Tuesday, September 10, 2013

Weekend Fun and a New Cookbook

It was very hot this past weekend, so we decided to skip soccer practice on Saturday and instead headed to the beach. We left early and therefore avoided the traffic.


On the way, we stopped to get some treats at a bakery. I wasn’t going to get anything, but when I saw that they had wheat free blueberry/white chocolate cookies and overheard someone say it was her favorite cookie, I decided to have one. It was my first cookie (or anything baked for that matter) since January, and it was amazing - moist and not very sweet. Hubby and the kid loved the cookie, too, and I now want to recreate that cookie at home, which is very unlikely since I am not a baker at all. 


However, I experimented and made a few almond meal/chocolate chip cookies on Sunday, and they were approved by the boys despite having very little added sugar. So my plan is to experiment with that recipe and hopefully come up with a good blueberry/white chocolate cookie.

While I don’t think cookies, even healthier ones, should be a regular part of a diet, I would like to have a good, pretty healthy go-to cookie recipe to make once in a while. And if the recipe is gluten-free and I can taste one occasionally that would be even better.

New Cookbook

Over the weekend, I also got a new cookbook, Prevention RD's Everyday Healthy Cooking: 100 Light and Delicious Recipes to Promote Energy, Weight Loss, and Well-Being, in the mail from Skyhorse Publishing. I was very excited to check it out as it is written by Nicole of the Prevention RD blog.


Nicole and I started blogging around the same time, back in 2009, and I have read her blog since. I also got to meet her a few times, once when she was at a conference in the area and also at the FoodBuzz Festival several years ago.

Nicole 01Nicole 02

One thing that stands out in the book are the beautiful photos of all the dishes. The recipes sound uncomplicated, interesting, and there is certainly something for everyone.


One very neat future are the labels that are used to mark recipes. For example, it’s very easy to find the gluten-free recipes which I want to try most.



Each recipe is also accompanied by a little note from Nicole, which I enjoy reading very much. In the notes, she shares shopping tips, fun facts, nutrition highlights/comments, cooking tips, who in her life loves the recipe and more.

Over the next weeks, I will try out some of the recipes. I was given permission to share one or two of the recipes with you. So stay tuned for a recipe or two from Nicole’s new cookbook. By the way, the cookbook was just released in August, and Nicole is already busily working on cookbook number two! Way to go, Nicole!

Questions: What was the highlight of your weekend? Do you like reading cookbooks? I love reading cookbooks even though I very rarely make anything from a cookbook. I know that sounds weird, but I truly enjoy reading the ingredient lists and instructions as well as any anecdotes or side notes. And while I seldom make a recipe, I certainly find inspirations for the dishes I do make, which I usually just make up as I shop for ingredients and then put together when I cook. I also love beautiful cookbooks with gorgeous photos. It’s a pleasure just looking through Nicole’s book. Do you have any healthy, gluten-free white chocolate/fruit cookie recipes you would like to share?

Be well,
Andrea

[Disclaimer: I received Nicole’s cookbook for free from the publisher but all opinions are my own.]