Real Food All Year

March 1, 2012

Bliss (traditional Chinese medicine, Acupuncture & Integrative Medicine Coll.) combines the popular practice of cooking with fresh, seasonal foods with the nutritional principles of traditional Chinese medicine (TCM). TCM categorizes foods by their energy qualities and as either warming (yang) or cooling (yin). This book focuses on the five-element theory (i.e., wood, fire, earth, metal, and water), in which each element corresponds to internal organs, seasons, tastes, and foods, and argues that balancing these elements in food is the key to optimum health. Bliss explains that seasonal eating and the consumption of fresh, whole, unprocessed foods puts people in harmony with nature while strengthening organs and balancing energy levels. Each chapter begins with an overview of a season, a description of in-season foods, examples of relevant cooking styles and flavors, information about the organ corresponding to these foods, and a list of traditional foods thought to strengthen that organ. Bliss also includes eight to ten recipes per season, many of which focus on sprouting and fermenting. VERDICT Readers who already practice TCM will appreciate its application to current nutritional research. Adherents of Western medicine, however, will find much of the information hard to swallow.--Pauline Baughman, Multnomah Cty. Lib., Portland, OR

Copyright 2012 Library Journal, LLC Used with permission.