Trusting One’s Gut

So I’ve been checking out a lot of cookbooks from the library lately. For inspiration, health, and information. I’ve had low back pain for weeks which has just recently relented. And my gut instinct is telling me that at least part of it is related to diet. 
I liked this one so much that I purchased it:
The Wellness Mama Cookbook by Katie Wells

It’s got a lot of gluten free items as well as kid friendly meals. The coconut flour biscuits are some of the best gluten free biscuits I’ve ever made – and they are quick and easy to make.

Digestive Health With Real Food: A Practical Guide to An Anti-inflammatory, Low-irritant, Nutrient-dense Diet for IBS & Other Digestive Issues by Jacob Agalee

This book has a lot of good information but not as many inspiring recipes. 

The Anti-inflammation Cookbook: The Delicious Way to Reduce Inflammation and Stay Healthy by Amanda Haas

This cookbook has lots of pretty pictures and some recipes I want to try.

The Food Lover’s Cleanse: 140 Delicious, Nourishing Recipes That Will Tempt You Back Into Healthful Eating by Sara Dickerman

And this book has even more recipes I’d like to try. I like how this book is arranged seasonally. It has recipes and menus for a two week cleanse that can be done at any time of the year – just flip to the right season. And the recipes just look like good yummy food, not things one might think of when one thinks of a cleanse (lots of raw vegetables, lemons, juices, algae, etc).

French Women Don’t Get Fat: the Secret of Eating for Pleasure

By Mireille Guiliano

Place: Publisher & Year: New York: Alfred A. Knopf, c2005, 2007

Genres: Non-fiction, health & fitness, healthy living, women’s health, diet, nutrition

ISBN: 9781400042128

Intended audience: “Women throughout the developed world” (p. 7)

Number of pages: 264

Setting: France & USA

Time period: Written for the present, but includes narratives from various points in Guiliano’s life between the 1950’s and 2005.

Description: Written by a French woman who has lived and worked in the US for most of her life, this book examines the differences in culture between the two countries in relation to food, life, and pleasure.  Recipes are interspersed with personal narrative, observations, and much common sense.  This is not a diet book; it is a book about attaining a healthy relationship with food and enjoying oneself while doing it. Continue reading “French Women Don’t Get Fat: the Secret of Eating for Pleasure”

Food Rules: An Eater’s Manual

By Michael Pollan

Place: Publisher & Year: New York: Penguin Books, 2009

Genre: Non-fiction, health & fitness, healthy living, diet, nutrition

ISBN: 9780143116387

Intended audience: American adults

Number of pages: 140

Setting: USA

Time period: The era of obesity and processed “food-like substances”

Description: A practical guide for what and how to eat, written as a follow up to Pollan’s In Defense of Food: An Eater’s Manifesto. Following the Introduction, the book is divided into three sections based upon the key concepts from In Defense of Food – “Eat Food.  Not too much.  Mostly plants.” Continue reading “Food Rules: An Eater’s Manual”