Foodwise: A Fresh Approach to Nutrition with 100 Delicious Recipes: A Cookbook

by Mia Rigden

“[ Foodwise ] is all about helping you discover the best foods and routines for your body, establishing healthy new habits you love, and restoring your ability to eat intuitively for radiant health.” — Mark Hyman, MD, New York Times bestselling author of The Pegan Diet

Conquer cravings, reset your eating habits, and heal your relationship with food with this 21-day reset program full of delicious, satisfying recipes from nutritionist Mia Rigden.

Foodwise is a reset for the mind, body, and soul. Created by board-certified nutritionist Mia Rigden, this book will help you discover the best foods and routines for your body, establish healthy new habits you love, and restore your ability to eat intuitively for radiant health—all it takes is twenty-one days. Foodwise also shares sought-after recipes and nutrition tips for anyone looking to improve their health or well-being—whether that’s to lose weight, reduce stress, improve mood or focus, boost energy, or simply feel better.

Mia’s 100 plant-forward recipes are a celebration of food and will appeal to anyone looking to eat vibrant, healthy, and satisfying meals. Recipes
-Blueberry Basil Smoothie
-Za’atar Crusted Chicken Cutlets with Arugula
-Coconut Curry and Lime Soup
­-And much more.

In Foodwise , Mia also offers an optional guided twenty-one-day “Reset” elimination diet to help empower your health, feel your best, and improve your relationship with food. For twenty-one days, the program encourages you to nourish with balanced, nutrient-rich meals, and follows a simple meal plan with plenty of flexibility and options to suit different preferences and lifestyles. The twenty-one-day reset is perfect for anyone looking to stop dieting and make a lasting change to their health once and for all!

Genres: Cookbooks, Nonfiction, Health, Cooking

256 pages, Hardcover

Published January 3, 2023

Reviews

[Alicia Bayer · Rating 2 out of 5]

This is basically an elimination diet book by a nutritionist who writes like an influencer. She talks up her program quite a lot and then you’re supposed to do it once or twice a year for three weeks. She eliminates gluten, sugar, pesticides, GMOs, dairy, caffeine, alcohol, white rice and refined starches (sort of — some recipes call for gluten free flour and unless you make your own it’s full of white rice, GMO corn starch, potato starch and other highly processed ingredients) and other things. She does not eliminate eggs or soy (as long as it’s organic and non-GMO) or some other common allergens. While she uses buzzwords like plant forward, she does use animal products throughout.

Her recipes call for lots of ingredients like vanilla protein powder and cocoa nibs. Most of her breakfast recipes are smoothies with expensive ingredients. Those used to the traditional standard American diet (SAD) are not likely to enjoy the recipes, though they are better for you.

The author is a fairly young woman who seems to have plenty of money for her food choices. I’ve fed our large family very healthy whole organic foods for decades on next to nothing so I know it can be done, but the book feels a little tone deaf for the readers who may struggle to eat the way she recommends. Also, many readers may have different needs and lifestyles than hers. If you need lower carbs, more protein, vegan, keto, etc it will be a miss.

This wasn’t a good fit for me personally. After middle age we women need a lot fewer carbs and more protein and healthy fats than this type of eating, for one thing. I already knew the nutritional information. I also just plain didn’t find the recipes appetizing.

All that said, if you want to just eat much more healthy than the SAD short term to see if you have any food sensitivities or to reset your health and you are new to it, this will be a good primer.

I read a temporary digital ARC of this book for review.

[Barbara · Rating 5 out of 5]

After reading the tepid reviews here, I was surprised to open the book and discover dozens of recipes that look delicious, feature ingredients easily found in your average supermarket and which are not terribly complex to make. The smoothie recipes do ask for vanilla protein powder, but most of the other recipes feature entirely regular ingredients. There are several I'm eager to try (kale/garlic frittata, turkey lettuce wraps, super green spaghetti with zucchini pesto). Having said that, I would probably go for checking it out of the library rather than buying it, as I'm about to do!

[Debbie · Rating 4 out of 5]

Well, I guess I'm bougie and entitled, because I found the recipes in this book accessible and appealing. I bought it! Some staples are the shepherd's pie with celeriac root top, the salad nicoise, and the roasted cauliflower with tahini sauce. Delicious and easy to prepare, with subtle and balanced flavors.

[T · Rating 1 out of 5]

This book is exhibit A - Z on the disparity of food and health in the US. Bougie and condescending af.

Many, many ingredients will be hard to source for many readers who don’t have easy and consistent access to farmers markets or…actual grocery stores themselves. Food deserts are real, after all.

[Lisa · Rating 3 out of 5]

I found a few things that I would make, but for the most part, I really didn’t see anything that really impressed me. Too many ingredients, too many directions.

[Sue · Rating 5 out of 5]

A promising program to improve your health