The Vegetarian Cook's Bible - Softcover

Crocker, Pat

Softcover

ISBN 10: 0778801535 ISBN 13: 9780778801535

Publisher: Robert Rose, 2007

Synopsis

250 delicious vegetarian recipes plus information on the health benefits of a vegetarian lifestyle.

We choose a vegetarian lifestyle for various reasons, and perhaps one of the most significant is that a plant-based diet is healthful. Many current studies show that the fiber, minerals and other nutrients found in such foods play an important role in preventing disease.

This cookbook offers up a vegetarian diet that is rich, varied, healthful and delicious. The recipes call for an interesting range of food choices and are often both budget friendly and spontaneous.

In The Vegetarian Cook's Bible, good taste and good health go hand in hand. For example:

• Warm mushrooms with goat cheese is a recipe that ties in with research showing how shiitake mushrooms bolster the immune system.
• The author explains that cruciferous vegetables protect against colon cancer-and provides a recipe for a hearty stuffed braised cabbage with potatoes.
• A special section addresses seven body systems and suggests prescriptive meals and beneficial dietary and lifestyle changes.

In The Vegetarian Cook's Bible, imaginative recipes and comprehensive, up-to-date information highlight the benefits of vegetarian cooking.

About this title

About the Author:

Pat Crocker is an award-winning cookbook author, speaker, recipe developer and spokesperson. Her books include The Juicing Bible, The Smoothies Bible and The Healing Herbs Cookbook.

Excerpt. © Reprinted by permission. All rights reserved.:

Introduction

More than anything else, our way of eating dictates our ability to resist disease and enjoy good health. Studies on the traditional diets of Asians, Mediterranean people, Pima Indians in Arizona, and other aboriginal societies all confirm that their rates of modern diseases are significantly lower as long as they maintain their traditional diet, which typically includes a wide range of plants and is low in red meats and fats.

It is well known now that as stress increases in our lives, our immunity decreases. An even more disturbing fact is that as our lives become more pressured, our ways of nourishing ourselves usually become more reliant upon fast, unnatural foods foods that offer no help in building up our immune responses. In fact, as life gets more complicated, we often suffer a double whammy -- high stress and poor nutrition -- and consequently, a downward spiral into poor health.

This book speaks to balance and harmony -- the attitudes and practices that keep humans whole in body, spirit and mind. And it is no coincidence that many of the recipes have an Asian flavor because with its focus on the whole body in general, and the immune system in particular, the Oriental approach to food and health is a practical, non-invasive way of prevention through the yin-yang principle. Indeed, the Chinese Emperor Shen Nung (circa 2300 BC), believed to be responsible for the yin-yang theory, advocated the use of food, plants and herbs as medicine.

There are many different philosophies that support a vegetarian diet, but for me, the most convincing reason to eat more plant food in place of animal foods and saturated fats is simply that it is healthful. Science has shown that beta-carotene, vitamins C and F, phytonutrients, fiber and minerals all play important roles in preventing disease and all are found in abundance in a wide variety of plant food. On the other hand, those substances shown to aggravate disease -- saturated fat, cholesterol, excess protein and excess sodium -- all abound in animal foods.

This book is proof that a vegetarian diet is rich, varied and delicious. Cooking with the rainbow of natural, whole foods opens up more choices and combinations than the meat-potato-vegetable staples of an animal-based approach. It allows for a seasonal, less expensive pantry of ingredients and a spontaneous and simple way of preparing them.

A table covered with wholesome food, surrounded by faces we love is one of the threads that weave magic into the fabric of our lives. We eat to nourish our cells and we share meals with family and friends to nourish our lives. By taking an interest in the way our food is grown and processed and in the way it is handled and prepared, served and enjoyed, we take back responsibility for not only our nourishment and health, but also that of the planet. And that alone is a powerful act.

Use this book to learn how to eat cruciferous vegetables and protect against colon cancer. Try my personal favorite, Warm Mushrooms with Goat Cheese, and read about the research that shows how shiitake mushrooms bolster the immune system. Taste the difference fresh chopped garlic and ginger make to dips and sauces while lowering cholesterol and fighting infections.

You can start preventing health problems with your next trip for groceries. Using recipes from this book, you can increase plant-based whole food in every meal and truly find personal balance and harmony in food choices. Start now to decrease animal-based and refined food in your diet and see if you can feel the difference in your body and mind. I'm sure you will agree with me: it all makes delicious sense.

Eat well -- Be well,
Pat Crocker
www.riversongherbals.com

About this edition

• Publisher: Robert Rose
• Publication date: 2007
• ISBN 10: 0778801535
• ISBN 13: 9780778801535
• Binding: Paperback
• Number of pages: 384