This long awaited, eagerly anticipated cookbook is sure to please fans of Tosca Reno's overnight weight loss success story, who have been clamoring for more eat-clean recipes. Following up on the heels of best-seller The Eat-Clean Diet, which also included food guidelines and preparation ideas, The Eat-Clean Diet Cookbook: Great-Tasting Recipes That Keep You Lean takes readers to a whole new level of flavorful enjoyment.

The Eat-Clean Diet Cookbook features over 150 easy recipes. Yes, they really are pretty easy, incorporating quicker stir-frys, crock pot cooking, handheld blenders, and food processors. Trying the Applesauce Oatmeal Muffins and the Power Oatmeal Pancakes, I found the recipes simple to prepare, low in sugar, protein adequate, and whole grain inclusive. Plus, my family loved them! Tosca Reno, herself a mom, knows the value of kid-approved meals. Many of the recipes are Canadian, Asian, and Mediterranean influenced, offering tastes for everyone.

Throughout the book, a bargain soft cover affordable to most, the Clean-Eating Principles Tosca Reno uses to maintain her weight loss, are applied:

Eat 5-6 small meals daily, every 2-3 hours.
Combine lean protein and complex carbs in each meal.
Drink a minimum of 2 liters/8cups of water daily.
Don’t skip meals, especially breakfast.
Carry a cooler loaded with Clean-Eating foods for the day.
Avoid all over-processed, refined foods (white sugar, white flour), all trans and saturated fats, alcohol, calorie-dense foods with no nutritional value, sodas, colas, and juices.
Eat fresh fruits, vegetables, and healthy fats.
Eat proper sized portions.

The Eat-Clean Diet Cookbook is eleven chapters long, beginning with Tosca Reno’s acknowledgement of a “globesity” crisis hounding North America and a recap of her story in the Introduction. She explains the need to be a voice that speaks against “Super Size Me.” Other chapters include Breakfast; Soup; Grains; Sauces, Spreads, and Salsas; One-Dish Meals; Proteins; Vegetables; Pasta; Sweets; A Festive Occasion; and a Question & Answer section, which covers the most popular queries the author receives.

Tosca Reno introduces novel foods to readers — Vegetarian Chili (with dark chocolate as an ingredient), Yogurt Cheese, Olive Butter Spread, Wild-Grains Rice Pilaf (using a wheat berries and whole wheat couscous), and Quinoa With Oats. The photos of the dishes are dynamically maximized and beautiful.

Another noteworthy point are valuable charts and explanations. Such as, “What Does 25 Grams of Protein Look Like,” which details the calorie count and amount necessary for preparation.

Tosca Reno, herself the “formerly fat housewife turned fit,” understands what it takes to physically transform the body. She notes that the Journal of the American Medical Association suggests that 65 percent of North Americans are overweight. After weighing in at 200lbs plus and losing over 70lbs, Tosca Reno committed herself to eating-clean. The Eat-Clean Diet Cookbook is her testament to fantastic health.

Review of The Eat-Clean Diet Cookbook
Author Tosca Reno
Robert Kennedy Publishing ('07)