*****
This fantastic e-book is a cookbook for anyone – not just GFCF families. It offers 70 healthy, easy, allergen-free recipes, which could well become pleasing staples in your family’s daily diet. (The giveaway information is at the bottom.)Good and Easy Eats' author, Kim Wilson was kind enough to offer me a pre-release copy of the book to review. Needless to say, since I loved Kim’s cookbook Every Day Gluten-Free cookbook, I jumped at the chance to try out her new e-book.
My rating:
A * READABILITY
Good and Easy Eats is well-organized and easy-to-read. It not only contains 70 family-pleasing recipes divided into Breakfast, Lunch, Dinner Snack and Dessert categories, but it also has Kim’s thoughts and tips on:
- Wholesome Eating
- Ingredient Information
- Gluten-Free Baking
- Basic Kitchen Tools
- Simplified Baking Tips
- Stocking a Basic Pantry
- The Cost Of Wholesome Eating
- Organic Purchases
- An Average Day of Eating and Menu Examples
- Juicing
All of this is presented with the practical format you’d expect in a cookbook and the additional notes and tips you’d hope a friend offers when passing along a favorite recipe.
I love Kim shares such tidbits as how to tweak particular recipes, for example:
“This topping can be prepared without the nutritional yeast (particularly for those who have yeast concerns), but it adds a nice cheesy flavor if you don’t have a problem with it. The pumpkin seeds are optional, but bring a depth to the blend that makes it even 'cheesier'!”
And why you should try particular recipe, such as:
“You might be tempted to skip over this recipe, but I encourage you not to. It has such great texture and flavor. Company has always enjoyed it at our home. It’s also such a simple way to prepare steel-cut oats (otherwise you’re stuck stirring a pot for about an hour!).”
Kim’s style definitely makes you feel like Good and Easy Eats is as much an off-the-shelf cookbook as it is a collection of tried-and-true tips and recipes penned just for you from a friend. Her notes contain encouragement and expertise, which both newbies to healthy, whole, allergen-free eating and those further along on the journey can appreciate.
A * for RELEVANCE:
Who could not use a collection of everyday recipes that are not only healthy, but truly tasty, too? And, better yet, since so many of us have friends or family members that face food intolerances and allergies, who would not appreciate a collection of go-to recipes that are gluten-free, wheat-free, dairy-free, egg-free, soy-free and yeast-free?
That is exactly what Good and Easy Eats is: a go-to guide for feeding family and friends every day, regardless of common allergies and intolerances. In Kim’s own words:
“In creating this ebook, I have collected the best-of-the-best from (all my published books) plus added many more recipes that have become tried-and-true staples in our home and in the homes of thousands of other families who have found that healthy eating can be simple, affordable and tasty!”
Tried-and-true recipes that leave me confident that I am feeding my family well without keeping me chained to the kitchen counter are certainly something I find useful!
A * for PRACTICALITY
Okay, I have to be honest here, I almost knocked Good and Easy Eats down a partial star for practicality based only on the fact that it is an e-book. For I admit it: I am a bit of a luddite. Even if I enjoy reading and writing blogs, I don’t own much technology and still prefer my books in the good old-fashioned printed form, especially cook books. However, I have had second thoughts.
One of my goals for the new year is to finish a family cookbook – a three-ring binder to house all of our family’s new favorite GFCF recipes for every day as well as special days. The fact that Good and Easy Eats is an e-book will make doing so easy for me. Since there are so many recipes in it that we like, I can simply print favorites out and place them in the binder. Also, if a recipe gets egg, batter or oil on it – as sometimes happens to recipes in our home since my children often act as junior chefs – I don’t need to be chagrined. I can just print another page! That’s pretty practical in my opinion.
Plus, because Good and Easy Eats is electronic, it is by default “green” and easy-to-find. Paper is not wasted on things you do not need to access and it is always ready on your computer. The kids cannot misplace it on you.
A * for LONGEVITY
Even if our GFCF experiment in the new year goes bust, I know we’ll continue using Good and Easy Eats. The recipes in it are ones we enjoy simply because they are healthy, whole and tasty. The fact that they are intolerance-friendly is simply a bonus! Plus, I think our son is going to ask for the Pumpkin Pie every year from now on for his birthday breakfast…
A * for VALUE
At $4.95, Good and Easy Eats is priced not only to sell, but also to help! In my opinion, budgets won’t be broken by this low-cost, high-use cookbook and bellies will be happily filled.
I recommend Good and Easy Eats not only for anyone who wants a great resource for everyday home cooking, but also for anyone who wants to share a collection of allergen-free recipes for family or friends to use. At $4.95, the book makes an easy gift to give your family or someone else’s!
Also, as a bonus, anyone who purchases Good and Easy Eats gains access to links of:
- a video of a Fruit Smoothie Demo
- a Fruit Smoothie eReport entitled A Great Nutritional Start to Each Day
- a podcast of Kim’s Introduction to Wholesome Eating Class
- Kim’s Exclusive Menu Planning System
The Giveaway
To win Good and Easy Eats:
- Visit Kim Wilson’s Good and Easy Eats and then come back and leave a comment on this post saying why you’d love her e- book or any of her other books.
- Share about this giveaway on any and all of you social networking sites – Facebook, Twitter, your blog, etc. – then come back to tell me you did so. (I will trust your honesty!)
- Leave a comment with a tip, recipe or resource you and your family use for every day healthy eating. Ones that involve whole-food GFCF cooking are especially welcome.
I’ll announce a winner by Saturday morning, the day the book will be available for purchase. That way, if you don’t win, but still want the book, you can be one of the first to order it here: Good and Easy Eats
This would be perfect for my father-in-law who suffers from Celiacs Disease. Great giveaway!
ReplyDeleteLove the picture of Nina and the holiday characters.
ReplyDeleteLooks like a great book! I just found the giveaway and wanted to enter if it's still open! I love the idea of recipes "made exclusively with whole, plant-based natural foods. Which also all happen to be gluten-free, wheat-free, dairy-free, egg-free, soy-free and yeast-free!" My daughter especially is prone to food allergies, and I'm always looking for gluten-free, plant-based recipes for when she and her husband visit. debchitwood at ymail dot com
ReplyDeleteAs a family that is GFCFSFcornfree&nitrate free, we are always looking for new ideas and a book that doesn't break to bank and has to have constant substitutions is rare. I'll be buying the book if we don't win.
ReplyDeleteKris won this, but -- good news -- Kim will be sending me another giveaway copy alter in the month so stay tuned for another chance.
ReplyDelete