The DASH Diet for Every Day: 4 Weeks of DASH Diet Recipes & Meal Plans to Lose Weight & Improve Health Paperback – January 10, 2014

At the heart of the DASH diet (whose acronym stands for Dietary Approaches to Stop Hypertension) authors tout the broad health benefits including, perhaps most obviously, reduced blood pressure and diminished cholesterol levels, marked by prospectively significant weight-loss results. It is duly and intermittently noted that this specific diet is more than a combatant of hypertension - by appealing to any and all folks looking for a health boost and/or to shed a few pounds.DASH diet involves consciously balanced meal methods by incorporating adequate portions from all food groups (veggies, seafood, poultry, low-fat dairy, etc.) and eliminating any and all processed foods (yes, that includes Weight Watcher TV dinners and the trusty “point value system”). The book also provides extensive guidelines including how to transition into the diet and how to go about maintaining an awareness and commitment to the dietary lifestyle.More specifically, authors propose a responsible approach to meals and snacks, asserting that in order to circumvent overindulging in high caloric food intakes (fats, sugars, etc.), effectively spoiling any progress, habitual “meal planning” and mindful grocery shopping can pave the way to ensured success and healthy dietary accountability. Additionally, the book’s lengthy recipe and meal segment is mouth-watering in its yummy abundance, ranging from “Blueberry and Oat Pancakes” in the AM, to “Baked BBQ Chicken” with a side of “Jalapeno Cornbread” for dinner - and topping the day off with “Frozen Chocolate Peanut Butter Pudding Squares” for dessert!However a couple of the prominently featured “reasons” to embrace the DASH diet are not entirely accurate – specifically highlights claiming “It’s [a] free [diet regimen requiring no membership or classes] and “It’s [monetarily] risk free”. The truth of the matter is that many people stock up on convenient processed frozen meals in lieu of fresh (and/or organic) vegetables, fruits, lean meats and seafood due to the increasingly high cost of these same nutritiously ideal options in which the DASH diet is founded on. In spite of this, I ultimately agree that spending a few extra bucks on what you’re consuming is a great investment for improved health.

DASH diet isn't a "quick diet", which was what I presumed based solely on the terminology. Instead, it is an acronym for Dietary Approach to Stop Hypertension. In this book, no new regimes are mentioned; it's just a repetition of generic, healthy eating any average person should maintain, ie: increase consumption of vegetables and fruits, limit food that are high in saturated fat or sodium, decrease the amount of artificial sugar and processed foods.This recipe book lists meals/recipes by the week, rather than by category. So if you don't like some of the meals and want to swap them out, you may need to change the pre-set grocery shopping lists. Although I don't have prehypertension, I still appreciate how the recipes cater towards a low-sodium intake, and that is the primary reason why I enjoy this book. Sodium amounts, based on a 2000-calorie per day diet, are generally under 1500mg.If you didn't know how to already, this recipe book teaches you how to properly read nutrition fact labels. Also, it lists several pantry staple to always have on-hand (baking soda, vinegar, dried herbs and spices).One of the issues I cam across while reading was the use of the common phrases "research studies show..." or "scientists say...". Although there are references at the end of the book, none really specified or explained any studies in detail. Instead, most references further emphasized the significance of the DASH diet, as in which foods to avoid or to consume more.But other than that minor mishap, The DASH Diet for Everyday is a good recipe book for anyone looking to decrease his or her sodium content. I was given this book for free, in exchange for a review.

At the beginning of this book, I read a sentence that made me immediately wary. I’ll quote the “just use common sense” sentence: “All you do is pay attention to what you’re eating and eat good food in intelligent portions.” I also took exception to the claim that, “It’s easy.” In fact, my fried, super-sized, pie-lovin’ appetite took exception to that little factoid. I was just put off by the oversimplification and generalization.That said…I was pleasantly surprised as I read that there is some meat (pun intended!) to this diet and this book. I started to come around when I read how widely accepted it is - from the U.S. government to magazines like the ‘U.S. News and World Report’ - for being a no-frills, no-fad weight-loss approach.The central hook is to lower one’s sodium by consuming about 2,000 per day. It explains why you won’t feel deprived or tired, and how research proves this out. I thought the book did a good job articulating types of food to increase or decrease and the easy-to-read food group guidelines and serving-size table. I also liked the handy way it suggests to measure portion size.Eventually, it makes it clear that you need to plan or you won’t succeed. I appreciated that honesty. To help, there are weekly recipes and shopping lists, and it offers ways to make the most out of breakfast, lunch and dinner by doing things like eating a protein-rich snack.The menu was fairly good, but there were some strange breakfast menus (frittatas most every morning). A lot of the recipes were pretty “normal,” though - like Spaghetti with meat sauce.Overall, I was pleased. This was a good resource for someone with hypertension or owns one too many pairs of tight pants.