VeganMoFo 8: Book Review (Thrive Foods: 200 Plant-Based Recipes for Peak Health)

I started following a vegan diet early in 2010. At that time I heavily identified as a triathlete and half-marathoner so two of the first books I purchased were by Brendan Brazier:

• Thrive: The Vegan Nutrition Guide to Optimal Performance in Sports and Life
• Thrive Fitness: The Vegan-Based Training Program for Maximum Strength, Health, and Fitness

I felt encouraged that an endurance athlete was, quite actually, thriving on a vegan diet.  Last month I was offered a review copy of Brendan’s latest book, Thrive Foods: 200 Plant-Based Recipes for Peak Health.

In his latest book Brendan Brazier offers solid information for vegans to help them make environmentally conscious and nutritionally sound food choices — and delicious recipes that bring it all together.

Here’s how the book is laid out:

• Health’s Dependence on Nutrition
• Eating Resources: The Environmental Toll of Food Production
• An Appetite for Change:  Environmental and Health Solutions Through Food
• Eight Key Components of Good Nutrition
• Nutrient-Dense Whole Foods to Thrive
• Whole Food Recipes: Drinks, Breakfasts, Salads, Soups and Side, Spreads/Dips/Sauces/Dressings, Main Dishes, Vegetables, Grazing Snacks, Energy Bars and Gels, Desserts
• And then: a guide to nutrients, Brendan’s favorite restaurants and cafes, how to calculate numbers and resources

The range of topics covered is wide and while certainly applicable to athletic vegans, this book is for anyone interested in eating a thoughtful and informed plant-based diet.

Brazier writes about how our food choices impact our performance and health and shares in-depth information on the environmental effects of how we eat.  He breaks down the key components of nutrition and offers best sources of nutrients and the benefits. For instance the best plant-based sources of calcium are dark leafy greens (hello, kale!) and unhulled sesame seeds; the benefit of calcium for athletic and non-athletic alike is improved muscle function and efficiency, increased bone strength and reduced risk of osteoporosis.

He is a self-proclaimed non-chef (me too!) so he turned to other chefs to help create some of the recipes.  Amanda Cohen, Matthew Kenney, Julie Morris, Chad Sarno and Tal Ronnen offer some terrific culinary inspiration but Brendan’s own recipes were just as intriguing to me.

I love both raw and cooked dishes so I was particularly pleased to see the numerous raw recipes, clearly marked as such, throughout the book. I made two recipes this week to share with you.

Simple Italian Zucchini Noodles (cooked)

Cumin-Style Cabbage Salad with Tart Green Apple (raw)

Both recipes are flavorful–down right delicious, in fact–and oh so simple! My omnivore husband (a certified triathlon coach, I might add) is a fan of Brendan Brazier and he gave both dishes a thumb’s up.

You will, too.

Tags: cookbook reviewvegan mofoveganmofo

• Next VeganMoFo 11: AR Activism + Tuesday = Lunch (Black-Eyed Peas over Cabbage Salad)
• Previous VeganMoFo 7: Friday = Restaurants (Vegan Eats at Haven, Pleasantville, NY)