Joan Ransley, who writes our recipe column (below) and supplies her stunning food photographs (she’s won awards at the Pink Lady Food Photography comp.), has just had her first book published. Congratulations to Joan and her partner Nick with whom she co-wrote the book.
Cooking for the Sensitive Gut is not the catchiest title, but it tells you just what’s inside. If anyone knows about guts it’s Joan and Nick who are both nutritionists, proper qualified ones, not the so-called nutritionists who turn up in newspapers and magazines urging us to drink more water and eat superfoods. Joan holds a Masters and PhD in Human Nutrition, Nick is Professor of Integrated Medicine at Sheffield Uni. and chair and medical adviser for the Irritable Bowel Syndrome (IBS) Network.
The introduction explains all about gut problems and goes on to explain what you can eat rather than what you can’t, what to eat in small quantities and what alternatives there are. Importantly they stress the value of having a rich and varied diet and explain how even people with gut issues can enjoy their food without cutting out whole food groups.
But it’s the recipes that seduce: good everyday dishes, beautifully photographed, using ingredients to hand but deliciously tempting. You may have gathered from the amount of eating out Mandy and I do that we have iron-clad stomachs and no gut issues but that hasn’t stopped me cooking from this book. I’ve tried salmon with spinach and lemon and the shakshuka: spicy baked peppers and tomatoes with baked eggs. I’m tempted by the aubergines topped with quinoa, feta and herbs; the gluten free pancakes made with banana and blueberries and the beautiful lemon, cardamom and polenta cake.
You will find their recipe for salmon, quinoa and crispy potato salad with blueberry and maple syrup dressing, in our recipe column below, but for the rest of the recipes you will have to buy the book.
Cooking for the Sensitive Gut by Dr Joan Ransley and Dr Nick Read is published by Pavilion Books and available from Amazon, Waterstones and other major book shops. For more information about managing your sensitive gut go to: www.cookingforthesensitivegut.com