When the most widely read magazine in America asks, “Should doctors be writing prescriptions for arugula salad?,” you know that progress is being made in spreading the word that diet is key in protecting us against disease and reducing health care costs.

In “How America Can Eat Better,” which was published this Sunday, Parade magazine explained that new efforts are under way to get people to eat more fresh fruits and vegetables to prevent obesity, heart disease and diabetes. For example, Kaiser Permanente has helped coordinate farmers’ markets at more than 30 hospital locations. At one of those farmer’s markets, a 53-year-old man started buying lots of fresh vegetables eight months ago. By emphasizing vegetables in his diet, he has now lost 63 pounds.

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On the first day of spring, first lady Michelle Obama planted seeds of change on the South Lawn of the White House. With the help of Washington D.C. elementary schoolchildren, she broke ground on a new organic White House “kitchen garden” that will provide food for the first family’s meals and formal dinners as well as a nearby soup kitchen. But the garden’s most important role is to educate the public about healthful, locally grown fruits and vegetables to help prevent obesity and diabetes and save costs.

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Many people want to know more specifics about my new holiday E-book, such as what type of flour and sweeteners I use in my recipes. Rather than answer people individually, I decided to put the most common questions I have been receiving and my answers in this Q&A interview in case you were wondering about these questions, too.

Q. How is your book different from other cookbooks?

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Copy from the Back Cover of the Book:

There’s a little-known secret to enjoying the holidays with health, energy and no weight gain: Eating against the grain. Preparing low- to no-grain foods may be unknown to most people but it is an overlooked strategy for making delicious holiday meals quicker, easier and with far less fuss.

In Healthier Holidays Going Against the Grain, nutritionist Melissa Diane Smith offers 135 simple tips and 25 original recipes that can help people who eat any of the following diets:

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Higher plasma vitamin C levels, an indicator of a high fruit and vegetable intake, is associated with a substantially decreased risk of type 2 diabetes, according to a European-based study of more than 20,000 middle-aged adults.

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National and international health organizations advise increasing fruit and vegetable intake to prevent and reduce chronic diseases, such as heart disease, diabetes and cancer. But getting people to change longstanding eating habits that are low in fruits and vegetables is challenging and often ineffective.

Numerous studies show that telephone counseling, especially regular telephone counseling over a concentrated period of several months, is effective at significantly increasing people’s fruit and vegetable intake and improving several health indicators. Ongoing written material and group support also offer positive effects in promoting and sustaining health-promoting eating habits. This research gives scientific justification to the components of my nutrition coaching programs, which have become the fastest-growing and most well-received nutrition services that I offer.

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Some people simply like to enjoy the visual, sensual experience of watching my Food Slide Show without explanation. (It’s best to view the slide show with a high-speed connection.) Others want to know more specifics about the foods in the slide show. So, for those of you who want to know the details, here are the foods in the order they appear:

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