Full Moon Feast: Food and the Hunger for Connection

Jessica Prentice's book was a joy to read. In fact, it is so readable, I've recommended it as a book club selection to several friends -- after all, we all eat! The way Prentice talks about eating and food, it is like she is an old friend on a passionate adventure.I have spent years of searching for a way of eating that seems "right" nutritionally (from all-American to vegetarian to vegan to macrobiotic to low-carb to Gittleman!). I have owned books on all of them, and I have lived all of them. None have made as much sense intellectually AND intuitively as what Jessica describes. Her book is organized by thirteen moons, and each moon represents a theme. This organization is one of the things that makes her book so readable - each chapter is a complete exploration of that theme, and then you're off to another theme.Jessica's work is well-researched, well-written, fascinating, inspiring, and for me, life-changing. I took my hundred-or-so other cookbooks and diet books to the used bookstore, purchased a few others that Prentice recommended in her resources, and my kitchen supply of books is now complete at only a few books rather than the close to 100 that I owned before. I feel THAT sure of this.This book is for everyone -- interested in nutrition or not. I guarantee you will enjoy it, you will learn things you didn't know about what you eat, and you will be inspired by Prentice's knowledge and passion. And if you are searching for a way of eating that makes sense intellectually AND intuitively (and feels GOOD physically), you will have found a path home.

As one of the previous reviews indicates, this is not a cookbook; rather it is a wonderfully composed book explaining how native peoples lived while respecting the earth and how it may relate to everyone today. Jessica Prentice takes you on a thirteen month lunar journey describing the foods available during each month at locals all over the world.While the foundation of thought behind the book is based on Weston A. Price's work, the author quotes other like-minded authors.Ms. Prentice offers some sample recipes at the end of each chapter providing a jumping place for more research if you wish to explore seasonal a seasonal source of nourisment. It very well may change the way you look at where you food comes from.

what a gorgeous read. jessica prentice covers everything from her childhood obsessions with food, to the pollution our modern-day conveniences are creating in the hunting waters of the inuit, to the ingenious new experimental methods of "resetting" polluted ecosystems by inoculating trash piles with oyster mushrooms (!). she makes the connection between our innate hunger for connection to each other and the earth to another innate hunger for real food and nutrients with such ease, i find myself wondering how was this connection not apparent to me before? her writing has the knack of conveying new connections between age-old ideas with such ease, you feel like you've had that thought, or felt that way before. i cannot recommend this book enough.

I work in the health food industry, and what with all of the passing dietary fads, eating in a healthy and nourishing fashion had become a daunting, worrisome task. Reading this book brought the joy and spirit and connection of food back into my life, and helped me to figure out my own beliefs about food. I started eating mainly local, seasonal food a year before I read this book, (something that she recommends) but now I add the stories that have been passed down from culture to culture, generation to generation, to my experience of eating and of family meal time, and this has made my relationship with food full of spirit and life~

The person who received this book is thrilled with it because she will no longer have to go check it out at the library and make sure it is turned in promptly. She loves the book and is very happy to have it now.

This is a beautiful book on food, cycles, and traditional cultures (mostly focuses on traditional cultures of the northern hemisphere). There are some good recipes too. I love the way she presents each moon cycle. It really gave me a sense of connection. She talks about modern food issues and nutrition as well. I had lost my original copy and bought another one. That is how much I love it.

One of the things I really love about the solstices and equinoxes is that they give me astronomical points from which to view the progression of the year - they keep it from being just a succession of days that don't differ much from one another. This book provides another way to break up the passage of the year and recognize the various parts of which it is composed. Surprisingly, my husband and kids also enjoy the monthly change of focus as we have moved from eggs into milk and are looking forward to the shifts to come.

This is an incredible resource for those hungering to find a more complete, more functional way to eat than low-carb or low-fat.Prentice weaves information about food and nutrition with myths, legends and indigenous practices as well as her own impressions as a chef and food activist. It's packed with cooking and food history from around the world. But it also reads like a very personal, relatable journey. I especially appreciate her including the struggles with food she had as a young woman.This is on my Christmas list to give to everyone this year.

This is such a relevant book, more so today than ever. Understanding the history of food creates a pathway to understanding how our mothers misfed us baby formula, instant mash potatoes and canned processed meat.

This is a lovely book and one that I have been enjoying reading. Although I’m already quite knowledgeable on the subject of real food and quite a lot of what the author explains I know already, I’ve nonetheless learned something new in each chapter.I appreciate the author’s thoughtful way of explaining her own life situations so sensitively and then linking them back to the subject of food: how we treat it; how industry sees it; the spiritual side of it etc. Many of the things she expressed I was able to identify with in regard to my own journey. The concept of measuring the passing of time by observing the moon was relatively new to me and it’s the first time I had come across it being explained so well - it makes perfect sense to me and even causes me to think differently.She also presents quite a few ideas that are thought-provoking, causing me to pause and think. I’d say I’ll be pondering some of her points and dipping in and out of this book for years to come.

I am currently reading through this book. I have been researching food for a very long time, and this book is invaluable. The writer, from her own experiences, takes you through the reasons why the different moons were given their names, the foods in season at the time, and why they should be eaten for health at that time. The nutrients in plants wax and wane with the seasons. What a meat animal eats is very important if it is to benefit our health. She explains in conjunction with these moons, why we should eat only seasonal foods grown or bred within our local area. This is the only book I have come across that talks about the moon and seasonal food. This book, for me, is a must have, as it fills in many gaps of understanding why we should eat local and only in season.

I really recommend this book If it seems to be something you are interested in. I gifted my original copy of this book away and so had to purchase again through Amazon and I’m happy it was here.

I love this book! I can't recommend it enough. It isn't really a cookbook, although it does contain some lovely recipes. It is a book about eating - how we used to eat, how we eat now and what we are missing. Anyone who is eats should read this book and revel in the connections between our food, our homes and each other.