The Best Life Diet Daily Journal

Bob Greene begins this book by noting that (Acknowledgements page): "I wanted this cookbook to be something special. . . . [T]he collection of recipes that you're about to experience employs innovative techniques and unique combinations of ingredients to create meals that are respectful of calories, nutritionally rich, and delicious." In the Introduction (Page 1) he contends that "Eating is meant to be one of life's great pleasures." Hence, a cook book that claims that it has delicious meals that are also healthy and good for you. How well does it do at in meeting that high standard? I think this volume actually does pretty well. Here's, for example, a simple side dish--easy to make and still tasty. Marinated mushrooms (Page 189). Ingredients? Pretty easy. Button mushrooms, some lemon juice, chives, olive oil, and a wee bit of salt. What could be easier? Just toss the mushrooms with ingredients and enjoy. Simple--but yet tasty. The soups section has a number of straightforward recipes. Chicken noodle soup is a mainstay in many people's diets. Here, we see a pretty doable recipe that promises to taste good (Page 54). Chicken broth, chicken breast, carrots, celery, parsley, rosemary (always good in a recipe), thyme, spaghetti (whole grain). This looks like a good, simple, healthy recipe to me. With respect to entrees, I have tried to move away from beef toward fowl and fish. In the category of entrees, Greene provides a recipe for Chicken with spring onions and mashed spring vegetables that looks outstanding. Another entree is vegetarian--Angel hair pasta with walnuts and peas. Looks simple to make and healthy to eat! And here's another one that is quite tasty indeed--Chicken poached in white wine with tomatoes. Simple ingredients and a yummy outcome. . . . Other featues: healthy desserts, some recipes from "world-class chefs," meal plans, basic recipes (e.g., chicken and vegetable stock, vinaigrette), and techniques (such as how to slice beef, blanch fruits and veggies, and so on). I wish that the pictures of the dishes were in color (while there are a few color plates, most photos are not), but that is hardly a major issue. Overall, this is a really solid cookbook, with pretty healthy recipes. A useful addition to my kitchen library. . . .

The Best Life Diet Cookbook, by Bob Greene, is geared toward the cooking shy/inexperienced. Greene seems to think that many Americans are not cooking these days, so he is careful to present a book in which most of the recipes can be prepared in 30 minutes or less and are technically easy to make. He understands that many Americans are too busy to cook--or simply don't make cooking a priority. In the introduction he writes: "You can reclaim the experience of eating as a celebration by sitting down to enjoy these high quality, delicious dishes without over doing it." The book is comprised of recipes plus numerous two-week meal plans. I love to cook and do so frequently, mixing new with my favorites. I always cook healthy (although not necessarily low-calorie) and have tried several of Greene's recipes. So far, all have been very good. * Most unusual for a salad was the lamb salad with cucumber and yogurt. Quiet delicious. * The chicken breasts with pumpkin seeds was also very good. Pumpkin seeds are tasty and very healthy. * Roasted root vegetables is a variation on what I often make and this recipe was very good, including unusual root veggies like rutabagas. * YUM on the raw garlicky kale. I love kale and am always looking for new recipes to make with this super healthy and delicious veggie. I enjoyed the recipes and bios from the world-class chefs, although I will admit that some are too time-consuming for me to consider making. Some of the recipes were simply show-offy chefy stuff; other, quite doable. If you are searching for healthy and tasty recipes, The Best Life Diet Cookbook will do the trick. By the author of HARMONIOUS ENVIRONMENT: BEAUTIFY, DETOXIFY & ENERGIZE YOUR LIFE, YOUR HOME & YOUR PLANET.

Best-life advocate Bob Greene positions the ideas in this cookbook as a "gift that you give to yourself and your loved ones." Home-cooked meals made from fresh, natural ingredients will make you feel better, live longer and bond with your family and friends. Makes sense to me. And if you just want to cook yummy foods, these dishes are delicious. They are also nutritious, and all the details for each serving are at the end of each recipe: calories, protein, carbohydrate, dietary fiber, sugar, total fat, saturated fat, cholesterol, calcium and sodium. Easy-to-follow meal plans are broken down into three sections. Quick and Easy meals take no more than 20 minutes to prepare, Kitchen Connoisseur choices are a little more adventurous, and Family-Friendly meals offer healthy versions of family favorites. Each meal plan has six calorie levels: 1,500, 1,600, 1,700, 1,800, 2,000 and 2,500 calories a day. Although most of the recipes are geared to busy families with little time to spend in the kitchen, there is a whole chapter of wonderful, healthy dishes from accomplished chefs. These recipes may take a little longer than the 30 minutes or so the other recipes require to prepare. Some of the chefs participating include Mollie Ahlstrand of Trattoria Mollie, Dan Barber of Blue Hill, Sarma Melngailis of Pure Food and Wine, Charlie Trotter of Charlie Trotter's and Roy Yamaguchi of the 35 Roy's Restaurants around the world. Ahlstrand's Zuppa di Pomodoro is a flavorful take on tomato soup that uses garlic, brandy, rosemary and orange juice. In the back is a handy Techniques tutorial showing how to roast garlic, toast nuts, section citrus, clarify butter and the like. Other good choices for healthy cookbooks include Deceptively Delicious, Hungry Girl: Recipes and Survival Strategies for Guilt-Free Eating in the Real World and The Most Decadent Diet Ever. The Eat This Not That! series is also excellent. Here's the chapter list: 1. Introduction 2. Recipes 3. Breakfast 4. Soups 5. Salads 6. Sandwiches, Wraps and Crispbreads 7. Entrees: Meat, Poultry, Seafood, Vegetarian 8. Side Dishes: Grains, Vegetables 9. Calcium-Rich Snacks 10. Desserts 11. Best-Life Recipes from World-Class Chefs 12. Meal Plans 13. Basic Recipes 14. Techniques

This is first "diet" book Bob Greene has ever written and I find totally on target, and very inspiring. His past books, which focus on fitness, take the same "phased" look at everything, and I personally think it is much easier to make life changes in phases, vs. the way other diet books want you to change everything at once. I was initially concerned about all the product mentions in the book, but I have looked at all the nutritional content online regarding these products and find some VERY encouraging information: no trans fats, low sugar content, whole grains, lots of vegetables, well known and well respected brands, organic foods. And more importantly, these are products I can find in almost any grocery store in America, which takes the guess work out of deciding what to eat. This is going to help millions of people and it will encourage consumers to read labels. Bob appears to want to change the way some companies formulate their foods based on his Oprah appearance. I applaud his efforts to help people and know that everyone will benefit by following the simple effective plan he has laid out.

Bob Greene's approach to weight loss and living a healthier life is easier than a traditional "diet" because it has you making changes gradually. In Phase One, for 4 weeks, you alter your meal schedule so you are eating breakfast (a long-time struggle for me) and not eating 2 hours before bedtime. Other healthy habits are begun in this Phase, such as drinking more water. Only when you have gotten used to these do you move on to Phase Two, which includes recognizing true hunger, exercising more, and cutting out things like soda and fried foods. Along the way, he explains the importance of each of these changes in a way that motivates you to try them. Phase Three is for the rest of your life, adding on to your Phase 1 & 2 habits and increasing your intake of healthy foods. There are no food-group restrictions (such as carbs)--everything is possible here, in moderation, and there are many tasty recipes that look easy to prepare. I think this is a program that can help anyone "ease into" a more healthy way of living, that is realistic and will be easy to stick to. Just making gradual changes over time will eventually lead to lasting weight loss.