Sunday, September 23, 2012

my recipe resource faves

Marinated Zucchini with Veggies

Over the last few months I've had several friends inquire about where I find my recipes, so I decided to make a list of my favorite resources.  Enjoy!


recipe books


The recipe book that has had the most influence on my diet is Brendan Brazier's, Thrive: The Vegan Nutrition Guide to Optimal Performance in Sports Life.  This book answered so many questions I had about nutrition and health and I cannot say enough good things about it!  And don't let the title dissuade you from peeking inside, you don't have to be vegan or an athlete to get a lot out of this book.  I also love Brendan's companion book, Thrive Foods: 200 Plant-Based Recipes for Peak Health.  The Cherry Tartelette recipe is one of my faves!


I also really like Mimi Kirk's book Living Raw, which is filled with her beautiful recipes and words of wisdom. She really is an inspiration to us all and I hope to be as vibrant and healthy as she is when I reach my 70's!


If you're into juicing or making smoothies, my favorite recipe book is The Big Book of Juices.  What I really love about this book is the index in the back listing potential ailments one might have with juice/smoothie suggestions to help heal yourself naturally with food.  And you'll never get bored with over 400 recipes to choose from!



online recipe resources/ebooks


Jessica Ainsough has a wonderfully inspirational ebook titled, Make Peace With Your Plate and an awesome smoothie recipe ebook (click here to download for FREE) titled Green MO Revolution.  She also has a fantastic blog, which I follow regularly.  


As many of you know, I have celiac disease, so gluten must be excluded from my diet.  When I was first diagnosed (about 2 1/2 years ago), I struggled for many months because most basic recipes included more than 10 ingredients (twice as many as I was accustomed to using).  I knew that purchasing 5 different flours was not for me and when I started having an allergic reaction to xanthan gum, which is an ingredient in most mainstream g-free products, I thought I would never be able to enjoy baked goods again.  Until one day when I serendipitously stumbled upon Elana Amsterdam's site, Elana's Pantry, which included amazing recipes with very few ingredients that only used 2 flours, almond and coconut.  I learned a ton about nutrition from her site and I also became more confident in my g-free food preparation. Elana's Pantry was a life saver for me and I am eternally grateful to her for compiling such an extensive online resource featuring healthy g-free recipes.  I highly recommend picking up her book, The Gluten-Free Almond Flour Cookbook.  Every recipe I have tried from this book has been a winner and many of my friends claim that these g-free recipes taste better than their gluten-filled counterparts.


Another wonderful g-free online recipe resource is Gluten Free Fix.  Michelle Smith Veilleux has compiled many recipes also featuring almond flour.  Her recipes are simple and easy to make, but full of flavor! Michelle's recipes also made my transition to the g-free lifestyle much easier and I can't thank her enough for sharing her passion for g-free cooking through her site.



recipe videos


I love, love, love Dara Dubinet's YouTube videos!  She is a culinary chef who shares her raw food recipes along with tips and advice on topics pertaining to health, wellness and beauty.  Dara's a lovely person and her videos have inspired and helped me maintain a high raw (gluten, soy and corn free) vegan lifestyle.


TIP:  I also use YouTube as a resource when I pick up a food items I have never used before.  There are so many "how to" videos demonstrating everything from how to open a coconut to grilling the perfect eggplant.  These videos have definitely saved me from potential disasters in the kitchen! 



recipe blogs


One of the ways I expose myself to new recipes is by liking pages and friending people on facebook whose lifestyles resonate with my own.  Below are some of my faves:


A Simply Raw Life
Choosing Raw
Food52
Fully Raw
Living Simply Gluten Free
Manifest:Vegan
My New Roots
Path to Wellness
Rawmazing
The Rawtarian
Vegie Head

Nowadays I make most everything I eat from scratch and I have learned to really appreciate preparing my own (and Andy's) meals.  I believe there is an art to everything we do, so I try to enjoy every moment of this creative process.  I plan on sharing some of my yummy concoctions through my blog very soon...



"One should eat to live, not live to eat" 


~Benjamin Franklin




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