But we know that you’re anxious to get your hands on this new release as soon as possible.  It’s available for pre-order now.  Follow this link and you can be reading The Total Memory Makeover the minute it’s available !!

http://www.barnesandnoble.com/s/Total-Memory-Makeover?store=book&keyword=Total+Memory+Makeover

http://books.simonandschuster.com/buy/Total-Memory-Makeover/9781442348424/from-other-retailers

The cookbook – The 30 Minute Vegan by Mark Reinfeld & Jennifer Murray – is one of Viva La Vegan coach Kyra’s favorites.

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Mediterranean Hummus Wrap
from The 30 Minute Vegan by Mark Reinfeld & Jennifer Murray
Green * Serves 4

4 whole-grain flour tortillas
1 recipe Traditional Hummus (recipe follows)
8 leaves romaine lettuce, chopped
1 tomato, sliced
1/2 cucumber, cut into half moons
1/2 cup kalamata olives, chopped
1/2 cup grated carrot (optional)

Prepare the hummus according to the directions in the following recipe.

Lay out the tortillas, spread with your desired quantity of hummus, and top with lettuce, tomato, cucumber, olives and carrot. Fold in the sides toward the center, roll it up, and enjoy!

Traditional Hummus
from The 30 Minute Vegan by Mark Reinfeld & Jennifer Murray
Blue * Makes 1-1/2 cups

1 (15-ounce) can garbanzo beans*
2 Tablespoons tahini (sesame butter)
1 Tablespoon olive oil
1 Tablespoon freshly squeezed lemon juice
1 Tablespoon water*
2 cloves garlic
1/2 teaspoon sea salt
2 teaspoons soy sauce (to make it gluten free, use wheat-free tamari)

Process all the ingredients in a food processor (or Vitamix!) until well combined.

*We like to drain the beans, but reserve the liquid and add it back into the hummus as it’s blending. Sometimes we use all the liquid, sometimes we don’t. And sometimes we add extra water.

You may wish to add more water, for a thinner consistency. Start with 1 Tablespoon at a time.

It is possible to mash up the garbanzo beans with a fork if you do not have a food processor, then add all the other ingredients for a much chunkier hummus.

This recipe is from The Get Healthy, Go Vegan Cookbook: 125 Easy and Delicious Recipes to Jump-Start Weight Loss and Help You Feel Great, by Dr. Neal Barnard and Robyn Webb.

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Banana Ginger Pancakes
Green * Serves 4

1-1/4 cups whole wheat pastry flour
2 teaspoons baking powder
1-1/2 teaspoons ground ginger
1/4 teaspoon salt
2 Tablespoons agave nectar
1-1/4 cups vanilla soy milk
3 Tablespoons unsweetened applesauce
1 teaspoon vanilla extract
1 cup mashed ripe bananas
vegetable oil cooking spray (or vegetable oil on a paper towel to wipe the pan)

In a medium bowl, combine the flour, baking powder, ginger, and salt. In another bowl, combine the agave nectar, soy milk, applesauce, and vanilla. Add the liquid to the flour mixture. Mix until just combined (the batter will be lumpy). Add the bananas.

Heat a large skillet over medium heat, then coat with cooking spray. Pour 1/4 cup of batter onto the hot skillet. The pancake is ready to flip when tiny bubbles appear on the top and burst, and the pancake is lightly browned on the edges. Flip the pancake and cook for about 1-2 minutes, until the underside is lightly browned. Adjust your heat so that the pancakes cook for about 1-2 minutes per side.

Now make yourself a healthy breakfast!
(Honestly, while we were typing that last sentence, the commercial for a popular chocolate-nut spread came on the television, and we are still amazed that people think that is an appropriate breakfast for children – or anyone. Please. Do better. Start with this oatmeal.)

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Spiced Pumpkin Oatmeal
from The Get Healthy, Go Vegan Cookbook: 125 Easy and Delicious Recipes to Jump-Start Weight Loss and Help You Feel Great, by Dr. Neal Barnard and Robyn Webb
Blue * Serves 4

2 cups old-fashioned rolled oats
1/3 cup raisins
1/4 cup dried cranberries
1 cup canned pumpkin
2 Tablespoons agave nectar
4 teaspoons ground cinnamon
1/2 teaspoon ground nutmeg
1/2 teaspoon ground ginger
1/2 teaspoon vanilla extract

Combine all ingredients with 4 cups of water in a saucepan.

Cook over medium heat, stirring occasionally, until the liquid is mostly absorbed and the oatmeal is creamy.

Check out these cookbooks from your library, or click on the titles to get them at Amazon. Also check this post for books about veganism that have lots of recipes. If you have other suggestions, let us know!

• Christina Pirello, Cooking the Whole Foods Way: Your Complete, Everyday Guide to Healthy, Delicious Eating with 500 VeganRecipes, Menus, Techniques, Meal Planning, Buying Tips, Wit, and Wisdom
• John McDougall, MD, The McDougall Quick and Easy Cookbook: Over 300 Delicious Low-Fat Recipes You Can Prepare in Fifteen Minutes or Less
• Mollie Katzen, Mollie Katzen’s Vegetable Heaven: Over 200 Recipes for Uncommon Soups, Tasty Bites, Side Dishes, and Too Many Desserts
• Moosewood Restaurants, any cookbook – try Moosewood Restaurant Simple Suppers: Fresh Ideas for the Weeknight Table or Moosewood Restaurant Low-Fat Favorites: Flavorful Recipes for Healthful Meals
• Erin McKenna, BabyCakes: Vegan, (Mostly) Gluten-Free, and (Mostly) Sugar-Free Recipes from New York’s Most Talked-About Bakery
• Dean Ornish, Everyday Cooking with Dr. Dean Ornish: 150 Easy, Low-Fat, High-Flavor Recipes
• Laurel Robertson, The New Laurel’s Kitchen
• Tanya Bernard and Sarah Kramer, How It All Vegan!: Irresistible Recipes for an Animal-Free Diet, The Garden of Vegan: How It All Vegan Again!, and La Dolce Vegan!: Vegan Livin’ Made Easy
• Sarah Kramer, Vegan a Go-Go!: A Cookbook & Survival Manual for Vegans on the Road
• Robin Robertson, Vegan Planet: 400 Irresistible Recipes with Fantastic Flavors from Home and Around the World
• Dreena Burton, Vive le Vegan!: Simple, Delectable Recipes for the Everyday Vegan Family
• Joy Pierson, The Candle Cafe Cookbook: More Than 150 Enlightened Recipes from New York’s Renowned Vegan Restaurant
• Ann Gentry, The Real Food Daily Cookbook: Really Fresh, Really Good, Really Vegetarian
• Colleen Patrick-Goudreau, The Joy of Vegan Baking: The Compassionate Cooks’ Traditional Treats and Sinful Sweets and The Vegan Table: 200 Unforgettable Recipes for Entertaining Every Guest at Every Occasion
• Myra Kornfeld, The Healthy Hedonist: More Than 200 Delectable Flexitarian Recipes for Relaxed Daily Feasts and The Voluptuous Vegan: More Than 200 Sinfully Delicious Recipes for Meatless, Eggless, and Dairy-Free Meals

We just completed a really great Viva la Vegan online class here at Marilu.com, and we’re fired up about plant-based diets. These books are recommended by our members – people like you – who aren’t interested in hype or “the next big thing.” We’re committed to health. We like good research. And we want food that tastes really good, that we can feed our families and friends, without having to special order a bunch of weird-o ingredients.

These books are about living well on a plant-based diet (vegan). Check them out from your library, or click on the titles to get them at Amazon.

• T. Colin Campbell, The China Study: The Most Comprehensive Study of Nutrition Ever Conducted and the Startling Implications for Diet, Weight Loss and Long-term Health – some of the best research about the benefits of a plant-based diet
• Jane Goodall, Harvest for Hope: A Guide to Mindful Eating – connecting our health with the health of the planet
• Rory Freedman & Kim Barnouin, Skinny Bitch – several books; use a lot of processed plant foods (and some language), but good info and good for transitioning to veganism
• Jessica Porter, The Hip Chick’s Guide to Macrobiotics: A Philosophy for Achieving a Radiant Mind and a Fabulous Body – makes macrobiotics understandable and do-able
• Mishio Kushi, One Peaceful World: Mishio Kushi’s Approach to Creating a Healthy and Harmonious Mind, Home, and World Community – a classic
• Christina Pirello, This Crazy Vegan Life: A Prescription for an Endangered Species – approachable; author used diet to fight disease
• John McDougall, MD, The Mcdougall Program: 12 Days to Dynamic Health (Plume) – a classic
• John Robbins, Diet for a New America – a classic
• Eric Schlosser, Fast Food Nation – how fast food changed our culture and our health
• Kris Carr, Crazy Sexy Cancer Tips (Crazy Sexy) – author uses diet and attitude to fight cancer
• Brenda Davis, R.D. and Vesanto Melina, M.S. R.D., Becoming Vegan: The Complete Guide to Adopting a Healthy Plant-Based Diet – good basic info
• Patrick Holford, The New Optimum Nutrition Bible – a good resource
• Neal Barnard, MD, Dr. Neal Barnard’s Program for Reversing Diabetes: The Scientifically Proven System for Reversing Diabetes without Drugs – fighting disease with diet
• Rip Esselstyn, The Engine 2 Diet: The Texas Firefighter’s 28-Day Save-Your-Life Plan that Lowers Cholesterol and Burns Away the Pounds – includes exercises and man-friendly vegan recipes
• Alicia Silverstone, The Kind Diet: A Simple Guide to Feeling Great, Losing Weight, and Saving the Planet – making connections between you and the planet
• Sophie Uliano, Gorgeously Green – green living is good for everyone
• Renee Loux, Easy Green Living: The Ultimate Guide to Simple, Eco-Friendly Choices for You and Your Home – more green living

Of course we’d be attracted to any cookbook called “Clean Food.” It’s the perfect title for those of us who love whole foods, seasonal foods, and vegan foods.

The book is in five sections (although the table of contents doesn’t divide it this way – this is how we see it): basic information, spring, summer, fall, and winter. It’s perfectly organized for seasonal eating, which is the best way to eat the freshest available – and therefore the most local – foods.

Each season has it’s own index of recipes, which is helpful when you’re using the book as intended. There’s also a complete index at the end of the book. Some of the recipes are not terribly original; others are refreshingly unique. Some are simple, others more complex. There’s really something for everyone here.

The real brilliance is the first section on basic information. It’s 35 pages on eating local and seasonal, eating organic vs. conventional foods, eating for balance, tools, methods, and ingredients. There’s a lot of great information in this first section of the book, and it is presented clearly and simply. This is especially helpful for anyone new to “healthy” eating who may be unfamiliar with some of the ingredients.

We love this book – we think you will, too.

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If you or someone you love has heart disease, this is the book to read. Dr Esselstyn has been able to reverse heart disease (in general terms, that’s when an artery is blocked by plaque) in his patients by changing their diet.

The Western diet of animal foods, lots of fat, and lots of processed food contributes to – or maybe even causes – heart disease. To reverse heart disease, Dr. Esselstyn recommends a plant-based (vegan) diet that is very low in fat.

If you already follow the 10 steps of Marilu’s Total Health Makeover®, this program will not seem so extreme. If you’re new to THM® then this may seem restrictive at first. But it has plenty of variety (hello, look at all the vegetables and grains out there!). And it’s certainly easy enough if it’s going to save your life, or keep you from living on medication in fear of a heart attack, or keep you from quadruple bypass surgery. (hmmm, maybe we should suggest this program to Bill Clinton?)

The book is in two main parts. The first part describes heart disease for the average reader. It’s a thorough discussion with big words, but they come with explanations and diagrams, so we were able to follow it and learn something. Dr Esselstyn provides a lot of patient case studies, so we see that the dietary change has helped people with a variety of contributing factors in their heart disease.

The second part of the book contains lots of recipes from Ann Esselstyn, Dr Esselstyn’s wife (he admits the kitchen is her domain). The recipes look great, and even if you’re not interested in the total program, you can use the book for these recipes.

Here’s a summary of Dr Esselstyn’s rules for eating to prevent and reverse heart disease. There’s nothing here that contradicts THM®, and so we fully support this program if your health calls for a stricter interpretation of healthy eating.

1. Do not eat meat.
2. Do not eat chicken; not even white meat.
3. Do not eat fish.
4. DO not eat any dairy products. That means no skim milk, no nonfat yogurt, no sherbet, and no cheese at all.
5. Do not eat eggs. That includes egg whites and even egg substitutes that contain egg whites.
6. Do not use any oil at all. Not even extra virgin olive oil or canola oil.
7. Use only whole-grain products. That means no white flour products. Be sure the list of ingredients uses a phrase like “whole wheat” or “whole grain.” Avoid semolina and wheat flour, which are actually white. Use brown rice.
8. Do not drink fruit juice. (It is fine to eat fruit, or to use small amounts of fruit juice in recipes or to flavor beverages.)
9. Do not eat any nuts (although if you have no heart disease, you can occasionally eat walnuts).
10. Do not eat avocados. That includes guacamole.
11. Do not eat coconut.
12. Eat soy products cautiously. Many are highly processed and high in fat. Use “light” tofu. Avoid soy cheese, which almost always contains oil and casein (dairy).
13. Read The China Study, by T. Colin Campbell with Thomas M. Campbell II (BenBella Books).

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by Chris Crowley and Henry S. Lodge, MD

Younger Next Year for Women>This book is about aging gracefully. The subtitle (Live Like You’re 50 – Strong, Fit, Sexy – Until You’re 80 and Beyond) makes it sound like there’s nothing useful here for women under 50, but that’s not true. A lot of this is just plain good information.

The authors alternate chapters, which is a good way to balance the sometimes “information overload” of medical details. Crowley is a normal guy, so his chapters take that medical detail and make it real for the rest of us. We particularly enjoyed the chapters on fitness and exercise (chapter 9 had us laughing out loud – for real).

The chapters on diet and nutrition aren’t quite in line with the Total Health Makeover®, but they emphasize lots of fruits and vegetables, whole grains, legumes, and lean proteins. There’s mention of low-fat dairy, but we’d substitute non-dairy products and do just fine with the general recommendations.

There are other chapters on maintaining relationships and connections, and staying active in the community that put the book in a “total health” category. And they’re good additions to a book on healthy aging, when isolation becomes a health issue.

Perhaps “Harry’s Rules” are the best summary of the book.

Harry’s Rules

1. Exercise six days a week for the rest of your life.
2. Do serious aerobic exercise four days a week for the rest of your life.
3. Do serious strength training, with weights, two days a week for the rest of your life.
4. Spend less than you make.
5. Quit eating crap!
6. Care.
7. Connect and commit.

~ Henry S. Lodge, MD, in Younger Next Year for Women

Click on the book title or cover to purchase the book.