Cookbook review: The Brain Warrior’s Way Cookbook

I confess, this was my first introduction to Dr. Daniel Amen and his wife Tana’s work, despite them both being multiple New York Times bestselling authors. Apparently I need to get out more. I had heard of him as one of the co-authors of The Daniel Plan, which my friend Chef Sally Cameron worked on. So I was intrigued to see The Brain Warrior’s Way Cookbook: Over 100 Recipes to Ignite Your Energy and Focus, Attack Illness and Aging, Transform Pain into Purpose and learn more about their work. Since my mother-in-law has Alzheimer’s, and I have several friends whose parents are currently dealing with it or who have recently died from the disease, it felt timely to review. Hopefully it’s never too late to protect your brain. This is the follow-up cookbook to The Brain Warrior’s Way: Ignite Your Energy and Focus, Attack Illness and Aging, Transform Pain into Purpose.

Layout and design:

The book is organized into 16 sections (chapters): Brain Warrior Basics, Smoothies & Breakfast Drinks, Breakfast, Salads, Soups & Stews, From the Sea, Poultry, Meat Lamb & Pork, Staples Not Sides, Snacks, Sauces Spreads & Condiments, Bakery, Brain Warrior Holiday Meal Plan, Brain Warrior Herbs & Spices, Rations for Brain Warriors on the Road, and Junior Brain Warriors.

Photography:

Nearly every other page features a full-color photograph, offering insight to the colorful finished recipes.

Recipes:

Recipes include cherry mint blast, tanana pancakes, kale and quinoa tabbouleh, healing chicken herb soup, macadamia-crusted mahimahi, mini turkey meat loaves, rosemary maple pork tenderloin, goji curry broccoli, smoked salmon curry rollup, ranch-style dressing, apple cinnamon crisp, and Amen holiday stuffing. Recipes include eggs, meat, and very limited grains (quinoa and brown rice in just a few dishes). No dairy, wheat, or sugar. Most recipes are reasonably low in sodium.

What I liked about the book:

Inspiring food photographs, and the recipes are just about exactly the way I eat, so lots to choose from.

I wasn’t so keen on:

Recipes were not coded for special diets.

Recommended for:

paleo, low-sodium, vegetarian, celiac, gluten-free diets

Not recommended for:

Migraine or vegan diets

A note about my cookbook reviews: In the past, I tested at least three recipes from each book, took photos, and described my experience. Due to my dietary limitations (low-sodium, gluten-, dairy-, egg-free), it is no longer possible for me to test the recipes and do them justice.

Required FTC disclosure: I received one copy of this book from the publisher for a review.
Here’s the book if you want to see more: