Thank you Steven Pratt!

Superfoods Rx is, quite simply, the best health and nutrition book I have ever read. It has truly revolutionized my relationship to food. What makes it so terrific is how flexible one can be and still follow author Steven Pratt's basic nutrition guidelines. Pratt espouses the benefits of fourteen "Superfoods"--Beans, Blueberries, Broccoli, Oats, Oranges, Pumpkin, Salmon, Soy, Spinach, Tea, Tomatoes, Turkey, Walnuts, and Yogurt--around which one can build a healthy, modern diet. These foods are not the only healthy foods; Pratt includes a large number of "sidekick" foods that have similar properties. The genius of the superfoods model of nutrition is that these foods form a framework around which anyone can build a healthy diet to suit their own personal tastes. The possibilies for healthy improvisation are endless, and all the foods are familiar, readily available, and inexpensive. And since Pratt does not prescribe any particular diet, only advocating certain very healthy foods, there is no calorie counting and no regimen to follow, other than common sense.

I am finally able to impliment a healthy eating plan, in large part because this book has freed me from "high maintainance" diets. Pratt certainly prefers fresh, whole foods, but he points out that "whole" is more important than "fresh". He consistently points to foods that are perfectly healthful in canned or frozen form, which is a godsend to a single, young, lazy male such as myself. I will never spend more than 15 minutes (including prep and cleanup) making any meal, so I could not follow any plan otherwise.

Canned pumpkin has been a real discovery for me. This stuff is so easy to cook with; I just toss a couple of spoonfuls of it into things like canned, ready to heat soup as a fortifier. It is also extremely filling; you will never feel hungry after a meal with pumpkin in it. My daily breakfast is now a mix of yogurt, pumpkin, wheat germ, and blueberries--just toss it all in a bowl and stir. Delicious!

I love this book so much, the only complaint I can make is, MORE! I want more secondary materials, maybe a small visual aid, like a poster, to stick to my fridge. I want simple, accessible ways to prepare and eat these foods, as well as a simple chart to keep me familiar with the most important nutritional properties of each. Pratt provides substantial nutrional tables at the end of the book, but who can remember the amount of selenium in tuna in the normal flow of daily life? What's needed is not more science, but more access.

Thank you Steven Pratt for this life-changing book!

This book has made a real difference in my family's life

I was never much of a cook, but I have always been interested in getting my family to eat healthy foods, and this book has shown me how easy it is to do just that. The 14 foods listed as "Superfoods" are delicious, and the authors include numerous "sidekicks," or foods that offer the same or similar benefits. After just one month of preparing foods using the recommendations in "SuperFoods Rx," everyone in my family has experienced significant health benefits--my husband's cholesterol level plummeted, and lifelong digestive problems have disappeared. Best of all, everyone from ages six to fifty LOVE the meals (one favorite is a stew I invented that contains turkey, carrots, cabbage, canned tomatoes, beans, spinach, onions, cubes of firm tofu and/or whatever else is on hand; I use Goya "cubitos" and seasoning for a delicious broth). Nobody wants sugar cookies anymore, now that we can go to the fridge anytime and enjoy luscious cultured yogurt with blueberries and diced walnuts, fresh watermelon--even some yummy dark chocolate with a pot of green or black tea. The possibilities are endless!!
Diets do not work--they are temporary, often based on absurd principles, and only perpetuate an unhealthy obsession with food. As the authors point out, what is needed is a permanent change for the better in eating habits for the entire family. Considering the obesity crisis in this country, such a sensible and practical approach could not come at a better time.

Eating Right Made Easy

Dr Steven Pratt has made eating right easy to understand and easy to implement. I normally don't like to read nutrition books but this one I couldn't put down. I now know what I should eat and how big or small the portions should be. Which foods help your heart, eyes, inflamation etc. All the foods he talks about can be found in your local grocery store you don't need to go to a health food store unless you want organic food. If you know nothing about nutrition or know a lot, this is the book for you. He makes it so easy, even adding receipes and daily menus. I hope he will write another book!