Book Review: If You Have a Craving...

If You Have a Craving, I Have a Cure
By Sheri Rose Shepherd
Tyndale House, 2012
English, 224 pgs

Description:

Life can be hard . . . but food, faith, and fun are three amazing gifts from God to satisfy and refresh us every day. Yet all too often, we focus primarily on what we can not do, and what we should not eat—which leaves us feeling deprived and depressed. Instead of being energized by following Christ, we waste our days feeling bored and burnt-out on our faith, while battling the guilt that comes from craving the food that we love. In If You Have a Craving, I Have a Cure, best-selling author and speaker Sheri Rose Shepherd encourages you to embark on a new adventure with faith and food. She reveals the food coaching tips that enabled her to lose over 50 pounds and keep it off, and shares fun recipes in celebration of the healthy, delicious food our God created for us to enjoy. It’s time to let go of guilt, grab hold of grace, and recapture the life God craves for us to live! “Taste and see that the Lord is good. Oh, the joys of those who take refuge in him!” (Psalm 34:8)

 

Review:

What a better time than the beginning of a new year to make new choices...

 

This book has 15 very short chapters. Each chapter is broken into 4 parts: a personal story, a short devotion, life tips and recipes. There are short, encouraging sayings with each chapter as well as a prayer.

The chapters are about what you're craving in food and that's tied into what you're craving in your spirit. For example, Craving Something Salty: Salty, Satisfying Recipes and Faith Seasonings for Life's Seasons or Craving Real Refreshment: Delicious Drinks and Hydration for Your Soul.

Each chapter will take about 5 minutes to read. That would make this a very easy book for a women's group to use as a weekly Bible Study. Then the group could make the recipes related to the chapter. I think that would be a great way to use this book.

The Life Tips in each chapter kinda feel cliched...if you want more energy then you should exercise and remove excess from your life...or...if you need rest, take a bath or go to bed early...nothing new to those, but they are good reminders sometimes and each has Scripture related to it.

Now, the recipes...I can't wait to try the cheeseless cheese dip (!) and the kale chips, but there isn't really anything new in these either. For instance, there is a recipe for a vanilla shake and there are several that are "adapted" from other cook books.

All in all, this is a good devotion/Bible study book for a group to use or even for just solo reading and study. I think discussion and involvement with the study would make this better than just reading alone though. What a better time than the beginning of a new year to make new choices...

I received a copy of the book from Tyndale House in exchange for a review. No additional compensation has been received and I was not required to write a positive review.