Easy Mediterranean by Sue Quinn: Book Review

17 Mar Easy Mediterranean by Sue Quinn: Book Review

Easy Mediterranean by Sue Quinn is a healthy cookbook. Filled with delicious recipes that are simply to prepare. My favourite combination when looking for inspiration for family meals.

After reading The Telomere Effect by Elizabeth Blackburn and Elissa Epel, as well as The Mind Gut Connection by Emeran Mayer MD I was surprised to discover that both books mentioned the Mediterranean diet as the best approach to leading a healthy lifestyle. Not just the actual food but the accompanying social aspect i.e. sitting down with family/ friends and enjoying your food. I was a little confused by what constituted a ‘Mediterranean diet’ as the Mediterranean covers a vast area with diverse cultures. Interestingly enough there were not many healthy cookbooks that cover Mediterranean cuisine.

Easy Mediterranean author, Sue Quinn states that her book is not intended as a prescriptive diet book, but as guide to the healthy eating habits of the Mediterranean using “delicious food and wonderful flavors and ingredients of the region”. This healthy cookbook achieves these goals and some. An instant dinner party success was the Freekah with Feta, Roast Tomatoes and Herbs recipe. A new family favourite is Juicy Pork Chops with Rosemary, Juniper and Braised Fennel. Both full of flavor and appealing to the whole family. What’s not to love?

My only disappointment was that Easy Mediterranean is aimed at the UK market, although the author is Australian. Therefore some of the ingredients are not available as fresh produce in Australia, so I then had to substitute with the canned version. A little annoying when my aim was to eat healthy & fresh food. Although the Mediterranean is a long way from Australia so really what can be expected?

The preface includes some interesting  information about the history and health benefits of the Mediterranean Diet, together with “The Mediterranean Diet at a Glance”. The information is concise and nicely correlates with the information contained in both The Telomere Effect and The Mind Gut Connection.

Overall I have found this cook book to be very useful. Quite often I will buy a healthy cookbook and find, maybe, two recipes that are cooked once and the cookbook then languishes with the rest of the collection, rarely opened again. Because of the simplicity of the recipes together with the sheer flavor of the food combinations this healthy cookbook is becoming well used. The splashed, dog eared kind of well used. If you are looking for a simply guide with easy healthy recipes that will appeal to the whole family then I recommend Easy Mediterranean by Sue Quinn.

This book has a rating of 4 out of 5 stars.