Customer Reviews

The 200 SuperFoods That Will Save Your Life: A Complete Program to Live Younger, Longer

5 star:		(6)
4 star:		(0)
3 star:		(0)
2 star:		(0)
1 star:		(0)

 

 

We all read those print and web articles entitled "The 8 Superfoods You Must Eat Now!" and the list varies--usually it contains broccoli, oranges, blueberries, flaxseed, fish oil, etc etc. How can you absorb all that information floating around unless you have a photographic memory? Well, this book has a list of the 200 "Superfoods" which are foods that have various health properties. It organizes them by type (carbohydrate, starchy carb, fibrous carb, fruit, oils, proteins, grains and herbal "free foods") and then provides "Livit" recipes for you to incorporate them regularly into your diet. Eating superfoods as a matter of course as the main part of your diet is the way to health as opposed to a handful of broccoli now and then on a fast food potato, to be sure.

Each food has a "how to buy" (for example, collards should be deep green with no wilt or yellowing.) Then there are facts and nutritional data. On collards, the interesting fact is that bruising or cutting the leaves and letting them sit is believed to convert inactive compounds to the health-giving isothiocyanates. This is something I did not know. The recipe is not traditional soul food "greens" (those long-cooked and delectable Southern style soupy greens.) Instead it's "Mediterranean-Style"--a chiffonade of the greens to provide tenderness as collards are TOUGH, then steamed, dressed in lemon and olive oil and garlic and served with a sunflower seed topping. I'd ditch the sunflower seed topping and add chopped olives or pine nuts, myself. So the recipe is just ok, but the food facts are fascinating here.

There are all kinds of recipes, though, including a healthy Morning Glory Muffin (I love those) and all recipes have nutritional data and calorie content. There are recipes that families will like, such as smoothies (with white tea and strawberries), Eggamuffin breakfasts with sprouted grain muffins and eggwhite or egg, burritos and things kids like.

The sample "Livit" menus are organized by daily calorie limit and there is a 1200 calorie menu and an 1800 calorie menu, so these could be used by women and men who are dieting or wish to limit their food intake.

The recipes are NOT vegan, or even vegetarian. Meats and fish are included as well as dairy products. So vegetarians won't be completely thrilled with this book, though I think it has sufficient information on superfoods to allow even a vegan to adapt most of the content of the book. The real value, in my opinion, is to let you create a way of life diet for the whole family, and even lose weight if you want, while at the same time incorporating the most nutritionally valuable foods every day. For this reason, as well as for the in-depth facts and information, I'm giving this book five stars and I really recommend it highly for just about anybody.

If you find one good recipe in a cookbook then I think it is worth the price. Deborah A. Klein has a great recipe for granola using agave nectar. I turned the recipe into a tropical granola by using Mariani Tropical Medley dried fruits. I also substituted wheat bran for the oat bran and flaxseed meal for the wheat germ. I omitted the soy nuts. It turned out perfect.

The book is divided up into logical sections:

Carbohydrates: Fruits
Carbohydrates: Starchy Vegetables
Carbohydrates: True Vegetables
Carbohydrates: Grains
Carbohydrates: Dairy and Dairy Substitutes
Proteins
Fats
Sweeteners and Desserts
Dietary "Free" Foods: Herbs and Medicinals
Beverages - this section has no drinks it just talks
about the benefit of drinking lots of water - there
are drinks in the book like Low-Fat Eggnog but
it is included under the topic of milk.
Snacks

Some of the recipes include:

Fudge Brownies made with applesauce
Blueberry muffins with oatmeal
Peachy Papaya Smoothie
Quick Black Bean Soup
Vegetarian Chili
Baba Ghanoush (made with eggplant)
Mediterranean Cod
Chicken in Red Wine
Sage Potatoes

The interesting part of this book is the explanation of featured foods. Like when discussing yams the author talks about how some varieties of yams can reduce the levels of cholesterol and triglycerides in the blood. When discussing mushrooms it is noted that brown mushrooms have more antioxidants than white button mushrooms. By reading through all the extra information for various foods you can learn to be wiser when shopping at your local grocery store. There are however some foods you will only find in health food stores although most grocery stores seem to have a natural isle these days.

This book will encourage you to try new foods and it will alert you to the benefits of some of your favorite foods. I can highly recommend the granola recipe as you can make many variations and the recipe is easy to modify to suit your tastes.

~The Rebecca Review

Such an amazing, book! A must have--great receipes. Easy to read, great explanation of each food and how it affects our health
So much valuable information, I take it with me everywhere--I lost 5 pounds in 2 weeks just by changing the way I eat!

This book was so insightful! I quickly learned so much more about foods I had been eating and their benefits plus she went over foods I never knew had so many vital nutrients! I strongly recommend this book to anyone interested in staying healthy and living a long stress free life!

this book is so helpful, this NUtritionist has helped me lose 161 lbs , helped me figure out what was causeing my kidney stones , and increased my energy, i usually push this book on most of my family and friends because of the vital information in this book . so if you love your family and friends like i do buy them this book , and buy your self this book , everything you need to be healthy happy and energetic may be right under your nose.

When I read 200 superfoods I was thrilled to find out that so many of the foods I already love were on the list : kale, sweet potatoes, skinless chicken breasts, beets and chickpeas! Yum! I have been incorporating some of the other foods in this book into my diet and my body feels so clean and healthy. I love reading the different benefits and nutritional information of these different foods. The recipes are also very helpful in giving you ideas of how to incorporate some of the foods you may be unfamiliar with into your diet. Great options for vegetarians and for those who eat meat as well. It is really a book for everyone and I highly recommend it not only as a great read but as a must have cookbook for your kitchen!