Book Review: The Recipe Hacker by Diana Keuilian

 

Synopsis (from Goodreads): 

 Have your cake and eat it too! (and your pizza and your tacos and lots more.) This mouthwatering collection of healthy recipes takes out all those troublesome ingredients like gluten, dairy, cane sugar, and soy and leaves in all the flavor and indulgence.

My Thoughts:  

I was contacted to review this cookbook and I was really excited to accept!  In the last year, I have lost over 70 lbs. and it's all been from eating a clean diet and exercising.  Eating gluten free, grain free, sugar free is not easy for a lot of people and the recipes aren't always the most appetizing.  

This cookbook has sections for Breakfasts, Appetizers, Main Dishes, Sides and Desserts.  The first recipe I tried was the Banana Pancakes (mostly because I had all the ingredients but I thought maybe my kids would like them too).  These were easy to make but they obviously did take longer than making pancakes from a mix would.  I am happy to report that even my very picky children liked these pancakes.  The banana flavor wasn't strong at all and they had no idea that these pancakes were so much healthier for them.  

I tried the Green Smoothie next.  By the looks on my kids' faces, I knew they wouldn't even try it so it was up to my husband and myself to give it a try.  The recipe calls for a scoop of chocolate protein powder but we chose to use vanilla instead.  Both my husband and I thought this recipe was a yummy smoothie recipe.  We drink green smoothies a lot so it wasn't a new idea for us.  The flavor was mild and we didn't even use any stevia.  In my opinion, the spinach is sweet enough with the protein powder.  

The last thing I made from this book was the Teriyaki Salmon.  I love teriyaki anything so was excited to give this one a try.  Now, my husband is not a huge fan of salmon but even he ate it and appeared to enjoy it.  I loved this dish!  The sauce tasted just like teriyaki you get at the store or restaurant but it had no soy in it!  I may have added a little extra garlic because I love it so much but other than that, I followed the recipe exactly and will definitely be making this one again.

Eating healthy and clean is not easy in today's world.  Almost everything has something modified in it.  We are not perfect at eating "clean" but this cookbook has definitely helped us!  It is filled with excellent looking recipes that aren't difficult to make.  Some of the ingredients (like coconut aminos), I had to really look for because I had never bought them before.  Of course, eating "clean" is also going to be more expensive.  Almond flour and coconut flour are not cheap but I figure that our health is worth the extra money and honestly, since we've been eating better, we hardly ever get sick!

I highly recommend this cookbook if you want some excellent, clean recipes.  Even if you are new to eating this way, this book will help you out so much!