I am thrilled to share the exciting news that my dear friend Somer McCowan’s highly anticipated first book, The Abundance Diet: The 28-day Plan to Reinvent Your Health, has officially been released this week! This remarkable cookbook and comprehensive diet plan is a game-changer for anyone aspiring to take charge of their well-being, manage their weight effectively, and harness the incredible power of whole, plant-based foods. Somer’s innovative 28-Day Diet Plan comes with an inspiring foreword by the renowned Neal Barnard, M.D., and offers an optional bonus juice feast designed to accelerate your weight loss and health transformation journey. Featuring over 100 delectable recipes, all completely gluten-free, the plan is also highly customizable, ensuring it can be tailored to suit individual preferences and dietary needs.
This book isn’t just another diet fad; it’s a guide to sustainable healthy living. It empowers readers to discover a joyful and satisfying way of eating that naturally supports their health goals. The emphasis on whole, unprocessed ingredients means every meal is packed with nutrients, fiber, and flavor, making healthy eating both easy and enjoyable.
Jump to Recipe: Moroccan Lentil Soup
Somer McCowan brings a wealth of expertise and personal experience to this book. Her culinary journey began with rigorous training in esteemed restaurants and bakeries across both the United States and Australia. This classical training provided her with a profound understanding of flavors, textures, and cooking techniques. However, it was her personal health crisis that truly shaped her approach to food. After adopting a vegan lifestyle, Somer successfully reversed severe ulcerative colitis, a testament to the profound healing potential of a whole-food, plant-based diet. Her personal triumph quickly inspired others, and many who have followed her plan have reported significant, rapid, and safe weight loss, all while enjoying an abundance of satisfying, nourishing foods and experiencing sustained fullness. Somer regularly shares her culinary innovations and inspiring journey on her popular blog, www.vedgedout.com, where her ingenious vegan cheese balls have garnered widespread acclaim and taken the vegan community by storm. Her impactful story and dietary principles have also been featured on prominent platforms such as ForksOverKnives.com and Chooseveg.com, solidifying her reputation as a leading voice in plant-based health and wellness.
Beyond its reputation as a “diet book,” The Abundance Diet is a holistic guide for anyone genuinely interested in improving their overall health, vitality, and relationship with food. The book masterfully demystifies healthy eating, moving far beyond typical restrictive approaches. It’s important to note that this book is not solely focused on smoothies, as some might assume; it features an impressive array of hot, satisfying meals that can be enjoyed throughout the day. The core philosophy is to eliminate the guesswork from planning 28 days of whole-food eating, ensuring readers feel consistently full, energized, and utterly fantastic during their transformation. The pages are brimming with creative ways to adapt and enjoy traditional comfort foods, reimagined with a lower calorie footprint without sacrificing taste or satisfaction. Every single recipe is meticulously crafted around wholesome, natural ingredients, reinforcing the book’s commitment to nourishing the body from the inside out.
The initial chapters of The Abundance Diet delve into crucial aspects of mindful eating and personal well-being. Somer guides readers through understanding their relationship with food, identifying and overcoming negative eating patterns, and offering practical tips for simplifying menu planning. She also provides invaluable advice on extending the life of fresh produce, crafting effective meal plans, creating smart shopping lists, and reducing food waste – all while staying within budget. These foundational chapters are designed to equip readers with the knowledge and tools needed for long-term success. Following these insightful sections, the book transitions into a rich collection of recipes, meticulously categorized for easy navigation. You’ll find inspiring recipes for Breakfast, vibrant Smoothies, comforting Soups, crisp Salads and inventive Dressings, delightful Dips and satisfying Snacks, hearty Mains, and even guilt-free Desserts. The book concludes with an empowering chapter dedicated to fitness and practical strategies for extending the plant-based plan far beyond the initial 28 days, ensuring a sustainable path to lasting health. Don’t miss the opportunity to pick up your copy of this life-changing 28-day meal plan here!
To celebrate this exciting launch, the publisher is generously giving away a complimentary copy of The Abundance Diet to one fortunate blog reader! To enter this fantastic giveaway and stand a chance to win a copy of this transformative book, simply leave a comment on this post. In your comment, share your absolute favorite whole-food-based summer recipe that consistently keeps you feeling full and satisfied. The giveaway is exclusively open to residents of the U.S. and a lucky winner will be chosen at midnight on June 18th. Additionally, Somer herself is hosting a separate giveaway on her blog, offering five signed copies of the book, providing even more chances to win!
Initially, I admit I harbored some reservations about whether this book would resonate with my personal lifestyle. I typically don’t consume smoothies, especially green ones, as they often don’t agree with my digestion. Moreover, I’m not one for meticulously counting calories or tracking macronutrients. However, as I immersed myself in the pages of The Abundance Diet, I found myself continually learning invaluable insights and discovering practical approaches that I could seamlessly integrate into my own daily habits. The book quickly helped me identify certain eating patterns I could easily modify for improved health. It became abundantly clear that embracing healthy (and undeniably delicious) eating makes an enormous difference in how I feel, both physically and mentally. I am particularly excited about exploring the diverse range of soups, hearty stews, flavorful dressings, wholesome snacks, satisfying mains, and delightful desserts. These recipes promise to keep my kitchen adventures vibrant and inspiring for a long time to come! To truly understand the depth and breadth of what this book offers, I highly recommend you preview the book using the “Look Inside” feature on Amazon, where you can access the first few chapters and sample recipes to aid in your decision.
One of the first recipes I enthusiastically prepared was the Moroccan Lentil Stew. This choice was a natural fit because I almost always have the necessary ingredients readily available in my pantry, making it a convenient and delicious option. The stew exceeded all expectations and was truly exceptional! I also tried my hand at the vegan egg salad, which turned out to be another fantastic, plant-based creation (see image below). For a wholesome snack, I paired some creamy cashew ranch dressing with perfectly roasted sweet potatoes – a combination that was both satisfying and incredibly flavorful. My husband, a fan of invigorating morning drinks, will undoubtedly find the book’s smoothie recipes perfect for his summer breakfasts. As for me, I am absolutely captivated by the extensive selection of warming soups, hearty stews, and inventive main courses. Dishes like the Chiles Rellenos Casserole, the rich African Peanut Stew, the comforting Cheesy Cauliflower and Potato Bake, the tantalizing Grilled Eggplant and Zucchini Lasagna, the indulgent Bananas Foster Pancakes, the fresh Raw Pad Thai, the crispy BBQ Roasted Chickpeas!, and the delightful Blueberry Peach Tart with Apricot Crumble are all on my must-try list. Somer’s ability to transform familiar favorites into healthy, plant-based masterpieces is truly remarkable.
Even for those who believe they have explored every conceivable way to enjoy red lentils, Somer’s recipes, like this exquisite Moroccan Lentil Stew, offer innovative and exciting new culinary experiences. This particular stew is a masterclass in balanced flavors: lightly spiced, wonderfully tomatoey, with a refreshing zesty kick that makes it absolutely perfect whether served hot and steaming or refreshingly chilled. Its versatility and depth of flavor make it an instant favorite. We thoroughly enjoyed ours alongside some rustic multigrain garlic bread, which perfectly complemented the stew’s aromatic profile. This recipe truly exemplifies the kind of delicious, wholesome, and inventive plant-based cooking found throughout The Abundance Diet.
Moroccan Lentil Soup Recipe from The Abundance Diet.
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Ingredients
- 6 cups vegetable broth
- 2 cups onions, chopped into 1/4-inch dice
- 2 medium carrots, sliced into 1/4-inch rounds
- 2 large cloves garlic, minced or pressed
- 1 teaspoon ground coriander
- 1 1/2 heaped teaspoons ground cumin
- 3/4 teaspoon ground turmeric
- 3/4 teaspoon smoked paprika
- 3/4 teaspoon ground cinnamon
- 3/4 teaspoon ground ginger
- 28 oz can crushed tomatoes
- 1 1/2 cups split dry red lentils, picked over and rinsed
- 1/3 cup chopped parsley
- 1/3 cup chopped cilantro
- Juice of 1 large lemon
- 1 teaspoon sea salt, or to taste
- 1/3 teaspoon ground black pepper
Instructions
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Heat 1/4 cup of the vegetable broth in a large soup pot over medium-high heat. Add the onion, carrot, and garlic and sauté, adding additional broth as necessary to keep the vegetables from burning. Sauté until the onions are softened and translucent, about 5 minutes. Add the coriander, cumin, turmeric, smoked paprika, cinnamon, and ground ginger. Sauté the vegetables and seasonings for 1 to 2 minutes to allow the flavors to bloom. Add the remaining vegetable broth, crushed tomatoes, and lentils and bring to a boil.
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Cover the pot and reduce the heat to a simmer. Cook for 30 minutes or until the lentils are fully cooked. Add the parsley, cilantro, and lemon juice and stir to combine. Season with the salt and pepper. For texture variation you can pulse the soup a few times with an immersion blender. For extra brightness, squeeze an additional slice of lemon over each bowl.
Notes
Nutrition
Nutrition information is automatically calculated, so should only be used as an approximation.
This exclusive giveaway for The Abundance Diet is open to residents of the United States only. To participate and enter for a chance to win a copy, simply share your favorite whole-food-based summer recipe in the comments section below – one that consistently leaves you feeling nourished and full! We’re excited to hear your culinary inspirations. A winner will be thoughtfully selected and announced at midnight on June 18th. Don’t miss this opportunity to get your hands on a copy of Somer McCowan’s groundbreaking book and embark on your own journey to reinvent your health with delicious, plant-based abundance.