Customer Reviews

A Life in Balance: Delicious Plant-based Recipes for Optimal Health

5 star:		(6)
4 star:		(2)
3 star:		(1)
2 star:		(0)
1 star:		(1)

 

 

For a complete review with photos of recipes I tried from A Life In Balance, please visit: [...]

I first came across Meg Wolff at the Huffington Post where she writes regularly, featuring stories about the positive impact of a plant-based diet on health, as well as anticancer recipes.
A Life In Balance is Meg Wolff's third book, this time a cookbook with a collection of easy, approachable plant-based recipes. For anyone who is new to a plant-based diet, or just trying to increase plant-based foods in their daily meals, Meg's cookbook is a terrific introduction.

Meg Wolff, a two-time cancer survivor (first bone cancer, then breast cancer), switched to a plant-based diet 12 years ago, after doctors gave her virtually no hope (she endured a mastectomy, chemotherapy and radiation).

This compact cookbook, published by Down East, offers over 120 easy to follow recipes, including 31 recipes from guest contributors, including Rory Freedman, bestselling author of Skinny Bitch, Rip Esselstyn, author of The Engine 2 Diet, and John Salley, three-time NBA champion.

The foreword is written by Dr. Colin Campbell, author of "The China Study," a study which provides scientific information on the overwhelming health benefits of eating a plant-based diet. Dr. Campbell writes, "Meg's book tells a real-life example of the power of a plant-based diet, not only to prevent but also to reverse chronic disease. We are reaching a tipping point, and a critical mass of success stories like Meg's is accumulating."

As Meg notes in her introduction, it only takes small steps to add up to better health over time. The recipes are easy to follow and range from basic recipes for beginners like Amazingly-Good-For-You Brown Rice and Oven-Roasted Veggies, to more adventurous recipes such as Black Bean and Corn Bread Casserole, and Sweet Potato and Arame Salad with Asian-Style Tartar Sauce. Sprinkled throughout the book are helpful tips, variations on recipes and notes, such as "Even Small Changes Can Make A Difference" and "Snacking Strategies."

The recipes are divided into seven sections: Grains, Bean and Bean Products (tofu, tempeh, seitan), Vegetables, Soups, Sea Vegetables, Salads, and Snacks and Desserts. I chose a handful of recipes to try, including several with ingredients I had either never tried before or was not that familiar with, such as delicata squash, arame, and tempeh. I also made a few recipes which were much more familiar, including Lemony Hummus and Glazed Brussel Sprouts.

I have to say that I was not a tempeh fan until I tried the recipe for Good Egg Café Tempeh Hash (contributed by Mary Ledue Paine, owner of The Pepperclub/Good Egg Café in Portland, Maine). This dish is one of Meg Wolff's favorite treats when she dines at this cafe, and now I know why. Another taste-altering dish was the Glazed Brussels Sprouts.

My 8-year old, who is not a brussels sprout fan, liked the sweet glaze on the sautéed brussels sprouts (he also gobbled up half of the Lemony Hummus as an afternoon snack). All of the recipes were easy to follow, and I was thrilled by the end of my mini cook fest to have an assortment of dishes to choose from for several meals to come.

I love Meg's inspirational and encouraging tone throughout her book. The clear and easy to follow recipes make taking steps towards a plant-based diet completely within reach.

Dr. Campbell's world-rocking book The China Study tells you WHY you should switch entirely to a plant-based diet, and Wolff's book tells you HOW. This is not only a collection of SAFE recipes, but it's a collection of DELICIOUS recipes as well! I'm not going to lie: eating this way can be a challenge at first when we are used to comparably fast, processed foods, but after a few months of applying yourself, you get to the point where the old way of eating is no longer satisfying or even as tasty as the new way. Gone is the meat and dairy, gone is the sugar, and gone are the diseases of affluence that are associated with them. To say the trade off is well worth it is a grand understatement. I started eating this way when I was diagnosed, at 38, with pancreatic cancer. I have a young child and a child with special needs. I had no risk factors whatsoever. That was a year and a half ago. I'm a Christian, and I truly believe that for whatever reason, God led me to macrobiotics (a plant-based diet). Folks, I am alive, kicking, and feeling great! Plus, I'm gorgeous: my skin is tight, has a glow, and no one can believe I'm almost 40. People say I look like I'm in my 20's or early 30's. That wasn't my goal, but OKAY! :-) And I have become more grateful, which is something we could all stand to become. Sugar is sweet, but life is sweeter, and a life in balance is a beautiful privilege indeed. Don't miss the gift of life, and don't miss Wolff's books!

I love this cookbook. I have tried many of the recipes and love them all so far. My fourteen year old daughter has declared the Vegan Pad Thai her "favorite food ever" and Tom's Irish Fried Rice has become a lunch staple in our house. I had been searching for an egg-free, delicious fried rice recipe for a long time, but I'm done looking now that I have this book! The Summery Quinoa Salad is super yummy and a great way to get in lots of veggies without complicated cooking. I disagree with the reviewer who said the recipes are too basic. For me, who had to turn to veganism for health reasons, opening the book to the recipe for simple brown rice was a relief that allowed me to confidently say "You can do this!" And I have! A couple of ingredients I was unfamiliar with at first (shoyu, kombu)but after finding them and using them successfully, they are regulars in my cooking now. Throughout the book Meg has inserted tips about how to introduce more beans into your diet and how to deal with sugar cravings (the blueberry cake in this book will win over anyone!). I'm finding myself turning to this book over and over as I get more and more comfortable with a plant-based diet. Of all my new cookbooks that I have acquired in the last year since giving up meat and dairy, this one could very well be my favorite. Weird, indeed, but the author's genuineness is so present in the pages I almost feel as if a true friend is right there in my kitchen with me, encouraging me to stay on track. Love this book.

I ordered Meg Wolff's book a Life in Balance even before it came out. My copy is worn and stained as it has been used several times each week since I opened the package. Meg has detailed a great variety of recipes that my "meat and potatoes" husband loves. The recipes are so good that I prepare them for all of my friends even serving John's Powerhouse Pasta as Christmas Dinner. This book is for anyone that wants to feel good about what they eat while feeling so satisfied. We actually look forward to trying the next recipe! Thank you Meg!

I liked this book. The recipes are easy to prepare but what I liked the most was the knowledge I gained with regard to food.

KISS -- Keep It Simple Sweetie. Meg Wolff has done exactly that for those of us who are new to the vegetarian/vegan lifestyle. Like Meg, I'm a breast cancer survivor too, and I found her upbeat attitude that shines throughout the book to be just as good medicine as her easily accessible recipes.

Are you new to healthy eating? A cancer survivor wanting to make changes in your diet? Looking for a beginner's vegetarian/vegan cookbook? Then you're going to want to add A Life in Balance: Delicious Plant-based Recipes for Optimal Health to your library. I did, and I refer to it all the time.

Arrived in perfect condition, and quickly. The recipes in this book are easy to follow and they are quite tastey. I enjoy all her books and recipes.

There are many books out there spouting the benefits of eating whole foods, but A Life in Balance would be a great starter book. It has basic recipes, offers proper techniques in preparation, snacking strategies, and suggestions for cravings. I would have given the the 5 stars, but there were no pictures of the final products. I would have like to have seen a steaming plate of something. A bowl of soup...anything! Otherwise, I would not have purchased. I like pictures of the process and final products in my recipe books.

What a wonderful resource for people like me who are exploring the new-to-us plant-based way to eat. Meg's incredible energy is all over this book. I've been following her for years and my family eats much better because of her living her passion!

I bought this book because I am interested in eating less meat - flexitarian, if you will. I'm trying to find cookbooks that incorporate a lot of vegies and less meat and I thought this book would fit the bill. I'm sure this book is great for Vegans but that is simply not what I was looking for.

For one thing, there are "recipes" in this book for cooking rice, barley, oatmeal, etc. This seems to me to be a complete waste of paper. I know how to cook brown rice. I look on the bag or the printed directions on the whole foods bins in my grocery store! The more substantial recipes called for tempeh, tofu, etc. Those that did incorporate vegies were so basic that I couldn't believe they printed them! Steam your vegies, saute your vegies, add a grain. That's basically it. I have purchased vegetarian cookbooks and vegan cookbooks for my niece who is a vegan. I would not bother to buy this book for her. In one respect, it is really simplistic and I can't imagine a tried and true Vegan actually needing it. From the other aspect, I, as someone who is exploring using less meat, cannot jump from where I am to where this book wants to take you. The gap is too wide but even if I eventually become a vegan, I truly don't see the need for this book.

When I ordered it I also ordered Whole Living Magazine's "Power Foods". This book is a much better fit for me, offering recipes with lots of vegies and little or no meat. The difference? The recipes are interesting, well thought out and they look delicious. In general, it's not the severe cookbook that "A Life in Balance" is. "Power Foods" is beautifully produced. Power Foods: 150 Delicious Recipes with the 38 Healthiest Ingredients I'm even planning on making their Miso Soup with Tofu,Spinach & Carrots.