This is so much more than a cookbook.
It’s an inspiring, encouraging, confidence-boosting guide to life that happens to include over 130 awesomely delicious and nourishing recipes.
Whether you’re gluten-free, dairy-free, vegan, paleo, or just trying to live a fuller, more vibrant and balanced life, you need The UnDiet Cookbook in your life!
I had the privilege of learning from the author – nutritionist and best-selling author, Meghan Telpner – as a student in her Academy of Culinary Nutrition training last fall. As founder of the Academy of Culinary Nutrition and author of the bestselling UnDiet: Eat You Way to Vibrant Health and The UnDiet Cookbook, Meghan has committed her life to creating a revolution in health and well-being.
She does it in a way that is non-judgmental, kind, fun and inviting.
Meghan knows that being approachable and FUN is the key to engaging people, especially when it comes to something as sacred as what we eat and how we live.
So often when people are on diets, they settle for subpar food and a life marked by deprivation. They focus on what they “can’t” eat instead of channeling all of that energy toward what will nourish, satisfy and fill them up physically and emotionally.
Meghan is out to change that:
“UnDiet is here to free us from the chains we attach to all of those old, harmful, self-defeating, unhelpful rules we think we need to follow. They only make us miserable […] UnDiet is breaking free from the rules we think we’re meant to follow, and doing what is the very best for our individual health.”
Yes! Yes! Yes!
I totally agree.
She inspires anyone reading to take a build-you-up, positive, encouraging approach to what to eat through killer recipes that not only taste good but make our body feel amazing.
And she has a way of building and promoting community. In fact, I partnered with a fellow Culinary Nutrition alum and friend, Katie Hussong, to host our first UnDiet Cookbook Club, where each attendee made a recipe from Meghan’s cookbook or blog. It was SO fun!
As someone who doesn’t follow one prescribed diet, I’m drawn to Meghan’s “UnDiet” approach. I follow the same philosophy because I’ve found in my own life that there is not one way of eating that everyone in the entire world “should” follow.
We agree that the bulk of what we eat should be plant-based (AKA “plantiful”), but there is room for flexibility, depending on what makes your body feel best and thrive.
One of the things I love about this book is that the UnDiet recipes are free from dairy and gluten (just like every recipe on this blog!), which means all of you can enjoy them.
Though knowledgeable about every diet out there, Meghan prefers to UNdiet, calling herself a “Meghanatarian.” She encourages us to make our choices with “awareness and knowing, doing what feels right for you, your body, your values, your environment, your budget.”
It’s about pausing long enough to tap into our body’s own intuitive wisdom that tells us what makes us feel awesome and what brings us down.
Through her journey with Crohn’s Disease, Meghan has experienced the healing and restorative power of the UnDiet lifestyle first-hand and is inspired to share what she has learned with the world.
Her intention is that her readers will “get it” and understand for themselves. That way she doesn’t have to say eat this, don’t eat that. She does her best to provide the information with the what’s the why’s the how’s in place, and lets them decide what they’re ready to pick up and run with.
Isn’t that refreshing?
I’ve made over a dozen recipes from the cookbook and have loved every single one.
From Undiet Coffee, Chocolate Chocolate Pancakes, and Banana Berry Oatmazing Muffins to the Vegalicious Quiche, Sacred Scramble, Balsamic Roasted Vegetables, Gracious Glow Soup, Maple Balsamic Tempeh, Baked Apples, Crispy Rice Squares and Rawmazing Key Lime Pie, every recipe we’ve tried has been a hit!
Meghan’s endearing quirkiness and sense of humor comes through in recipe titles like, “Sunday Night Quickie Chocolate Chip Cookies,” Let’s Stay Together Crackers,” and “Breakfast Patty Whacks”…a few recipes I’ve yet to try but am excited to tackle.
She doesn’t take herself too seriously and consistently communicates the message we shouldn’t either. In the very beginning of the book, she shares her creed, which includes advice like:
“Flirt with farmers.”
“Dance like a four year-old.”
“Make love in the kitchen.”
And, last but not least:
“Today is the day. Make it ridiculously awesometown.”
The UnDiet Cookbook will give you confidence that everyone (yes, even you!) can cook and that it is possible to eat well, be well and live a vibrant life without ever feeling deprived. This is the way we were meant to live.
It wouldn’t be fair to end this love note without sharing one of my favorite recipes from The UnDiet Cookbook.
I’ve made it several times already and like to change up the beans and greens. One time I used cannellini beans and spinach and another time I used black beans and kale. I love versatile recipes like this because they give me a chance to use what I have on hand.
And the ingredient list couldn’t get any simpler.
Introducing, “Dressed to the Nines Sweet Potato.”
Dressed to the Nines Sweet Potato
Nut-free
Soy-Free (option)
Grain-free
Protein Powered (option)
Prep Time: 20 minutes
Cooking Time: 45–60 minutes
Serves 4
4 organic sweet potatoes
2 Tbsp avocado oil, coconut oil or organic ghee
1/2 red onion, diced
1 garlic clove, minced
1 (14-oz) can organic beans of choice, drained and rinsed*
6 cups greens, trimmed and sliced into ribbons
2 Tbsp fresh lemon juice
1/4 teaspoon Make-Your-Own Sambal (page 206 in The UnDiet Cookbook), red pepper flakes, or your favorite hot sauce
Sea salt
Optional Add-ons
- Hemp seeds (protein bonus)
- Toasted sunflower or pumpkin seeds
- Fresh sprouts
- Tempeh bits (prepared as with TLT Deluxe Sandwich, page 83 in The UnDiet Cookbook)
- Tahini Dressing (page 194 in The UnDiet Cookbook)
* Make it Protein-Powered!
Swap the beans for 1 lb pastured, organic protein of choice such as ground beef, chicken, or turkey. Cook the meat just until browned and then use in place of the beans.
Make It Like So
- Preheat the oven to 400°F.
- Scrub the sweet potatoes and prick them in a few places with a fork (this gives them room to breathe as they bake). Place them on a baking sheet and bake until soft all the way through, 45 minutes to 1 hour.
- While the sweet potatoes are baking, heat the olive oil in a medium pan and add the onion and garlic. Cook until soft. Add the beans and cook for 5 minutes, stirring occasionally.
- Remove from the heat and stir in your greens (the heat will wilt them). Add your lemon juice, sambal, and sea salt to taste.
- Remove the sweet potatoes from the oven. To serve, slice each sweet potato through the middle and top with beans + greens mix and your optional add-ons.
Excerpted from The UnDiet Cookbook: 130 Gluten-Free Recipes for a Healthy and Awesome Life by Meghan Telpner. Copyright © 2015 Meghan Telpner. Photography Copyright © 2015 Maya Visnyei and Catherine Farquharson. Published by Appetite by Random House, a division of Random House of Canada Ltd., a Penguin Random House Company. Reproduced by arrangement with the Publisher. All rights reserved.
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Ta da! Dinner is served 🙂
