Manuel Villacorta MS RD

The Whole Body Reboot by Manuel Villacorta is a well written interesting cookbook. It has a great introduction and explanation of what you hope to get from following this diet. The recipes sound good and I love all the great pictures that show the dishes. Though these recipes seem like they would be hard he presents them in a way that it will be easy to follow and make. I find that the diet would not be for just anyone but if you are looking for a new way to get healthy then you might want to check this book out.

I received this book free in exchange for my honest opinion… (mehr)

Love the size of this book and all of the colorful pictures. Presentation is definitley important to me when choosing a cookbook. I like to see what I am cooking before making it.

The book provides flexibility which is great when choosing the type of meal plan that suits your needs. Manuel provides menus for people who have no dietary restrictions, vegans, vegetarians as well as gluten free receipes. He also encourages you to look at all the meal plans to provide even more options. All the recipes are based around 400 calories which takes the guesswork out of customizing your own plan.

Love the five simple principles he suggests. They're important whether you follow his plan or not. Most of us are familiar with these principles but it's always nice to have that reminder. My favorite principle is the 70/30 rule. He says it doesn't matter what time you stop eating. Over the years and after reading a variety of nutrition books, most always suggest to stop eating by 7pm. Its nice to know his plan works no matter what time you stop eating for the day.

Several of the superfoods I had never heard of before reading this book. Manuel gives suggestions on where to find them and how to substitute if you can't find them.

I also love that he doesn't frown upon sweets and dining out/splurges. So many meal plans these days restrict any sweets or any type of splurge. Makes it hard to follow plans if they don't allow at least a few treats.

Overall I think the book is great. I would definitely recommend it to anyone who has an open mind and is willing to try new foods!… (mehr)

Manuel Villacorta's WHOLE BODY REBOOT has some great tips and recipes. It's based on 21 Peruvian "superfoods" but most are not hard to find (especially staples like beans) and can be easily incorporated into your daily meals. Even without jumping aboard the whole plan, your body can benefit by doing simple things, like adding omega-3s such as flaxseeds to a dish or "spicing things up" with cinnamon, paprika, or curcumin (which, I can say through personal experience, helps with arthritis).

Villacorta explains that "slowing down our hectic lives" produces positive results and reminds us that "eating should be a time of relaxation, awareness, and mindfulness." You wouldn't think of that as "diet" advice and it's not. Slowing down and being mindful of everything we do in all aspects of our lives is spiritual advice, which, in turn, leads to a healthier—and often trimmer—body. He advises at least twenty minutes to eat a meal. That's how long it will take for your stomach to tell your brain that you are full. Stopping when you are full is a key factor in weight control and in feeling your best, both body and mind.

One thing I especially like about this book is that it offers choices, stating, "Only you can decide what works best for you." So true. How many times have you given up on a healthy eating plan because it was too limited, too restrictive, applying too much pressure to stick to it? Want to start with the detox smoothies? Great! Want to skip them and get right to the meals? Great! You can follow the detailed sample menus or pick and choose from meals for the general population, gluten-free eaters, vegans, and vegetarians. (I did, however, wish that there were not so many vegetarian dishes that called for tofu. Not all of us are fans.)

The editor in me marked some clumsy punctuation and a few typos. That always makes me cringe, especially since this is a high-profile book that is sure to sell well. (Publishers, pay proofreaders and copyeditors what they're worth. We are seeing too many books with errors on the shelves. And what kind of message does that send students, let alone readers in general?) Please also double-check content. A dish with chicken sausage is not vegetarian; maybe there is a vegetarian version of sausage, but the recipe does not make that clear. On the other hand, an egg-white omelet with spinach is vegetarian, but that was not noted. And a dish labeled as vegan included milk; again, you could use almond milk, but that was not clear. There may have been more such missteps, but I didn't have the heart to go through the ingredients one by one in each recipe.

That being said, I recommend the book. Without giving away too much, here are some tips I'm going to put into practice (more or less):

1. Eat breakfast within an hour of waking. (It may be a little longer than that for me as I start with day with gentle yoga stretches and meditation.)
2. Do not skip meals.
3. Combine carbs, proteins, and fats at every meal. (I confess I occasionally have popcorn for dinner and, no, I don't want to substitute a healthy version for my movie-theater butter version. I know, I know… but still!)
4. The 70/30 rule: Get 30% of your calories at dinner and 70% before that.
5. Stay hydrated. Now, I've known how important water is, but didn't think about the point Villacorta brings up: "Thirst can confuse your sense of hunger." (A confused body eats when it is actually thirsty.)

The book also has some nice exercise advice (for once—a plan that doesn't involve killing yourself at the gym!), helpful hints when you eat out, and ways to combat cravings without feeling deprived. After all, as Villacorta says, we must "experience the love as needed" when it comes to sweet treats. My man!

Buy the book to discover and try the marvelous, healthy, life-changing recipes. Until then, I'll leave you with some "food for thought"—three of what I feel are the most practical and easy-to-implement ideas from the book. Heard before, maybe, but worth repeating and backed by research:

*Eat more whole foods, fewer processed foods.
*Eat more plant-based foods.
*Season your foods with herbs and spices (both for the flavor and the health benefits).

Start there. Oh, and remember to get the book at your local independent bookstore. If you're going to do something healthy for your body, you may as well do something healthy for your local economy as well. A win-win!… (mehr)

I picked this book because I wanted new recipes that were not low-fat, and fell more in line with paleo/primal. I thought the intro was well-written and had easy-to-understand information. The recipe were plentiful and had lots of variety - and delicious! The book itself had brilliant pictures and easy-to-follow instructions. It didn't lay open, flat, which is always helpful when you have a cookbook. But that isn't my major qualm - it's the ingredients. I understand that the book is written using traditional Peruvian ingredients, but many of them are hard to find here - or, expensive. I wish the author had offered reasonable substitutions. While this book isn't the be-all / end-all of health books, it is a welcome addition to anyone collection. The recipes are fine additions to a gluten-free or paleo/primal diets.

NOTE: I received this for free in exchange for my fair and honest opinion… (mehr)