Clean Cuisine: An 8-Week Anti-Inflammatory Diet Book Review (& Giveaway!)

This takes “clean eating” to the next level.

Here at FBG, we don’t believe that there’s any such thing as a “perfect” diet — we’re all individuals, and different ways of eating work for different people. (Not to mention that trying to be “perfect” with anything totally takes the fun out of everything.) However, are we always interested in new points of view and new tips and info that might help us to try something new or feel a little better or healthier? Abso-freakin’-lutely. And the book Clean Cuisine: An 8-Week Anti-Inflammatory Diet that Will Change the Way You Age, Look & Feel, which we were recently sent, definitely did just that.

Although the authors Ivy and Andrew Larson promise a lot — hunger-free weight-loss, better energy, improved overall health and wellness — it has a lot of good info in it. Like any book we read and review, we always focus on learning and then incorporating those newly learned things into our lives and seeing if they work for us. And this book has a lot that we think could work for a lot of people. Based on the idea that your diet, exercise and lifestyle can help reduce inflammation in the body — and therefore sickness and the risk of other health issues (an idea we’re hearing more and more about lately!) — the authors outline a whole way of clean eating to keep inflammation down.

From drinking a daily green smoothie (get a recipe for one here!) to making sure you’re eating enough healthy fats to why eating a plant-based diet is so damn good for you, it’s jam-packed with facts that’ll have you thinking about what’s on your plate and how it can be tweaked to be even healthier. There are even fun functional workouts included, along with TONS of recipes (for an example, check out this healthy soup recipe). It’s almost like a diet book and cookbook in one! And while we’re not usually fans of books that include a regimented “program” of what to do when (read: “diet“), Clean Cuisine is different. Yes, there are sample meal plans, but they’re more of a suggestion than a “do exactly this,” and the program itself is more of a gradual way of introducing change. Each week you’re challenged to add a new healthy behavior. It’s good, sane stuff that encourages gradual change.

Now, if you’re someone who doesn’t eat a pretty clean and plant-heavy diet, this book may be a little too much change too quickly — there’s a lot of detailed science info in it that we can see being overwhelming. But, if you’re someone who eats a pretty healthy diet and is looking to learn more and take it to the next more optimum level, this could be your read.

Sound like this book might be for you? Leave a comment with one change you’ve recently made to be healthier, and we’ll select a random U.S. winner to win in about a week! —Jenn