Marilyn Diamond, co-author of fit for life, fit for life II and The American Vegetarian Cookbook, has been an author and culinary reference for me since I began my dietary journey. His recipes have influenced my cooking and my own recipes. She bridges the gap between healthy eating and cooking for a family. I have used her recipes repeatedly for entertaining with great success. And they inspired me to create my own recipes with a new twist, French cooking style that I have adopted since living in France.
after following fit for life series I was happy to find another one of his books. This time written with her new husband, Dr. Donald Burton Schnell. This book takes dieting beyond the foods she puts in her mouth and into the realm of holistic dieting. It incorporates the mind, the body and almost the spirit for general health something the first fit for life book does not cover
Why I love this book.
This is what I love about Diamond. His ability to be flexible, honest and enthusiastic. When you read his writing, you just want to catch that zest for life that he exudes. This appears in her recipes and she has recipes about recipes about recipes. She makes complete meal planning recipes so she can follow her suggestions if she isn’t inspired to create her own meals. Most of the ingredients are easy to find, but some need natural foods and specialty stores. But if I can find most of them in France, you can probably find them wherever you live too. There are usually substitutes for the harder to find items. Or she just skip those recipes.
Mindtonics and Bodytonics sections.
While the first section focuses on nutrition, the second section, called Mindtonics, is about getting your mind to cooperate with your new way of eating. It only mentions steps to take to improve your mind, but it’s a good start. If you are already interested in personal growth, then many of these suggestions will be familiar to you, such as journaling, taking time to focus, and meditating. It’s what most diet books should tell us to do.
The final section before the suggested recipes and meal plans is Bodytonics. This is a wonderful daily exercise routine that can be done in 12 to 20 minutes. You go at your own pace and only do what feels good to you until you can reach better levels. It is soft and natural.
These exercises are the perfect routine for anyone who claims they have never exercised or never wanted to. The other beauty of this routine is that it can be done from your own home, without any equipment, using your own body as a resistance weight.
if you made it with fit for life Back in the 1980s when it was so popular or if you needed to get into a fitness routine or want to further explore raw food consumption, I recommend this book today.