The Food & Mood Cookbook: Recipes for Eating Well and Feeling Your Best
by Elizabeth Somer, M.A., R.D. and Jeanette Williams, R.N.
Owl Books, 2004

A nationally recognized nutrition expert, regular contributor to such national magazines as Shape, Better Homes and Gardens, and Fitness, and the author of several groundbreaking books, Elizabeth Somer is the authority we have come to rely on for sound, practical nutrition advice. Her classic Food & Mood—which makes clear the link between what we eat and how we feel, think, act, and sleep—is the go-to book for adopting a diet that helps you feel your best. This January, Elizabeth Somer, MA, RD, and Jeanette Williams, RN, take Somer's insights into nutrition, weight, and emotion into the kitchen in The Food & Mood Cookbook: Recipes for Eating Well and Feeling Your Best.

The latest research on how what you eat affects how you feel and think is summarized at the start of each section, followed by 12 Quick Fix ideas in every category and more than 200 delicious and easy-to-prepare dishes—from breakfasts, snacks, lunchables, entrées, salads, and soups, to vegetables, pastas, desserts, and beverages—that can boost energy, soothe depression, sharpen your mind, and control cravings. The innovative and varied dishes include:

• Strawberry Yogurt Pancakes with Coconut
• Overnight Crunchy French Toast
• Chili-Spiced Shrimp Spring Rolls
• Plum-Gazed Chicken on Skewers
• Smokey Sweet Potato n' Corn Chowder
• Thai Curry Pasta with Fresh Crab and Basil
• Roasted Beet Salad with Orange Vinaigrette
• Pan-Seared Asparagus with Gingered Onions
• Lemon Bundt Cake with Raspberry Filling
• Mango Lemon Daiquiri
• Lemon Cheesecake Piled High with Blueberries
• Citrus-Scented Caramel Flan
• Café Mocha Granita
• Pecan, Tart Apple, and Dried Cherry Salad

Each recipe includes brief information on how these foods can affect emotions and energy, and the book is full of helpful charts and tips. For example, you will find out about the one dietary change you can make that is guaranteed to improve memory, thinking ability, recall, and problem-solving skills:

...how the Breakfast Oat Scone Cakes on page 19 could help you fight fatigue.

...why toast and jam is a better late-night snack than a glass of warm milk.

...what lunchtime meal can help you stay full longer, curb cravings, and manage your weight.

How the Crusty Cranberry Salmon on page 155 might help side-step depression.

...about 12 Quick-Fix Carb dishes on pages 174-175 that can help soothe a craving without packing on the pounds.

Why heating the Glazed Carrots on page 215 helps maximize this vegetable's antioxidants, thus boosting brain power.

About the latest research showing that sugar really is addictive and the 12-step program for getting off sugar for good.

The first cookbook devoted to the relationship between what you eat and how you feel, The Food & Mood Cookbook is a must-have for everyone interested in eating to feel better.

Elizabeth Somer, MA, RD, is a consulting nutritionist and a contributing editor to Shape magazine, as well as a frequent guest on national television, including NBC's Today Show. A regular contributor to such national magazines as Prevention and Fitness, she is also the author of Food & Mood, Nutrition for Women, Nutrition for a Healthy Pregnancy, and The Origin Diet. She lives in Salem, Oregon.

Jeanette Williams, RN, put herself through nursing school waiting tables and learning chefs' secrets. A longtime collaborator with Elizabeth Somer, she is also a consultant and recipe developer for a number of companies, including The California Fruit and Tomato Kitchens. She lives in Salem, Oregon, with her husband and two daughters.