to understand. I cooked a few of his recipes, they tasted so good I ordered Medicinal Cookery and The Clear Skin Cookbook.
The book is small, with 186 pages, and isn’t a traditional cookery book. Besides the great recipes, you will learn about the healing properties of the food itself. With this greater understanding, you can easily transform your own eating habits, based on your own personal health needs.
Dale starts by introducing food as medicine and a chapter on phytochemicals (Phyto =plant)
Next he presents recipes designed to help address the health of the following body systems: Skin, Digestion, Heart and Circulatory, Immune, Joints, Nervous.
Finally an A-Z guide of medicinal fruit, grains, nuts and seeds, culinary herbs and spices, vegetables – this includes tips on the best way to cook or utilise them in recipes.
Dale suggests that it was only when moving to a ‘diet focused around fresh plant foods’ compared to a diet with supplements that he noticed a shift in his health.
He explains how certain plants / foods work as medicines through how their biochemistry works with our systems. Each recipe talks you through the medicinal properties of its raw ingredients.
Most of the recipes are quick and easy to make and taste delicious. The Anti-Rheumatoid Risotto, which took a little longer to make, was absolutely gorgeous and my mushroom hating son loved it too (despite it being full of shiitake mushrooms).
I have totally overhauled our diet, without anyone really noticing. I now only use red onions (for their higher levels of antioxidants), spinach has become a staple in our diet (a huge array of cancer-fighting compounds are in spinach, clinical trials have shown a high level of protection against cancers of the stomach, prostate and ovaries), we now eat more sweet potatoes & butternut squash, seeds, the list goes on and on.
I now feel healthier, my skin has improved and I have lost weight!
If you are interested in specific health issues, starting a healthier diet, or knowing more about what you are putting into your bodies I would definitely recommend this very accessible and easy to understand book.Read full review
