Fix It with Food: More Than 125 Recipes to Address Autoimmune Issues and Inflammation: A Cookbook by Michael Symon

Fix It with Food: More Than 125 Recipes to Address Autoimmune Issues and Inflammation: A Cookbook Reviews

• 
  Kathleen

  This is a great little book. There isn't any science or explanations. It's just very simply what is wrong with him, what he did and the result and some really great recipes to go along with it. I was very happily surprised to see that for the 10 day reset I already had every single food item needed.
• 
  Robin

  Fix It with Food, has a lot of good recipes, especially if you are a vegetarian or just like to cook an occasional meal without meat. Unfortunately, the author, puts them all together into a diet, that's next to impossible to follow if you work full time. I'm a good cook and an efficient one. I cook most nights. But cooking this way every day including a complicated breakfast, is just too much.
  
  The philosophy is simple. Drop meat, dairy, sugar and most (not all) animal products from your diet and see what happens. Unsurprisingly, most people feel better. These recipes take away the monotony of a mostly plant based diet. That's nice, but a diet cannot not be a full time job.
  
  The other issue with these menus is the amount of food per day, which is not likely to be enough. Dropping most of the protein from dinner means that you have to serve more, or find a way to replace the animal protein. A dinner based on something like two sweet potato latkas can be delicious, but its going to leave most people hungry after an hour of so. Similarly, a salad at lunch is a great idea, but if it lacks protein, it won't be sustaining.
  
  This is a fine book to add to your library of plant based cookbooks, just don't assume the diet is going to be followable--unless you take a week off!
  
• 
  Linda Kaban

  As per usual, with these "healthy" recipe books, there are too many nuts and coconut for this highly allergic girl. Apart from this, I don't think this kind of eating is sustainable. I know it's supposed to be a reset; but what happens when you've reset everything?
• 
  Ericka

  Decent Explanations
  
  Suffering from Fibromyalgia I often look for recipes like these. Going sugar free makes a huge difference in pain. I'm interested in trying many of these. Who knows Symon might be able to get me to eat squash.
• 
  Dorothy Greco

  I really like Symon and this book does have some great recipes. My gripe is that he promotes it as a cookbook that addresses autoimmune issues and inflammation. Which is kinda does but the recipes are not by any means all auto-immune compliant. There's no mention of nightshades being trouble for folks, which they often are (potatoes, tomatoes, eggplant, and peppers) and many of the recipes in the book include dairy and gluten which are the biggest culprits for inflammation. It would make more sense to me if he had a different title/subtitle.
• 
  Carol Preflatish

  I received this for Christmas and love it. It's a wonderful plan to determine your triggers for inflammation and joint pain and looks easy to follow. I like the recipes because most of them are for one serving, but easily can convert to more. Most ingredients I have already or have access to at my local market. I highly recommend this book.
• 
  Sharon Blair Scott

  This cook book is like no other. Of course, any “diet” that requires you to take out all triggers, and continues for 10 days, will be hard and challenging. But it is worth it, so worth it. Chef symon makes sure you will succeed.
• 
  Amy

  I found a few interesting recipes to assist me with my inflammation (knee) issues.
• 
  Laura

  This is a good book in the sense it includes some great recipes for foods that often irritate people - the book steers clear of dairy, some wheat, some meat and processed sugar. All of which cause health problems for many people, for a variety of reasons. Symon suffers from some health ailments, found that eating this way helped to alleviate many symptoms, so he's sharing the recipes. There isn't a lot of science here, but he's a chef and admits that. Depending upon your health issue, you may be avoiding other foods - but these are common triggers.
  
  The recipes are good, but not as quick as I'd like. I did enjoy the backstory, and wished for full nutrition information on them. The desert chapter was the best for me - there are some really amazing gluten free donuts in here that are great for people watching their wheat.
  
  If you're eating healthier, or on an elimination diet, this is worth checking out. He's a good cook, and if you're moving towards one of these diets, having food this tasty will help.
• 
  Susan Swiderski

  Most people with autoimmune diseases are aware that some foods trigger symptoms more than others. This book offers a way to help readers identify which foods may trigger negative results in their own bodies. By following a ten-day "reset" diet that eliminates the most likely triggers and then reintroducing them, one at a time, it's possible to get a handle on a personal dietary path that can optimize good health.
  
  There are lots of terrific recipes in this book, both for use during the "reset" period, as well as for after the problem target food has been identified.
  
  I dunno if we ARE what we eat, but it's clear that the food we put into our bodies has a profound effect on our health and well-being. Chef Symon's book provides one potential path to lowering inflammation and improving our health.
• 
  Kristina Marie

  I am confused to why some of the recipes on the Reset have more than 1 serving. What are you supposed to do with the leftovers? The meals don't repeat. He could have also done a better job of selecting recipes that pair together ingredient-wise in order to keep waste down and to eliminate the need for ingredients that may be hard to find. I am also confused at why the recipes call for so much oil. For day one 1 person would use 7.5 Tablespoons. He says he has made the Reset preparation "as effortless as possible." As a whole, the program is so for experienced cooks and those who have the time (and money) to cook a different meal for each meal, everyday. For a larger audience, the ingredients could have been simplified and the recipes paired so that that all ingredients are use and that leftovers from dinner become tomorrow's lunch.
• 
  Jessica Hicks

  This book is magical! I didn’t know it was possible for me to be pain-free. I’ve had nearly constant abdominal pain my whole adult life. I followed the diet Symon prescribed (which is a ton of work- you’ll be cooking or doing dishes all the time) and my stomach didn’t hurt anymore! And, just as he promised, taking all that pain away made it extremely clear what was causing my pain once I added it back to my diet. I’ve spent thousands of dollars on tests and procedures and medications and no doctor has been able to figure it out. I’ve been told to keep a food journal but when you’re always in pain, it’s hard to tell which thing is causing it. If you have mystery abdominal pain, buy this book. The diet is worth the effort!
• 
  Vleigh

  I was searching for a healthy cookbook and a library search included this one. I found most of the recipes quite reasonable in both preparation and ingredients. Although I don't think I have any food sensitivity issues, the author presents a process and daily menus for determining if you might. Every photo looked mouthwatering and I found the author's personal stories very interesting. There are also separate chapters with Dairy-Free, Flour-Free, Meat-Free and Sugar-Free receipes.
  
  I am not a vegetarian, but over time I have reduced the amount of dairy, flour and processed sugar in my diet. This cookbook gave me some usable ideas for improving what I eat. I will purchase this one and check out his other cookbooks.
• 
  Christie

  Great recipes here! As someone who struggles with Autoimmune disease and inflammation myself, I really appreciated Chef Symon's personal perspective and knowledge on the topic. I also really liked that the recipes were easy/fairly easy, as many autoimmune/anti-inflammatory diet cookbooks are so complicated and ultra restrictive. Even the substitutions he suggests are doable. A very practical cookbook all around. As with most cookbooks, not all of the recipes were for me, but I added many of them to my own recipe binder at home. I can't wait to try the sweet potato pancakes especially! Highly recommend.
• 
  Kelley Blair

  If you have health issues and certain foods trigger reactions in your body Michael Symon’s Fix It With Food can aide you in your quest to combat these issues. Healthy recipes with easy ingredients. He breaks the recipes down into categories specifically geared toward targeting dairy free, meat free, sugar free etc. I walked away with a few more recipes in my arsenal. My own personal journey is one geared toward eating foods that aide in helping my body be the best it can be. Eating nutritionally has become a lifestyle for ma as I age and can no longer tolerate certain foods without feeling the repercussions.
• 
  Susan

  I've read a loooooooot of cookbooks to try to find more variety of foods and flavors that will still be nice to my body. This is a pretty solid one, especially the "10 Day Reset" because all those recipes are, I believe, free from gluten, dairy, sugar, and meat. Then there are sections addressing each avoidance separately (a chapter on dairy-free recipes, a chapter on sugar-free recipes, etc).
  
  As always, you'll have to adjust cooking times and spice amounts and all that, but generally, this was a good one and there are lots more recipes from it that I'll try in the future as well.
• 
  Sarah

  The medical information in the front of the book is too short and simplified to be useful to people searching for answers-- this is more for people who already know they have specific types of inflammation, or people who are healthy enough that trialing a diet won't negatively affect their health.
  
  The recipes were not memorable. I didn't write any down.
  
  Strictly an optional purchase for public libraries; probably only recommended to readers who are fans of the author's show.
• 
  Morgan

  Some pretty good recipes! This is a great introduction for anyone that has not tried or explored clean-eating before. However, if someone is a veteran clean-eater and looking to explore a strict anti-inflammatory diet, this might not be the book for you. Garlic and onions are commonly avoided in anti-inflammatory diets but this recipe recommends them with most recipes. It is possible to adapt recipes though! Still on the lookout for my vegan anti-inflammatory/low FODMAP cookbook!
• 
  Stephanie

  It’s worth a try if you have autoimmune or inflammation issues. I’m pretty sure I’d be starving and cheating during the 10 day fix. Many recipes are for one or four. A lot of the recipes didn’t appeal to me but I’d like to try the skillet kale gratin and the sheet pan chicken thighs and butternut squash. And I’ll be sure to remember the trick of replacing noodles with thinly sliced potatoes in lasagne.
• 
  Adrienne

  I did not get this book for the "Fix" for health issues. I got for healthy meatless recipe ideas from a chef I admire. I got what I came for! Wonderful, new, recipes that I can't will definitely make, each accompanied by a beautiful photograph. There were also many lovely recipes that included meat, which I just skimmed through.
• 
  Julie

  I’m excited to try some of these recipes! Lots of tips and tricks and everything looks delicious! My only con is that foods in the nightshade family can be a huge trigger for inflammation. No mention was made of that and many recipes include nightshade ingredients. Do your homework, know your body. If that’s a trigger for you, make sure you know which ingredients to avoid.
• 
  Barb

  I really liked this cookbook! The recipes are amazing, I am planning to start the 10 day reset and see what happens!
  I watched him cooking live every other day durning this quarantine, his recipes are very easy and taste amazing and you can substitute what you have in the house!!
• 
  Brindi Michele

  I really liked the layout of this cookbook. It provided a quick reason to why he changed his diet, a simple 7 week starter plan, and bonus recipes. And it's always nice to see a healthy cookbook from a great chef where you know for sure flavor and yumminess won't be lacking!
• 
  Marie

  It was encouraging to see colorful recipes using my limited range of available foods. We have enjoyed a couple of meals that were simple yet flavorful. I am grateful that a talent of Symon's caliber has tackled inflammatory diet. I learned a few new tips that I have yet to try, too.
• 
  Mommooshka

  Michael Simon writes on a very friendly, down to earth tone that does not intimidate those who aren't great cooks. And I was surprised to find so many recipes I wanted to try in a cook book about eating healthy!