The nutritional information and other interesting snippets that I include in my blog are generally from what I have learned during my diploma course ~ Vegan Natural Chef at The College Of Naturopathic Medicine in London.

The course itself is in three parts:

• Part 1 ~ Anatomy & Physiology
• Part 2 ~ Vegan Nutrition For Every Day Living
• Part 3 ~ Chef Training

I have also a list of books that were recommended reading from our course, which help me with the nutritional and science bits:

The Encyclopaedia of Healing Foods by Dr Michael Murray and Dr Joseph Pizzorno with Lara Pizzorno, M.A., L.M.T

“The most comprehensive, user-friendly A-Z guide available on the nutritional benefits and medicinal properties of food”

This massive book is in 4 parts:

1. Basic Principles of a Good Diet
2. Food Components
3. Compendium of Healing Foods
4. Food Prescriptions for Specific Diseases

It also has a great Appendices:

• Appendix A ~ Glycemic Index, Carbohydrate Content and glycemic load on selected foods
• Appendix B ~ Acid – Alkaline values of selected foods
• Appendix C ~ Pesticide content of popular fruits and vegetables
• Appendix D ~ Oxalate content of selected foods
• Appendix E ~ Food – Drug interactions
• Appendix F ~ Nutrient content of selected foods per 100 gram serving

Other books that I often refer to are:

• Healing With Whole Foods ~ Asian Traditions and Modern Medicine by Paul Pitchford
• Health Defence by Paul Clayton
• The Vegetarian Flavor Bible by Karen Page
• The Flavour Thesaurus by Niki Segnit
• McGee on Food & Cooking ~ An Encylopedia of Kitchen Science, History and Culture by Harold McGee
• Ross and Wilson Anatomy and Physiology in Health and Illness by Anne Waugh BSc (Hons) MSc CertEd SRN RNT PFHEA and Allison Grant BSc PhD FHEA