[alert variation=”alert-info”]Publisher: Brown Books
Formats: Hardcover
Purchase: Powell’s | Amazon | IndieBound | Barnes & Noble | iBooks[/alert]

The key to keeping your body at optimum levels of health and energy, according to Shahla Niazi, is finding a balance of what Niazi calls the cold and hot “energies” of foods. In her cookbook, titled Cooking with Fire and Ice: Recipes for Balanced Energy and Healthy Living, Niazi defines hot energy foods as those that fuel action, movement, and even strong emotions. Beef, mushrooms and carbonated drinks all qualify as hot foods. Cold energy foods tend to soothe and relax. Pasta, chicken and lettuce are cold foods. Niazi claims that when we balance the foods we eat, or are at least mindful of the effects varying combinations will have, we can both heal and operate at our highest efficiency.

“Knowing which way to tip the scale—toward hot or cold—is the key to good health and longevity. So many people today talk about being tired and needing more energy. If you learn the practice of balancing the types of energy in the foods you consume, you will find that you have more energy, better health, and a feeling of contentment.”

Niazi, who is from Iran and who references her Iranian grandmother in the opening chapters of her cookbook, presents a lively, informative and readable approach to healthy eating. The recipes are diverse, boasting an international flair with colorful photos stamped with a red thermometer for hot energy foods and a blue thermometer for cold energy foods. For both the kitchen connoisseur and the nutrition neophyte, Cooking with Fire and Ice is a refreshing approach to eating wisely and well.

[signoff predefined=”Social Media Reminder” icon=”twitter”][/signoff]