We’re very excited to have Missy back with us on Ignite. This week we begin our review of her new book titled, The Sneaky Chef: How to cheat on your man (In the kitchen), which is a follow-up to her first book in the ‘Sneaky Chef’ series and is about creating healthy versions of meals that are typically considered “manly” foods. This book, like the first one, dispels a popular myth surrounding health and nutrition that if something tastes good then it must be bad for you. Her book is based on the premise that our diet is one of the most powerful weapons we have against heart disease and many other chronic conditions and ignoring this can set us up for failure in the long term
The first chapter in Missy’s book, Eat, Drink and Live To Tell About It, points to several arguments why she believes that women are the “health managers” of the family. As with kids, she cites personal challenges with the men in her life, particularly her husband and father, who avoid eating healthy meals due an innate reluctance to care for their own wellbeing. In her experience, she believes men (like kids) are more susceptible to making wrong food choices and seem to have irrational aversions that cannot be argued away with logical thought. So when lecturing and then nagging her husband about his food choices did not work, she decided to try the same Sneaky Chef approach that succeeded with her kids. In her words, “A disease of lifestyle means an illness that isn’t a random act of the universe, but caused by one’s own behavior”. In an effort to help men improve their diets without feeling like they need to compromise on taste or substance, women can spring into action using tips/tricks available in her book. Missy draws attention to an important fact that the book is focused on positive nutrition, i.e. specifically foods you can add to your diet and does not recommend complete elimination of target foods that some diet books consider unhealthy, such as fat or carbohydrates.
The second chapter, Health and the Happy Home, reminds us that communication between men and women is a key factor when trying to persuade men on the benefits of eating right. While her first chapter works on establishing the notion that women lead men to better health, the second one warns about falling into communication traps like trying to lecture or nag men into listening to advice. The key is to recognize that men are driven by action, not words. She also suggests women stop trying to ‘fix’ their men. She urges women who are concerned about the food habits of their loved ones to take personal responsibility by making meals that look visually appealing and yet are nutritious like a casserole with bubbling cheese on top and broccoli hidden inside.
The ideas in the first two chapters make a very strong argument for why the book is focused on men and provide insights into the selection of recipes being more popular bar, ballpark or game-time foods or in other words – foods men enjoy. However the concept of avoiding diseases triggered by unhealthy lifestyles is universal and applies to everyone alike. If you already practice some of these ‘sneaky’ techniques or have your own ideas click here and share your thoughts and ideas with us.
Next week, we’ll discuss chapters 3 and 4 that take us one step closer to the tricks and tips that the book promises to reveal.
Reena
