Do you know what the number one killer of women is in the United States? Nope, not cancer. Heart Disease. It is commonly perceived as something that happens to overweight old men, when in fact it kills over 500,000 women a year. Sally Bee is well aware of this frightening statistic, because she was almost a part of it.
In 2004, at the age of 36, Sally suffered 3 heart attacks in the course of a week. The first wasn’t even recognized by medical personnel, because her age and good health made her an unlikely candidate. The second landed her in the hospital and the third nearly killed her, in fact the doctors had given up and instructed her husband to say goodbye.
Sally had other plans, though, she had kids, a home, a career to return to. It was a long fight back to health, but she did it step by painful step. On her way, she discovered a new way to eat, where “healthy” and “tasty” do not have to be mutually exclusive. She has written a beautiful cookbook called The Secret Ingredient, and keeps a website with videos and recipes at sally-bee.com.
The cookbook does more than share recipes, it tells a story and it gives Sally’s personal philosophy on eating, health, and life. She says that she sometimes feels like she has a split personality – on one side, she is passionate about eating healthy and knows doing so will literally save her life, but on the other hand, she knows that life is short and she fully intends to live every bit of it fully. How does she marry the two? By understanding that in moderation, treats, sugar, even salt isn’t a bad thing. By removing the processed foods from your diet and cooking healthy meals from scratch, you create a situation where there is “room” in your healthy eating for treats -as long as it’s only a couple of times a week!
The book is beautiful, with gorgeous food photography throughout showing how pretty fresh food can be. Sections include:
~Soups and Starters
~Salads, Sides, and Vegetables
~Chicken
~Fish
~Beef, Lamb and Pork
~Desserts
Each recipe is designated as an “everyday” recipe or a “treat”, meant to be enjoyed only occasionally. Some recipes are both, with slight modifications (like leaving out the ice cream in a dessert of grilled fruit). A sampling of the recipes are available on the Recipe page of her website.
Sally is more than an advocate for healthy food, she gives her time generously for heath charities and to help counsel those who are undergoing rehabilitation from heart related illnesses. She hopes to turn around the cycle of obesity and unhealthy eating with smart, simple foods that we can all make and enjoy.
What is the “secret ingredient”, you ask? Well, I’m not telling. It’s not butter or salt though! You’ll have to pick up the book and find out!
After a decade in the corporate world as a working mom, Rachel, a MWC guest blogger, is a new stay at home mom to her 9-year old daughter and 3 month old son. She also writes for The Examiner as the Baby and Toddler Gear Examiner in the Seattle area. Check out her stories and reviews HERE.
A complimentary product/service was provided for this review; however, all opinions expressed are our own. We were not compensated in any other way for this review. See Mommies With Cents disclosure policy for more details.
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Julie Lutz says
I love cookbooks and this one would be great to add to my collection :~)