“The Ancient Cookfire,” written by gourmet cook and permaculturist Carrie L’Esperance, provides a combination of home remedies and recipes gathered from 25 years of researching both modern and ancient self-healing health ideologies. This book focuses largely on two main concepts: 1) connecting diet to nature and seasonal changes and 2) incorporating cleansing fasts to rejuvenate and revitalize the body. By employing preventative therapies such as consuming particular types of food at specific times of the year and fasting habitually, L’Esperance suggests that dietary maintenance is less necessary later in life. However, to experiment with the ideas in this book, you’ll need a well-marked calendar and a very open mind.

L’Esperance breaks the book down by each of the four seasons beginning with a list of foods to consume, foods to avoid and organs to concentrate on healing. For example, in autumn it’s suggested that foods rich and compact be eaten, such as leafy greens, brown rice, garlic, fresh figs and poultry. L’Esperance does a wonderful job of correlating seasonal changes to the dietary needs of the body, pointing out natural tendencies many of us are not consciously aware of, like a gravitation towards lighter meals when the temperature rises or the urge to eat heavier foods in the cooler seasons.

“The Ancient Cookfire” also introduces the art of fasting as a way to re-sync diet and health to nature and the change of seasons. According to L’Esperance, “the principle of fasting is based on the basic structures and processes of the human body, mind and spirit. A cleansing fast will encourage the body to release stored toxins from muscles, glands, tissues and fat cells.”

Many recipes, food options and fasting instructions are provided throughout this book as well. One recommended fasting idea is the 3 to 4 day grape fast, a practice meant to promote blood vessel elasticity and help protect the collagen structures of the skin. Though I’d personally be willing to try this one, I’d also be worried about the lack of energy that might result. And I can’t say that a blood vessel cleanse would make up for the endorphins I’d be missing from not exercising. Another recommendation is the 2 to 4 day winter potato fast for weight reduction, which sounds easy and actually quite delicious, but may be a quick way to pack on those extra pounds.

L’Esperance notes that time, privacy and peace are key components to successfully completing a fast. In my opinion, these three things are harder to come by these days, considering our hectic daily lives and numerous responsibilities. However, “The Ancient Cookfire” suggests that slowing down long enough to experience the benefits of a fast is worth the time and effort. “At times it is difficult to slow down the pace of life enough to even think about giving the body a break,” L’Esperance writes. “The more disconnected we are from our bodies, the more difficult it is to imagine the powerful effects that fasts using certain food and drink can have.”