Cookbook Review: The Secret Ingredient: Delicious and easy heart-healthy recipes that might just save your life. By Sally Bee: Aromatic Chicken

I was offered to review The Secret Ingredient: Delicious, easy, heart-healthy recipes that might just save your life, By Sally Bee. I love hearing other people's medical miracles and couldn't wait to see what recipes she's created.

At the age of 36, Sally Bee suffered three major heart attacks in the space of a week and the doctors called her husband so he could say goodbye before she died. She had never smoked, didn’t drink and was fit and healthy. Sally Bee’s story of survival and recovery from her heart attacks are nothing short of a miracle. Baby-step by baby-step, Sally defied all the odds and, five years later, is vital and healthy.

The most important thing for Sally during her recovery (thinking she wouldn’t live for much longer) was sitting down and eating with her family every night. To save her heart, Sally needed to eat healthily but her kids didn’t want just salads and seeds, so she began creating new recipes that they’d all enjoy, including versions of comforting classics and delicious desserts.

Throughout her book, Sally tells her inspirational story and gives encouragement and support for changing your eating habits, and those of your children, without feeling deprived and in a way that works for life. She’s living proof.

Sally Bee was juggling being a writer, television personality, wife and mother of three when she suffered three major heart attacks in a week in 2004. After a full recovery she credits to healthy eating, Sally is now a spokeswoman for the British Heart Foundation and a trained heart therapist giving regular talks to heart rehabilitation groups. This is her first cookbook.

I chose to make her Aromatic Chicken over rice. It has flavors of coriander, cumin, cloves, nutmeg, turmeric and ginger in it. She called for using the whole berries of the spices, toasting them then grinding them, but I just warmed the ground versions in a pan to help bring out their flavors. I wasn't sure how of the quantity I need using ground versus whole berry so I just guessed it. While simmering away, it smelled really good! Unfortunately, once tasted, the flavor wasn't so strong and tasted kind of plain. Maybe I needed more spices? Maybe the flavors simmered away? Anyways it was mild enough that the kids and Mr. ate it, which I was so surprised and is most important anyways! It was more like a chicken and rice soup since you add some of the broth over the rice.

Some of her other recipes I'm eyeballing are her Chilli con Healthy, Meatballs in Spicy Tomato & Vegetable Sauce, Snappy Tuna Melt, Italian Blushing Pasta and her Healthy Spring Vegetable Risotto.

I love these little bags of spices, found in the grocery store near the Mexican products here. They run about .99 each which is great if you don't use that spice very much and don't need a big $6 bottle of it.

This book is beautiful with it's glossy pages and beautiful photographs. The cover is a matte print with her book logo all nice and glossy (flip through pages here). Sally Bee certainly has something to smile about as she is pictured in her book. Reading her story of her heart attacks at such a young age (gosh the same age I am now, I could not imagine) with her 3 young children really remarkable. Her book includes recipes from soups and starters, salads, sides and vegetarian, chicken, fish, beef, lamb and pork, and of course desserts. So if you are looking for some heart healthy recipes, looking to eat better you may want to check out this new recipe book. I think you'll enjoy it as much as I have.

You may find her on her website, YouTube, Facebook and Twitter also!

The Secret Ingredient:
Delicious and easy heart-healthy recipes that might just save your life
By Sally Bee
ISBN: 978-1-4027-8140-7
$22.95 Paperback

I wrote this review for "Mommy? I'm Hungry!" about The Secret Ingredient. I received free product to keep for this review. All opinions for this review are that of myself & family. Product info & stock images provided by PR.