Inspiration

This past week I watched Brittany Runs a Marathon. Anyone seen it? I watched it without reading any hype, critiques, or anything like that. The movie inspired me.

If you haven’t seen it, here’s the synopsis from Amazon: Hilarious and outgoing, Brittany Forgler, is everybody’s best friend – except her own. Her partying, underemployment and toxic relationships are catching up with her. Too broke for a gym and too proud to ask for help, Brit is at a loss, until her neighbor pushes her to run one sweaty block. Soon, she sets an almost unthinkable goal: the New York City Marathon.

Wake Up Call

One very important component that the blurb leaves out is that Brittany goes to the doctor who tells her that she’s not only in bad shape but that she’s jeopardizing her health as well. Wake up call!

The movie then shows Brittany starting to get herself in shape despite her “best friend’s” toxicity. The movie is well done and by the end, I felt the extra boost to do something that I knew was months in coming. I wanted to get back to being healthy, in shape, and feeling genuinely happy with my life.

Because of this, you might see an upswing in reviews on health-oriented topics like cookbook reviews for healthy cooking, exercise, stress-reducing, etc. And, I’ll let you know how I’m doing along the way. When I got sick at the end of October for a couple of weeks, I lost 7 pounds that I’ve managed to keep off (you know that doesn’t often happen).

It’s a little early for a resolution, but I’m hoping because it isn’t one set at New Year’s with all of that pressure that this one will stick.

This leads me into my review of this fantastic cookbook: The Mediterranean DASH Diet Cookbook: Lower Your Blood Pressure and Improve Your Health.

The Mediterranean DASH Diet Cookbook

Abbie Gellman, MS, RD, CDN

October 29, 2019

Rockridge Press

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Blurb: Two healthy diets—one delicious cookbook

The DASH diet and Mediterranean diet are two of the most consistently recommended diets when it comes to healthy eating, so why not combine them into something even better? By unifying the benefits of these amazing diets, The Mediterranean DASH Diet Cookbook offers tons of simple recipes for delicious dishes that will keep your blood pressure low and your taste buds happy.

Find 100 recipes for breakfasts, soups, salads, entrees, and sweets that you and your body will love. Focused around nutrient-rich whole foods and the rich flavors and traditions of the Mediterranean, The Mediterranean DASH Diet Cookbook will help you learn everything you need to know to master this naturally healthy and delicious way to eat.

The Mediterranean DASH Diet Cookbook includes:

• Friendly diet advice—Discover a complete and concise guide that explains how and why this hybrid diet works, as well as the best ways to integrate it into your day-to-day lifestyle.
• 100 Mediterranean DASH diet recipes—Get the best of both worlds with this collection of heart-healthy dishes that includes plenty of pescatarian-friendly and plant-based options.
• Easy-to-make—Not a chef? Keep your kitchen stress-free (and your blood pressure even lower) with meals that anyone can learn to cook.

Dive straight into this tasty new way to eat (and live) healthier with the help of The Mediterranean DASH Diet Cookbook.

The Mediterranean DASH Diet Cookbook by Abbie Gellman is one of the best cookbooks I’ve reviewed all year. I think because Gellman is a nutritionist, she realizes the necessity for variety in one’s diet to incorporate vital vitamins and minerals. Too many of the other cookbooks seemed to have recipes on a few vegetables or grains and left so many out.

Since the Mediterranean diet is based on vegetables, healthy fats, and lean proteins, there were a significant amount of vegetarian recipes which kept me happy. If you’re a pescatarian, you will be delighted with this cookbook as it also has a section of fish-based recipes.

This cookbook immediately inspired me to change my breakfast, which is routine and healthy. I added walnuts and plain Greek yogurt to my morning fruit. Breakfast is important!

The concepts of the DASH (Dietary Approaches to Stop Hypertension) diet are highlighted as well as those of the Mediterranean diet. I happen to be one of those people who love salt, which means I probably eat too much, so I’m excited to try the recipes that use herbs, spices, and other means to heighten flavor so that I don’t miss the salt.

I’m thinking about some roasted broccoli with tahini sauce. Want to join me?

If you want to make healthy changes to your diet, definitely check out this cookbook.

If you have Kindle Unlimited, you can access the cookbook for free here.

Purchase the paperback from Amazon: Paperback

I received an ARC in exchange for an honest review.

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rating: 

5 out of 5 butterflies

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