Endo Recipe Book Review

I recently purchased Recipes & Diet Advice for Endometriosis by Carolyn Levett* for two purposes: firstly to explain what foods to cut out and why, secondly for the recipe ideas it contains. On both fronts I've been very happy with the purchase.

                                        

The first few chapters deal with what foods to avoid and the science behind them. I found this bit particularly fascinating, especially learning exactly why each food exacerbated endometriosis in particular. Although I knew some of the things on the list weren't exactly 'healthy', I didn't realise they could have such negative effects on the body. For example I knew soy wasn't good from a salt-content perspective, but I was surprised to find that every aspect of mass-produced soy is bad for you as the process removes all the good nutrients and aluminium from the containers is slowly absorbed into the end product.
The chapters are broken down simply and the science-y bits are really easy to follow (if not understand!).

The beginning of the book also deals with foods that will help you in your recovery - liver friendly ingredients to help with detoxing, along with lists of specific fruit and veg that contain vitamins directly useful to healing from endometriosis. I've found this section extremely useful when trying to flavour new recipes I'm testing - consulting the spice rack for its medicinal uses instead of just the flavours I can create.

Another aspect that I've found helpful is that throughout the book there are sections explaining alternative ingredients you can use in place of the banned ones. For example stevia, cacao or carob can replace sugar depending on the recipe you're using. There's also a lengthy section explaining the different benefits of alternative gluten free flours. These alternatives can be a bit pricey though so I'd definitely pick recipes that use the same kind of flour so that you only need to buy one.

The majority of the book is dedicated to recipes; from drinks and starters all the way through to desserts and baking, not to mention party food options. This is where the true value of the book is found, as a lot of sources will tell you what you can't eat but very few will help you work out what you can. All of the recipes are extremely basic and conform to a completely vegan diet, so that absolutely anyone can use them. This leaves plenty of room for you to add your favourite white meat or fish to the dishes.

Whenever I'm planning our meals for the week I've taken to having this book nearby. I'm very fussy when it comes to food, but even if I don't like the exact recipe it's excellent for getting base ideas to build on.

If I had one complaint it would be that the book has typos scattered throughout and you can tell it wasn't professionally written. The author is an endo-sufferer and wants to share what she's discovered and found to help. It's not a big problem, these things just jump out at me!

Overall this book is absolutely invaluable and if you're an endo sufferer it should definitely be on your bookshelf! Or even if you just want a healthier diet that isn't full of the additives and hidden nasties that regular products are now becoming overloaded with.

*This is an Amazon Associate link.