Unprocessed: How to achieve vibrant health and your ideal weight. [Paperback]

Chef AJ (Author), Glen Merzer (Contributor)

Book Description

Publication Date: February 2, 2011

Chef AJ has a unique ability to create healthy foods that taste great. Whether you want to lower your cholesterol, prevent or reverse many common lifestyle diseases, lose weight or just look and feel great, Chef AJ can show you how to incorporate more fresh fruits and vegetables in your diet in ways that are easy, delicious and fun.

Foreword by Dr. Hans Diehl and endorsed by several giants in the field of plant-based nutrition, including:

• Dr. T. Colin Campbell (The China Study)
• Rip Esselstyn (The Engine 2 Diet)
• Dr. Joel Fuhrman (Eat To Live)
• Dr. Matthew Lederman & Dr. Alona Pulde (Keep It Simple, Keep It Whole: Your Guide To Optimum Health)
• Dr. John McDougall (The McDougall Program)
• Dr. Pam Popper (Executive Director of the Wellness Forum)

"Chef AJ knows her way around a kitchen. She's been doing this for thirty years and it shows. All her recipes are incredibly easy to make, really healthy, but totally tasty in every way. She's a gifted chef."
Rory Freedman, Best-selling coauthor of Skinny Bitch

"Chef AJ knows how to make tasty food and how to make it healthy. It's very special. Try it and you'll like it."
T. Colin Campbell, PhD, author of The China Study

"Chef AJ's book Unprocessed deserves a special spot on the bookshelf of all people serious about their health and personal appearance."
Mary and John McDougall, M.D., authors and founders of the McDougall Program

"Chef AJ is one of the few chefs in the world who can design dishes that not only meet my dietary guidelines, but are delicious, too. She represents the best of everything; she's entertaining and engaging, and makes healthy food totally acceptable for everyone. This book is a must-have for the person who wants to not only eat well, but enjoy eating well, too."
Dr. Pam Popper, Executive Director of the Wellness Forum

"Chef AJ is unmatched in her ability to take nothing but whole foods and make them taste so delicious. Couple that with her generosity and passion, and she herself is a recipe for success. It's about time the world got to taste these treats!"
Alona Pulde, M.D. & Matthew Lederman, M.D. authors of Keep It Simple, Keep It Whole: Your Guide To Optimum Health

"Half confessional memoir, half delectable recipes, Unprocessed is a 100 percent inspirational, educational, and gastronomical fodder from Abbie Jaye, aka Chef AJ. A junk-food vegetarian since forever, AJ turned to a whole-foods diet to cure her ailments, and now preaches to anyone and everyone through her culinary classes and laugh-a-minute lectures. The recipes are all sugar-, salt-, and oil-free, and all delicious. How can you not like a book that starts with desserts?"
VegNews Magazine

UNPROCESSED will show you how you can achieve optimum health, vibrant energy and your ideal weight, simply by eating real, whole foods and avoiding processed food.

This book features:

• 11 Appetizers
• 11 Beverages and Smoothies
• 14 Enticing Entrees
• 12 Salads and Dressings
• 10 Savory Soups
• 16 Sensational Sides
• 21 Decadent Desserts
• 14 Truffles

All recipes are vegan, gluten-free, oil-free, salt-free and refined sugar-free.

Chef AJ shares her personal story detailing the dangerous health consequences of an unhealthy diet, and the body's miraculous ability to recover and thrive when fed healthy, whole foods. An inspirational, fun read.

Editorial Reviews

About the Author

Chef AJ has followed a plant-based diet for over 33 years. She works as a chef and culinary instructor in Los Angeles. She is also the creator and co-producer of www.HealthyTasteofLA.com, an annual event in Redondo Beach, California where the finest in plant based cuisine meets the best in nutritional science.

Co-author Glen Merzer is a playwright and screenwriter living in Los Angeles. He is co-author with Howard Lyman of "Mad Cowboy" and with Howard Lyman and Joanna Samorow-Merzer of "No More Bull!".

Product Details

• Paperback: 192 pages
• Publisher: CreateSpace Independent Publishing Platform (February 2, 2011)
• Language: English
• ISBN-10: 1456576097
• ISBN-13: 978-1456576097
• Product Dimensions: 9 x 6 x 0.4 inches
• Shipping Weight: 8.8 ounces (View shipping rates and policies)
• Average Customer Review: 4.5 out of 5 stars  See all reviews (62 customer reviews)
• Amazon Best Sellers Rank: #59,125 in Books (See Top 100 in Books)

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Most Helpful Customer Reviews

58 of 61 people found the following review helpful

5.0 out of 5 stars Motivation to get you started on a healthy diet and lifestyle February 27, 2011

By Karen

Format:Paperback|Amazon Verified Purchase

Chef AJ, in her book "Unprocessed," shares nutritional advice that she has learned from experts in the field of plant-based nutrition and gives the basis for forming her own diet regime, along with explaining her diet philosophy in a readable and friendly format. AJ enthusiastically motivates the reader to go on a whole-foods, nutrient-rich, plant-based diet, with no sugar, salt, or oil. Her reasons for adopting this healthy lifestyle are personal, which she openly shares with the reader, and she is hoping to convince others to try her way of eating so that they can overcome their addictions to food, cure their chronic illnesses, and lose unwanted pounds.

Chef AJ "speaks" to the reader as a friend, giving support and understanding throughout, acknowledging that for some people the gradual approach may be best, rather than to drop all processed food at once. The "Yabbut" sections addresses people's excuses, and the resource section is helpful to those who are new to this way of eating, as well as to those who have lived a healthy lifestyle for awhile. The recipes are easy to follow, and leave room for the home cook's creativity. AJ has an informative section on what to buy in the grocery store and how to stock one's home with recommended ingredients and foods. She even addresses restaurant dining and how to eat healthfully when dining out.

Pictures in the book would have been useful, but one can search You Tube for demonstrations of Chef AJ preparing some of the recipes. Also, Chef AJ gives her e-mail address so that the reader can contact her with any questions. Chef AJ's cooking classes are another resource, are a lot of fun and are unlike other cooking classes because she mixes in humor and song-and-dance routines, emphasizing her lifestyle program, along with the food demonstrations.

Chef AJ's wittiness is scattered throughout the paperback, which makes the book a very enjoyable read. I would recommend the book to anyone wanting to improve their diet and lifestyle, as well as their health.

27 of 28 people found the following review helpful

5.0 out of 5 stars Chef AJ ROCKS!! February 9, 2011

By Terri Knotwell

Format:Paperback

This book is great! It is wonderful to hear a real person's struggles and health issues and how a plant based diet can make such a tremendous difference in our life! AJ's recipes are yummy, and easy to make. If you haven't taken any of her classes and you live in southern CA, go to her website, chefajshealthykitchen.com and check it out!! It is well worth the money! She is passionate about her health, AND YOURS!

Thanks Chef AJ for taking the time to write the book!

29 of 31 people found the following review helpful

5.0 out of 5 stars Simply, healthy, delish! February 13, 2011

By Rory Freedman

Format:Paperback

Chef AJ knows her way around a kitchen. She's been doing this for thirty years and it shows. All her recipes are incredibly easy to make, really healthy, but totally tasty in every way. She's a gifted chef.