This past winter, I started seeing a naturopathic doctor at the suggestion of my physiotherapist. I had been suffering from pain in my neck and shoulder for some time, and no amount of acupuncture or stretching seemed to work. The naturopath believed my pain was from inflammation that was being made worse by my diet. It turns out I ate too many processed foods, and my weakness for baked goods wasn’t doing me any favours either. The doctor suggested that I try cutting back on sugar and salt, eating more whole foods, avoiding gluten and dairy, and eating less meat. At first this was very difficult for me given that I grew up eating meat and potatoes for dinner every night and had never really considered myself much of a cook. Enter The Oh She Glows Cookbook. This book, by Oakville author and blogger Angela Liddon, features simple recipes that even a novice like me can master. All of the recipes are vegan, and many are or can be made gluten free and nut free. At first some of the recipes seem complicated – who knew you could make “cream” out of cashews? – but Liddon’s introduction offers lots of useful information, such as the proper way to cook beans and lentils, and ratios for substituting different types of gluten-free flour. I’ve tried several of the recipes, and I am happy to say the results turned out great! If a novice like me can manage to make these healthy and delicious meals, anyone can. Even my spouse has gotten on board with eating a more plant-based diet after seeing how easy it actually is. I can’t say that I’ve completely eliminated the pain from my shoulder, or that I won’t still enjoy the occasional cheeseburger, but I can say that eating more vegetables has made me feel more energetic and helped me lose weight. Liddon’s next book, Oh She Glows Every Day : Quick and Simply Satisfying Plant-Based Recipes, will be released in September. I can’t wait to see what new recipes I can try. Request a copy by clicking here and visit Angela’s blog Oh She Glows for more recipes.