4 out of 5 stars
I am one of those people who has been flagged to have possible thyroid issues… in the future. Though due to recent blood tests my GP thinks I am fine for now. But that doesn’t explain the 30kg weight gain that’s taken place over the last 12 months… And so, yes, I have been looking over ways to improve my already pretty healthy eating regime to see if it can help. Which is why I was interested in ‘The Essential Thyroid Cookbook’.
Open and honest enough for you? 😉
The book technically comes in two parts – one that discusses the importance of good nutrition for you thyroid and all the issues that can be happening if your thyroid is not healthy.
The second section is all the scrummy, easy to do recipes.
But there is also a good introduction to the people who created this fabulous book and their reasons as to why they created it.
And then some very easy to follow and, to me, essential appendixes at the end. They really DO help you understand how ‘essential’ got into the title of this book. 😉
Okay, so that’s the brief run down on the “two” sections. Here is my long winded summary:
I found a lot of Part 1 very interesting, but thanks to my love of scholarly texts, I would have preferred more citations to follow up on some of the statements. I am NOT saying I felt they were wrong… I’m not saying I felt they were right. I just personally like scholarly texts to refer to when we discuss medical or science things. It is just one of my things. All the same, Part 1 held a LOT of good and relevant (to me) information and was a great way to introduce people to issues with the thyroid. And – when it comes to Goitrogens – THANK YOU! I have had this belief from my previous readings for some time and often shudder at people who tell me I shouldn’t eat such and such as it’s going to make me grow a goiter. Gah!
As for Part 2? Well, they had me at ‘Nourishing Drinks’ – I’m looking at you ‘Pumpkin Gingerbread Chia Smoothie’ – and had me shopping online for my cheapest copy of ‘The Essential Thyroid Cookbook’ by the time I finished reading the section on ‘Appetisers and Snacks’. Yes, the recipes are THAT good! I even tried the Blueberry Sunrise Smoothie without the orange (orange and I don’t do well together) – delicious!
Oh my! Did I just say I actually TRIED a recipe in one of the cook books I reviewed! What will my haters think? What will they pick on my reviews for now? 😀
Anyhow, I digress. Let’s get back to the fun stuff and discuss formatting and the layout of ‘The Essential Thyroid Cookbook’.
Okay, I read my free electronic copy of this book on both my tablet and my laptop. I would have to say reading it on my tablet much easier, as you get just the one recipe per page… But then again, I found it easier to navigate through the different sections and recipes on the laptop so go figure.
Either way I found the formatting neat, clean and easy to read. The recipes were also easy to follow and I can see this book doing well being owned as either an eBook or a ‘paper’ book. There are some recipe books that work better on an electronic device and I would actually lean towards that possibly being the case here.
Oh, but I will point out that the book is obviously written for an American audience as all the measurements are in imperial rather than metric. No biggie in this day and age of online conversion charts, but I also like to point out whether a cookbook is going to need a little help when being used on Australian shores. 😉 Heck, I managed!
All in all I found it an interesting and informative read and found it filled with many recipes I want to try. Yes there are my usual food intolerances to have to deal with (allium most of all) but the recipes shared within ‘The Essential Thyroid Cookbook’ are made to be flexible and therefore adaptable to my needs.
Would I recommend this book to others?
Yes I would. I mean, even if you’re not diagnosed with a thyroid issue by your GP, you just never know. And, to be honest, a short term elimination diet followed by loads of whole, fresh food recipes – this is going to make everyone feel better. Find the foods that suit you, rather than follow a diet that is doing you more harm. Simple.
Would I buy this book for myself?
Yes I would… though the paper version is a little out of my budget right now (yes, I have already been pricing it at various online stores) and so I may go the electronic version. What is more, is I only buy cook books that I plan on using! So if I feel it’s good enough to buy, you know I am going to be using it to eat and enjoy some scrummy meals.
In summary: An informative and delicious looking cookbook that has earned its title of ‘essential’.
Until next time,
Janis.
Janis's Journal 