***** (out of 5)
Review by Dennis Ray
This January I got sick. Not the flu though at first I thought it might have been. Toward the end of the month, I began losing my energy, I suffered from cold sweats, and I felt all around horrible. I rested, ate what I thought would be healthy and drank lots of fluids. I did not get better.
By mid-February I knew I needed to see a doctor. It turns out I suffered from ulcers. Doing some reading, I discovered a major culprit of getting ulcers is sugar; turns out, sugar is a culprit to many our health problems.
I quit sugar. All sugar. All carbohydrates. Everything. The problem quickly became apparent that not only was I missing sugar I was having a difficult time coming up with stuff to eat. Stuff besides salads and turkey burgers. Eating is such an enjoyable part of living and giving up sugar was something I didn’t want to continue. I didn’t want to suffer through ulcers again. So I started reading books on the health risks associated with sugar. I started paying attention to my diet.
Summer Rayne Oakes book SugarDetoxMe is a fantastic answer. It’s more than a cookbook, though it has incredible recipes that are easy to make, it also explains why we need to detox from sugar, why sugary drinks are possibly the worst drinks we could drink let alone give to our children, and how to accomplish this with relative ease in our over-sugar filled world we live in. Oakes does not preach, doesn’t condemn those of us who happen to have a sweet-tooth, while helping us focus on our eating habits.
If you want to take control of your life, lose weight, feel better, look younger, increase your energy, it is very simple. Quit sugar. Of course, I have heard many people ask, “How can you live like that?” as if I have decided to quit sleeping for more than 20 minutes at a time, or have given up speech and reading.
To be honest it’s not very hard. Not as hard as you might think. You just have to change the way you think about foods and about desserts. The rest comes easy.
The recipes Oakes offers are fantastic. She also takes you through your kitchen going over exactly everything you will need (or should have) to make every healthy delicious dish, along with what you need to fill up your cupboard and pantry. She breaks down your weekly shopping list, and if you follow it, you will be surprised just how good non-sugar diets can be. And just how much better you will feel.
She covers drinks, teas, all meals (vegan, vegetarian, pescatarian and non-vegetarian), as well as snacks and desserts.
Sample of main dishes:
Mushroom Ragout with a poached egg.
Grilled Peppers, Zucchini, Mushrooms, and shrimp with balsamic vinegar.
Quinoa with Heirloom Tomato and Parsley.
Poached Egg over Steamed Asparagus with Cucumber and Radish Salad.
Of all the health books I have read this year SugarDetoxMe has been the one, I have reread the most, use daily and plan to buy for others.
This book is available at Malaprop’s Bookstore and online. To learn more about this diet visit: www.sugardetox.me
