The Versatile Vegetable The Food of Life

I wasn't breast fed. A strange beginning to a story, you might think, yet my sense is that this is an integral part of my journey. Formula seemed to leave me with a feeling of emptiness, even though my belly was full. I was left with a searching and longing for what my growing body truly needed and what nature had indeed intended. The perfect balance of nutrients and natural sweetness found in mother's milk still does not seem to have been replicated, even to this day. This sense of lacking has led me on a life-long quest to find out what truly does nourish and heal the body.

Many other pieces also got thrown into the pot. At a young age, life exposed me to an array of illnesses in the people around me. Yet, the largest impact was my father's diagnosis of multiple sclerosis when I was five. Through a mist of confusion, I began to notice the role food played in his wellbeing, or lack of, for that matter. After a heavy, typically English meal I would notice a deep lethargy and lack of energy in him. Yet if he ate a salad and fish, he would seem better. Over time, a sensibility towards food and health began to form that influenced a major part of my childhood.

The journey with my father ended with his death when I was twenty-one yet during my time with him and since then, an influx of people with health challenges seems to have become part of my life. Their experiences have always challenged and pushed me to know and understand more of the fascinating world of health and nutrition.

My own personal relationship with food has also been a journey of its own. I have always loved to eat. Yet there was an ebb and flow, depending on whether my emotions or my physical body were calling the shots. And the consequences; I learned those early, too. Being blessed and cursed with an extremely sensitive body, I could always tell what I should be eating. Staying on that path was the challenge, and over the years I fell on and off. I chose ways of eating from macrobiotics to blood typing, you name it, I tried it. Yet after a while, a part of me would rebel. On some level, none of them felt complete, which has led me to where I am today...

To a realization that certain principles, ancient and new, when combined, form a masterful eating plan and way of life. Couple this with the concept of feeding the body in a way which nourishes and supports, all the systems then any surplus energy to go towards life rather than towards continuously cleansing or healing an over-taxed system. and you have a complete, healthy program.

These principles have become a way of life for me, influencing both family, friends, and clients along the way. Over the years, I have realized that even though every human being is unique in their own brilliance, and individual needs will always play a part, there are certain basic principles that do support the physical body. It seems vital to know that our sense of health and well-being is dependant on the health and state of our internal environment and digestive system. Therefor, in this book I share this knowledge which can transform and heal this inner terrain, and promote better health and well being.

"The Food of Life" is not just another cookbook.
Even though it is filled with exquisitely delicious and simple recipes, it also educates and inspires you to make the changes needed to support good health and heal the body. In Miranda's simple, yet humorous way, you are led on a journey that will encourage an abundance of vegetables to come into your life.

You will also learn why the condiments used in cooking, such as salt, oils and seasonings, play
an intrical part in your health. The changes are simple and subtle, yet so powerful in their result, that you will truly be inspired to transform some basic cooking skills.