Culinarytherapy: The Girl's Guide to Food for Every Mood [Paperback]

Beverly West (Author)

Book Description

Publication Date: October 17, 2003

From the author of the cult sensation Cinematherapy (over 270,000 copies of the series in print) comes a cookbook for women celebrating the therapeutic power of food.

Every woman knows that food is more than than just fuel-it's self-medication that, when administered properly, with just the right amount of fat, salt, sugar, and chocolate, can cure everything from a bad break up to a full-fledged identity crisis. Whether a gal is feeling starved for attention and ready to bask in her own limelight (Diva Dishes), or looking to add a little kick to her romance (Nude Food), Culinarytherapy features recipes to feed her every need.

- Fed up and ready to blow your lid? Let off some of that steam with a Recipe for Revenge like Fried Men and deep-fat-fry that pent up angst in effigy.
- Feeling a pang in the pit of your emotional center? Fill the void with a comfort food recipe like Change Your World Chocolate Chip Cookies and soothe that emotional tummy ache.
- Thirsty for meaning? Transcend with some Food for the Soul like Tranquility Chicken and nourish your body and spirit.

Other recipes include Self-esteem Salad, Be Your Own Best Friend Fries, Dump Cake, and Healthy Boundary Burritos, as well as fun sidebars like Food Facials, Cinematherapy movie-viewing suggestions for every chapter, Beige Food for When You're Feeling Khaki,
and more!

Editorial Reviews

From Publishers Weekly

From the co-author of Cinematherapy, Advanced Cinematherapy and Bibliotherapy comes a fluffy and spirited guide to complimenting moods with foods. A damsel down on her luck needs a good old-fashioned comfort food, West reasons, while a happy heroine ought to celebrate with something divine. In her chapter on "Diva Dishes," West provides detailed instructions for "Glamour with a Can Opener Picnic": ingredients for dining al fresco include caviar, champagne and cans of "really expensive and preferably imported delicacies." From the "Recipes for Revenge" chapter comes "Nursing a Grudge Green Chili" and a deliciously doughy recipe for "Fried Men" that functions "like an edible voodoo doll." Though gimmicky in an amusing way, at times the book feels a bit haphazard, combining, as it does, dumb blonde jokes, a brief history of Jell-O, quotes from Aristotle and Abraham Lincoln on friendship, movie recommendations and assorted other tidbits. The recipes included rarely cover new terrain (Becky's Best Mac and Cheese and Teacher's Pet Apple Tart, for example, are good but standard fare). But West shines in other moments, such in her budget "Day Late and a Dollar Short" meals; her section on "Things You Really Need in Your Pantry When Things Get Scary" is a helpful and humorous shopping list for the desperate, and includes Crisco "so you can still lubricate things even when you're out of butter" and tomato puree, "because tomato sauce is a very forgiving medium." With its pink typeface and blithe essentialism (for women, "food is a launching pad into a wilderness of physical, psychological, and emotional complexity," while for men, West a cheeseburger is just a cheeseburger) this is better gag gift than true guide, of course, and it offers plenty of frothy fun.
Copyright 2003 Reed Business Information, Inc.

About the Author

Beverly West is an author, urban agrarian, and the chief cook and bottle washer in her household. She has co-written four books in the Cinematherapy series with her cousin Nancy Peske, as well as Bibliotherapy. She lives in New York.

Product Details

• Paperback: 256 pages
• Publisher: Universe (October 17, 2003)
• Language: English
• ISBN-10: 0789309815
• ISBN-13: 978-0789309815
• Product Dimensions: 9 x 7.3 x 0.6 inches
• Shipping Weight: 1.1 pounds
• Average Customer Review: 5.0 out of 5 stars  See all reviews (3 customer reviews)
• Amazon Best Sellers Rank: #1,552,849 in Books (See Top 100 in Books)

Customer Reviews

Most Helpful Customer Reviews

6 of 6 people found the following review helpful:

5.0 out of 5 stars Honor your inner gourmet chick, December 1, 2004

By 

Kristin J. Johnson "Three-time published author" (Hilo, Hawaii) - See all my reviews
(VINE VOICE)    (REAL NAME)   

This review is from: Culinarytherapy: The Girl's Guide to Food for Every Mood (Paperback)

Or your Inner Guy or vengeful vamp or penny-saving patisserie-dreaming Pollyanna. Beverly West has conjured up culinary, movie, quote and libation magic yet again. The recipes are wonderful too.

2 of 2 people found the following review helpful:

5.0 out of 5 stars Cooking as Therapy, November 29, 2007

By 

Rebecca Johnson "The Rebecca Review" (Washington State) - See all my reviews
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Amazon Verified Purchase

This review is from: Culinarytherapy: The Girl's Guide to Food for Every Mood (Paperback)

Culinarytherapy promises to solve emotional and psychological issues with just the right recipes. The headnotes are fun to read and the instructions have a conversational style. The first chapter is filled with decadent foods to seduce your inner goddess. Lobster, expensive cheese, truffle mousse and caviar all make their appearance. There are a few surprises like soup you can make in a cocktail shaker.

The comfort food section has instructions to make everything from your own tortillas to burritos and guacamole. French fries, chocolate chip cookies and Rice Krispie treats are also included. This chapter is definitely not for anyone on a diet.

The "Recipes for Revenge" section is meant to be humorous but also has a serious side because of the notes on food history. This chapter has personality but tends to be a little on the wild side. On the flip side, there is a chapter for cooking for the one you love. Oatmeal cookies, pork chops and a chocolate soufflé make their appearance.

In the "Culinary Vacations" chapter travel is optional. Why not stay home and cook up recipes to satisfy your wanderlust. While they are not as exotic as you may expect there is a surprising recipe for making your own Kentucky Fried Chicken.

If you are looking to embrace your inner guy then you may enjoy making your own beef jerky and chili. The dessert section has recipes for Chocolate Pizza and French-Fried Ice Cream. More comfort foods include Boston Cream Pie, Mac and Cheese and Chicken Noodle Soup. There are lists for stocking your pantry that are as humorous as they are helpful. The book ends with "Food for the Soul."

Throughout this book there are sections on "audiotherapy" and "cinematherapy." Unique and sometimes bizarre quotes are also a feature. In almost every section there is also a recipe for a food facials so you look beautiful while cooking your way to a better you. I read the "church bulletin bloopers" to my husband and he also thought they were pretty funny.

~The Rebecca Review

5.0 out of 5 stars Food = Happiness, June 10, 2010

By 

Captain Katie (Long Beach, CA and the Sunny Caribbean) - See all my reviews
(VINE VOICE)   

This review is from: Culinarytherapy: The Girl's Guide to Food for Every Mood (Paperback)

It says in big print on the back cover "Food = Happiness" and it sure does, if it's tasty, that is, and if you don't overdo it. I was a big girl in school, not big boned, fat, because I over did it. Now I'm thin, because I watch my weight, but I still love to eat, so instead of stuffing myself, I eat in moderation, but I don't moderate the taste. For me, food does equal happiness. It is possible to eat, love it, be happy about it and be thin.

Okay, that said, this isn't a diet cookbook. I don't really like diet cookbooks. I like good food, but as I said above, you don't have to overdo it. Though there are some recipes here that will challenge any girl's will power, like "The Simultaneous Orgasm" on page 82. This is a chocolate souffle recipe that will melt your lips to your lover's (the author recommends you and he simultaneously eat it, thus the title of the recipe) plus knock your socks off.

There is food for every mood, for every occasion, for dinner and dessert, in this sorta, kinda chick lit cookbook and strangely enough, I use it a lot. Of the zillion and one cookbooks I own, this is absolutely one of my favorites. Oh, yes, my favorite recipe in the book is "Smart Blonde Profiterole." Emmm, Good.