Robin Quivers, best known as Howard Stern's sassy sidekick, has had a very public struggle with her weight and her body; for years, she assumed that her chronic aches were a genetic "birth right." However, once she gave up all animal products, processed foods, refined flours and sugar, the quality of her energy, sleep and mood improved so drastically she felt compelled to share the results of her "commitment to feeling good" in The Vegucation of Robin. "First I'm going to help you understand how food affects the way your body works, looks, and feels," she writes. "Then I'm going to show you which foods hurt and which foods heal. So by the time you get to the amazingly delicious, soul-quenching, lip-smacking, tummy-full-of-goodness recipes I've collected for you, you'll be ready to look at the meals you eat in a whole new light."
Quivers provides food for thought as well, with information on the junk food and pharmaceutical manufacturers who fund the medical establishment and nutrition boards--and how their money affects the advice these experts give us. Once she's made her case for embracing a life of vegetables and grains, Quivers provides nearly 100 recipes for homemade juice, soups, salads and vegetable dishes. She also includes appendices outlining how to prepare certain vegetables--as well as the best seasons in which to find them. Quivers's enthusiasm is infectious, and her Vegucation would be a great gift for any loved one looking to embrace a healthier lifestyle. --Kristen Galles, blogger at Book Club Classics