Eat Great, Get Healthy, Lose Weight and Look Phat: By Any Greens Necessary

Why you should read By Any Greens Necessary:  A Revolutionary Guide for Black Women Who Want to Eat Great, Get Healthy, Lose Weight and Look Phat:

1. You will gain inspiration and get the push you need to make the transition toward veganism.
2. You will get a glimpse of how the beef, veal, chicken, pig, turkey, fish, milk, cheese and eggs get from where they are to you as food.
3. Get great tips on how to transition to vegan food and delicious recipes.

The goals of this review are:

1. Inspire black women or any woman to take action and concern for your health.
2. Inform you that you do have choices when it comes to the food you choose to eat.

80 percent of black women are over weight and 50 percent are obese.  We are living large, and it’s killing us.  We have the highest rates of heart disease, stroke, diabetes, and cancer – the top four killers in the nation.  And we’re passing these diseases on to our children.

I have been on the veggie path for 2 years and By Any Greens Necessary, gave me the push and the urgency that I needed to be more dedicated to sticking with being a vegan.

Before reading this book, I was skipping along the vegan highway, without much direction, but after reading this book, I now have clarity and direction on how and why I will stick with being a vegan.

I connected with the author’s purpose (Tracye McQuirter) for writing this book because I have watched family and friends get sick and some have even died from the top four killer diseases in this nation.

Diet trumps DNA.

The section of the book that really hit me was when the author shared how working in a slaughter house is one of the most dangerous jobs and that some workers have actually lost their lives.

Another eye opening section in the book for me was when the author shared the quotes from an employee of a chicken processing plant.  Here is one of the quotes.

I personally have seen rotten meat – you can tell by the odor.  This rotten meat is mixed with fresh meat and sold for baby food.  We are asked to mix it with the fresh food, and this is the way it is sold.  You can see the worms inside the meat.

9 Things You Will Learn from this Book

1. Why you eat what you eat. Every one of us ate the food our parents gave us as a child and some of us have continued eating those foods.  If those foods are unhealthy, then the cycle must be broken.
2. Where do you get your protein myths?  The author will burst the myth that you need to eat a piece of animal flesh in order to get the protein that you need.  Protein does not equal meat.
3. A wing and a prayer. You will take a trip in the life of a chicken and what the chicken goes through to get to you.  The author paints a vivid description of what goes on in slaughter houses and also in processing plants.
4. The other white meat. You will learn more about how pork and turkey get to you.  You will get a number of how many turkeys are killed for Thanksgiving.  It will blow your mind.
5. Fishing for trouble. You will learn that fish is the most contaminated food in the market.  Fish is contaminated with mercury, arsenic, PCBs, dioxin, DDT, lead, aluminum, and radioactive waste that are dumped into oceans and rivers everyday.  You will also learn about how fish and seafood get from the water to you.
6. Milk is for heifers. You will learn that humans are the only animals to drink another animal’s milk.  You will also learn why milk does the body more harm than good.
7. The truth about carbs. You will learn what good and bad carbs are.  The key to carbs is to eat more whole carbs and stay away from refined carbs.
8. Lose weight, keep the curves. You will learn about the foods that will help you get to your ideal weight. The author tells you about the foods foods in each group and the benefits of eating them.  You will also get a weekly menu plan to get you started.
9. How to transition to vegan foods. You will learn about how other people became vegan and how they transitioned.  Becoming a vegan for most people is a gradual process and the author provides tips for transitioning.

Bonus:  Irresistible Recipes Everyone Will Love

I have tried two recipes so far and both have been a hit.  Below is one of my favorite salads.

All Hail the Kale Salad

2 or 3 bunches curly kale, washed and chopped or torn into small pieces

3 or 4 tablespoons of extra virgin olive oil

1 medium red onion, chopped

5 cloves garlic, peeled and chopped

2 or 3 tablespoons Bragg Liquid Aminos

2 tablespoons nutritional yeast

Cayenne pepper, to taste

**I added some avocado to this salad and it was delicious

**I added chopped tomato, but you can use grape tomatoes.

The photo above is this delicious salad.

Directions:  Place the kale in a large bowl and pour the olive oil over it.  Toss with salad tongs to make sure all the leaves are coated.  Add in the rest of the ingredients and toss well.  If possible, let marinate at room temperature for about half an hour before serving.

Makes 6 to 8 servings

Enjoy!

By Any Greens Necessary (affiliate link) has 217 pages and is an easy read.  Once you begin reading this book, you will get hooked and not want to put it down until you have finished reading the whole book.

Tracye McQuirter is the author of By Any Greens Necessary and she holds a Master’s of Public Health in Nutrition.  She will definitely inspire you to take action and responsibility for your own well-being.

I recommend that you read this book.  My only disappointment with this book is that the author markets this book to black women and I do understand why.  However, I believe it limits the author’s  possibility of reaching a larger audience of people who are interested in learning more about eating a vegan diet.