Cookbooks, Cookbooks, Cookbooks! discussion

I know there are other cookbook aficionados out there! This group is for us to discuss and share our opinions on cookbooks.

Let me introduce myself:

I believe I am a decent cook, not a professional by any means and I am cooking / baking only for one person… me. For most of my life I was consuming junk food and living at fast food restaurants. My health was failing and at age 50, I was diagnosed with a genetic digestive disorder called Hemochromatosis (Iron Overload). I did not start truly cooking for myself until after I found I needed an odd special low iron diet. I have taken around 60 courses of home cooking lessons at a local SurLaTable store over a 10 year period. I also believe I have learned just as much from cookbooks as the cooking lessons. Yes, my health has improved over the years.

Mickey… A Cookbook Aficionado.

Mickey wrote: "Let me introduce myself:

I believe I am a decent cook, not a professional by any means and I am cooking / baking only for one person… me. For most of my life I was consuming junk food and living a..."

I'm glad you've found recipes that let you enjoy cooking and eating. We're kind of opposites in terms iron. My body is very, very bad at absorbing iron from food, so I have to be sure to get plenty of it. That can be challenging as I try to avoid eating animals that can recognize individual faces or count their young. (The best guideline I could come up with for myself in terms of ethics.)

Sarah-Hope wrote: "My body is very, very bad at absorbing iron from food, so I have to be sure to get plenty of it. That can be challenging as I try to avoid eating animals that can recognize individual faces or count their young.”

At the oncology infusion center I go to, I have run into many people that are anemic and have iron infusion treatments. I am the opposite of someone that is anemic (Hemochromatosis), I make too much blood that has severely damaged my liver. Where others are receiving blood, I have a pint of blood removed every two months to keep my iron levels down. I also take a digestive enzyme supplement with every meal because my liver is not producing enough digestive enzymes that breaks down fatty foods. The keto diet would be a bad diet for me. I lean towards the Mediterranean diet (Low fat diet).

Part of my diet is: little to no red meat, no alcohol, no shellfish and limited foods that are high in vitamin C. Consume tea, coffee or dairy with every meal. I also have a problem with low blood sugar levels (Hypoglycemia). Still my diet is not a difficult one.

I admit, I can easily become a vegetarian, a vegan not so much, I need to keep my protein levels up that comes from mostly dairy and white fish products. I also try to consume beans and grains combinations to increase my protein levels, a combination that is low in fat, where meat products are high in fat. If you have anemia, google “Hemochromatosis diet” and do the opposite. I need to drink tea, coffee or dairy with every meal. Tea, coffee and dairy products block the absorption of iron. The downside of many vegetarians they consume way to much tea, coffee and dairy products that block iron.

Mickey wrote: "Sarah-Hope wrote: "My body is very, very bad at absorbing iron from food, so I have to be sure to get plenty of it. That can be challenging as I try to avoid eating animals that can recognize indiv..."

There is I believe another way to increase one’s non-heme iron levels. I found this method by accident, juicing certain vegetables that are high in iron like Kale with fruit is very high in iron. I found this method the hard way, many books on liver diseases turn to juicing, because juicing bypasses the digestive system and can go directly to the blood stream. People with liver damage does not produce enough digestive enzymes.

My first book on Juicing was 101 Juice Recipes. The first juice drink I made was “Joe’s Mean Green juice”, I had a headache for two days. I recognize that type of headache from eating grilled rib eye steaks. When I looked up the nutritional values of that drink, it was very high in iron.

I do juice, but avoid vegetables that are high in iron like kale. Also another thing to watch out for is glucose spikes, some juices are very high in sugar.

My favorite book on Juicing is The Juice Lover's Big Book of Juices: 425 Recipes for Super Nutritious and Crazy Delicious Juices. I tend to make juice shots when my sugar levels gets low and to help with vitamin intake.

My favorite juicer is from Nama.

Hi everyone.
Glad to have found this group. I love food, baking and cooking. I have also just recently published 2 books and they are on Kindle Unlimited. Appreciate if you can check them out. Thank you.

Breads: Keto and Low Carb Recipes: Volume 1 - Lin Switzerland
Profiteroles: Keto and Low Carb Recipes: Special Supplement - Lin Switzerland

Hello everyone! I’m Sofia Michael, author of The Anti‑Inflammatory Diet Cookbook and The DASH Diet Cookbook. My mission is to make clean, wholesome eating both delicious and achievable.

Each book includes structured 30‑day meal plans, 100+ recipes, and practical wellness tools. I’d love to hear which types of recipes inspire you most—whether anti‑inflammatory stews or heart‑healthy meals—and am happy to share tips, answer cooking questions, or chat about how food can help us feel our best. Thank you for having me! 😊