Customer Reviews

The Self Healing Cookbook : A Macrobiotic Primer for Healing Body, Mind and Moods With Whole, Natural Foods

5 star:		(28)
4 star:		(7)
3 star:		(1)
2 star:		(0)
1 star:		(0)

 

 

I have owned this book for more than 15 years and refer back to it often. Like the other reviewers, I can't say enough good things about this book. I especially like the way the information is organized.

The author does a superb job of explaining, in several different ways throughout the book, how different foods can affect your mood and overall well-being. Simple and effective charts really get the author's points across. Recipes, for the most part, are pretty tasty and, just as important, easy to digest and satisfying.

If you want to get well and stay well, the best place to start is with your diet. This is the perfect book because it cuts through the clutter and shows how to do it for real and lasting results.

When I saw the book listed here as the current "9th edition, revised," I bought one hoping there would be some new recipes.

What I found is the book is exactly the same as the original edition except for an updated two-page resource section and author bio in the very back of the book. Not my idea of a revised edition.

My advice: Buy a used copy in good condition. You'll not only be healthier but wealthier for it.

The first macrobiotic cook book I read was by Kushi, and I find Kristina Turner's book far more approachable and accessible, than any thing by Kushi. She uses many recipes whose ingredients can be found any where, even out in the country far from thriving organic communites. I heard of her from Jessica Porter's "Hip Chick's Guide to Macrobiotics."

She organizes information about food and its relationship to moods and physical ailments in neat, easy to remember and easy to read tables. Her introduction to sea weed, is very helpful, as some cook books assume every person understands the difference between wakame, nori, and kombu, among others - so many macro-ccokbooks start throwing ingredients at you that are unfamiliar and you have no idea how to identify them or even why to try them. I liek the fact too that she gives many varieties for miso soup. She also includes a chapter on deserts, so people don't feel deprived, and that there are goodies for the kids.

There are many exercises introduced in the cook book (in fact this is more of a work book than a typical cook book) that are deisigned to help you realize the connection between food and your body, and to help you learn how to choose what is best for you, based on learning how what feels right and why. These exercises can be done with children, if you are switching a family's diet or, as Turner recommends, the book can be done with a friend to make it more fun. Not partner is require though.

Learning macrobiotics should be as much as learning about you as learning about food. Macrobiotics is the art of balancing, and to a degree every one is an individual, and diets should not be a carbon copy of each other because individuals differ too. Turner recognizes this.

Drawbacks for the books were its unprofessional style. It looks like it was done on a typewriter. I also thought that the recipes introduced by Christina Pirello were more family-friendly (meaning easier to cook and less foreign looking) and offered a greater variety than Turner's selections.

I turned to macrobiotics after learning of wheat and sugar sensitivities. My list of foods was so restrictive that I wasn't sure what I would be able to eat -- or if anything would even taste good!

This book makes the challenging topic of macrobiotics seem easy (yin, yang, expansive, contractive, etc.). Kristina Turner knows that all we want to do is feel good -- and enjoy our food!

She offers tips on how to:
-Tell if our bodies need healing
-Stay in slim mode
-Shift our moods
-Create an easy shopping list
-Work with leftovers
-Prevent imbalance
-Understand all of the confusion around food & nutrition

One thing to keep in mind: Macrobiotics does not emphasize the use of spices. This can mean that foods could taste a little bland. Turner's recipes are for the most part, tasty. However, you may want to be creative with spices (if your diet allows you to do this) in order to get the flavor that you want.

After studying many healthy forms of eating (Ayurvedics, whole food, macrobiotics, conscious eating, ph diet, raw foods, etc.), I found Turner's book one of the best and easiest beginner books on good, sound nutrition. I recommend it to anyone interested in learning about the food-mood-health connection.

If you are wanting to explore macrobiotics without giving your life over to cooking, this is the BEST book for you! I fell upon this book about six or seven years ago in our local health food store, and it started me on a beautiful journey of exploring macrobiotics.
This cookbook GENTLY explains the use and function of ingredients which might at first seem "strange", but which grow to be comforting "cookfellows" after the author introduces you to their healing powers and how to tastefully unlock them.
The recipes are simple and GOOD. For those with a sweet tooth who are looking to "tame" it, the dessert recipes offer a gentle transition to healthier sweetness. And always, throughout, the emphasis on BALANCE and on WHOLE FOODS easily couples with the wonderful explanations of macrobiotic thought and philosophy.

The other book which I would highly recommend (for a bit more advanced study) is AVELINE KUSHI'S COMPLETE GUIDE TO MACROBIOTIC COOKING. There is no better or more complete explanation of macrobiotic philosophy and of macrobiotic cooking methods (traditional ones) than those in this book. If I could have only two cookbooks, THE SELF-HEALING COOKBOOK and AVELINE KUSHI'S COMPLETE GUIDE TO MACROBIOTIC COOKING would be the two books which I would cling to for dear life.

I was introduced to this book approximately 3 years ago and I believe it has since changed my life, along with affecting the lives of some friends and family members. I read The Self-Healing Cookbook cover to cover but it contains so much useful information that I am constantly referring back to it. I have used many of the recipes and have shared the creations with others. We've all really enjoyed the flavors and more importantly, loved the way we felt after consumption. The Self-Healing Cookbook thoroughly covers the essential foundation of a healthy & balanced diet, based on Macrobiotic principles. Furthermore, it details the beneficial properties of many different foods, contains suggestions on how to prepare them, and even explores the seasons in which we should focus on different foods for specific reasons. And then there is the personal touch to it which of course makes this book all the more appealing. It is for that reason that I've felt compelled to gift it with so many friends (including my mother) for whom I felt would share my enthusiasm on this wonderfully fulfilling topic, SELF HEALING WITH FOOD.

I'm a novice in the world of macrobiotic cooking and purchased this book in order to educate myself. It supplies just the information I need. The edition I purchased is the 2002, Ninth Revised Edition and, whether it's a one time aberration affecting just the book I received or a larger problem caused when the printer was binding the books, Chapter 6 (pages 115 -130) was missing altogether. I would recommend this book highly, but you might want to physically examine one before buying it.

I found this book by accident several years ago, when I was looking to find ways to eat more healthily. It really did the trick. The recipes here for beans and vegetables are absolutely marvelous! Tasty, simple, hearty ... I never get tired of them. I especially liked all the tips and info about cooking with seaweed ... yes, cooking chick peas with kombu really DOES make them gasless! I also really appreciate Kristina Turner's wonderful way with words - I know it sounds hackneyed, but I really did feel as if a good, loving friend had taken me under her wing. I HIGHLY recommend this book!

I went to an accupuncturist who diagnosed me as having an imbalance in my yin/yang. It was a whole new way of thinking for me. I thought I had a pretty wholesome diet until I learned about extreme foods. From page one, I loved this book. It helped me understand macrobiotics and the whole yin/yang foods thing. This book explains in a simple and warm tone about expansive and contractive foods, cravings, and the accumulation of toxins from extreme, or high stress foods. The author lays out useful charts that you refer to again and again in makeing food choices that are more natural and balanced,which brings you more into balance. I have been feeling really good since I've made the shift to eating more neutral foods.

For those interested in macrobiotics, I recommend this book. In addition to recipies, the book is packed with easy to understand information on macrobiotics and offers helpful suggestions and easy "experiments" with food. The authour is encouraging, and suggests keeping a journal. The information she presents will answer a lot of "why" questions and she offers a comphrensive explaination of the nutritional value of foods in the macrobiotic diet. I discovered macrobiotics when my own daughter was ill with kidney ailments. This was one of the first books I was intorduced to and 4 years later still refer back to it. It is light and enjoyable reading and a great starting point.

I read this book several years ago--a copy I obtained from an inter-library book service at my local public library. I couldn't find the book for sale anywhere at the time. Now I find it available at amazon.com and I am thrilled. This book is a must have for anyone wanting to make the transition to a macrobiotic diet. The author explains the theory of macrobiotics in a very understandable fashion and offers numerous delicious recipes which should appeal to many--perhaps even picky children and husbands! She includes hints for cooking macrobiotically for children and I believe there is even a section about eating a macrobiotic diet while pregnant! This book seems to me to be indispensable for anyone who seriously wants to try macrobiotics.