Page 91 - summer2016

All Thumbs Book Reviews

Eat Beautiful: Through these years of navigating restricted
Grain-Free, Sugar-Free, And Loving It diets (often with each family member needing
by Megan Stevens something a bit different), Megan became a con-
from EatBeautiful.net noisseur of the word “alternatives.” She sought
them out so she could make their favorite foods
“Our passion for eating well was born out with ingredients they could eat and enjoy. The
of our health adversities—trials I no longer fruits of Megan’s labor were first revealed to
regret! Healing our bodies of asthma, candida the world at their gut-healing cafe in Eugene,
overgrowth, autoimmune diseases and more Oregon, where she and her husband dished up
has spurred us to seek a new way of eating kefir-based frozen “yogurt” featuring seasonal
and living that is actually more satisfying than fruits. Soon, they added Megan’s signature
our previous, conventional American diet and grain-free panini bread sandwiches, where the
lifestyle. We sit down to feasts three times a oh-so-moist and satisfying “bread” was made
day. We delight in the cooking process. We from soaked organic nuts and seeds. This bread
have developed lots of easy and fast recipes. is revolutionary because not only is it free
And we feel the difference in our bodies every of starches, but it is not made of dry-tasting,
meal, every day,” says Megan Stevens in the potentially rancid, and nutritionally inferior
introduction of her gut-healing cookbook. factory-produced almond flour or coconut flour
Megan’s story is one of healing and hope. that so many grain-free cookbooks and recipes
By the age of forty, she had been diagnosed call for.
with five serious health conditions, including And now Megan brings her years of gut-
arthritis, Hashimoto’s and other auto-immune healing recipe creation right to us in her grain-
diseases. Six years ago, she was told by a doc- free, sugar-free cookbook, Eat Beautiful. Her
tor that she didn’t have long to live, so she and cookbook is suitable for the traditional food diet,
her husband said their goodbyes and she wrote GAPS, or paleo/AIP. She states, “The intention
memories and adoring thoughts regularly in her of this book is to impart a new passion in the
children’s baby books—so they’d know her, and kitchen to my readers and to provide solutions
know how much she loved them and longed to for those who are overwhelmed by new dietary
live. Her children were not well, either. Each restrictions.” Not only does her book offer a
of her three children was born with asthma or smorgasbord of beautiful, simple and classic
serious food and environmental allergies. gut-healing recipes, Megan also teaches so that
Then five and a half years ago her eyes were readers will learn how ingredients work in reci-
opened to the connection between gut health and pes and what ingredients go together. And Eat
overall health. Her whole family started follow- Beautiful is sprinkled throughout with tantaliz-
ing a gut-healing diet—GAPS. It was their only ing professional photos of the treats it contains!
hope for reversing the auto-immune diseases, Review by Wardee Harmon
allergies and asthma. And today, Megan and from TraditionalCookingSchool.com
her children are well. Their health conditions are
reversed or in remission. How? Not only through
figuring out how to cook around food restric- Megan’s
tions, but also through developing scrumptious story is one
recipes that made their gut-healing diet a joy to of healing
follow strictly for six years at the time of this
writing. and hope.
Wise Traditions SUMMER 2016 Wise Traditions 91