Un-Junk Your Diet: How to Shop, Cook, and Eat to Fight Inflammation and Feel Better Forever

by Desiree Nielsen

Here are the tools you need to transform the way you eat, so that each day you get healthier than the day before. Feel better! Lose weight! Be Healthy!

We don’t need to be instructed to eat apples instead of potato chips. What we need is someone to inspire us to eat well and to show us just how powerful eating that apple can be. This person must be a trusted voice, one that can calm the informational clutter instead of adding yet another discordant voice to the pile. Desiree Nielsen is a registered dietitian, one of the public’s most trusted sources of nutrition information. In Un-Junk Your Diet , she teaches readers about anti-inflammatory dieting in a way that’s engaging, funny, and approachable. Chapters

This book begins with a call to action to help shake up perceptions of what food means to our bodies and illuminate all the ways that marketers co-opt healthy eating messages to coerce us into choosing food that is unworthy. In addition, an in-depth look at the fundamentals of nutrition—with a splash of myth busting—strengthens readers’ abilities to resist the latest nutrition headline and continue making healthier choices.

Because there is no one right way for every individual eater, Nielsen offers a brief exercise in self-discovery before providing four distinct plans for becoming healthier. They range from the gentle and gradual to the two-week kick start that appeals to both detox seekers and vacation slimmers.

Genres: Health, Cookbooks, Food, Diets, Nonfiction, Nutrition

224 pages, Paperback

First published August 5, 2014

About the author

Desiree Nielsen RD spent what seems like her entire childhood in her grandmother's kitchen, stealing bites of sweet bread dough as it laid on the table rising. A love of good food was instilled in her long before she even thought about what was "good for her".

As a dietitian, she's passionate about helping people find the joy in eating healthy plant-based dishes that energize mind and body.

The host of TV's The Urban Vegetarian, Desiree is a trusted expert on anti-inflammatory nutrition, gut health and plant-based diets.

Desiree believes that modern nutrition has been lost in a sea of nutrient recommendations. Choosing unprocessed foods, largely plants, is the foundation of an eating plan that fosters good health. Passionate about promoting local and organic agriculture, Desiree loves preparing a simple meal made from the best of the season to share with friends and family.

Desiree's nutrition practice respects traditional knowledge and beliefs while maintaining a commitment to the latest nutrition evidence. To her, food is more than the nutrition it provides -- it is a vital part of our culture, our celebrations and our lives.

A sought after speaker, Desiree's positive "real world" approach to healthy eating is informative, motivating and practical. Desiree has been featured on local and national media across the US and Canada, including USA Today, The Globe and Mail, Well + Good NYC, Mind Body Green, Lifetime, Women's Health, SELF and The Marilyn Denis Show.

Desiree's love of food extends well beyond her work: she enjoys strolling through markets wherever she travels, hoarding cookbooks and one day hopes to become an expert gardener - instead of how she currently gardens, with clippers in one hand and Google in the other. Desiree is thankful everyday to have the opportunity to do what she loves most: sharing her passion for food and living well with the community.

Reviews

[Beth · Rating 4 out of 5]

I got this from my local library, after a CT scan revealed some serious inflammation (and scarring) around my digestive organs. What I needed was a comprehensive, no-hype approach to what causes inflammation and what battles it (and why). This book gave me exactly that. Her sense of humor was awkward to me, although she's going for a conversational tone. But the data is good- a lot of science and specifics to back up her statements, and a realistic, non "fad nutritionalist" approach to all foods.

I learned quite a bit in here, which is saying something because I've been on doctor-mandated diets for my health of every stripe and spot- and always done my research on those. So I think anyone and everyone can learn something from the book. I also appreciate that she has a handful of recipes, and she empowers the reader to make smart decisions (or follow a recipe regimen, if they enjoy that sort of thing). While I don't feel like I have major shifts to make, her plant-based, whole foods approach has challenged me to eat fish twice a week, only have red meat 1-2 times per week, and get more legumes into everything we eat (with helpful tips like cutting meatloaf with lentils).

I definitely recommend this book for those interested in nutrition, concerned about inflammation, or just looking to make a change in their eating habits- a change that doesn't have to be drastic in any way.

[Valiree · Rating 5 out of 5]

I just find this so very useful. Something I should be living by.

[Kate]

I don’t want to shame or be shamed about what I eat, but I do prefer foods of what I might call a “hippie” persuasion, and I have quite the list of recipes from this book that I would like to try.

[Carol · Rating 4 out of 5]

This is a very useful book, filled with practical advice about adopting a healthy, whole foods diet. I liked the idea of an 80/20 approach, with 80% anti-inflammatory foods and 20% room to flex and have a glass of wine or whatever treat appeals to you. I can see that as my diet becomes increasingly Whole Foods, I miss processed foods and sugars a lot less. Now for instants, I don’t even think about putting sugar in my coffee in the morning. My one gripe about the book is the non-stop joking. I get that she’s trying to be folksy and not turn people off By being too formal or scientific, but it grated a little for me. I felt like if she said “munch” or “normal“ one more time, I was going to have to throw the book across the room. There’s nothing wrong with the word “eat.”

[Karen JEC · Rating 4 out of 5]

The introduction is very welcoming and playful, like the author is greeting a partner and not a subject. The book is full of interesting and insightful information. Would recommend.

Favourite Quotes:

"The only way to achieve permanent change is to achieve individualized strategies."

"Perhaps we should look at our eating choices as an investment strategy in our long-term health."

"When you can appreciate the remarkable function of food, you have far more respect for the quality of food you choose."

"You are not what you eat, but what you absorb."

"Perfect isn't perfect."

"We won’t survive eighty years on this planet if we don’t prioritize food in our day."

[Lisa · Rating 2 out of 5]

This book had useful information and I had high hopes when I picked it up to read. I am always looking for ways to improve my diet and make it healthier. I found this book to be a bit boring and the author to be superior and go on about how wonderful and healthy her diet is. Some aspects of the book seem easier to incorporate than others, while others are totally unrealistic in our current society.

[Nichole Betterley]

Not much new. Skimmed it - just not that useful for where I'm at right now. But pretty good, entertaining writing.

[Alison · Rating 4 out of 5]

Looks at the new 'thought' in nutrition where eating healthy is more advantageous to 'dieting' and eating fewer calories. Also looks at inflammation and how foods cause this and then cause weight gain and ill health. Also is against 'refined carbs' and although is happy to suggest healthy meat and grain options, is more inclined towards a plant based diet which helps with lowering 'acid' levels in the body and therefore lowers inflammation. Interesting and easy to understand with a 'fun voice' narrative.

[Joni · Rating 4 out of 5]

I got the book for free on a Goodreads giveaway. Great book on nutrition, some stuff I already knew but there was some information that was new to me. I suggest this book for anybody wanting to live a healthier life, easy to read and easy to apply.

[Luann · Rating 4 out of 5]

Definitely good to read - so many tips for all. Everyone should re-evaluate your current refrigerator and pantry!

[Neil · Rating 4 out of 5]

A really sensible book. It lays out some great information without fad diets or trends.