Thrive Foods: 200 Plant-Based Recipes for Peak Health [Paperback]

Brendan Brazier (Author)

Book Description

Publication Date: September 6, 2011

"Thrive Foods offers a diet that's good for you and the planet."

- Washington Post

 

"Brazier drills deep and delivers surprising news and statistics on the eating and production of food and how one person can make a big difference by eating plant-based meals."

- The Vancouver Sun

 

"Thrive Foods will have you and your family brimming with energy and health."

- Reader's Digest

 
* "This book will appeal to not only athletes and vegetarian but anyone who is concerned with eating to reduce personal and environmental stress. It is like a cup of Fast Food Nation in a bowl of Moosewood Restaurant Cooking for Health - i.e., a fascinating read featuring excellent recipes based on highly palatable nutritional science."

- Library Journal (*starred review)

 
Building upon the stress-reducing, health-boosting nutritional philosophy introduced in his acclaimed vegan nutrition guide Thrive, professional Ironman triathlete Brendan Brazier now turns his attention to your dinner plate (breakfast bowl and lunch tray too). Where does your food come from, and is it healthy? How can you be sure that you are receiving the nutrients you need? In Thrive Foods, Brazier clearly explains how nutrient-dense, plant-based foods are the best form of proactive health insurance and environmental sustainability rolled into one. And that's not all. Thrive Foods also features 200 nutritionally complete, easy-to-make recipes that utilize the power of super- foods such as maca, chia, hemp, and chlorella, and that avoid common allergens, such as wheat, yeast, gluten, soy, dairy, and corn.
 
With recipes from celebrated chefs (Tal Ronnen, Chad Sarno, and others) and award-winning restaurants (such as Millennium and Candle 79), the healthy and delicious dishes include:
 
Pumpkin Gnocchi | Italian Garden Stir Fry | Spicy Black Bean Chili | Quinoa Falafels | Chocolate Goodness Smoothie | Cool Coconut Orange Squares | Indian-Spiced Lentil Hemp Burgers | Banana Cream Pie | Summertime Chef Salad | as well as Brazier's signature energy bars and gels and many more . . .
 
If you're looking for sustainable energy, high-quality sleep, physical strength, and mental sharpness to meet modern-day demands, Thrive Foods is the resource for you.

Editorial Reviews

Review

"I am forever grateful to this book and to Brendan...I have noticed increased energy and more restful sleep. My desire for sugar and salt is waning, and what's more, I am following these recipes and loving them."
- Hugh Jackman 

"Brendan's book clearly shows that choosing to eat plants instead of animals is not only the best thing you can do for your own health, but also for the health of the planet. Thrive Foods keeps me healthy and performing at my best, even throughout the longest of tours."
- Moby

"Drawing from studies preformed by top international organizations, Brendan cuts through the clutter. Putting information into clear and relatable terms, he effectively illustrates the easiest, most immediate, and dramatic form of activism we can all participate in: choosing our food.
- Elizabeth J Kucinich
Director Government Affairs, PCRM

"In Whole Foods to Thrive Brendan makes the art of healthy eating and the concept of a nutrient dense diet easy to understand and compelling to follow. A must read."
- Terry Tamminen
Former Chief Policy Advisor to Governor Schwarzenegger, President of Seventh Generation Advisors

"The world needs to move away from meat. As Brendan Brazier so convincingly shows, a plant-based diet is better for the planet and better for human health. His wonderfully inventive vegan recipes give us food that is both nutritious and inviting."
- Chris Goodall
Bestselling author of How to Live a Low Carbon Life

From the Author

In the Thrive Foods, I introduce something called the Nutrient-to-Resource Ratio, which considers the amount of each natural resource that goes into food production in exchange for the amount of nutrients that food offers. Based on these findings, I then make suggestions as to what foods are most beneficial to personal health as well as environmental preservation. The goal is simple: get as high a level of health-boosting micronutrients from food, while expending the smallest amount of each natural resource to do so. (Essentially, it's a mathematical way of saying plant-based whole foods make a lot of sense). There are also 200 recipes, including a few from my favorite North American restaurants, as well as a few of my favorite chefs.

See all Editorial Reviews

Product Details

• Paperback: 376 pages
• Publisher: Da Capo Lifelong Books; Original edition (September 6, 2011)
• Language: English
• ISBN-10: 0738215112
• ISBN-13: 978-0738215112
• Product Dimensions: 7.4 x 1 x 9.2 inches
• Shipping Weight: 1.4 pounds (View shipping rates and policies)
• Average Customer Review: 4.5 out of 5 stars  See all reviews (94 customer reviews)
• Amazon Best Sellers Rank: #5,162 in Books (See Top 100 in Books)
  • #27 in Books > Health, Fitness & Dieting > Diets & Weight Loss > Vegetarian
  • #30 in Books > Cookbooks, Food & Wine > Natural Foods
  • #94 in Books > Cookbooks, Food & Wine > Special Diet > Healthy

More About the Author

Brendan Brazier is the creator and host of the Thrive Forward web series, based on his bestselling Thrive book trilogy (Thrive, Thrive Fitness, and Thrive Foods). Brendan is a former professional Ironman triathlete, and the creator of an award-winning line of whole food nutritional products called Vega. He is also a two-time Canadian 50km Ultra Marathon Champion.

Brendan is recognized as one of the world's foremost authorities on plant-based nutrition for athletes. In an online Cornell University certificate program, Brendan presents a lecture based on his best-selling books entitled: Plant-Based Diet and Elite Athleticism. It is part of a new course presented by eCornell and the T. Colin Campbell Foundation. www.ecornell.com/brazier

Brendan was chosen as one of the 25 Most Fascinating Vegetarians by VegNews Magazine, the Top 40 Under 40 most influential people in the health industry by Natural Food Merchandiser and has been nominated for the prestigious Manning Innovation Award twice for creating Vega.

Brendan's intentions of spreading the word of an ethical, environmentally friendly, and healthy lifestyle through plant-based foods have taken him across North America, speaking at events such as the Chicago Green Festival and the United States Humane Society Gala. Brendan was also invited to address US Congress on Capitol Hill, where he spoke of the significant social and economic benefits that could be achieved by improving personal health through better diet. The focus of his speech was to draw attention to the role that food plays in the prevention of most chronic diseases currently plaguing North Americans.

Spanning the whole month of October of 2008, Brendan was a keynote presenter on a cross-Canada university speaking tour called "Students for Sustainability." Speaking at 21 universities, along with others such David Suzuki and Stephan Lewis, the tour went coast to coast offering practical environmental preservation solutions to students. It was Canada's largest environmental tour.

Aimed at helping individuals and companies improve productivity through greater fitness Brendan's second book, Thrive Fitness: Mental and Physical Strength for Life, was published by Penguin in January, 2009. And was published in the United Sates by Da Capo in January, 2010.

Brendan's latest book (September, 2011) is called Thrive Foods and includes 200 plant-based whole food recipes. It also includes three chapters dedicated to assessing the environmental resources used in food production. In June of 2012, it won the an International Book Award for "Best Health Book." You may view video trailer on this page for more info.

Most Helpful Customer Reviews

104 of 105 people found the following review helpful

5.0 out of 5 stars The best cookbook for an approachable, high-energy plant-based diet. September 1, 2011

By Matt Frazier

Format:Paperback

Brendan's previous two books, Thrive and Thrive Fitness, were groundbreaking, must-reads for plant-based athletes who wanted to maximize energy from their diets. But what these books were missing, as far as the less-serious athlete is concerned, was approachable food -- food you could cook for your family, or meals that a reluctant or tentative new vegetarian or vegan would be likely to enjoy.

But right in the introduction of Thrive Foods, Brendan explains how this book is different: he enlisted the help of his favorite chefs (some of them very well-known among vegetarians and vegans) to come up with recipes far more flavorful and approachable than those in Thrive and Thrive Fitness, while still focusing on foods that provide the maximum amount energy at the lowest digestive cost. As a result, this book will appeal to massively wider audience. (This includes my 16-month old son, who I was shocked to discover actually enjoyed the Shanghai rice bowl recipe last night for dinner.)

The first few chapters of Thrive Foods explain Brendan's philosophy on food, and why he believes a plant-based diet is the best possible diet both for our bodies and our planet. Where he improves again on the previous books is in including several graphics and charts that make this information easy to assimilate, even to those just skimming through it.

The rest of the book comprises 200 vegan recipes. The handful that I've tried have been delicious, and as a non-raw-foodist, I was happy to find that hot, traditionally-cooked dishes like red lentil dal were included. But there are still many raw meals, with most of the non-raw dishes featuring raw components, in a nice compromise between health food and hot, comforting meals. And I was happy to see that the "athlete" recipes, like energy bars and gels, still made it into the book, right alongside recipes for vegan ice cream and pie!

For anyone but the most hardcore athlete, this will be Brendan's best book yet, and I have no doubt it'll bring the benefits of a plant-based diet to a whole new crowd of people, those whose main concern with their new healthy diet is that their food still tastes the way real food should. When people ask me to suggest an introduction to healthy plant-based cooking, or simply a cookbook to help them overhaul their diets and get healthy without eating rabbit food, Thrive Foods is the one I'll recommend.

38 of 38 people found the following review helpful

5.0 out of 5 stars Thrive deliciously! August 31, 2011

By RLH

Format:Paperback|Amazon Verified Purchase

I love this book!
Great information, great recipes all in one book!I really appreciate the way Brendan explains how our food choices affect our environment in such a clear way. It was interesting to see how plant based foods vs animal based foods have such a different impact.Then on to the food....you will not be disappointed! My favorites so far have been Chocolate Raspberry Chia Pudding, Eggplant Rollatini, and the Cool Coconut Orange Squares. Some people may have a harder time than other finding things like Maca or Yacon powder and Sacha Inchi seeds which I haven't even heard of, but most things can be found at a well stocked health food market or co-op. Also so far it seems none of the recipes require a dehydrator so the recipes don't take hours to prepare. I also like that you don't need to be 100% raw to enjoy this book, as it also contains some cooked recipes for those that like to include them in their diet.

65 of 69 people found the following review helpful

5.0 out of 5 stars Game-Changer August 27, 2011

By Jayme Timbol

Format:Paperback

Brazier is an innovator: he formulated his now famous Vega plant-based protein shake at age 15; reinvented himself from a champion elite athlete to a nutrition and fitness expert; and then a best-selling author and public speaker. And this 3rd book in the Thrive Series does not disappoint and shows why he is a game-changer.

He introduces a breakthrough concept called Nutrient-to-Resource Ratio which ties nutrition, fitness and the environment together (you read it here first), and clearly illustrates how one seemingly small buying decision can have an industry changing effect, and potentially tip our food habits in a massive way.

Imagine you are in your favorite grocery store and as you check out food labels, you do not only see the amount of calories, but also the amount of nutrients and the environment resources used to produce that food. What a shock to find out that it takes 2900 times MORE land to produce the EQUAL amount of micronutrients from a pound of beef than from kale! Wouldn't you think twice about having steak for dinner? To take it a step further, as we start comparing brands to see which are more responsible than others, companies will start changing the way they do their business to meet the needs of the market place, and it is our buying power that will drive what they offer moving forward.

Even if you have not gotten into the plant-based lifestyle yet, are curious about it or in the process of transitioning, you will find that this is not one of those highly theoretical and abstract books - it is a very practical one infused with humor and fun examples which make the ideas come to life.

What's more, there's an entire section dedicated to delish thrive foods recipes that some of the most cultured and pickiest palets have concocted - a great toolkit to whip up Zagat-worthy menus we can impress our family and friends with. And they will never look at plant-based foods the same way again!

Who says we can't have it all? Being green inside and out has never been this empowering and exciting!