The Recipe for Life: Healthy Eating for Real People by Sally Bee

The Recipe for Life: Healthy Eating for Real People Reviews

• 
  Hilary

  Marketed as a book about healthy meals, written by someone who has had several heart attacks, I thought this might include some interesting recipes that were health conscious and used healthy ingredients. I was very surprised virtually all the main meals are meat, pork, beef and lamb. This recipe book has an extremely low amount of vegetable ingredients. A couple of vegetarian dishes were included. Squash risotto was one, another was chilli beans on toast, this consisted of beans, tomatoes, chilli, sugar and toast! Why toast? What about some brown rice or wild rice? The recipes were boring and very basic.
  
  As a book to give a teenager who had never cooked before, that loved meat and didn't like vegetables this would be useful. I can't imagine who else would use this.
• 
  Sarah Hopkins

  The Tuscan Grape Cake in this book went down a treat with people I shared it with and I was able to do so in the knowledge that it might be less detrimental to them than other cakes with typical butter and caster sugar beginnings as opposed to this Mediterranean feel olive oil and muscovado sugar taste dimension. It is a lovely cake with a decorative finish that is somewhat like the top of a Dundee cake except that it is halved fresh grapes and not almonds that adorn the top of it like jewels and make it seem healthier still.
  Sally's startling account of her heart attack aged just 36 years, occurring to her when a mum to three young children and due to an apparent rare congenital defect "spontaneous coronary artery dissection". Usually diagnosed post-mortem she reveals. She has not only survived this catastrophic event but been determined to accentuate her healthy intake (she was quite healthy living before hand as her looks are no doubt a testament in part to.)
  She categorises fruit and vegetables for the healthy "get your five a day" message into the rainbow of colours, explaining the varied vitamin benefits of this. The recipes she gives are labelled as either "everyday" or "treat" with the afore mentioned cake in the treat category of course! Baked sweet potatoes are an interesting take on the traditional jacket potato in the everyday food department.
  Altogether some healthy and interesting ideas sprinkled with bits of sound succinct good health advice.
• 
  Sarah Hopkins

  This title particularly hits home and when you consider her astounding story you see why. There is more explanation of her health journey in the outset of this book than that of the previous "The Secret Ingredient." For such a young woman to come through three heart attacks at just 36 years and continue on fired by her love for her three young children is truly amazing. She gives good advice about choosing life, portion distortion and the benefits of exercise. She extols the benefits of certain superfoods she selects, such as onions, sweet potatoes, tomatoes, fish, green tea, berries, spinach and carrots. She also distils her philosophy into headings of listening to your body, paying attention to how you move your body, committing to healthier living and goal setting. Her suggestion to attain an attitude to making friends of calories is very positive and her practical advice about making substitutions regarding less healthy items is helpful.
  The recipes are accompanied by photographs of well presented meals which look enticing. She has an interesting version of the traditional fish, chips and peas with a healthy take on it and the chips are served in a mini tin bucket with the peas in a shot glass, looking all rather tidy and demonstrating that though this book has healthy aims it relates to real food to enjoy!