Positive Health Online

This book looks great and reads easily – encouraging for me as I often have to wade through pages of rather dry science on the subject of good nutrition. Michael does not give us any research references at all, but rather relies on his many years of experience as a Naturopath and Complementary practitioner plus the good reputation he has gained from his previous publications (Superjuice and Superfoods).

I very much enjoyed his down-to-earth approach and easy to follow advice. In addition to the recipes, Superfeast contains masses of really useful information about foods for all kinds of health conditions, pregnancy, allergies, low energy, menopause to name a few.

You can use this book as a simple guide to shopping, cooking and eating or to increase your consumption of specific nutrients when you need a boost in energy or a good nights' sleep.

Superfeast is full of strange and curious facts about foods; did you know, for instance, that:• A cup of potato peel tea every day is a great remedy for high blood pressure-• A large scale study has shown that eating a teaspoon of peanut butter 5 days each week helped the participants to lose weight;• There are chemicals in nutmegs that can make us feel 'happy';• The mango tree is a member of the same family as poison ivy;• An old wives remedy for hayfever is a sandwich of freshly sliced horseradish – 'only for the brave'.

It is very difficult to define the style of the recipes – I think 'freestyle' is probably the only way to describe these incredibly varied and often somewhat unusual recipes. There is something in here for the beginner and the accomplished cook, and none of the recipes are over complicated or fussy. There are some curious combinations of flavours and ingredients to experiment with, and a little list of nutrients and how they act in the body follows many of the recipes.

Being a chef and writer of recipes myself, I know how tastes can vary from reader to reader; however, I am struggling to imagine how many of us would find mackerel soup, egg and bean salad. followed by Apple fritters, the "Romantic Feast" that Michael describes it as. Personally, I may also find it tricky to justify the 'sauté in 3oz of butter 'instruction that the apple fritters require, in a healthy eating book.

Many of us question the need for struggling home from the supermarket with a weeks' supply of water when it is already available in plentiful supply from the tap! Michael includes a wonderfully informative chapter on water – the ultimate superdrink – that will help you through the bewildering choices of bottled water now available.

His encouragement to enjoy meals and cooking, to eat loads of fresh and unprocessed foods combined with a somewhat humorous and no nonsense style is very enjoyable and I really loved the beautiful illustrations.