A few weeks back, I was contacted by a member of Joy Bauer’s team (and yes, that’s *the* Joy Bauer as seen on the Today Show AND the nutritional consultant for Jessica Seinfeld’s book Deceptively Delicious). They wanted me to write a review for the updated edition of her book, Food Cures. At first, I was completely shocked that anyone (other than my family and close friends) was even aware that this blog existed. Of course, once the shock wore off, I excitedly agreed to jump on the Food Cures bandwagon. I cannot tell you how many times, during the course of reading this book, I thought to myself “Oh My Gosh! I love this woman!” Seriously, Love. Her. Everything she talks about makes sense.
Since Joy Bauer is a nutritionist, her advice is based on sound scientific research and studies; not just the “I’m skinny because I do *this*….so you should do it too. The end” trend that you tend to see from celebrities who don’t have the nutriton “street cred” to back up anything they say. Joy Bauer does not use jargon. Everything is simple and to the point. Basically, “watch what you eat, eat good wholesome food, see results.” Boom.
Want beautiful skin? There’s a chapter on that. Want to help control your migraines? There’s a chapter on that too! In fact, She talks about everything from arthritis to cancer prevention! Food Cures is an extremely useful resource that, in my opinion, would fit perfectly on anyone’s health and wellness bookshelf.
The chapter that really grabbed my attention was on weight loss. Mr. FeelGoodFoodie and I both have some baby weight to lose still and I’ve been looking for a *push* to reign in my eating again. Using Food Cures, we first re-assessed our weight and BMI’s and each set a goal for ourselves (To weigh “X” amount by a certain date). Next, we caluclated how many calories we needed to consume in order to lose X amount of weight (Yes! You need to eat in order to lose weight!! Bauer empahsizes this point as well). Finally, we mapped out meals (breakfast, lunch, dinner and snacks) so we’d know exactly how many calories we’d be eating during the day.
**we’ll also be recording what we eat every day in order to stay on track…which , in my opinion, is the absolute key to successful weight loss**
For the frist week, Bauer recommends cutting all starches out of dinners (including starchy vegetables like potatoes, squash and corn). This proved to be the most challenging for me; mainly because we’re getting into squash season and I really want to eat my weight in butternut squash. However, it’s just one week. No biggie. By cutting out starches at dinner time, you’re giving your body an extra weight loss boost (plus, we all tend to eat too many starchy carbs at dinner and not enough veggies).
Aside from BMI 101 and great meal planning ideas, the weight loss chapter is also filled with lots of great tips to help you be successful on your weight loss journey. One of my favorite tips (that I think we all tend to forget about) is: only eat one serving of fat per meal. Whether it’s in the form of oil, butter, salad dressing, cheese, etc. She also points out that many “zero calorie” sprays (you know the ones) aren’t actually 0 calories! A bottle of “butter substitute” spray could have as much as 900 calories per bottle! Besides, it’s best for your body to NOT eat artificial anything. You’re better off just portioning out some real butter or olive oil. Moderation is key!
Speaking of moderation, she also encourages you to save room (calorie wise) for various low-calorie fun foods! This includes 150 calories worth of dark chocolate..a day! What?! You had me at chocolate, Ms. Bauer. Now, if only I could find a way to perfect a (delicious) 150 calorie Nutella cheesecake. I think I’d be up for a Nobel Peace Prize for that feat!
The really great thing about Food Cures is that every chapter is connected with one main theme: eat honest to goodness good food and it WILL make you feel better. That’s what food is supposed to do! If the food you eat makes you feel sick, slow, fatigued, and overall icky…then you shouldn’t be eating *that* food. It’s amazing how healing food is, by nature.
Aside from being chock full of great information and advice, Food Cures also has a bunch of really great recipes. Each recipe is specially designed for the specific chapter it corresponds with (ie: IBS, Memory, Diabetes, etc); which means you don’t have to go searching for recipes to fit your (new) dietary needs! She does all the work for you (including a specially tailored grocery list)! Love it!
If your body is weighed down by “junk”, whether it be chemicals, sugar, environmental toxins or what have you, then it will not perform to it’s full potential….you will inevitably get sick (either from respiratory illnesses, obesity, high cholesterol or even the big C; cancer). You deserve to feel great, and look great, from the inside out. If you’re looking to change how you feel, by changing what you eat, then I highly recommend checking out Food Cures; chances are you won’t regret it.
**This is not a paid endorsement for Joy Bauer’s Food Cures. Aside from receiving this book in the mail, I was not paid to review it. That being said, It really is a great book and valuable resource…I feel like I’m starting to sound like a Reading Rainbow Kid…but don’t take my word for it**
Thanks for the review…the book sounds amazing…a definitely must read. However, instead of keeping this one on the shelf, it sounds like it would be best if I kept it on the kitchen table…at the ready.
This will definitely be my next book purchase.
What a well written review. I also have been changing my eating habits. I have many books about foods that heal, but none with recipies. Think I will have to get this one. Love a good recipie book, especially one that helps you stay healthy.
Hi Abbie,
Your blog is fantastic and a testament to the healing power of real, healthy food! Thanks so much for taking the time to read and review Food Cures. I appreciate your kind words and am THRILLED to hear you enjoyed the book and recipes.
All the best,
Joy Bauer
Thank you so much! It was such a pleasure to work with you and your team! I hope to review more of your books in the future! I’ve recommended Food Cures to everyone! Great Stuff.
Sounds like they picked the right girl to review the book! It sounds very interesting, I’m going to look into it:)