Food to Eat: guided, hopeful and trusted recipes for eating disorder recovery

Book Synopsis: A recipe book for people with eating disorders? Surely that’s an oxymoron! Actually, no. This book is about so much more than just the food. It's about helping you to even consider the idea of eating normally again. Acclaimed by eating disorder MDs, therapists, RDs, researchers and programs, this is no ordinary cookbook. Whether you have anorexia, bulimia or binge eating disorder, it is about trusting us and allowing us to guide you to take that "leap of faith" from contemplation to preparation to action (learn more in the book).

But perhaps it is not you that has the eating disorder. Perhaps you are the parent or loved one of someone struggling to recover? Food to Eat provides a practical starting point to discuss food preparation and eating, while providing recipes you can all feel comfortable enjoying. And, you’ll gain insight into the thought process many with eating disorders are up against. No, your child or spouse or partner is not just being difficult and oppositional--eating disorders are serious illnesses that hijack our rational thought and our ability to appropriately care for ourselves.

In Food to Eat, Cate and Lori talk constantly in their separate voices. Their strong opinions have been formed through very different but complementary experiences--and as such they make it explicit whose voice you are hearing at any time--Cate’s or Lori’s. More than a cook book for eating disorder recovery. It’s like making a couple of new friends!

In Food to Eat, you’ll find two supports, Cate & Lori, guiding you as you begin to change your relationship with food. They anticipate your fears and thoughts, say them out loud in a lighthearted way and help you get past them. They dialogue about the recipes and nutrition content to set the record straight--about fats, protein, carbs and a range of other nutrients--helping you expand your food selection and normalize your eating. You’ll realize quickly that they get it--they really do. Cate will challenge, and Lori responds--much like the two voices that play out in your own head. And of course there are the wonderful, healthy and easy-to-justify recipes--25 of them--from 'breakfast any time', to main dishes and sides, to 'endings any time'. They’ll take you from just thinking about eating to shopping and stocking your pantry, to cooking and managing your portions.

Food to Eat: Combines the expertise of an RD with 26 years of experience specializing in eating disorders and disordered eating, with the experience of one in the know about living with anorexia, who has made great strides in her own recovery; Contains 25 scrumptious, easy to prepare recipes you can feel good about eating, from snacks to main dishes to desserts; Acknowledges your eating disorder thoughts and helps you change your beliefs about what is acceptable to eat; Provides sensible information and practical strategies for eating, presented in a way you can hear, from people you can trust; Guides and supports you in your eating disorder recovery by helping you feel safe eating again; Includes recipe exchanges for those working with an exchange list-based meal plan; Is an upbeat, colorful, novel recovery tool filled with beautiful photographs and a sense of humor. Buy it for yourself. Buy it for someone you care about. And take the first step to moving toward recovery.