This
beautiful hardcover cookbook blends together two distinctly
different ideas: satisfying food cravings and preparing healthy,
plant-based recipes. The author divides the book into chapters
by the type of craving the food will satisfy. So whether you’re
craving something chocolate, comforting, crunchy, salty, sweet,
spicy, etc., this book attempts to satisfy that need. Helpful
information at the back of the book, including Ingredient
and Equipment Resource List, Measuring Equivalents, and an
Index, follow the thirteen chapters with “Craving”
recipes.
The author, who claims she had terrible eating habits as a
child and young adult, was inspired by the movie Super Size
Me and the book Fast Food Nation to give up refined sugars
and fast food. Her brother’s terminal cancer diagnosis
also prompted Oliverio to thoroughly research the link between
animal products and cancer. After reading the book, The China
Study, she also gave up eating fish, seafood, and dairy. So
over the years, she developed a plant-based diet able to satisfy
those cravings of her youth in accordance with her adult mindset
of today.
The front of the book includes a section with an explanation
of the more unusual ingredients, such as agar agar, chia seeds,
goji berries, hemp seeds, kuzu powder, maca, and teff. Although
most of the recipes seem fairly simple and straightforward,
locating some of these ingredients might be a challenge, depending
upon where you live. Health food stores, alternative groceries,
ethnic markets, and online shopping may be necessary for tracking
down some of the items.
Because cravings don’t go by any set schedule, the chapters
describe how to satisfy desires for specific tastes and textures,
rather than grouping recipes into a more traditional way,
such as by type of meal or occasion. Craving carbs? Try Orange
Pecan Mini Banana Breads. Need something cool to refresh you
on a hot afternoon? There’s Hibiscus-Cherry Cooler.
Are you desperate for something creamy? Prepare some Pecan
Pie Pudding. Craving warmth? You might enjoy White Bean Salad
With Creamy Italian Dressing. And for those wanting to go
green, they can make Nectarine of the Gods Overnight Smoothie
Bowl.
Filled with mouth-watering photographs of the prepared dishes,
Crave Eat Heal should satisfy any craving in a more healthful
way – just like the subtitle promises.
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Reviewer
Leslie C. Halpern is the author of Passionate About
Their Work: 151 Celebrities, Artists, and Experts on Creativity,
Rub, Scrub, Clean the Tub: Funny Children's Poems About
Self-Image, and Shakes, Cakes, Frosted Flakes: Funny
Children's Poems About Table Manners. |