Satisfying, Big-Flavor Recipes Featuring the Top 16 Age-Busting Power Foods
By Rebecca Katz with Mat Edelson
TEN SPEED PRESS

What do you get when you take the top science-approved nutritious foods and combine them into 125 palate-pleasing concoctions in a format that is relatable, informative, and fun to read? You get this delightful book by chef Rebecca Katz, who believes people have an innate sense of which foods will nourish us most. In The Longevity Kitchen: Satisfying, Big-Flavor Recipes Featuring the Top 16 Age-Busting Power Foods, she invites us to tune in to that natural instinct.

The first few chapters offer a primer on nutrition, including the “Culinary Pharmacy,” a special section describing the most health-enhancing ingredients and their research-backed benefits. The remaining chapters are divided into categories: soups and broths, vegetables, grains, protein-based dishes, snacks and appetizers, sauces and dressings, beverages, and desserts.

The Longevity Kitchen is rooted firmly in the body of science stating that certain foods can help prevent, minimize, and even reverse the effects of various diseases, including cancer, Alzheimer’s, heart disease, and diabetes. Katz also weaves in culinary traditions from elders and “longevity hot spots” like Costa Rica and Greece.

She manages to be thoughtful, funny, and interesting even while explaining epigenetics—the relatively new field of studying how environmental factors and lifestyle choices influence whether certain genes are expressed. As Katz points out, taking the time to prepare and eat healthfully gives us back even more time. In the process, we are given opportunities to reconnect—with tradition and culture, flavor and health, and ourselves.