DiSpirito - Roccos healthy & delicious more than 200 (mostly) plant based recipes for everyday life

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If you know or suspect you have a health problem, it is recommended that you seek your physicians advice before embarking on any medical program or treatment. All efforts have been made to assure the accuracy of the information contained in this book as of the date of publication. This publisher and the author disclaim liability for any medical outcomes that may occur as a result of applying the methods suggested in this book. ROCCOS HEALTHY + DELICIOUS. Copyright 2017 by Rocco DiSpirito. All rights reserved under International and Pan-American Copyright Conventions.

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Cover Design by HSU + Associates Digital Edition OCTOBER 2017 ISBN: 978-0-06-237817-0 Print ISBN: 978-0-06-237812-5 I ve dedicated my life to proving that healthy and delicious are not mutually exclusive concepts. Contrary to popular belief, you dont have to sacrifice flavor to eat well. You can be healthy, lose weight, and still enjoy amazing food all day long.THE PROOF is in the cookbook youre thumbing through right now. There are more than two hundred recipes hereincluding plenty of satisfying meals and decadent desserts.

And each one is made with healthy, great-tasting ingredients that will soon become your go-to pantry staples. When I started working on this book, I knew one thing for certain: I didnt want to write a traditional diet book, with boring diet theory, philosophy, charts, and complicated shopping lists. And from the conversations Ive had with you, my readers, I know thats not what you want either. Over and over people tell me that what they really want from me is more recipes to help them live a healthy life. Well, friends, here they are! All of the recipes in this book are inspired by the dishes I make every day for my food delivery service customers. I prepare delicious meals that are delivered right to their doors, wherever they areat work, at home, or on vacation, anywhere in the country.

All of the meals I make are sourced from fresh, local, organic ingredients that are nutrient dense, gluten-free, dairy-free, and sugar-free. With these recipes at your fingertips, you too can live like you have a private chef and change your health and well-being for the better. My personal journey to eating healthier began with a scare. I was a restaurant chef for many years, trained to prepare food with lots of butter or other fat, pour delectable sauces over it, and sugar it up, all with no regard to calories, nutrients, or anything else health-related. It didnt have to be good for you, it just had to taste good. And to make sure I was serving the very best food to my customers, I routinely sampled my creations.

Over the years, that sampling added up, and my weight soared. By 2008, my doctor told me that my cholesterol and blood pressure were creeping upward. He gave me two options: start taking medication or improve my diet and exercise. I remember thinking, Why dont I do the harder, smarter thing? I decided to learn how to make healthier versions of my favorite foodsand commit to a real exercise routine. A year later, I was thirty pounds lighter and much healthier. Thats when I knew I was onto something, and a new, different sort of passion for cooking took hold.

At the time, there wasnt another chef within spitting distance (save for a few very brave soulsMichel Nischan and Matthew Kenney come to mind) who embraced a healthier lifestyle, much less was willing to transform their signature cuisine into healthier cuisine. The movement for healthy and delicious was small, sporadic, and weak. Those of us who were interested in nutrition were considered alternative types who craved wheatgrass juice and carried water bottles. My peers thought Id lost my mind. No one could have imagined a day when made-to-order salad joints and juice shops could be found in any city. As I began this journey, I developed a working set of parameters: re-create comfort food, shave off fat and carbs, and make sure the result was under 350 calories per servingwithout making the dishes taste like cardboard.

I was okay with using conventional foods, artificial sweeteners, low-fat sauces, and sugar-free stuff made with sucralose. As long as I got the flavor right and the calories under 350, I considered it a job well done. It was a huge undertaking and very ambitious for me at the time. The result was a book called Now Eat This!, and it was an instant success. But in the years since then, Ive refined my definition of healthy eating. Ive cut out refined sugars and processed foods.

I dont use artificial flavorings or sweeteners. I avoid gluten, dairy, and sugar. And I always try to source the best-quality ingredientslocal and organicwhenever possible. These foods are higher in nutrients, free of pesticides and other toxic chemicals, and simply taste better. Whats more, theyre great for weight loss because their calories are used efficiently by the body, making them less likely to be stored as fat. Today, consumers are more educated than ever before about the quality of their food.

Most of you have heard about the dangers of high-fructose corn syrup and genetically modified organisms (GMOs). You know to read food labels. You know to avoid added sugars and preservatives. You know to run in the opposite direction from any and all trans fats. A whole new language has evolved when it comes to food and wellness. Locavore, vegan, pescatarian, Paleo, ketogenicthe list goes on and on.

So much is happening that requires a person like me to be vigilant, relentless, and dynamic. Im always on the prowl for new ingredients, new techniques, new and better information to replace or refresh what Im doing in the kitchen. The chef I was ten or twelve years ago is not the chef I am today. I am in perpetual metamorphosis! Which brings us up to the now. The food in this book isjust as it says on the jacketmostly plant-based (and completely delicious). What does that mean? It means eating as close to the source as possible.