This creation of Jonny Bowden is part cookbook and part educational journey into food. It is to say the least a very attractive-looking book. Flip through the pages and you’ll be instantly inspired to sample some of the delicacies within. That said, splendid photography does not a good cookbook make, so let’s delve into the Healthiest Meals on Earth and see if the contents rival its appearance.
The recipes within the book are broken down into what Bowden calls “polymeals” – components of a meal divided according to 3 criteria;
Maximizing nutritional impact
Taste
Relative ease of preparation
A couple of examples of polymeals are as follows;
Fabulous fiber – featuring black bean cakes, basmati rice and citrus avocado salad with nut oil
Healthy fats and protein-packed – featuring Thai-spiced mango and prawns with a coconut fruit salad.
Here are some of the book’s highlights
Excellent accompanying information and education about the core ingredients of the recipes. Bowden is very clear that fats are not to be skimped on and sugar is.
Very unique dishes featuring foods that are perhaps not used often by many
A good mixture of beef, chicken, seafood and vegetarian dishes
An excellent compilation of low sugar desserts (the spiced pear sorbet is absolutely amazing – and healthy to boot!)
Some helpful “notes from the kitchen” – sidebars that give further explanations, possible substitutions and other tips to help you make the best dish possible.
Very delectable-looking single-pot meals, which offers up a good option for those a little more pressed for time.
Some aspects of the book that could be better
No nutritional breakdown! This may not bother most people but I like to know the caloric breakdown of a meal in terms of macronutrients as well as fiber, sugar, etc.While the meals are certainly unique, many of the ingredients are more obscure and hence more difficult to come by – you may run yourself ragged trying to track down many of the ingredients. Not only are some ingredients hard to come by, but some of the cooking can get very expensive, very fast. Bowden recommends grass fed beef, wild salmon, organics and many recipes call for expensive nut oils and sugar alternatives such as agave nectar, xylitol and the like.While Bowden gives some great alternatives to sugar, he mistakenly labels splenda as “toxic to the body” without qualification and yet includes stevia as “safe” (a “natural = safe and unnatural = toxic fallacy).Overall Impression
I have to say I have really enjoyed trying out some of these recipes and look forward to continuing to try more of them. The book is just as much an educational resource as it is a cookbook and will likely appeal to a broad spectrum of health-conscious individuals. Those who are short on cash and shorter on patience may want to pass on this one. Overall, however, the many upsides to The Healthiest Meals on Earth definitely outweigh the negatives.
More like this in Books Dec 9, 2008
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