Category Archives: Cookbooks

Book review – I Quit Sugar Cookbook

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I got lots of lovely nice feedback on Twitter about my I Quit Sugar post! Thanks to everyone who tweeted – your feedback was really nice and uplifting.

I thought I’d do a follow up post about what you actually eat on the I Quit Sugar programme. As I’ve been doing it for a while now, I am getting more inventive so will do a few of my own recipe posts in the upcoming months.

So here are a few things I’ve made, so you can get an idea of what you’d be eating if you gave it a try.

Coco-nutty Granola

Coco-nutty granola on pancakes (made from eggs, cottage cheese & oats)

Sarah has posted on her website the recipe for her granola – she says this is her most popular recipe from the Cookbook. I think this is because it is so easy, very delicious and easy to adapt to whatever you have in the cupboard. I have made this a couple of times, and I really enjoy it as well. It is great with yoghurt and berries for breakfast or a snack.

Straight out of the oven: coco-nutty granola

Fennel soup

Fennel soup with chicken, yoghurt and Parmesan

I was browsing the Cookbook as I had some fennel, but wasn’t sure how I could use it. To make this recipe I just needed leeks so I went ahead and made it. I am slowly becoming a soup addict – I used to find soup always left me hungry, but that was because I was eating the tinned variety. When you make your own soup and control what goes in, I find it is more satisfying.  I made this soup and then added in some extras at the ended – shredded chicken, Parmesan and yoghurt. But the soup on its own was delicious and I can’t wait to make this again. I ended up with about 5 servings from this recipe as well and it freezes really well, which makes it great for when you forget to make lunch.

Hash

Sweet potato, pumpkin seed crush

The best way to describe the hash recipes is that it’s just a mix of a variety of vegetables and nuts in whatever combinations you like. The first hash I made pretty much followed Sarah’s recipe and had sweet potato and pumpkin seeds in it and topped with yoghurt. It looked more like a dessert than a dinner! I put it in a bowl and struggled to finish it – it was really filling. It is also great to use up whatever you have in your fridge like herbs with a nice refreshing lemon dressing. This also makes a great, quick lunch to take to work if you have cooked the vegetables in advance. You could also add in bacon bits, shredded chicken, cheese or tuna to add in more protein.

Crushes/pesto

Pea and almond crush

I am addicted to crushes and pestos now. These are such a great way of eating more raw vegetables while still having a snack or meal that fees like a treat. I have it on toast, mixed into a hash, used as a pasta sauce, as a dip or as a pizza base. They are versatile and could really be used for anything! My husband isn’t a huge fan of the pea crush but I really like it – it has a tangy zing from the lemon and Parmesan.

Sweet stuff

The Cookbook also has a section of sweet treats – sugar free desserts to enjoy without feeling guilty. I made the cheesecake which we took to a friend’s house a while back. The judges were split – two of us liked it, and two didn’t. It was very savoury! It was the first time I’d used stevia and I don’t think I put enough in. I also can’t get used to the taste of stevia and will try xylitol when I finish our carton of stevia (we are currently using it up to make mojitos!).

The Cookbook warns about going overboard with the sweet stuff – so these are sometimes treats, not daily ones! Thankfully I don’t have too much of a sweet tooth so just make do with a small piece of 70-85% chocolate when needed.

Hopefully that is a useful insight into the recipes in the eBook. There are loads more! Generally, the recipes contain lots of nuts, coconut, vegetables and avocado. Some ingredients I haven’t been able to find in shops (such as almond flour) so some recipes I haven’t been able to try. But overall, I like the recipes and they are generally really quick and easy to make. I preferred reading the eBook and then the Cookbook to see all the things I could eat. I think they are much better when read in conjunction as they help you stay on track and remember why you’re trying to quit sugar.

If you’re interested in I Quit Sugar, you can check out the bundle using this link, which as I mentioned in my last post is an affiliate link, meaning I get some money because you buy the book via me. The eBook and Cookbook are both 50% to celebrate Australia Day until Tuesday 29 January – so get in while it’s super cheap!

I’ve got lots more posts for you this week – including my long overdue review of Nachos Southside and a couple of cookbook reviews! Let me know if you have any questions on IQS below, or via twitter.

(All the images here are photos I have uploaded to instragram, in case you were wondering about the filters!)

Two short cookbook reviews – Clean and Lean by James Duigan & Gwyneth Paltrow’s Notes from My Kitchen Table

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One thing I really love is our local library, East Renfrewshire. My husband and I both love reading, and I have a habit of adding books to my Amazon wishlist, then transferring them into library reservations. I particularly love doing this for cookbooks as it is such a good way to preview it before committing to buy. We already have so many cookbooks that I really try to stop from buying them on impulse (there isn’t room in the cupboard for any more either!).

Recently I borrowed two books: Clean & Lean by James Duigan (after seeing it in Waitrose) and Gwyneth’s Notes from My Kitchen Table.

So, what is Clean & Lean? I have omitted the reference in the title to it being a “diet” as I think that is an awful and negative word – I instead think of it as a way of eating. Not dissimilar to previous posts we’ve done (see October Unprocessed and New ways of eating in 2012), it is basically cutting out C.R.A.P. (caffine, refined sugar, alcohol, processed foods). It’s really easy to learn the “rules” or guidelines and pretty easy to work out what you should and shouldn’t eat. If you can avoid the supermarket aisles when you do your shopping and just stick to fresh meat, seafood, vegetables and fruit, that’s pretty much eat.  My biggest problem is breakfast – and this book has introduced my to my saviour, Clean & Lean Oat Pancakes.

Clean and Lean Oat Pancakes with berries

Clean & Lean Oat Pancakes

Serves 2-4

Ingredients:

100g rolled oats
200g fat-free cottage cheese
4 eggs
1 tsp cinnamon

Simply put all the above in a blender, whizz, then cook as you would normal pancakes.

Now I have read a lot about fat-free, low fat food over the last few months so I happily substitute full fat cottage cheese in the recipe. They are so easy to make and I have never had a failure either. I have them with berries (I buy a large bag of frozen mixed berries and simply microwave a large handful for 1 minute while I’m cooking). This to me is the perfect breakfast as it’s filling, easy and super tasty. I sometimes squeeze over some honey – maybe less than a tsp though.

Now, onto Gwyneth. I was so surprised by her book – it is actually really brilliant! Because of her well-publicised dietary habits, I expected it to be a bit odd and left-field. Instead it is filled with delicious recipes and ideas. She doesn’t eat red meat so that isn’t catered for, but there are really good breakfast and dinner ideas. I would never have purchased this book but for the fact I borrowed it on a whim, so thanks to my local library for having such an amazing supply of books!

Do you borrow cookbooks from the library? If so, which ones have you discovered?