Functional Foodie

There is a pervasive belief among foodies and health nuts alike that eating healthily means bravely stomaching wheat grass smoothies and suffering through bland plates of tasteless offerings possibly resembling cardboard. In other words, it's an either or proposition: eat healthily and give up much of your enjoyment of food or live the good life of sumptuous sauces, rich desserts, wine and the like (and possibly develop a bad case of gout or worse). This book will put an end to this way of thinking once and for all!The recipes in THE FUNCTIONAL FOODIE feature 50 of the hottest 'functional' foods all backed by research for their health benefits - and they are surprisingly delicious! From dips to main meals to desserts, these dishes can be confidently served at a dinner party attended by your most discriminating foodie friends or simply made part of an everyday plan to eat well. Either way, the bottom line is, these foods have medicinal properties that can boost immunity, slow aging, fend off serious diseases. The ingredients have been chosen to maximise nutritional potential and flavour of the dishes and show that you don't have to go on some crazy eating plan in order to weave these phytochemical-rich, antioxidant-rich, heart-healthy ingredients into your diet.Many functional foods are ordinary, everyday foods that science is discovering have some miraculous powers. Some are trendy new finds such as goji berries, agave, matcha and quinoa that many people are stumped by when it comes to how to prepare or enjoy. Some you may be surprised by - for example, in this book, chocolate is on a par with asparagus and coffee is a health drink!