Veggie Blog

Book Description
“Nava Atlas has solutions for maintaining sophisticated flavors in the dishes she creates and still manages to keep the ingredients healthy.” —Cooking Light

Eating healthfully is a challenge for those with fast-paced lives. In The Vegetarian 5-Ingredient Gourmet, Nava Atlas pares meal preparation down to the essentials, using just a few high-quality ingredients in each delicious dish. Focusing on whole foods and fresh produce (with a little help from convenient natural sauces and condiments) she serves up a varied range of choices for everyday fare.
More than 250 recipes include soups, salads, and pastas; grain, bean, and soy entrees; wraps and sandwich fillings; simple side dishes; fruit-filled finales; and more. The full-flavored fare made from five ingredients or less includes Curried Red Lentil and Spinach Soup; Greek-Flavored Potato Salad; Black Bean Nachos Grandes; Baked Barbecue Tofu and Peppers; and Miniature Fresh Fruit Tarts. Filled with ingenious shortcuts and sprinkled with kitchen wisdom and tips throughout, The Vegetarian 5-Ingredient Gourmet also offers the reader dozens of menu suggestions to help make meal planning effortless.
From sophisticated (Mixed Greens with Pears, Cranberries, and Goat Cheese) to kid-friendly, (Peanut Butter Noodles), here are recipes to suit every taste. Nava Atlas makes it simple for busy families or active singles to eat the kind of high-nutrient foods everyone needs and to enjoy the robust flavors everyone craves.

Book: Vegetarian 5-Ingredient Gourmet by Nava Atlas
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Book Description
After years of research, scientists declared that the Mediterranean diet was the best one for overall good health-and the exciting news was that it tasted great, too.

What is this book about?

The title says it is a vegan take on Mediterranean cooking by Donna Klein.

What does the description say about the Mediterranean diet?

It says that after years of research, scientists declared the Mediterranean diet the best one for overall good health, and that it tasted great too. That is the description’s statement and no study is named.

This is a summary of the book description, not medical advice. The description is short, so check the Amazon page for the full contents.

What is the Mediterranean diet pattern, and how does a vegan version look?

The Mediterranean diet is a pattern, not a recipe list. The Harvard Nutrition Source review of the Mediterranean diet describes it as mainly fruit, vegetables, beans, nuts, whole grains and olive oil, with some fish and small amounts of dairy, and the review explains that versions differ between countries.

A vegan version removes fish and dairy, so planning matters. Replace the calcium and B12 that dairy and fish supplied with fortified plant milks and foods, leafy greens such as kale, and a B12 supplement or fortified foods, as the NIH Office of Dietary Supplements fact sheet on vitamin B12 notes. For omega-3, flaxseed, walnuts and canola oil supply the plant form (ALA).

Keeping the olive oil, legumes, vegetables and whole grains gives the plan its character. Dish ideas include chickpea stews, roasted vegetables with herbs and bean salads with lemon.

Anyone with a health condition should plan changes with a doctor. Olive oil is energy-dense, so use it in measured amounts if you are watching weight. Eating together and daily activity are part of the pattern as Harvard describes it, not only the food. Many people start by changing one meal a day.

More on this blog: Diet and Fitness: How Carbs, Fat and Protein Fit Together and Healthy Diet: A Guide to Weight Loss

Book: The Mediterranean Vegan Kitchen by Donna Klein
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Book Description
Under pressure to prepare a quick, nutritious dinner? Under pressure to reduce your fat and cholesterol? When the pressure’s on for a great vegetarian meal on the run, turn to Lorna Sass’s second guide to the safe and delicious use of the pressure cooker.

Following the phenomenal success of Cooking Under Pressure, this collection of recipes dispels the myth of the difficult-to-use pressure cooker — which is in fact easier and faster than the microwave — and shows how vegetarian fare can be vibrantly colorful and full of flavor!

Bursting with rich soups, hearty stews and casseroles, zesty curries, and flavor-packed chilis, Great Vegetarion Cooking Under Pressure brings together over 150 recipes, most with cooking times of under ten minutes. Arrive in Provence with a two-minute soupe au pistou laced with garlic and fennel; serve up an elegant zucchini bisque with tomatoes and fresh basil in just five minutes; or prepare a polenta good enough for a palazzo in only ten minutes. There are also scores of perfect vegetable side dish recipes, with an instructive chart detailing how to prepare everything from artichokes to zucchini.

Lorna Sass devotes special attention to grains — a vital part of the healthy diet — and shows how brown rice, millet, couscous, quinoa, and bulgur can turn from gourmet store items into staples of your pantry. Whether it’s Risotto with Broccoli Rabe and White Beans in five minutes, or Mediterranean Vegetable Couscous in just six, these recipes lock in delicious nutrition without tying up precious time. There’s even a section about the splendid desserts that are possible with the pressure cooker, like Banana Pudding Cake and Pumpkin Bread Pudding.

Filled with informative sections about the equipment, ingredients, and language of pressure cooking, suggestions for theme menus, and mail-order resources, this compendium of high-quality, high-fiber, low-fat (and mostly cholesterol-free) dishes will become an essential guide for today’s bustling cook.

Book: Great Vegetarian Cooking Under Pressure by Lorna J. Sass
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Book Description
Excellent Daniel Fast recipes true to the biblical standards that follow the foods that Daniel ate while imprisoned.

Who is behind God’s Diet?

Karen Peebles is the author listed in the title.

What kind of book is God’s Diet?

The description calls it a collection of Daniel Fast recipes that are true to biblical standards and follow the foods Daniel ate while imprisoned.

Summary of the book description only, not medical advice. The description is short, so check the Amazon page for the full contents.

What is a Daniel Fast, and how can I do it safely?

The Daniel Fast is a religious, plant-based eating pattern taken from the Book of Daniel, where the prophet and his companions ate vegetables and drank water.

Nutritionally, it resembles a vegan diet with some extra restrictions. The MedlinePlus vegetarian diet page says people who avoid most animal foods should pay attention to nutrients such as vitamin B12, zinc, iron and calcium. If you plan to eat this way for longer than a short fast, ask a health professional whether you need a B12 supplement.

Fasting needs caution. The NCCIH detox page lists headaches, fainting, weakness and dehydration as possible effects of fasting. Drink enough fluids and eat enough calories, and stop if you feel unwell.

Speak to a doctor before beginning if you are pregnant or breastfeeding, have diabetes, take medicines or have a history of eating disorders. A fast can be adapted for health needs, and many traditions allow it. Listen to your body and do not push through weakness.

Preparing food ahead helps: cook a pot of beans or brown rice, chop vegetables for the next day and keep water within reach. Plan how you will end the fast, with simple foods in modest portions, and ask your doctor if you are unsure how a plant-based plan fits your health.

Related on this blog: Popular Diet Plans Compared: What Each One Asks of You and Diet and Fitness: How Carbs, Fat and Protein Fit Together

Book: God’s Diet by Karen Peebles
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Book Description
This diet is a straight forward, short term plan designed to help you lose weight, gently Detox your body and regain your energy and improve your health.
As a Naturopath and Nutritionist I have literally hundreds of testimonies to prove that this diet works extremely well (see examples in the book).
For the last 25 years I have been treating overweight and ill people by addressing their diet and lifestyle through this plan. This diet has been the most effective tool I have used and the sheer volume of success stories proves it.
It has nutritional teaching and motivational support to encourage you to succeed. Also ‘yummy’ vegetarian recipes for the 10 days, to give you a day by day food plan.

Who is the author?

The author named in the title is Philip Bridgeman.

What does the author say about results?

The author writes as a naturopath and nutritionist who has treated overweight and ill people with this plan for 25 years, and says there are “hundreds of testimonies” that the diet works extremely well. The author also calls it the most effective tool used. Those are the author’s own statements in the description, and they are not confirmed here.

What is this book about?

The description calls it a straightforward, short-term plan designed to help you lose weight, gently detox your body and regain your energy. It also mentions ‘yummy’ vegetarian recipes for 10 days as a day-by-day food plan.

What topics does it cover?

According to the description, the book includes nutritional teaching and motivational support to help you succeed.

This summary of the book description is not medical advice.

What should I know about quick diets before reading?

Plans that promise quick results often combine low calories with advice to “detox”. The NCCIH fact sheet on detoxes and cleanses says such diets can bring quick early weight loss from eating very little, but weight tends to return when normal eating resumes, and that research offers no compelling support for removing toxins this way.

If you want to lose weight, gradual change you can keep up is usually more useful. The NIDDK (NIH) guide to choosing a weight-loss program gives questions to ask about any program, including who runs it and how it is monitored.

A short plan is not a problem in itself if it includes plenty of vegetables and fluids. Anyone with a health condition, taking medicines or pregnant should consult a doctor first.

More on this blog: Popular Diet Plans Compared: What Each One Asks of You and Exercise for Weight Loss: Why Moving More Matters and How to Fit It In

Book: How To Lose Weight Quick by Philip Bridgeman
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