When Super Size Me was released into theaters in 2004, the world saw how a fast-food diet was specifically linked to creating disease for the first time. Morgan Spurlock decided to eat nothing but food from McDonald’s for 30 days to document how it would affect his health.

In less than a month Morgan gained over 24 pounds, his cholesterol shot up 60 points, his blood pressure was high and his liver was so sick he was eating himself into non-alcoholic hepatitis.

The only mistake we made with that movie?

We didn’t show how changing Morgan from a fast-food diet to a plant-based diet actually cured his health problems. And it did – after 2 months on a whole, vegan diet, Morgan’s blood pressure, cholesterol, liver function and blood sugar levels all returned to normal, healthy levels.

Forks Over Knives, a new documentary and now cookbook, has taken the Standard American Diet to task by showing the health promoting effects of putting sick people on a plant-based diet.

Following Drs T. Colin Campbell and Caldwell Esselstyn, Jr., Forks Over Knives documents several success stories of patients with diabetes and cardiovascular disease.

Where the movie shows you the why of eating a plant-based, or vegan, diet, the new “Forks Over Knives: The Plant Based Way To Health” cookbook, gives you the how.

The introduction, personalized “success stories,” and tips for transitioning to a plant-based diet are inspiring and valuable for any newbie or recent plant lover.

I’ve tried several of the recipes, and they all worked out well. The editors chose a wide variety of styles and flavors with recipes from many well-known vegan cookbook authors and chefs.

I personally liked the Easy Quesadillas that use a cheese-like paste made from chickpeas, nutritional yeast flakes and spices to create a savory, kid-foolin’ filling. The Raw Dream of Tomato soup is an amazing spin on gazpacho that uses ground sun dried tomatoes, chipotle powder and shelled hemp seeds for protein.

I also liked the new take on old favorites: oil-free sweet potato fries use a slightly different oven method and are great for those who need to lower their fat intake. Crispy, microwaved potato slices help a recent convert to the plant-based style of eating to enjoy family gatherings while avoiding the fried potato chips.

Other recipes I’m looking forward to trying include squash pudding, easy banana ice cream, polenta pizza, a gluten-free creamy golden gravy, creamy corn chowder, and a low-fat pea guacamole.

Some recipes are written for families of 2, 4 or 6, while several are written for yields of 10-30. If you’re not comfortable dividing recipes into half or even quarter yields, I recommend skipping those recipes until you get more comfortable in the kitchen.

Overall, the recipes are easy, delicious, and straightforward. Very few use exotic ingredients, and beginning home cooks will feel comfortable with the directions.

The new Forks Over Knives cookbook effectively answers the call for easy, delicious recipes that will help many Americans transition away from a diet of disease fueling foods.

Can’t wait to try out some of these recipes?

Enter below and you could win a copy from Alex & Delicious Vitality.com!

To learn more about my upcoming Delicious Detox & Reboot Tele-Course or to sign up for the September 13th start, go here: http://deliciousvitality.com/services/reboot/

Just Like my new page on Facebook and leave a comment between Tuesday August 2^nd and Friday August 5^th and you’ll be entered to win!

or

Leave a comment here on my blog about why you want to win this book between Tuesday August 2^nd and Friday August 5^th and you’ll be entered to win!

The hardest thing about writing is writing – I can’t remember where I heard that, but sometimes it’s the truth. Sitting down in front of the blank screen can be a harrowing adventure. I never have a lack of things to write about, but my old negative loop of “someone else probably already wrote about this, and they probably did it better than you ever will” starts playing, making self-expression extremely difficult. These are times when I find it really helpful to get re-inspired.

Wouldn’t it be great to have Willa Cather, Virginia Woolf, Jane Austen or Anais Nin all hanging out in your kitchen, offering you support and wisdom, food for thought to continue on? Don’t we all need an older, wiser friend telling us to keep at it, keep writing, don’t lose your voice, don’t give up?

TheLiteraryLadiesGuide

This is exactly what Nava Atlas’ new book The Literary Ladies Guide to The Writing Life has become for me. I can turn to any page and find inspiration, guidance, and wisdom from some of the most amazing writers of the last two centuries.

I was inspired by Harriet Beecher Stowe’s thoughts, gleaned from a personal letter to a friend in 1853, on earning money as a writer when there is a household to run (something I encounter every day): “Now, if you will keep the babies and attend to the things in the house for one day, I’ll write a piece, and then we shall be out of [this financial] scrape.” This one line was enough to make me put aside the laundry and dishes, and instead dive back into my daily writing assignment with gusto.

Nava found a strong similarity between most of the authors – they had “at least one person, if not several, who supported and stood by them.”

In an age when most girls didn’t continue their education past childhood, Louisa May Alcott, Anais Nin, Willa Cather, and Virginia Woolf were all encouraged to pursue their writing careers by loved ones and friends. Reading their accounts of “suffering for their art” and finding solace in the talent of other authors reminded me that I do have an incredible community of creative, productive people in my life who have helped me continue on this path of self-expression.

One section of this book made me smile, because its subject returns to my thoughts so often:

“Say you’ve gotten a whole slew of great reviews and a tiny number of negative ones. Which ones are you most likely to remember (or more precisely, still be obsessing about) five years hence?” This is something the glorious writer Madeleine L’Engle found herself ruminating on throughout her career as well. If someone as amazing as Madeleine, the author of A Wrinkle In Time, was worried about bad reviews, I guess I’m in good company. Between this book and the radio show Being Here, hosted by Ariel & Shya Kane, which offers such great reminders on how to stay present, I have found myself writing and producing more work, in an easier, more natural flow. I like this!

This book feels like a collection of good friends with lots of advice to share, and I highly recommend it to anyone who is drawn to writing.

Want to win a signed copy of The Literary Ladies Guide? Leave a comment here on my blog by 4/24 to enter!

Filled with over 100 sweet and savory baking recipes,

The Green Market Baking Book shares seasonal ingredients with natural sweeteners instead of refined and artificial ingredients. With delicious recipes from notable contributors such as Alice Waters, Christina Pirello, Rebecca Wood (and me!) this book offers an incredible array of inspiring cooking techniques in a beautiful package. I’m truly honored to have my recipes featured in this book alongside some of my cooking and health heros.

Laura C. Martin’s compilation of recipes offers suggestions for delicious dairy- and gluten-free treats, along with vegan and low-fat variations. And the recipes have been tested and re-tested so you can be sure they work!

Enter a comment here on my blog by 2/21 and you could win this gorgeous book!

Drum roll please!

It’s one of my favorite things to do on my blog – give away cool goodies!

Lindsay Nixon’s cookbook The Happy Herbivore is filled with over 175 delicious fat-free & low-fat vegan recipes that WORK! The pictures are great and will inspire you to get started cooking healthy food at home right away.

And if Lindsay can pull all this cookery off in her li’l NYC apartment, you can do it too!

Enter the contest by 2/14 by doing one of the following:

1. leave a comment here on my blog

2. follow me on Twitter at alexnutrition

3. friend me on Facebook at Alexandra M Jamieson