Dietitian, nutritionist, bestselling author, and mother of three, Ilana Muhlstein, MS, RD, is a highly sought-after global health and wellness expert. Her rise to fame has been fueled by her relatable weight loss journey and sharp intellect. At the age of thirteen, Ilana weighed over two hundred pounds and struggled with weight loss, emotional eating, and ineffective diets. She became a dietitian at the first opportunity and used everything she learned to lose a hundred pounds and maintain her weight loss. Her mission is to show people that a healthy lifestyle is easier and much more attainable than they think. She loves to empower people through their journey, free them from their insecure past times, and take them into the next amazing chapter of their lives. Since then, she has established a thriving private practice in Beverly Hills and amassed a huge online following devoted to inspiring her fans and clients to achieve their full health potential. Ilana has developed a bestselling weight loss program called the 2B Mindset and is the author of the Wall Street Journal’s bestselling book, You Can Drop It. Ilana completed her Bachelor of Science degree in nutrition and dietetics from the University of Maryland and her clinical dietetic internship through City of Hope Medical Center (rated a top fifteen cancer hospital by US News and World Report). She also holds a Master of Science degree in applied nutrition from Northeastern University.
From the Introduction Hi! Thank you so much for supporting my first cookbook! I am so excited as this has truly been years in the making. Ever since I was a kid, I loved food. At one point, my relationship with food wasn’t the healthiest and became an outlet for a lot of sadness and boredom, but thankfully, I’ve been able to come out of that dark place and celebrate my love for food via healthful recipes that make me feel my best. Ever since I started losing weight in a healthy and sustainable way, I knew it was something I wanted to help others do as well. I became a registered dietitian and got my masters in nutrition and began leading weight loss seminars at UCLA. Counseling diverse populations gave me the opportunity to really understand everyone's favorite comfort foods and which healthy choices were easiest to adopt. Along the way, I’ve been sharing my easy, healthy and delicious recipes on my social media and my following of over 3 million people have been asking me to publish this book ever since! I apologize for taking so long, but I’ve been quite busy. Over the last ten years, I’ve had three kids and have expanded my nutrition practice to include a digital weight loss program, the 2B Mindset, a meal delivery service and houseware line that you will see featured throughout the book. The mission of this book is to give you a guide on how to enjoy your favorite foods and flavors while improving your health and mindset along the way. I’ve had so many clients tell me, “Oh Ilana, I don't need a creamy salad dressing, I’m okay with sticking to just lemon juice and olive oil.” While I love lemon juice and olive oil, I always tell these clients that we don’t need to eat veggies we can “tolerate,” we need to eat veggies that we CRAVE! The purpose of this book is to give you healthy recipes that taste like true comfort food!