The bowl is a perfect vessel in which to create simple, delicious, and healthy meals. When gathered together in a single dish, lean proteins, greens, vegetables, and whole grains nestle against each other in a unique marriage of flavor and texture. This is how Sara Forte, beloved food blogger and author of the James Beard Award–nominated book The Sprouted Kitchen, cooks every day—creating sumptuous recipes colorful enough to serve guests, simple enough to eat with a spoon while sitting on the couch, and in amounts plentiful enough to have easy leftovers for lunch the next day. In this visually stunning collection that reflects a new and healthier approach to quick and easy cooking, Sara offers delicious, produce-forward recipes for every meal, such as Golden Quinoa and Butternut Breakfast Bowl; Spring Noodles with Artichokes, Pecorino, and Charred Lemons; Turkey Meatballs in Tomato Sauce; and Cocoa Nib Pavlovas with Mixed Berries. – Amazon
We eat a pretty clean diet 90% of the time (the other 10% is dessert and once-a-week pizza), so I’m always on the hunt for new, clean recipes to spice up our typically boring multiple-meal prepped week. I spotted this on Blogging for Books and knew I needed to check it out—after all, healthy and less dishes? Does it get better than that?
The Layout
The photos in this cookbook are gorgeous and simple. Even the recipes that don’t sound appealing looked appealing. The photographer is the author’s husband, so that’s cool, too. The layout is simple and clean, though the font is quite small. I also would have liked all of the recipes to have photos.
The Recipes
There are plenty of recipes in here, and they seem easy enough. My biggest issue, though, with most of the recipes? The amount of ingredients. And not just run-of-the-mill, hanging-out-in-my-pantry ingredients—fresh, obscure ingredients, like sambal oelek or lacinato kale or delicata squash. I would definitely need to plan a dinner in advance, and once in a while to boot, based on how much each recipe would cost. There are some less elaborate recipes, like Turkey Meatballs or Soaked Oat Porridge, that I’ll be able to make without having to make a special trip to the store. Despite the special and lengthy ingredients, I’m still excited to try many of the recipes in the book.
What I Tried
Because I didn’t have many ingredients on hand (and couldn’t fit an extra fancy dinner into our budget this week), I made a dessert from the back of the book: Cocoa Banana Cups, which is essentially bananas blended with some other goodies to make a pudding of sorts. So good and so easy! This will definitely be a staple this summer.
The Verdict
I’m not 100% thrilled with this cookbook, but I’ll give it a few more recipes to see if I love it or not. Many of the recipes require fresh veggies, so it will be much better when summer veggies are in season. Lots of zucchini and tomato recipes, so I’ll be set. I rate it a 3/5.
I received a free copy of The Sprouted Kitchen Bowl + Spoon from Random House and Blogging for Books in exchange for an honest review.
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