Bravo! Cookbook: Vegan Recipes Free of Oil, Salt & Sugar

By Dana Shultz for Diets In Review

If you currently adhere to a vegan diet or are considering transitioning to an animal-free diet in the future, there may be a new resource that will make adapting to this new way of life even smoother and more delicious than you thought.

TrueNorth Kitchen, based in the TrueNorth Health Center in Santa Rosa, California, has produced a new cookbook under the direction of its executive chef Ramses Bravo and TrueNorth founder, Dr. Alan Goldhamer, that features authentic vegan dishes using only convenient, affordable and health-promoting foods.

And the real kicker? Bravo! Health Promoting Meals from the TrueNorth Kitchen is a 100 percent plant-based cookbook that contains only recipes that are sugar-, oil- and salt-free (SOS).

The idea behind the cookbook stems from ancient human history, which suggests that humans are designed to crave high-calorie, salty, fatty foods to increase their chances of survival. But that “ancient gene,” as TrueNorth would call it, does us no good nowadays and even shortens our lives and makes us sick and overweight – a theory supported by a growing field of research, including the China Study.

Although adjusting to a healthier way of eating is a process that can take weeks and even months to do, the recipes in the Bravo cookbook hope to make the transition much easier by presenting dishes truly worthy of any 5-star restaurant.

In this strictly vegan cookbook, chef Bravo teachers readers how to avoid toxins in certain foods, and how to make healthy food both simple and delicious. Bravo’s experience with vegan cuisine is extensive, as he’s worked in a number of hotels and restaurants over his decorated 14-year career; perhaps his most prestigious position being executive chef for the renowned Kenwood Inn and Spa in Sonoma County.

Using his experience as a premiere vegan chef, Bravo has helped thousands of people heal from diabetes, high-cholesterol, and many other chronic illnesses. And he hopes to continue this tradition in his new cookbook, which features nearly 100 healthful, plant-based recipes that naturally help heal and mend the body.

In addition, Bravo has also included two weeks of menu plans for those who want to make a more formal switch to SOS-vegan-eating in their lives. Readers can feel confident knowing that the chef behind the cookbook doesn’t just talk the talk – he also walks the walk. Bravo subscribes to this diet himself; and in the years leading up to the development of this cookbook, he’s become one of the leanest chefs in town.

Bravo! Health Promoting Meals from the TrueNorth Kitchen is available online and in most retailers nationwide. Pick up a copy to support Bravo and TrueNorth’s efforts in promoting vegan eating in a new and delicious way.