Blissful Bites Book Review and GIVEAWAY
Jul 18 2012 by
Out of necessity my cooking style is definitely simple, easy and if possible – quick! This summer has been hectic and I’m often throwing together meals without real thought or concern for taste. Let me tell you how thrilled I was when an email came in asking me to review Christy Morgan’s new book Blissful Bites: Vegan Meals That Nourish Mind, Body, and Planet. I’ve been reading nothing but great reviews of this book and was super excited to give some of the recipes a try. Here’s the lowdown…
Christy gets a 100% for a cookbook filled with simple, ‘clean’, and beautiful plant based recipes. I was SO happy to see that none of her recipes contained artificial sugars or odd ingredients. These recipes are based on delicious plant based foods that are worked together to create simply fantastic meals. All the recipes are plant based but you will also find numerous recipes that are raw, gluten free, soy free, low or no oil and a bunch that can be prepared in 45 minutes or less (BIG win in my book!). I’m also a big sucker for cookbooks that SHOW YOU what the recipes are suppose to look like when they are done. Many times I’ve passed over what I’m sure is a great cookbook only because there are no pictures. Christy’s book is FILLED with gorgeous food photography and I’m totally jealous and inspired at the same time.
As someone that believes that eating seasonal fresh fruits and veggies is so very important I was delighted to see that Blissful Bites has each section of the book color coded and separated by season. Over 175 recipes are included and you can easily flip through the book to find recipes for each season. One of the recipes that immediately caught my eye was Magical Raw Tacos (pg. 114). I made these for lunch one day and loved them so much I had them for dinner too!
If you are not a fan of garlic or onion then you will love this book even more. None of Christy’s recipes use garlic or onion. While I don’t agree with her reasons for eliminating garlic and onion from your diet, if you’re like me and LOVE garlic and onion then you can easily add it into her recipes as needed. In fact, for the tacos, instead of basil I substituted with fresh green onions from my garden and in the red pepper cashew spread I added a clove of garlic. I’ve since made the red pepper cashew spread again and have been using it on my salads – it’s so delicious!
As a sushi lover it was a guarantee that I would make Christy’s Sushi Rice Bowl (pg. 148). It was fantastic! I’m not fan of cilantro so I skipped that part and I of course added in some minced garlic and some finely chopped red onion. I’ve always loved cold rice salads and this dish was amazing. It would be perfect for a potluck or get together this summer. My kids are big fans of banana pancakes and Christy’s recipe for Gluten Free Banana Walnut Pancakes (pg. 51) doesn’t disappointment. I’m slowly working my way through the book and already have a bunch of recipes bookmarked to try this fall and winter.
I also love that Christy highlights the use of sea vegetables. They are so packed with goodness and they rarely get the appreciation and attention they deserve. There is also a section on natural sweeteners, cooking techniques and the importance of choosing organic ingredients. For beginners this is a great resource to have on hand for many of your most asked questions.
We love this book so much we want to give away a copy to one lucky reader. To enter simply leave us a comment telling us what your favorite recipe or meal is that leaves you feeling “blissful”? You can earn an extra entry by liking The Naked Kitchen and The Blissful Chef on Facebook. Use the entry form below for your chance to enter! Giveaway ends Sunday, July 22nd at 11:59 pm PST. We’ll announce our winner Monday, July 23rd on our Facebook Page. Good luck to everyone! If you can’t wait to find out if you won head over to Amazon and purchase your very own copy of Blissful Bites (you can even get it in a Kindle version!).
I love a glass of carrot juice to make me feel “blissful”.
Blissful is usually any type of fruit dessert…right now, blueberry cobbler!
in the hot days of summer, a frosty green smoothie or rainbow smoothie (beet, carrot, ginger, apple) leaves me most blissful!
Sounds weird, but my blissful meal is fresh, sliced cucumbers with a little bit of flax oil, Bragg’s liquid aminos, and apple cider vinegar. Light, crisp, and hits the spot when I get those chip cravings.
At the moment blissful is anything with mango – love it!
I absolutely love spaghetti squash, with just about any other vegetables piled on and some avocado mixed in. Not much of a recipe, but a delicious way to pack in some veggies.
During the hot Florida summers cool, fresh fruit (especially watermelon!) leaves me feeling refreshed and blissful!
Nothing makes me feel more blissful than a salad of fresh strawberries with spinach and balsamic vinaigrette.
Chili and cornbread with lots of hot sauce!
Actually when I think about it, I don’t eat many blissful things!! I will have to start! Thanks for the motivation :) My friend said she like a vanilla protein shake with cucumber, maybe I will try that. Or watermelon. The possibilities are endless
Large kale salad with tons of veggies, avocado, and nutritional yeast!
I feel blissful when I eat anything with coconut in it! This morning I put coconut oil in my green smoothie and it was so creamy and smooth and BLISSFUL! I made tempeh with coconut milk last night that was just divine…ahem…I mean, blissful!
A recipe that leaves me feeling blissful? Susan Voisin’s yellow split pea soup with potatoes and kale, especially on a cold winter day: http://blog.fatfreevegan.com/2006/10/yellow-split-pea-soup-with-sweet.html
Chickpea tacos topped with chunks of avocado make me blissful!
I am not the biggest fan of brussels sprouts but absolutely love, “Brussels Sprouts and Mushrooms.” Such an easy recipe and packed with health!
I’m blissful when I have my afternoon fruit smoothie made with whatever fresh fruit is available. Lately, it’s been mango, strawberry & banana. Yum!
Definitely a green smoothie, any time of day – always leaves me feeling refreshed and full and blissful.
My favorite blissful meal is a raw vegetable salad with tons of colorful and nutritious fruits and veggies.
I just love eating fresh young coconuts. They absolutely make me feel blissfull!
For me, a delightful homemade veggie burger with all the veggie fixings on fresh sprouted bread!
love fruit smoothies
During the hot summer, a meal made up of deliciou grilled veggies is the best and most blissful meal!
any cheesecake
banana soft serve is leaving me very refreshed and blissful this summer so far :)
Desserts with fresh berries!
I made the NOLA Gumbo from Everyday Happy Herbivore last night for the umpteenth time and LOVE it! So tasty and satisfying.
There’s nothing like a green smoothie to make you feel blissful!
Strawberries, blueberries, cherries.. utter bliss! :)
Fresh homemade pesto pasta with walnuts and broccoli. Mmm…
Raw caramel (date) macadamia ice cream, made with bananas. So easy to make and I’m yet to find a better dessert recipe that’s been converted to raw!
I love raw soups!!
Frozen grapes are it for me. Especially with cinnamon.
I cannot seem to enter the giveaway. I logged in and submitted a blog post but it still says I have 0/3 entries….help anyone?
Kris,
Try refreshing the page and see if it updates your giveaway numbers. If it doesn’t just let me know and I can do it manually.
~Sarah
I loooove all kinds of salads and fruits!! they make me blissful! ^^
Rice and beans makes me feel blissful.
portabella napoleon with quinoa salad = Blissful meal!
Pomegranates are my bliss.
A big bowl of homemade kettle corn :)
Frozen bananas with yogurt and a few walnuts sprinkled on top. Mmmmmm.
My all time favorite is guacamole toastadas. Pile them high with fresh shredded lettuce, tomatoes, onion, black olives & a bit of shredded cheese. Dress with salsa & if you want to kick your blissfullness up a notch, don’t be stingy with the cilantro.
Green juice makes me feel blissful! Kale, spinach, apple, ginger, and cucumbers–delicious!
Anything with avocado… yum!
Smoothies from my Vitamix. I can get my kids eating spinach and kale and they don’t even know it ;)
Blissful is having dessert and not having a guilty feeling after eating.
Some grilled vegetables marinated in balsamic vinegar… yum!
I Love to juice carrots and zucchini and drink the juice! Threw recipe that makes me feel blissful, however, is to take the pulp left over and to soak that in coconut water, then mix it with coconut shreds, and soaked cashews and crystallized ginger pieces, then I form that pulp into flat little cakes and dehydrate. Raw vegan carrot cake! I made a crystallized ginger and lavender icing last time…..wow talk about bliss
Anything that I can make that is fast, yummy and REAL food…that makes me blissful!
Blissful is my fruit and vegetable smoothies. I make them thick….more like ice cream.
so far all the plant based recipes I have tried since eating this way have created moments of bliss!
my palate seems to LOVE plant based recipes… mainly chick pea dishes :)
Bliss is finding the simplest, yet healthiest and yummiest salad dressing recipes that I found here and am now using on EVERYTHING including pita sandwiches!!
My blissful treat right now is frozen bananas whipped in the blender with a spoonful of peanut butter, raw cacao powder, a touch of almond milk, and a sprinkle of stevia – chocolate pb icecream!!! Yum!
A large fresh tossed salad.