The Plant-Based for Life Cookbook: Deliciously Simple Recipes to Nourish, Comfort, Energize and Renew

The Midwestern diet is all about comfort food—lots of meaty, cheesy, and sugary staples. But the more we learn about disease prevention and reversal, the more we understand the importance of following a whole food plant-based diet.

What if we could have all of our favorite dishes, like chili, mac and cheese, creamy stuffed potatoes, and decadent chocolate brownies, while reducing our risk of heart disease, cancer, obesity, stroke, diabetes, and other chronic illnesses?

Ann Arbor, Michigan-based personal chef Vicki Brett-Gach has just released The Plant-Based for Life Cookbook: Deliciously Simple Recipes to Nourish, Comfort, Energize and Renew with more than 100 simple recipes that show how incredibly exciting vegan foods can be, even in the Midwest. The new cookbook with Midwest-Inspired, plant-based recipes is available for purchase on Amazon and through Brett-Gach’s website at annarborvegankitchen.com.

“I wasn’t always vegan so I know first-hand that new vegans might worry about missing old favorites,” she says. “But the truth is our meals are now more delicious than ever! We make plant-based vegan versions of all our old favorites, including burgers, burritos, creamy pasta dishes, flavorful stews, creamy salad dressings, baked goods, and even ice cream!”

Brett-Gach is an oil-free, sugar-free, Master Vegan Lifestyle Coach, Plant-Based Culinary Instructor, and Certified Personal Chef who has been creating and sharing fabulous whole food plant-based recipes for more than a decade on her popular blog, Ann Arbor Vegan Kitchen.

As a coach, Brett-Gach has helped people across the nation, often reversing chronic health challenges, one delicious meal at a time. She also provides corporate wellness counseling and teaches whole food plant-based cooking classes to groups of all sizes, as well as to individual clients.

“I became vegan initially after learning how harmful animal products are to human health,” she says. “And my commitment grew even stronger once I better understood its impact on protecting animals and the health of our planet.”

A March 2018 study published in Nutrition & Diabetes found the overall prevalence of metabolic syndrome, obesity, and diabetes among U.S. adults was highest in the Midwest, where Brett-Gach lives and works.

Even nationally, studies show that American diets are getting worse instead of better. Gallup and Sharecare’s 2016 Community Rankings for Healthy Eating Report, which examines healthy eating across the nation, ranked 189 communities based on the question, “Did you eat healthy all day yesterday?”

Two of the worst (of the top 40) were in Michigan. Lansing ranked 39th with 40.1% of adults saying they do not eat healthy, and 15.9% reporting they were in poor or fair health. Flint was 32nd with 40.5% of adults saying that they do not eat healthy and 19.9% reporting they had poor or fair health.

If you’re ready to enhance your energy, mood, and health, The Plant-Based for Life Cookbook is the perfect guide.

Brett-Gach gives you everything you need, including:

• the keys to plant-based success

• the best tips for setting up a vegan pantry

• easy ways to eat more leafy greens

• over 100 delicious recipes

• and the power to drastically change your life!

Brett-Gach is a graduate of Dr. McDougall’s Starch Solution Certification program and is Forks Over Knives Plant-Based Certified. She holds certificates in Plant-Based Nutrition, Culinary Health Coaching, and Wellness Counseling, and is trained in Nutrition for a Healthy Heart, as well as Dietary Therapy for Reversing Common Diseases.

The paperback version of The Plant-Based for Life Cookbook: Deliciously Simple Recipes to Nourish, Comfort, Energize and Renew published by Brooklyn Writers Press is available now at annarborvegankitchen.com.