We live in an age where time is limited and meals are dictated by said lack of time. Well, fret no more, this next book I’m reviewing is probably one of the coolest, easiest to follow cookbooks I’ve laid eyes on in quite a while. Nourish Bowls by Quadrille Publishing is everything you want a cookbook to be: easy to understand, full of pictures, and filled with lots of options for the picky eaters/diet-sensitive/allergic-laden people in your life.
As someone who can’t eat nuts, dairy, well, pretty much a whole grocery list of “normal” ingredients, Nourish Bowls is such an approachable book to use. I’d recommend it to the food sensitive and food brazen alike. The book’s main goal is to help a reader create “nourishing” meals, so if you can’t have an ingredient or two, you can always substitute for something else.
The book itself is kind of like a guide to eating. It starts off with an explanation about what exactly a “nourish bowl” is. Then it goes into detail about how to compose bowls with a balance of proteins, fruits, vegetables, leafy greens, complex carbs, and healthy fats. Following this is the best part of the book, the recipes!
I tried two recipes from this book: one from the breakfast section that resembled an acai bowl (found on page 30), and one from the hearty section that was a mixture of crab and shrimp with an AMAZING broth (from page 152).
Each recipe is laid out on a two-page spread, so there’s no page flipping back and forth (such a good thing to have in a cookbook). On one page is a very beautiful picture of what the dish should look like (seriously, Instagram photo goals on every page). On the other page is a very detailed recipe that’s broken down by elements, so for the Crab Gyoza and Prawn Toast dish I made, it included how to make: crab barley broth, crab gyozas, spring onion, shredded cabbage, and prawn toast.
At the top of the page is a breakdown of what each element of the dish represents in terms of protein, leafy green, etc. The recipes themselves are very straight-forward and difficult to mess up because of how nicely each one is laid out. The Gyoza/Toast recipe was only four parts and then assembly, so theoretically you could prep different parts of the recipe ahead of time (to save time later).
One of the very last pages has a SUPER helpful one-page list of recipes for quick add-ons, like tahini dressing and kimchi (among many others).
Other than wishing the recipes spelled out exactly how
much time each dish would take from prep to finish, I really liked this book. Issy Crocker’s photography is stunning, the dishes are delicious (not to mention nutritious), and it’s just a very unique cookbook that puts health and wellness in the spotlight. The sixty recipes inside really showcase how simple, nutritious meals don’t have to be boring.
Score Card: Cover Art 5/5 | Content 5/5 | Ease of Read 5/5
I was provided a complimentary copy of this book, but all thoughts are my honest opinions after reading (and testing out the recipes).
