Nourish by Reshma Shah and Brenda Davis (432 pages)
Nourish Is A Useful Nutrition Guide From the Experts
Creating a balanced and nourishing diet can often be challenging. Given our hectic lifestyles, there’s often limited time to plan a weekly menu. Add to that the increasing number of fast-food outlets popping up along every street, it can sometimes be all too easy to choose convenience over nutrition.
In Nourish: The Definitive Plant-Based Nutrition Guide for Families, Reshma Shah, MD, and Brenda Davis, RD, an affiliate clinical instructor at Stanford University School of Medicine and registered dietician, respectively, thoroughly explain how a plant-based diet can optimize our health and help prevent chronic disease. We all know that we should eat our fruits and vegetables and limit fast food, but we don’t always follow that principle. Nourish gives us the why, offering the science without the long, confusing words and crazy formulae. It also presents strategies for how we can do it – whether you’re a busy Mum juggling 20 balls, a family on a tight budget, or the family with the picky toddler who won’t eat anything green.
It is not a book designed to convince you to become vegan. Still, Shah and Davis does inform the reader how the by-product of such a diet can benefit not only ourselves but also our planet and all living beings.
Nourish is divided into four sections–Consideration, Care, Confidence and Connection. It explores the benefits of a plant-based diet, the practical aspects of nutrients and micronutrients, and how to transition to a plant-based diet. It acknowledges constraints and the need to prioritize resources to create a strategy that will work in your home, for your family. Lastly, it provides tips for menu planning and organizing your pantry for success, encouraging you to make simple changes that can make a real difference. Not to be confused with a cookbook, there is an excellent selection of tasty recipes that would appeal to people of all ages. It’s a complete compendium to support your transition to a plant-based diet.
The Future of Nutrition is in Plants
There is no denying that the future of food is plants. Whether you’re looking to fully embrace the vegan ethos or simply want to reduce the amount of meat you consume, Nourish can help you achieve this. Its intention isn’t to convince you to become vegan, although you may choose this path. You may simply decide to reduce the amount of meat you eat or choose to eat more local, seasonal or sustainable foods. Either way, Nourish will inform and support you in your decisions, helping to improve yours and your family’s health and wellbeing one step at a time.
I wish that I had Nourish available as a guide for me when I started my plant-based journey several years ago. I have managed to ditch meat for ethical, environmental and health reasons. I have almost eliminated dairy, which my body has never been able to process very well. I don’t deny that it has been a challenge, and I am not there yet. Still, Nourish has become my go-to reference guide as I continue on my plant-based journey.
The Bottom Line: 5/5 Brookie Stars
I loved this book so much I purchased the Kindle version with more robust indexing and have just bought a hard copy to have on hand in the kitchen. With billions spent on marketing fast food and fad diets, it’s easy to become lost and confused by all the noise. With science-based recommendations and practical guidance, Nourish cuts through the melee. It gives you and your family everything that you will need to step onto the path to good health and wellness. I have recommended Nourish to many friends, especially those with young children who wish to bring love and nourishment to their families.
If you are interested in cooking plant-based meals and need some inspiration for recipes, check out my recommendation for vegan-friendly cookbooks in The Journal
With 30 years of general management experience in the global insurance industry and having lived in 4 countries, Jacqui now spends her time between London and New York where she continues to pursue her passion for writing, food, books and travel.
A Reiki practitioner, yogi and huge animal advocate, her home isn’t complete without a furbaby or three. In addition to being a BooknBrunch contributor, she writes for industry publications.
Favourite book: To Kill a Mockingbird by Harper Lee.
Favourite brunch dish: avocado toast with tomato and chilli
