The Virgin Diet Cookbook: 150 Easy and Delicious Recipes to Lose Weight and Feel Better Fast

Get Rid Of The Shakes & You've Got a Decent Cookbook With Delicious Recipes

The Virgin Diet Cookbook: 150 Easy and Delicious Recipes to Lose Weight and Feel Better Fast

We read JJ's book about a year ago & for the most part found we agree with the majority of what she says regarding food choices.  Our main interest in her book was not for weight loss but for digestive issues.  Overall we liked the book but couldn't stand her constant self promotion & pushing of her overpriced "Virgin Shakes" which contain sugar as well as other undesirable ingredients.  When we came across her cookbook we thought we'd be free of her dreaded shakes.  Unfortunately this is not the case.  She finds many ways to add her shake powder to many of her recipes.  Like her book, this is our biggest peeve regarding her cookbook. If you are determined to use shakes in place of food we recommend Vibrant Health Field of Greens, NutriBiotic Organic Rice Protein, & Amazing Grass Amazing Meal Powder.

Some recipes are overly complicated.  Like making almond butter.  To make almond butter (or any other nut butter) all you need is a food processor.  JJ has you add monk fruit extract (she adds this to a lot of recipes as she does with her shakes) as well as other ingredients.  Almond butter is delicious on it's own.  Just toss the nuts into your food processor & process until they butter is as smooth as you like it.  It's that simple!

Thankfully not all the recipes utilize her shakes or monk fruit.  We loosely follow a Paleo type of diet due to digestive issues & as a result are grateful for her Paleo Virgin Diet section of the book.  There are plenty of tasty recipes with the sides being our favorite section.  The sides are quick & easy.  Think of simple yet delicious snacks like Braised Kale (So good!), Butternut Squash Fries (seriously good stuff!), Red Quinoa with Kale, Onions & Pine Nuts (we like to make my own version of this omitting her spices & adding lemon, sea salt, along with the garlic), Easy Spinach & Garlic Saute (due to olive oils sensitivity to heat, we use Grassfed Organic Cultured Ghee or make your own ghee in place of the Olive Oil), Cauliflower Puree (we highly recommend Natural Value Organic Classic Coconut Milk or Natural Value Coconut Cream they are both free from thickeners, gums & additives. Whatever you do don't use SoDelicious.  We swear she's getting paid to promote that crap.  Natural Value is plenty good or you can make your own.  If you want an amazing desert have berries with some coconut cream/milk.  It is so good!)

Her section on Sauces, Rubs, & Dressings has some good recipes but others we could do without.  We love ketchup & were disappointed but not surprised to see she adds monk fruit.  We've gotten so used to not using ketchup & using tomato paste in it's place that we think we'll continue to do so.  We're sure the ketchup recipe would be decent without the monk fruit as we find tomatoes to have their own sweetness.  After being on the diet for a while (or if you are Paleo) you will find that things taste much much sweeter & for us anyway, those sugar "treats" just don't taste as good or satisfy.

Besides having some really delicious recipes, we am very happy with how JJ breaks down the book to fit individual needs.  She has a full menu plan for Fast Weight Loss, Vegan & Vegetarian, Diabetes & Pre-Diabetes, Paleo/Low Carb (in this section she provides the meal plan with the shakes & thankfully without them. For Paleo without the shakes JJ recommends eating any other recommended meal for breakfast), Family, On The Go, & On A Budget.  All of her plans provide shopping lists as well as the recommended recipes to follow for breakfast, lunch, snacks & dinner.

Overall, we've lost some weight but haven't lost our digestive issues.  Some are less severe while others are as persistent as ever.  We haven't given up the fight & are determined to get better.  If you want to rule out food intolerance's & loose weight healthily, we think you will get a lot out of this book.  We also strongly recommend (JJ recommends these books & more) other books such as The Body Ecology Diet, The Specific Carbohydrate Diet, Nourishing Traditions, Digestive Health With REAL Food, & The Paleo Solution.

Like this?  You may also like:

Book Corner Quick Links
Links to the books we've read & reviewed for your convenience!

• Breakfast The Most Important Book About The Best Meal Of The Day
  
• The Sh!t No One Tells You About Pregnancy: A Guide to Surviving Pregnancy, Childbirth, and Beyond
• The Complete Guide To Adaptogens From Ashwagandaha to Rhodiola, Medicinal Herbs That Transform and Heal

• Beginning Beekeeping
• Before The Evolution and Future of Processed Food
• The Psychobiotic Revolution
• Simple & Natural Soapmaking: Create 100% Pure and Beautiful Soaps with The Nerdy Farm Wife’s Easy Recipes and Techniques
• The Flower Book
• The Essential Oils Complete Reference Guide: Over 250 Recipes for Natural Wholesome Aromatherapy
• The Gut Makeover: 4 Weeks to Nourish Your Gut, Revolutionize Your Health, and Lose Weight
• The Field Guide To Pregnancy
• 101 Easy Homemade Products for Your Skin, Health & Home: A Nerdy Farm Wife's All-Natural DIY Projects Using Commonly Found Herbs, Flowers & Other Plants
• The Chicken Health Handbook
• Chickens In Your Backyard:  A Beginners Guide
• The Moosewood Restaurant Cooking for Health: More Than 200 New Vegetarian and Vegan Recipes for Delicious and Nutrient-Rich Dishes
• The Joy of Jams, Jellies, and Other Sweet Preserves: 200 Classic and Contemporary Recipes Showcasing the Fabulous Flavors of Fresh Fruits
• The Raw Milk Revolution: Behind America's Emerging Battle over Food Rights
• The Joy of Pickling: 250 Flavor-Packed Recipes for Vegetables and More from Garden or Market
• Style, Naturally: The Savvy Shopping Guide to Sustainable Fashion and Beauty
• The Gort Cloud: The Invisible Force Powering Today's Most Visible Green Brands
• Feed Your Skin, Starve Your Wrinkles
• Sleeping Naked Is Green
• Naturally Thin: Unleash Your SkinnyGirl and Free Yourself from a Lifetime of Dieting
• Ecological Intelligence: How Knowing the Hidden Impacts of What We Buy Can Change Everything
• Beef: The Untold Story of How Milk, Meat, and Muscle Shaped the World
• Fortify Your Life: Your Guide to Vitamins, Minerals, and More
• Healing Herbs:  A Beginner's Guide To Identifying, Foraging, and Using Medicinal Plants
• The How Can It Be Gluten Free Cookbook
• The Virgin Diet Cookbook: 150 Easy and Delicious Recipes to Lose Weight and Feel Better Fast
  
• Flip Dolls & Other Toys That Zip, Stack, Hide, Grab & Go
• Healthy at Home: Get Well and Stay Well Without Prescriptions
• Cows Save the Planet: And Other Improbable Ways of Restoring Soil to Heal the Earth
• Integrative Wellness Rules: A Simple Guide to Healthy Living
• Salt Sugar Fat: How the Food Giants Hooked Us
• How Stella Saved the Farm: A Tale About Making Innovation Happen
• The Virgin Diet: Drop 7 Foods, Lose 7 Pounds, Just 7 Days
• The Easy Organizer: 365 Tips for Conquering Clutter
• The Seed Underground: A Growing Revolution to Save Food
• Probiotics For Dummies
• Beyond Sugar Shock: The 6-Week Plan to Break Free of Your Sugar Addiction & Get Slimmer, Sexier & Sweeter
• Small Business For Dummies
• Starting An Etsy Business For Dummies
• Snip, Burn, Solder, Shred: Seriously Geeky Stuff to Make with Your Kids
• The Beauty Detox Solution: Eat Your Way to Radiant Skin, Renewed Energy and the Body You've Always Wanted
• A Woman's Guide to a Healthy Stomach: Taking Control of Your Digestive Health
• Holy Shit: Managing Manure to Save Mankind
• Diet for a Hot Planet: The Climate Crisis at the End of Your Fork and What You Can Do About It
• Terra Madre: Forging a New Global Network of Sustainable Food Communities
• The Hundred Year Diet: America's Voracious Appetite For Losing Weight
• Twelve by Twelve: A One-Room Cabin Off the Grid and Beyond the American Dream
• Felties: How to Make 18 Cute and Fuzzy Friends from Felt
• Bread Matters: The State of Modern Bread and a Definitive Guide to Baking Your Own
• Luxury Yarn One-Skein Wonders: 101 Small Indulgences