I recently had the pleasure of meeting nutritional and wellness counselor (and newly minted author!) Jared Koch in New York City. He graciously offered to send me a couple of copies of his exciting new book, Clean Plates NYC - the ONLY nutritionist and food critic-approved lifestyle book and guide featuring the healthiest, tastiest and most sustainable restaurants in Manhattan (wished I had it while I was there!).

Now, if you're not from NYC, DON'T CLICK AWAY YET! Although the restaurant recommendations in this book are specific to NYC, the educational information in the beginning of the book is priceless, interesting, well-written and applicable to diets in any state...so I would encourage you to still enter- it could very well change the way you dine out!

The Review: Clean Plates NYC

Upon opening the book, I expected to be plunged into descriptions of restaurants thousands of miles away from me...but this wasn't the case! Clean Plates NYC first introduced me to the concept of bio-individuality, as well as the pros and cons of different diet theories and foods. Written in a personable and unassuming style, the author then spent some time explaining the research methods and criteria used for a restaurant's inclusion in the book, which really helped establish credibility in a world (and blogosphere) riddled with unsubstantiated top-ten and best-of lists.

Next, the book launched into descriptions of the surveyed restaurants, from fine dining to fast food, and evaluated them on criteria including taste, atmosphere, type of cuisine, lifestyle categories, and most importantly, the healthfulness and quality of ingredients (including grass-fed, organic and free-range animals, and local and organic produce).

The book also features interviews with some of Manhattan's leading chefs such as Dan Barber and Bill Telepan, and is augmented by a web site that offers email updates about new restaurants, restaurant promotions, educational tele-seminars and more. But the best part is that Koch informed me he's looking into creating a Clean Plates for other areas of the country- maybe even Colorado! Keep an eye on this author, he might be coming to your town!

The Giveaway: Enter to win your own copy of Clean Plates NYC!

First Entry (required) - Leave a comment on this blog post telling me a detail from Jared Koch's bio on the Clean Plates NYC website (no fair copying the person above you either!).

Second Entry - Follow @ecosphericblog on Twitter (if you don’t already) and Tweet about this giveaway. Leave a separate comment on this blog post with your @name and a link to the Tweet.

If you already follow me, become my follower instead and leave a link to your Blogger profile in the comments.

Third Entry - Follow @jarkoch on Twitter. Leave a separate comment on this blog post with your @name.

Bonus for Two Extra Entries - Post this Giveaway on your blog or website and leave a comment on this blog post with the link to your post.

The winner will be announced on Tuesday, May 12 2009 by 5 p.m. MST.