I've created more new dishes from my kitchen in the last few days than in the last few years.  I'm the 'test cooker' for Diana's new recipe book filled with Powerfoods.  That means I get an advance copy and see if I can easily follow all the directions and come up with great tasting meals.

The key words here are easy and practical. I've done my own cooking for a long time but I don't tend to use cookbooks because they are so fussy and particular. I find that I can go to all kinds of work getting the ingredients for just a single recipe and not use it a lot, therefore wasting the ingredients and my time. Because of this, I end up eating a limited set of meals I know I can make well and fast.  It HAS to be simple, easy and useful.

It's great therefore to learn new possibilities and master new skills – and that is what this book was intended to do.  It gives a new person starting into a healthy way of eating the basic knowledge and skills to get on a healthy diet. One that was easy to prepare. 

Diana has carefully planned out every possible meal for more than two weeks.  It includes a shopping list of easily available food items that will be used several times thought the program, special getting ready sessions that allow a person to prepare several aspects of the weekly routine ahead of time,  and then the actual recipes themselves with plenty of nutritional and cooking tips included.

The reason I like this book and think it would be great for others is:

• Gives a new person an easy simple start to eating and cooking healthfully – so they don't get discouraged or overcome.

• Shopping lists filled with Powerfoods can be bought almost exclusively at the local grocery store so that a person is not spending a lot of time buying unknown (read weird) stuff that they are not sure of.

• Many of the meals are simple meals that a person has already experienced or heard about. They are included because they are already in a healthy category or they have been slightly adjusted to make them more healthy

• Carefully planned out the meals for maximum efficiency have been created by Diana. For example she plans you to make extra rice for your evening meal because she has a menu that uses that rice for the next day's salad or a dessert. This kind of efficiently saves both TIME and MONEY.

• Book is filled with nutrition tips and preparation tips.

• The meals taste great. Do I need to say more?

• Once a person has mastered these meals – there will be more advanced planners to keep it all interesting and more refining in terms of balancing the body.

Using this cookbook has even made my daughter more polite!  My just-past-teenage daughter Asha usually kind of ignores or avoids my cooking whenever she can.

Just last night for example I had asked her if she wanted to eat with me but she said she was in too much of a hurry and was going to eat with her friends.  As soon as she tasted the peanut sauce  I had just prepared from the book though, suddenly she had lots of time to hang around the stove and dip steamed vegetables into the sauce with her fingers … and eat up a large portion of my meal!  This kind of thing has happened several times since I started on the book. I'm sure she was just being polite. The only other explanation would be that these meals actually TASTE better than my own regular fantastic meals …..but that is impossible of course. Yes it's most certain that her personality has changed.  It's amazing

The only problem with being the 'test cooker'  is that I am no longer  the 'test taster' for these meals which I used to be.  Diana would cook the meals herself and I got to feast with the only requirement that I give her feedback.  That was one of the better jobs in my life!   Oh Well…..I look forward to the next book – the one with the more advanced recipes – with a little more gourmet quality integrated in – and more tasting!  I'm also looking forward to the rest of THIS book – since Diana only gave me the first week.

This nutrition/recipe book is not yet available but will be soon.   We will let you know.

Feel free to share this information with anyone who you feel may benefit from it.

P.S.  Those of you who know me (Randy) know that the picture is a joke.  I'm not that scary!

This book really is an entry level book for those who are just beginning to turn their eating style around.  It is for those who are on their way to creating a higher energy level in their body.  It is the foundation of eating in a new and exciting way that will change your life.  It is a book filled with simple solutions and recipes for your new way of eating without being rocket science.

When you change your way of eating to include Fresh Vegetables, Fresh Fruit and Whole Grains, you begin to feed your body the nutrients it is longing for.

How will Healthy Eating affect You?

• sleep better at night
• increase your energy levels
• be your correct weight
• have less colds and flues
• moods stable, less mood swings

There is just one slight problem, – we can’t decide on a title so we would ask your opinion. Which book titles would you be attracted to and consider purchasing. There is many considerations. Some men for example would not want a ‘recipe’ book but they would want a ‘guide’. We have had a lot of fun with this!

We have listed several titles (sometimes with their subtitles) below. Please comment which ones you like the most (or least) and why.  If you come up with a brand new title you can throw that in also!

a. One Great Easy Meal a Day

How To Get Your Health on Track

b. Real Food for Real Men

The Lazy Man’s Guide to getting Your Health On Track

c.  Real Food for You!

The Simple Guide to Healthy Eating with Live Food.

d. One Great Meal a Day for Idiots

e.  How to Make Quick Easy Extremely Healthy Meals

You can leave your comments below where they will be posted on this site or you can email us directly at  editor@realfoodforlife.com.

Thanks a lot in advance.