cover image Savoring the Day: Recipes and Remedies to Enhance Your Natural Rhyth

Savoring the Day: Recipes and Remedies to Enhance Your Natural Rhyth

Judith Benn Hurley. William Morrow Cookbooks, $27.5 (464pp) ISBN 978-0-688-14292-6

A health writer and herb expert, Hurley (The Good Herb) explains how to maximize or minimize the effects of the body's natural rhythms through diet, exercise and aromatherapy. In Part I, she breaks the day into six parts (early morning, mid-morning, noon, mid-afternoon, evening and night), suggesting which foods, exercises and beverages make best use of the body's natural rhythms during a particular time of day. She suggests, for example, that performing a Buddhist visualization exercise, drinking lemon balm tea and breathing in the fragrance of essential oil of clary sage, rose geranium or lavender can lift a sluggish noontime mood. Using grains, soy-based products and herbs, some 250 simple recipes for low-fat, predominantly vegetarian fare complement each of the body's rhythms. Pear and Buckwheat Pancakes or a Pineapple Wake-Up Shake energize the body for the day ahead. Spicy Orange Salsa served on Pita Chips makes a great mid-afternoon pick-me-up. Grilled Vegetable Salad with Tomato-Rosemary Dressing, Black Bean Stew with Butternut Squash and Bread Pudding with Cinnamon and Apricots all help rid the body of the day's stresses and toxins. Part II lists natural treatments (teas and essential oils) and recipes to remedy some 40 ailments ranging from colds, stomach disorders and sore muscles to jet lag, depression and hay fever. Author tour. (Dec.)