Recipe for Life: How to Change Habits That Harm into Resources that Heal [Hardcover]

Treena Kerr (Author), Graham Kerr (Author)

Book Description

Publication Date: September 1, 2006

“Galloping Gourmet” Graham Kerr and his wife Treena have spent the past twenty years embracing a Christ-like lifestyle they call outdulgence. Here, the Kerrs share the transforming details of such a truly good life that trades constant consumption and self-serving for creative simplicity and healthy self-denial to benefit others. A deep and delightful approach to what Jesus described when He said, “I have come that they may have life and have it in abundance.”

Product Details

• Hardcover: 256 pages
• Publisher: B&H Books (September 1, 2006)
• Language: English
• ISBN-10: 0805440682
• ISBN-13: 978-0805440683
• Product Dimensions: 9.2 x 6.3 x 0.9 inches
• Shipping Weight: 15.2 ounces (View shipping rates and policies)
• Average Customer Review: 5.0 out of 5 stars  See all reviews (3 customer reviews)
• Amazon Best Sellers Rank: #1,235,221 in Books (See Top 100 in Books)

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Customer Reviews

Most Helpful Customer Reviews

19 of 19 people found the following review helpful:

5.0 out of 5 stars Sponsoring children through Compassion International., June 5, 2007

By 

FaithfulReader.com (New York, New York) - See all my reviews

This review is from: Recipe for Life: How to Change Habits That Harm into Resources that Heal (Hardcover)

For years --- way back in the 1970s --- Graham Kerr delighted and entertained audiences around the world with his witty, groundbreaking cooking show, "The Galloping Gourmet." But all that gourmet cooking, and eating, took a toll on his wife's health, so he and Treena did a turnaround with regard to their high-fat, high-calorie, high-expense indulgence in haute cuisine. Their next show, "Take Kerr" (their last name is pronounced "care"), reflected their culinary transformation. But as radical as that change was, nothing could compare to the transformation to come: they became followers of Jesus, sold nearly everything they had, started a retreat center that failed, became missionaries with YWAM (Youth With a Mission) and said "no" to a host of lucrative opportunities that resulted from their continued stature as celebrities.

Over the years, Graham, often with Treena as collaborator, has written a number of books mingling his changing philosophy on food with the couple's lifestyle of faith in Christ and fellowship with other believers. But in this book, food takes a backseat to lifestyle. Their RECIPE FOR LIFE transcends the principles of healthy eating and focuses on a principle they call "outdulgence." The idea behind outdulgence is to identify a harmful habit, give it up, determine how much the habit cost you (say, the per diem cost of a cigarette or latte or cable TV habit) and transfer that amount of money into a bank account to be used exclusively for sending donations to a charity of your choice --- or, put more succinctly, "converting habits that harm into resources that heal," the program's slogan.

In the Kerrs' case, that meant sponsoring children through Compassion International. Throughout the book, the Kerrs emphasize the highly personal nature of the outdulgence lifestyle; one person's harmful habit may not be the same as another person's, just as the chosen charity will vary from one person to another. Neither judgmentalism nor legalism has a place in an outdulgent lifestyle, they write.

The book itself is divided into two parts: the first a description of outdulgence and the second an autobiographical glimpse into the Kerrs' spiritual and lifestyle journey. Though at times the text is confusing and uneven, it is more often funny, revealing and touching. Most of all, it shows the couple's willingness to be vulnerable by exposing their --- actually, Graham's --- many relapses into a life dependent on their celebrity and the outward appearances that underscored their success. The book provides not only a testimonial to the power of God to radically change a life but also the resources that will help you enhance your changed life by becoming an "outdulgent" person.

An appendix lists non-governmental organizations (charities and non-profits) that provide assistance to eight specific categories of people in need: those who are hungry, thirsty, homeless (exposed to the elements), widowed, orphaned, sick, imprisoned and naked (in need of clothing).

The couple's many fans will almost certainly enjoy the book, while it also will appeal to those who have grown uneasy over the habits they know they need to change. For those of you in the latter category, the Kerrs offer a practical and proven way to shift your focus as you change your lifestyle.

--- Reviewed by Marcia Ford

19 of 19 people found the following review helpful:

5.0 out of 5 stars Cooking up a great life, December 23, 2006

By 

Brad Vorhees "Bradford Morgan" (Seattle, WA) - See all my reviews
(REAL NAME)   

This review is from: Recipe for Life: How to Change Habits That Harm into Resources that Heal (Hardcover)

What Graham and Treena have cooked up in their new book is not new ideas for the table, but for living a life of meaning and purpose. I found their recipe for life to be thought-provoking and instructive, with enough transparency to give me hope that even one as incapable as I can shift the direction of my life into one of more purpose and eternal significance. Tender and poignant, there is much to be learned here of love and commitment, integrity and sacrifice, maturation and growth. Don't miss this gem.

5.0 out of 5 stars A journal of Graham Kerr's maturing step beyond the TV Chef, October 6, 2011

By 

R. Brooks "Toyota Olympia" (Olympia, WA) - See all my reviews
(REAL NAME)   

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This review is from: Recipe for Life: How to Change Habits That Harm into Resources that Heal (Hardcover)

Graham and Treena Kerr. They really do care. They cared enough to stand on personal beliefs about how they should do things to surrender wealth in following God. They stepped outside enough to give up his rights to the original Galloping Gourmet show to others impacted by this decision rather than caving in to the demands of the world. The book also documents their over sixty year love affair and interesting progress through it from living on a boat to surrendering a mansions life for near poverty and now their Northwest life, comfortable yet not extravagant. They give more than they get as a philosophy of sharing and lay a blueprint for your own growth following the same path. Its the kind of book that you will find yourself nodding to and saying, he's saying and doing what I've been trying to think. Graham cares more about what happens after this life but he's showing that through these pages to us.