Tag Archives: book review

Health and Food Coming Together

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I’m sure many of you know that I’m a big fan of Brendan Brazier, and I had the pleasure of meeting him a few months ago during a lecture. He recently wrote another book called “Thrive Foods”. I was asked to be a part of the campaign to launch his newly released book, and I couldn’t wait to jump into the book!

This one discusses different points compared to his other book I’ve read, “Thrive: The Vegan Nutrition Guide to Optimal Performnace in Sports and Life”. This book seems to focus more on how our diet has an affect on the environment. How the conditions of the foods grow in greatly changes their nutritional density, and other interesting points. For instance, when plants grow in depleted soil, the minerals aren’t as abundant. It made me think of a pregnant woman and how what she eats greatly affects the health of her child. That was my best understanding of the phrase “Mother Nature.” What I really enjoyed about this book was that there were lots of footnotes, and I could look in the back to see the sources listed. I’m the kind of person who is curious to know where the basis of certain ideas come from. Especially when mentioning statics and studies. Maybe I should make my mom disclose footnotes when she tells me her crazy elaborate stories!

On top of all the abundant information Brendan shares in this book, he’s compiled over 200 recipes in the book as well! He also features some well-known contributors to share their recipes, such as Chef Tal Ronnen and award-winning restaurants. There are a few beautiful pictures included as well (granted there could be more, but I just love pictures), to give you an idea of how vibrant these dishes can be. I perused through them and bookmarked so many! I’ve made three so far, and all were delicious indeed.

Chef’s Summertime Salad

The recipe calls for avocado, which I added each time I served it. No one likes brown opened avocados that have been sitting out for awhile. This salad was great though! Summertime in every crunchy, fresh bite. This was like a yummy farewell to the warm weather for me, and all those ingredients that taste so wonderful when they’re at their peak.

Banana Pear Smoothie

This was thick and not overly sweet. There is an option to add a medjool date for sweetness, but I liked it just fine without it. This is great for mornings when I’m not feeling too hungry, or I need to run out the door and get my day started. The ginger added a little zing to it as well. It just tasted so refreshing. Next on my list is the smoothie that calls for lemon grass and coconut water.

Cheers to a great day!
Next up was a recipe that I thought was perfect to welcome the chillier weather.

“Wild Rice with Kabocha and Sage Butter”, but I opted to use quinoa instead of rice. It Since the other ingredients are already coming into season I went over to the farmer’s market and picked them out.

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"Must Have Been Something I Ate" Vega Book Giveaway!

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I thought I’d surprise you all today with a special post. It won’t be about my last days in Richmond. That’ll come soon though! However, for today’s post I’ve got something wonderful in store for you. You’ll see…

First off, my blog is now available to download as an app for the Android, which you can check out over here.

Recently, I was contacted by Sequel Naturals on behalf of Vega to be apart of the launch of Peggy Kotsopoulos’s book “Must Have Been Something I Ate”. At first I was reminded of my mini-crush on Brendan Brazier–creator of Vega. After I snapped back to reality I read that the book is about the mind, body, and food connection. My interest was peaked! As some of you may know I am very much interested in Ayurveda, and the whole philosophy of seeing the “whole” as something made up lots of connections. I started perusing through the book when it came in the mail, and I read it more in depth afterwards. While reading this book I came to an important decision. A few days ago I decided to go off birth control. I had been thinking about it for awhile, but reading this book just made something click. I am the kind of person who finds acceptance in things and has faith in positivity. I feel like this is a step I’m taking towards feeling whole and true to myself. A way of me showing myself that I trust my body.

They sent me a copy of the book along with some Vega products that are called for in some recipes.

This book has so much useful information, and you don’t feel like you’re being preached at or bombarded with “you should do this, you should do that” lines. She has such an easy going style of writing, and just tells you straight up about the wonders of how the body works in relation to food and lifestyle. Peggy also throws in some humorous relatable examples to help better explain the concepts. There’s one line that she repeats a few times in the book that I love, “your body craves nutrients, not calories.” Of course our bodies do need “calories”, but that’s not a fun way to think of food. It’s just so amazing when you think of  foods as nourishing your body.

For instance, it’s neat that I can get my daily dose of selenium by eating 1-2 brazil nuts, rather than a pill.

Peggy discusses the connections between food with mood, weight, beauty, and overall health. Then at the end you can put your knowledge to use and choose which of her recipes you want to make! Or you can skip ahead and be enticed by the tasty looking pictures.

I’ve already made a couple of her recipes already, but I’ve got many more that I want to make–recipes I will definitely be posting about.

Chai Tea Latte
A delicious way to calm the nerves.

I thought of Natalie as I was sipping this since she loves almond butter and cups of cafe au lait.

I also made the Creamy Broccoli Soup.

This soup is packed with so much flavor! It’s because most of the ingredients are raw except for broccoli, which is lightly steamed so its nutritional benefits are fully reaped. I didn’t know that broccoli had the ability to alter the metabolism of estrogen. In turn aiding in the detoxification of the excesses of this hormone–what I am paying attention to now that I decided to go off the pill. Anyway, back to the recipe! It’s amazing how creamy it is as well, but with no cream? Here’s the reason why this soup is so flavorful and tasty: broccoli, celery, yellow onion, garlic, fresh ginger, lemon juice, dried oregano, black pepper, sea salt, veggie stock, olive oil, and avocado. I went ahead and topped it with Peggy’s recommendations: pumpkin seeds, cubed avocado, arame, dulse, and cayenne.

I love that her recipes aren’t intimidating, and come with a little tidbit to how your body will thank you for this food.

Vega Book Giveaway: Must Have Been Something I Ate, by Peggy Kotsopoulos.

Now one lucky reader will win a new copy of this incredible book! And even if you may not win, you should still check it out.

Okay, okay so here’s how to enter:

1. Leave a comment below and tell me something you eat that makes you feel good!

2. Become a fan of Vega on Facebook, and comment back here letting me know.

3. Share this give away on Twitter: “Win a copy of “Must Have Been Something I Ate” Book from @mixoparthenos over at  http://t.co/DbC!” or something along those lines.

4. You can also post about this giveaway on your blog, and like the above just comment on here letting me know.

Since each way to enter is a separate entry, make sure to comment for each entry. The contest goes till 11 pm EST on June 19th, 2011, and it is only open to U.S. residents. Best of luck!