And now for a change of pace..

  Two weeks ago I got lost in the black-hole called NetGalley. You get to read and review ARC's in exchange for your reviews. I thought perhaps I was dreaming. Read this book for free, then I just tell you what I thought?? Yes please. So here is another installment courtesy of NetGalley. Seriously, if you love to read, check it out. I also just got wind of Edelweiss, a similar site.

  This pretty thing is from a husband and wife team. They are Miraval chef's and their cook is described as "spa cuisine". I really enjoyed this cookbook and wouldn't mind owning it myself.

 


I have never been to a spa. The thought of spa food was a bit of a mystery. What do they eat? Baby carrots and celery? After reading Miraval's Sweet & Savory Cooking I can tell you it isn't as bad as that. Not by half. As it turns out you don't need to be rich or snobby to enjoy this food. The recipes are for everyday people, who make mindful choices about food. The book is full of clever tricks and switches built into the recipes. I usually have to take it upon myself to make these swaps. Sometimes with disastrous results. Here the recipes are built around them, by people who know what they are doing.

I thought the premise of the book- Sweet and Savory- really tied the book together. I love that it was a married couple who brought their ideas together for this book. I have to say, I favored the sweet recipes. There were many savory recipes that I plan on making. Especially the soups. However I found some of them were just too involved for a weeknight meal at my house. By no means does that make the recipes bad. Just perhaps not as practical for me. For the most part I found the recipes balanced enough for the home-cook.

Almost all the sweet recipes are ones that I would make for my family. I love baking for my kids but struggle to find healthy recipes. I do wish a few of the gluten-free recipes had used coconut flour/almond flour. I'm not a huge fan of potato starch and tapioca flour, which the recipes rely upon heavily. I also would have liked to have seen a different sugar substitute rather than agave. However these things are all personal preference. There are still a ton of other recipes to choose from.

I thought the book on a whole was gorgeous. The photographs were spot on, beautiful lighting. Each recipe included serving size, calorie, fat, carb, fiber and protein information. Anyone who is watching their weight would find this information helpful. This is the type of book I would cook from time and time again