The subtitle of Joy Feldman's Joyful Cooking in the Pursuit of Good Health is Restore & Heal Through Nutritional Balancing. Feldman is passionate about bringing her message of nutritional balancing to the masses; however, in doing so, one is not quite sure what type of book this is. Beginning as an informational tome about the proper things to eat and what our society has become nutritionally, and ending as a cookbook, where does this get categorized?
Depending on what you believe, this will be either be right up your alley, or way too "new-agey" for you. While a slew of studies have been done on the effects of nutrition on the psyche, Feldman goes one step further. While I'm sure no one can dispute the fact that we feel much better when we eat well, Feldman surprises her readers with WHAT to eat and not eat.
Feldman is a big believer in the Oriental philosophy of "yin and yang". Avoiding the "yin" and focusing on the "yang" is at the heart of nutritional balancing. She writes that "It is important to try to avoid yin foods such as sugars, sweet juices, most fruit, nightshade vegetables (this includes eggplant, tomatoes, peppers and potatoes as they are inflammatory) and most uncooked food."
Of course, one should avoid sugars, but avoiding fruit and some vegetables? Feldman also writes that raw milk is the best (not pasteurized) and to avoid all wheat, even whole wheat. Make your own decision on whether you believe in "yin and yang". The recipes are easy to follow; however, I need pictures when I cook. I want to see what my "Spinach Lentil Soup" is supposed to look like.
Being from the education field, I can certainly agree with the fact that nutrition is everything. I could definitely see a difference in the afternoon between the students who had healthy lunches and those who had donuts and french fries. However, giving up fruit, pasteurized milk, peppers, whole wheat, and tomatoes is not the way to go (for me).
MY RATING - 2
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