I loved Nourished. I loved traveling with Lia around the world and enjoying different foods. I love that this book includes recipes as well.

NetGalley provided me with an electronic copy of Nourished: A Memoir of Food, Faith & Enduring Love. I was under no obligation to review this book and my opinion is freely given.

Nourished is Lia Huber's journey, as she finds strength, spirituality, and healing through food. From a small village in Guatemala, feeding the impoverished children a simple bowl of soup, to Greece, where she learns that uncomplicated food has a complexity all its own, and to Costa Rica, Lia's worldwide travels gives her perspective and helps to set her future.

Although the recipes are few, they do help to transform Nourished into more than just a travel memoir. The only time the author seems to be really passionate is when she talks about the food she has eaten and that which she has created. I understand that Lia's spirituality is an integral part of her life, but I thought her discussion of it overtook the book. I was looking to read a book about nourishment through travel, so I was not really interested in the religious aspects. Nourished was more of a personal journey through the author's life and, although I do applaud her for her courage and her determination, I felt like I was given too much of a view. The book just meanders along and never really found its footing. Readers who like travel books, especially ones with regards to the local cuisine, may find some of Nourished to their liking.

This is an interesting and enlightening memoir with recipes. Huber tells us about her life, which has had plenty of difficulties, within the context of food, nourishment, and what she has come to learn about the food we should eat.

But Nourished is more than that. It is also a story about how God nourishes us in every part of our lives. Huber is frank about her faith, a welcome trend in the world of food writing, and how her faith and that of her husband has lead them on an interesting journey.

While I'm not sure I always agree with her, I am very glad I read this book.

Lia Huber knows the healing power of good food. From her college summer in Greece, where she first experienced the Greek cuisine made from the freshest of ingredients, to her travels in Central America, where she and her husband struggled to find the most basic necessities, Huber has made herself a life based on cooking, eating, and creating flavorful, healthy meals. 

Starting in her teens and continuing through her 20s, Huber battled pain and fatigue. It took many years and dozens of visits to doctors and specialists before anyone finally put a name to the pain and fatigue she'd been feeling: systematic lupus. Since there were no magic medicines that could fix that, Huber turned to food. Armed with cookbooks that taught her to make healthier choices, she opened herself up to the possibility of vegetables being edible. As she experimented with fresh, seasonal vegetables and herbs and spices, she very happily discovered that healthy food can taste even better than the processed foods she grew up on. 

From there, her life took her to places all over the globe, where she discovered new ingredients and flavor profiles that just kept adding depth to her dishes. Years of writing for food magazines and developing recipes gave her courage and confidence to create a life filled with amazing flavor, a loving family, a strong faith, and good health. Nourished, Huber's memoir of food and travel, faith and family, is a beautifully written story of one woman's journey from illness to health, from skepticism to Christianity, and from eating out to cooking for herself and others as a way to promote health and connection. 

Each chapter focuses on a story in Huber's life, ending with a delicious recipe that takes you back to the story through food. Most recipes are simple enough for beginners and can be recreated by a home cook. A few recipes for special occasion take more time and skill. From Zucchini Frittata to Impossible Cake, from Mama's Salt Cod Fritters to Crab Ravioli in Saffron Lemon-Butter Sauce, from Roasted Rack of Lamb with Sauteed Spring Peas to Fausto's Lasagna, Huber's recipes offer a wide variety of options for any palette. 

This lovely memoir is an honest, moving story of finding connection and warmth through real food and real relationships. It's inspiring and comforting and incredibly hard to put down once you've started it. Like the food Huber cooks, Nourished is heart warming and fulfilling and will leave you wanting more. 



Galleys for Nourished were provided by Crown Publishing (Convergent Books) through NetGalley.com, with many thanks.

Lia Huber is a beautiful writer - her words draw you into her rich & varied international experiences like just made, still warm from the oven, artisian peasant bread with melting butter, or a decadent, exotic dessert that you never heard of, but instantly becomes your favorite! In fact, I feel nourished in body & spirit just by reading this memoir.
When I read the prologue for this book while commuting from work, I wanted to make a big pot of chicken vegetable soup when I got home and invite the neighbors in!
I love how Lia expresses her faith in an organic way, through her memoir and I hope it won't turn some people off from reading this book. It is really more about being spiritual and nurturing, rather than a specific brand of Christianity, and incorporating
that aspect into every day life of being mindful of other people's needs.
I wish there were more people like Lia Huber and her husband, Chris in the world.
I have an advance copy of this book, but I am buying two more copies to give as gifts.

Very entertaining! Great mix of adventure and food - what's not to love!