From The Straits Times    |


©AFP/ROBYN BECK

(AFP RelaxNews) American singer and songwriter Sheryl Crow is stepping off the stage and into the kitchen. The star is publishing a cookbook of nutritious recipes that she has adopted since her cancer diagnosis five years ago. The book, If It Makes You Healthy, is expected to hit shelves in March 2011.

Announced earlier this month on the US television show "Rachel Ray Show," Crow told the audience that the book focuses on her favorite recipes to boost immunity. The singer explained her growing interest in nutrition after her 2006 cancer diagnosis, and has subscribed to a healthy diet regime, detailed in the new book, since beating cancer.

Crow told TV personality and chef Ray that nutrition was one way she wanted to be proactive during cancer treatments. "Part of that meant for me, aside from getting the Western treatment, which was a lumpectomy and radiation, was to know more about what I put into my body," she said. "All the vitamins and supplements that we take, the best way to get those vitamins and minerals are through food, through the actual food itself, as opposed to supplements."

The book will be published by St. Martin’s Press, with contributions by Crow’s personal chef Chuck White, who has also cooked for stars Goldie Hawn and the Jonas Brothers.

Crow has sold more than 35 million records and won nine Grammy Awards.

Another US star venturing into the kitchen is screen siren Gwyneth Paltrow, who is releasing her first cookbook, My Father’s Daughter: Delicious, Easy Recipes Celebrating Family and Togetherness, in April 2011. Announced in February 2009, the book will reportedly focus on homey, seasonal, and organic meals for the family, with contributions from celebrity chefs Sophie Dahl and Nigella Lawson.

Watch Crow on the show: http://www.rachaelrayshow.com/show/segments/view/sheryl-crow/