Genius Kitchen: Over 100 Easy, Healthy Recipes to Energize Your Mind and Strengthen Your Body

by Max Lugavere

USA TODAY Bestseller

WALL STREET JOURNAL Bestseller

Combining the dietary recommendations in his bestselling Genius Foods and the lifestyle recommendations of The Genius Life, Genius Kitchen features shockingly delicious, nutrient-packed recipes that will energize your mind, strengthen your body, and pave a path to health that you’ll feel with the first bite. 

Max Lugavere’s debut book Genius Foods was groundbreaking, providing much-needed information on brain health that was embraced by thousands, and became an instant New York Times bestseller. His second book, The Genius Life, introduced an easy-to-implement protocol for strengthening your body and mind. This is the follow-up fans have been waiting for: the companion cookbook, filled with over 100 delicious recipes to help you lose weight, feel great, and reach optimum health.

Inspired by traditions from around the globe, the 100-plus recipes and stunning photographs in Genius Kitchen feature an international twist, with bold flavors that favor simplicity and quality of ingredients over complexity and quantity. In addition, Max lists the basic, healthy ingredients and tools that are essential for a well-stocked kitchen and pantry, and offers techniques and best practices for healthy cooking and eating well on a budget. 

Max wants everyone to be well and enjoy great food—a legacy imparted on him by the tragic health of his mother. Part cookbook, part wellness guide, Genius Kitchen provides key insights that make healthy eating a breeze. Max explains the importance of whole, fresh foods, how various nutrients work together keep you healthy, and how to get fit without counting calories. Breaking down each meal component, Max explains the art and science of nutrition without the dogma, so that you can feel your best every day without sacrificing your love of eating. 

Whether you are a novice cook or seasoned in the kitchen; just beginning the journey to wellness, or health conscious but wanting to up your game, everyone will benefit from the information presented in Genius Kitchen—and enjoy some epic food in the process.

Genres: Cookbooks, Health, Cooking, Nonfiction, Food, Nutrition

302 pages, Hardcover

Published March 29, 2022

About the author

Max Lugavere is an American television personality, health and science journalist, author, and musician. He resides in Los Angeles, California and New York City. Lugavere earned a degree in film and psychology from the University of Miami in Coral Gables, Florida.

Reviews

[Laurel Flynn · Rating 3 out of 5]

There are lots of interesting ideas here for some fun food BUT, yes, some of the ingredients are unusual, hard to find and expensive. I would suggest people look at the cooking methods and simplify the ingredients to their own taste to make the recipes more affordable. While it is good to eat while also being mindful of our health I don't agree with all of Mr. Gugavere's strategies. You don't need to be quite as meat-centric as he is; lots of vegans and vegetarians do just fine. Nor does one need to be as sugar-averse. I would point out that monk fruit can be tough to find, not everyone can use artificial sweeteners and not everyone can taste Stevia (like me, these last two). Poaching in oil?? Uh, no. Too much fat and salt and lots of full-fat coconut products are used, also. I'll try some recipes, modified to my own tastes and kitchen, but not buy my own copy of this book.

[Alwyn Borg Myatt · Rating 5 out of 5]

I came across Max Lugavere a few years ago on The Rubin Report (thank you Dave). Since then, he is the person I trust most when it comes to healthy lifestyle and nutrition. I read his books Genius Foods and Genius Life, and I received Genius Kitchen a couple of days ago. Max has helped me find ways to improve my general health, keep my fibromyalgia at bay, get back in shape after childbirth, maintain a sustainable diet, and learn so much from extremely knowledgeable guests on his fantastic podcast. He is the one I go to because he is not a fanatic, not a guru, not a 'my way is the best' kind of person. I recommend his books and podcast to friends and family, and to all those who need sound and practical advise. Thank God for Max!

[LuAnn Adams · Rating 4 out of 5]

The first third of the book is nutrition and cooking info which is very informative. I loved all the pics and nutritious recipes and the varying degrees from quick-and-easy to more time-intensive. A few of the ingredients are hard to find. I have made five of the recipes. Two were okay, two were good and one was fantastic. Looking forward to trying more.

[Daniel Wilches · Rating 5 out of 5]

One of my biggest struggles, since I started my “get healthy” journey about 2 years ago, has always been nutrition. With Genius Kitchen, Max has done a great job laying out most of the things you need to know to answer the question: What to eat. And if you are thinking it is only about the recipes, you are in for a pleasant surprise beacuse the book is so much more than that and the index gives it all away.

One of the quotes I took as my motto and paraprashing Max is: Not because something is healthy means it has to taste bad. And learning how to cook is the most powerful tool you can use to stop eating junk food because it will get you used to how real food actually taste like, and I promise: Once you start enjoying cooking for you and your family, there is no going back to eating whatever. And the best part of cooking, experimenting with herbs and spices for then tasting how much they can change the food you are eating.

The only thing I was this books had, was a picture of the every recipe alongside it. I’ve prepared 25% of the recipes so far, and I know I have ignore some of the best ones just because I can not see how tasty it is.

At the end of the day, this is one a book I will keep in my kitchen: For the delicious recipes and the knowledge it contains.

[T · Rating 1 out of 5]

Bougie and condescending af and only highlights the disparity of food and health in the US.

[Pedro Chaves · Rating 4 out of 5]

Apart from the very useful recipes, tons of useful information and knowledge about healthy food.

[Brianna Sowinski · Rating 3 out of 5]

Falls into "I want healthy recipes ideas... but not this healthy" category for me. If you need broccoli ideas there are SO many and in different preparation areas.

[Kristin · Rating 3 out of 5]

Husband and I read Genius Foods together and thought the concepts were interesting enough to check out the cookbook from the library. After renewing the library book three times, I decided to just buy the cookbook.

First 95 pages are a summary of concepts found in Genius Foods.
Recipes are sorted into "Breakfast", Small Bites, Mains, Accoutrements, and Desserts.

Recipes made as of this review:
Blueberry Smoothies
Cheesy Baked Eggs and Broccoli
Baked Eggs in Sweet Potato Boats with Herb Relish
Spicy Sesame Broccoli Slaw
Cheesy Kale Salad
Olive and Olive Oil Braised Chicken and Greens with Orange and Fennel
Bone Broth Beef Stew with Purple Sweet Potatoes
Pattyless Jamaican Beef Patty
Sheet Pan Balsamic Chicken and Broccoli with Red Onions and Figs
Salmon and Shrimp Stew with Pumpkin and Coconut

Pro's - a very approachable cookbook, a good resource to implement concepts without being overwhelming, a respectable selection of dishes and flavors, compliments the Keto diet principles.

Con's - as other reviews have noted, the pictures don't always accurately represent what is IN the dish (additional ingredients or missing ingredients); the author discusses repeatedly avoiding processed food, yet advocates for the use of monkfriut, which is a heavily processed food. Using [maple syrup, honey, cane sugar, sweetener of choice] in small quantities and judiciously is just fine (they become a spice or seasoning, not a main component).

I'm looking forward to trying more recipes out.

[Stone Miller · Rating 5 out of 5]

Genius Foods opened my eyes to the truth of our glycating world. I greatly enjoy optimizing my diet, and Max’s work assisted me in refining what I felt was an already pretty-good set of eating behaviors. Genius Kitchen is a perfect follow-up to Max’s previous works. I greatly enjoyed the little 95 page intro, which goes through some great practical advice on optimizing your shopping, cooking and eating habits. As for the recipes, each and every one I’ve done has been a joy to shop for, make and eat. My favorites so far have been the Jamaican Patty and the Olive Oil-Braised Chicken and Greens with Orange and Fennel. I can’t wait to work my way through all of these recipes. Thus far, I’ve incorporated 3-4 of these meals into my lexicon for regular use and plan to use more. Max’s slate of recipes are consistent and diverse in flavor profile. I appreciate the time-to-cook range, which can go from 15 mins to an hour. This allows for use on both week nights and weekends. This is a brilliant cookbook. One of the few that brings with it scientific dietary truth. I hope for more in the future, as cookbooks bereft of sugar and grain rich foods are rare.

[Janalee · Rating 4 out of 5]

I listen to this guy's podcasts and really like them. T these recipes look so good and I look forward to trying a few. 100% nutritious. Plus a valuable 100 pages of interesting info on power foods before all the recipes. Plus beautiful photography. Great, down to earth counsel without being fussy. Ex: store bought eggs are still packed with nutrients if you don't have access to farm fresh.

I learned you need fats to fully utilize the nutrients in most veggies. Ex add butter or olive oil to your baked sweet potatoes. oils with salads.

Foods to keep in rotation: salmon, nutritional yeast, nuts and seeds, sweet potatoes, coconut cream/milk, olive/avocado oil, meats and chicken, beets, spices , eggs, figs, celery, herbs, berries, citrus, monk fruit- all things we know but like to be reminded of. And One thing I've never tried: cassava flour.

Importance of salt, chewing slowly, cooling and reheating your rice potatoes, pasta to activate resistant starches which are not easily digestible. and then acts like a form of fiber to reduce impact on blood sugar. Also, cast iron.

Now I want to go back and read his other two books.

[Anne Haack · Rating 4 out of 5]

After reading this book, I have 41 recipes starred and cannot wait to dive into each of those 41! My husband has made 3 of the recipes which totally rocked our biochemistry each evening. This said, as a HUGE fan of Max since his 2018 book launch of Genius Life, I feel this book got hijacked by an editor to its detriment-- photos include ingredients not mentioned in the recipes, and more importantly why is he waxing rhapsodic about his mom's cooking here when in Genius Life obviously she did not make the best nutritional choices. So 5 stars for Max yet 4 stars due to his halcyon editor, his use of monk fruit in savory recipes (real sugar in such small amounts is fine), and his use of nuts and weird flours overcomplicating basic recipes.

[Jennifer Flath · Rating 4 out of 5]

First part of book talks about healthy ingredients to stock kitchen with, I learned a lot from this section. The second half is the recipes I thought some sort complicated and hard to find ingredients but found some that I am definitely going to try.

[Cathy Meyers · Rating 3 out of 5]

3*

[Pinky · Rating 4 out of 5]

Want to try the Miso Coconut Steamed Veggies, the Broccoli Walnut Bisque, and the Almond Olive Oil Cake recipes.

[Kelvey Vander Hart · Rating 5 out of 5]

I would say this is the only cookbook I keep in my kitchen (which it is, even as a vegetarian) but this is so much more than a cookbook. Goldmine of info!

[Susan · Rating 3 out of 5]

3.5 stars. I really liked the information presented. Just not crazy about the recipes.

[Anna Scott · Rating 4 out of 5]

I'm not sure how practical the recipes are for my lifestyle, but I learned a lot in the pages leading up to the recipes.

[Bridget Anderson · Rating 3 out of 5]

This was very good, but I think the book would be better than the audiotape. Next I will get the book.

[Lisa Tangen · Rating 5 out of 5]

Borrowed from the library...looks good enough to buy a copy of my own.

[Brandy · Rating 5 out of 5]

deep dive into alternative sugars and how to find hidden ingredients in foods

[Jennifer Long · Rating 4 out of 5]

I have only made one main recipe so far: Sheet Pan Balsamic Chicken and Broccoli with Red Onions and Figs. It was a deliciously easy weeknight dinner. The book also got me to try sardines for the first time with a very simple avocado/oil/sardine salad. Surprisingly, not as fishy as I thought.

But, I have to say it's the "Part One: Eat Like a Genius" section that I have found the most rewarding. It's a condensed, categorized, more palatable version of "Genius Foods." I found "Genius Foods" to have nuggets of valuable information, but it needed better structure/editing. "Genius Kitchen" delivers. I do not follow the author on social media so my only exposure to him has been through his books. With the number of pictures of him in the book, it seems like he has a brand.

I look forward to trying more recipes. Almost every recipe has a picture to go with it and serves about 4. A few recipes include ingredients I won't be able to get easily at my grocery store (monk fruit sweetener, hulled hemp hearts), but most include easy-to-find fresh items.

[Shinemoos · Rating 4 out of 5]

Interesting information about all the ingredients. Like the idea of “truth is always somewhere in the middle”.

[Iris · Rating 4 out of 5]

i’m a bit wary of some of his nutritional info but the recipes are creative. man knows how to chef it up