Transform Your Health. Whole Foods Plant-Based Cookbook

By Monika de Boer

In this book, Monika hopes to inspire you to make a step towards better health by starting with your eating habits. Whether you are eating fully vegan or want to cut down on animal products in your diet, this book will help you to add new favourite meals that are not only delicious but also clean and good for your body.

Eating whole foods plant-based meals is not a form of diet but lifestyle medicine. It is a sustainable way to transform your eating habits. You will eat only real, nutrient-dense foods that will improve your health providing complete nutrition and nourishment. It will help you reach and maintain optimal weight without counting calories and cutting down portions.

All the recipes contained in this book are diverse, flavourful and easily adjustable to each individual's taste, so you can satisfy everyone when cooking for family and friends.
In this cookbook, you can find many practical cooking tips that will make your life easier and guidance on how to stick to your new healthy lifestyle. Monika encourages you to make one small change at a time and use her experience in how to stick with good eating habits.

Monika de Boer is a Holistic Nutritional Coach and Energetic Naturopathic Therapist. She guides and helps her clients in her practice in IJsselstein Netherlands, and via online 1-1 sessions and coaching trajectories. She is also a teacher at Healing Space Institute in Bussum Netherlands, where she teaches Energetic Massage, which is a holistic massage technique inspired by Traditional Chinese Medicine wisdom.

Monika's mission is to help people reclaim their unique version of health and well-being. She aims to empower people so they remember their healing potential and connect to their body’s innate wisdom to heal themselves. She wants to be of service to others by making holistic naturopathy concepts practical and efficient so anyone can incorporate them easily and live by them every day.

If you want to use this book on your mobile, laptop or tablet, you can purchase the PDF version of my book on my website www.monikadeboer.com/my-book/

• Language: English
• Publisher: Monika de Boer
• Release date: Dec 22, 2022
• ISBN: 9781005409555

Monika de Boer

Monika de Boer is a Holistic Nutritional Coach and Energetic Naturopathic Therapist. She guides and helps her clients in her practice in IJsselstein Netherlands, and via online 1-1 sessions and coaching trajectories. She is also a teacher at Healing Space Institute in Bussum Netherlands, where she teaches Energetic Massage, which is a holistic massage technique inspired by Traditional Chinese Medicine wisdom.Monika's mission is to help people reclaim their unique version of health and well-being. She aims to empower people so they remember their healing potential and connect to their body’s innate wisdom to heal themselves. She wants to be of service to others by making holistic naturopathy concepts practical and efficient so anyone can incorporate them easily and live by them every day.

Book preview

Table Of Contents

About the author

Chapter 1   My personal story with food

Chapter 2   Why predominantly Whole Foods Plant-Based 

Chapter 3   Why choose organic food and where to make concessions

Chapter 4   Helpful tips to stick to your new lifestyle

Chapter 5   Pantry and freezer staples for quick meal preparation

Chapter 6   How to cook without oils or butter

Chapter 7   Kitchen tools and measurements

Chapter 8   Basic cooking recipes

Chapter 9   Energizing Breakfasts

Chapter 10   Nutritious Lunches

Chapter 11   Comforting Soups

Chapter 12   Delicious Dinners

Chapter 13   Sweet Treats

Chapter 14   Healthy Drinks

Appendix 1.   Shopping guide for a WFPB* lifestyle.

Appendix 2.   Foods to avoid in a WFPB* lifestyle.

About the author

 Monika De Boer is a Holistic Naturopathic Therapist, Energetic Therapist, and Nutritional Coach.

She guides and helps her clients in her practice in IJsselstein Netherlands, and via online 1-1 sessions and coaching trajectories. 

She is also a teacher at Healing Space Institute in Bussum Netherlands, where she teaches Energetic Massage, which is a holistic massage technique inspired by Traditional Chinese Medicine wisdom. 

Monika's mission is to help people reclaim their unique version of health and well-being. She aims to empower people so they remember their healing potential and connect to their body’s innate wisdom to heal themselves. She wants to be of service to others by making holistic naturopathy concepts practical and efficient so anyone can incorporate them easily and live by them every day.

Connect with Monika via:

www.monikadeboer.com            Instagram: monika_deboer

Chapter 1   

My personal story with food

I learned to cook and bake early as a child. Time spent in the kitchen with my mom, my paternal grandmother, and my aunts was like discovering new exciting things every time. I was allowed not only to help but to participate fully. I was able to cut, chop, grate, whisk, mix, bake, stir, roll, taste, comment, adjust… All the food that these fantastic women prepared, was made with great love and gratitude. It was delicious, made from fresh local ingredients, often from our own garden or from local farmers. But unfortunately, in many cases, it was also heavy and quite unhealthy. Lots of dairy products, butter, full cream, white flour, sugar, meat and eggs.

I was 11 years old when I decided to eat differently from my family. I started to create my own recipes. The only cookbooks we had were typical Polish cuisine or family recipes. I wanted something different, fresh, and lighter. I still used local products, but in a new way. I enjoyed the process of creation. I enjoyed the surprise of the end effect. It wasn’t always delicious and I failed to satisfy my expectations quite often, but I kept experimenting and learning. I also felt better, my hair got shiny, my nails stopped breaking and I lost weight.

My food journey continued throughout my whole life. When my mom got cancer, I developed autoimmune liver inflammation as a response to trauma. I was put on a high dosage of steroids, but after a few months they stopped helping, so the doctor added chemotherapy in pills. I was warned of the multiple side effects. First from steroids: growing unwanted facial and body hair, thinning of head hair, gaining weight, becoming more male-like, losing bone mass, etc. Then from chemotherapy… so much worse.

I took a radical decision to not let my body get intoxicated by these medicines. Instead, I doubled down on healthy eating, more vegetables, fruit, and healthy grains. My father taught me how to make detoxifying and liver-healing herbal infusions. I drank a lot of them. Results? Fantastic! I got no side effects from medications. I explained to the doctors in the hospital what I was doing to support my body, so they could advise other patients. They responded by saying that it was impossible that food or herbs could help and they were not interested in giving such advice.

Soon I was able to stop chemotherapy and gradually lower steroids. Then I decided to stop taking them, against my doctor's advice who believed I should continue for the rest of my life. I regularly had my blood liver enzymes and liver-specific antibodies checked and I have stayed healthy to this day, almost 18 years later.

Healthy food and herbal medicine became my passion. I „consumed" books and podcasts about nutrition as I am always curious about new research and discoveries in this area. I tried many of the nutritional health trends but in the longer term, I never felt as good and healthy as when on whole foods plant-based lifestyle. I came to realize that the foods that have always been healing to me were plants in the purest form. My body thrives with the variety, abundance and simplicity of plant-based meals. This way of eating makes me feel clean and bright from the inside out.

When I decided to make a career change, nutrition coaching was one of the paths I followed. Learning how to guide and help others change their eating habits feels natural to me since I have always been a go-to person among my family, friends, and colleagues in regards of healthy food, herbs or recipes. We are flooded with information about foods, superfoods, new diets, and trends every day. Many people are afraid to even start changing their eating habits as they do not know where to start or what is good for them. There is an enormous need for a holistic approach to nutrition. To be able to see the bigger picture whilst not forgetting the individual client perspective.

When I teach people how to adjust their eating habits, I do it in a way that fits their personal style, working schedule and taste preferences. Some people like to take it slowly, one small change at a time and some prefer to make a change in a few big steps. I always look at my clients’ individual constitution, which is a combination of Ayurvedic dosha and blood group type. No matter though, how much animal products, what sort of grains and vegetables are the most healing for that specific constitution, there is always the visible health improvement from moving towards whole foods and increasing variety of plants in someone's diet.

Chapter 2   

Why predominantly Whole Foods Plant-Based 

I get a lot of surprised looks when I explain my eating lifestyle. People have already gotten used to vegetarians and vegans, but whole foods plant-based? What does it really mean and how is it different from being vegan? Veganism excludes all animal products from all areas of life, not only diet. You can be vegan and still eat extremely unhealthy foods.

Eating whole foods that are plant-based means eating foods that come from plants in their least processed and purest form. It doesn’t mean you can only eat raw fruit or vegetables. Yes, you will consume plenty of those too. Spring or summer seasons are especially great for that. However, whole foods plant-based meals are complete nutritious meals. You will eat a variety of foods that will be cooked, steamed, stir-fried, baked, roasted, or raw. You will definitely eat a rainbow and never feel like missing something. For the full list of what’s included in a whole foods plant-based lifestyle and what to avoid, see Appendices 1 &2.

I want to inspire you to eat more plants by adding different types of plants to your every meal. I encourage you to experiment with a variety of foods and cooking techniques to discover how you like them most. That’s so simple. 

Based on multiple meta-studies and long-term research, eating more plants is the one simple change that you can make to your lifestyle, that brings astonishing benefits to your physical and mental health. It not only reduces the risk of many diseases, but it also helps to cure them completely or significantly