plant based recipes

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Review: Farmacy Kitchen Cookbook Plant Based Recipes for Conscious Living – Camilla Fayed

Farmacy Kitchen Cook Book by Camilla Fayed cover art

Farmacy Kitchen Cookbook

Camilla Fayed

Hachette Australia

Aster: Octopus Books

ISBN: 9781912023509

 

Description:

Want to eat well with nature’s best ingredients while being aware of where our food comes from?

 

Think taking better care of the land and people who grow these ingredients is important?

Welcome to the FARMACY KITCHEN, where you will find inspirational ideas for conscious living and delicious recipes for plant-based eating. The Farmacy ethos is about bringing attention back to nature, simplicity and balance. We love to follow the concept of ‘simple abundance’ in the food we create, using fresh, colourful and whole foods in inspired combinations for maximum taste, digestion and enjoyment.

 

We know how good food tastes when it’s made with love and intention. It’s a creative process that brings care into the kitchen to make great-tasting food to nourish the body and energise the soul. A process that you can now bring to your own kitchen with the help of this book.

 

 

My View:

This beautiful book pays homage to fresh, natural plant based ingredients in colourful and tantalising ways. I must admit I was instantly drawn to the breakfast breads and some of the desserts (especially the gluten free, vegan, raw Chocolate Wheels – which look a lot like a commercially made comfort food of my childhood).

 

This book has so much more than comfort foods to offer; I love that there is a comprehensive guide to preparing nuts, seeds, grains and beans.  Activating nuts and seeds by soaking makes digestion easier and their nutrients easier to absorb. And can improve taste.  Following on is a section on sprouting, and then another on cooking with beans and pulses. A great tip here (that I know but don’t follow often enough) is to soak and cook different types of beans separately as the cooking times varies depending on the variety.  I often make a bean casserole or need a mix of beans for a dip or burger – and sure enough if I try and short cut and soak and cook together some are over cooked (mushy) some are still hard…one I will learn J

 

There is a great section on “basics” which covers making sauces, nut and seed milk, nut butter, fruit chia jams etc. There are sections on breakfast, dip and appetizers, sides, soups and salads, mains and desserts. The final chapter adds a surprising element – a section on natural recipes for keeping your home and body healthy without the chemicals; think edible body butter, natural toothpaste and body wash.

 

This is a comprehensive guide to fresh and natural plant based cooking.

 

 

 

 

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Meatless Monday: Deliciously Ella With Friends – Ella Mills (Woodward)

deliciously-ella-with-friends

Deliciously Ella with Friends

Ella Mills (Woodward)

Hachette Australia

Yellow Kite

ISBN: 9781473655263

 

Description:

Healthy recipes to love, share and enjoy together.

The much-anticipated follow-up cookbook from Deliciously Ella, the inspirational bestselling healthy food writer who has taken the cookery world by storm.

In the follow-up to her amazing bestseller DELICIOUSLY ELLA EVERY DAY, Ella makes it easy for you to prepare delicious healthy food for you, your friends and family, whatever the occasion. No more wondering whether certain dishes go together, Ella makes life simple with her menus – whether you are planning a laid-back brunch, a last-minute lunch or a fancy supper, Ella has it covered with wonderful hearty and filling recipes that celebrate her healthy eating philosophy.

With ideas and inspiration for every foodie occasion, including cosy nights in, easy kitchen suppers, flavoursome feasts, birthday parties, picnics and mocktails and cocktails, this is the go-to book for anyone who lives a healthy lifestyle and loves sharing food with friends and family.

 

My View:

Ella Mills (Woodward) is my go to author for great plant based recipes. I eat a balanced diet, a little bit of everything with a healthy a spin (90% of the time).  🙂  We are omnivores, with vegetarian offspring – so delicious, easy to make, plant based recipes are regularly included in our menu planning.

Ella’s style of cooking busts the myth that vegetarian food is boring and salad based.  Ella’s number one tip for encouraging friends and family to eat healthier is: “FOCUS ON FAMILIAR FOOD. If you’re having a real sceptic for dinner or trying to get an unconvinced family member to try a healthier meal, then always cook something that looks and feels familiar to them. Choose a classic dish with a healthy spin on it. Something like the Indian feast in this book with bowls of coconut rice, chana masala and aloo gobi. This is a perfect meal and your guests are never going to look at this and think ‘What is that, it looks terrifyingly healthy!’ and decide they don’t like it before they try it, plus it is really satisfying and hearty, which means everyone will go home full. So remember to go easy on everyone, don’t leap straight to raw food, or anything too unfamiliar and scary looking.” P. 11  A great tip Ella, and the Indian feast – perfect – this si a meal that can be enjoyed by all my family and friends alike.

 

A great book full of tasty easy to make recipes that will hold a treasured place in my cook book library.

 

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Post Script: Deliciously Ella – Ella Woodward

“Feel incredible and nurture and love your body with simple, easy to follow recipes for healthy, plant based dishes using the most natural ingredients. “

Cover - Deliciously Ella :Ella Woodward

Deliciously Ella

Ella Woodward

Hachette Australia

Yellow Kite Books

ISBN: 9781444795011

Description:

From sumptuous desserts, to food on the go, delicious dips, raw treats and rainbow bowls of awesome veggies, Ella’s philosophy is all about embracing the natural foods that your body loves and creating fresh, simple dishes which are easy to make and taste amazing. Featuring more than 100 new sugar-free, gluten-free and dairy-free recipes to excite your taste buds, this collection will inspire you to eat for better health, glowing skin and boundless energy.

A reformed sugar monster herself, Ella knows just how daunting the idea of changing your diet can be. Her must-read blog, DELICIOUSLY ELLA, which gets two million visitors a month from all over the world, was inspired by her own health adventure and everything she has learned by healing herself simply through diet. It’s truly amazing to see what you can do with these simple ingredients and how you can so easily create a deliciously healthy version of your favourite dishes.

More than anything, Ella wants to show that this way of eating is absolutely not about deprivation and starvation, but instead is about embracing a positive, healthy way of life.

 

 

My View:

This book is easy to read and enjoy. If you are wanting to change your diet and eat a little healthier the advice given is simple – “Start making small changes first, just adding in one new serving of fruit or veg a day is an amazing way to start. For example some sweet potato wedges or guacamole make a delicious addition to any meal and they are so easy to make. Whizzing up a smoothie in the morning is incredible too as it always starts you off on the right track for a positive day, while giving you an abundance of goodness and making you glow on the inside.” (p10) Ella Woodward hasn’t written this book to try to convert you to veganism – the book is “meant to be flexible and adaptable, it’s just about showing you how amazingly easy and delicious plants can be so we can all start enjoying more of them.”(p10) And that is exactly what I want to do.

 

Ella Woodward provides a useful introduction that provides a list of pantry staples that are versatile and quick to cook and easy to find in you local supermarket. This book is all about making cooking plant based meals at home quick and easy and if you have these basic ingredients in your pantry there will never be an excuse not to cook a nutritious healthy meal again. Beans, pulses, herbs and seasonings, grains, dates and so on…nothing gourmet, nothing that is hard to access…simple ingredients that when you add fresh fruit or vegetables to, complete a meal. I will be embracing some of the ideas and recipes here and encouraging my busy, time poor, vegetarian adult daughter to do the same. This is a great resource.