HealthyWeight.net sponsors a “Healthy Weight Week” each year, and each day of that week has a different emphasis.  Today is “Rid the World of Fad Diets and Gimmicks Day.”  I think this is an important emphasis!

Nowadays, it seems that every time we turn around, there’s a new diet set before us.  Even the overall health community regularly changes its recommendations about what’s “healthy.”  So who do we believe?  Well, how ’bout God?  Several thousand years ago, He told us what to eat.  As He is the Creator of both our bodies and our foods, it seems to me that He’s pretty knowledgeable about how they best go together. 😉  Rather than being blown about by every new wind of nutritional thinking, we can weigh each recommendation against the timeless truth of Scripture to see if it has any merit.

This is why I so love Dr. Russell’s book, What the Bible Says About Healthy Living.  It’s based on just a few common-sense principles that are rooted and grounded in the Word of God.  They don’t change every year, because God’s Word doesn’t change every year.  The guidelines in his book are how we’ve attempted to eat (as a general rule) for years!

I was thrilled to learn that there is a cookbook written to follow these principles.  The What the Bible Says about Healthy Living Cookbook, by Hope Egan and Amy Cataldo, is filled with recipes in every category which focus on real, whole foods.

The book begins with a foreword by Dr. Russell, then an introduction to the basic principles of this way of eating.  (There are only three; they’re not complicated!)  This section is followed by a suggested pantry list.  This list reflects what tends to be in my own pantry!  There are recommendations for foods which are quick and easy versions of whole foods — for instance, canned tomatoes, tuna, or whole grain pasta.  These are items I rely on to allow me to balance the reality of “crunched time” with the need to prepare wholesome whole foods-based meals for my family.

Then the recipes begin.  Categories include Vegetables, Dressings, and Sauces; Grains and Potatoes; Fish, Poultry, Beef and Lamb; Meatless Main Dishes; Soup, Stew and Chili; Breakfast; Desserts and Fruit; and Appetizers and Snacks.  I’m not sure that all of these recipes would be kid-friendly.  (I know my own children still prefer mac & cheese or pizza, regardless of the fact that we’ve eaten whole foods their whole lives.)  They are all based on real ingredients, though.  The variations that are suggested for most recipes offer even more possibilities.  Sometimes suggestions are even made for use of any leftovers!  A “Divine Design” comment with each recipe tells what to look for in a particular ingredient and/or why that ingredient is of benefit to our health.

Although it is not an “allergy” cookbook, gluten-free readers will be happy to know that the vast majority of recipes in the book are inherently gluten-free.  (The most exceptions come where one would expect them to — in the breakfast and dessert sections.)  Because the recipes start with whole ingredients, and few call for flours, those that rely on gluten-containing ingredients are few.  (Some may, for instance, call for whole-grain pasta.  In this case, brown rice pasta could simply be used, rather than the less-expensive whole wheat pasta that gluten-eating readers would probably use.)

There are two appendices.  First, Leviticus chapter 11 is included.  (For those who aren’t familiar with it, Leviticus 11 is the chapter that most clearly spells out the dietary laws God gave His people.)  Following this, we’re given a list of clean and unclean meats.  This can be very helpful, as the Bible doesn’t list all of the clean and unclean animals by name.  Rather, in most cases it describes them by their characteristics.  Since most of us don’t raise these animals ourselves, we may not be as familiar as those living a more agricultural lifestyle, so the work of figuring out which animals have which characteristics has been done for us.

Finally, the book is well-indexed.  You can look up recipes by ingredient.  I’m not sure if every major ingredient in each recipe is indexed, or only the primary ingredient, but it’s fairly thorough.  (This would also be a good way to quickly eliminate the handful of recipes that aren’t gluten-free, for those who need that.  Just look up barley, wheat, etc. and know to cross out those recipes.)

I don’t know that this is ever likely to become my very favorite cookbook, but I definitely like it.  It would be a great “starter” cookbook for those new to this way of cooking.  For those already accustomed to eating this way, it’s an excellent way to add to your repertoire.