Book Review: Nutrivore

Nutrivore: The Radical New Science for Getting the Nutrients You Need from the Food You Eat by Sarah Ballantyne
My rating: 3 of 5 stars

This book seeks to improve your nutrient awareness, i.e., what nutrients are, what they do, how much we need, and how we can get them. It is an excellent resource for addressing specific symptoms and conditions by choosing health-promoting, nutrient-dense foods.

There are three parts: What is Nutrivore?, Nutrients and Your Health, and Nutrivore in Practice. The book is educational, providing definitions, examples, cheat sheets, and recipes.

Basics of the plan
1. Choose primarily whole foods
2. Eat a diverse diet
3. Eat the rainbow of fruits and vegetables
4. Use the nutrivore meal map (50% veg/fruit; 25% starch; 25% protein; drink water; choose healthy fats)

This book is replete with practical information, e.g., marvelous minerals cheat sheet, valuable vitamins cheat sheet, eat the rainbow chart, nutrivore foundational foods cheat sheet, serving size cheat sheet, 17 tips for weight loss, and simple recipes.

This book is challenging to read, cover to cover. The nutrivore score is helpful but not something I would use regularly. It seems more important to vary a whole-food diet. The nutrivore meal map does not include a percentage for healthy fats. This part needs to be clarified.

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Carnivore Experiment

Ready, set, go! Ketogenic diets were all the rage in 2018, and carnivore has some promising popularity for 2019. In the spirit of the ever-evolving and tweaking nutritionist, I am going to try carnivore...aiming for 30 days. Due to celiac disease and mold allergies, I eat quite closely to this diet anyway (and I LOVE meat/fish)--so I don't think I will have any issues with compliance and I'm interested to see if I will feel any different. I can't recommend what I haven't tried myself (n=1), so we're starting off 2019 with this one. The plan will include any and all forms of animal proteins and fats, plus coffee, mineral/spring water. Did I mention I am a huge fan of fat? And, I love organ meat! I'll record the majority of my meals via Instagram with periodic blog updates as well. Yum, yum, yum!

Kale Meatballs--Yes, Really!

These delicious kale meatballs are going to rock your world! No one will ever guess they are gluten free, dairy free, low histamine, and hiding kale--an antioxidant and anti-inflammatory superhero. These meatballs--and who doesn't love meatballs--are nutrient-dense and super scrumptious. I recommend double or triple batching with different ground meats so you can freeze and have on hand when needed...i.e., often!

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