My friend and fellow blogger, Megan Gilmore, from the popular blog Detoxinista just launched her first cookbook this week, Everyday Detox: 100 Easy Recipes to Remove Toxins, Promote Gut Health, and Lose Weight Naturally. I was lucky to be able to review this cookbook before it went to print and I’ve been eagerly anticipating the hard copy on my doorstep. Just like on her blog, the recipes in her debut cookbook are unfussy, whole foods based, and feature short ingredient lists. I’ve been a fan of Megan’s for years and I’ve always admired her ability to take a handful of simple, whole foods ingredients and turn them into something practical for everyday life. While Megan doesn’t ascribe to any particular dietary label, she creates many vegan, paleo, vegetarian, and gluten-free recipes. About 75% of the recipes in Everyday Detox are vegan or can be made vegan by swapping out the sweetener or leaving out the cheese. All of the recipes are gluten-free. There are around 50 gorgeous photos shot by Nicole Franzen.
The book’s chapters include: 1) An easy approach to detoxing; 2) stocking your detox-friendly kitchen; 3) liquid nourishment; 4) morning favorites; 5) salads, dressings & sides; 6) soups, sandwiches & wraps; 7) casseroles & comfort foods; 8) sweet treats; and 9) back to basics.
Detox-based cookbooks tend to make me think of hard-core fad diets and cleanses, but thankfully Megan’s approach is much less drastic. She encourages you to practice daily healthy habits and believes in eating whole foods (ie., unprocessed, refined-sugar free, chemical additive free) on a day to day basis – making a lifestyle change – rather than teetering on the extremes and cyclic nature of dieting. Megan doesn’t believe in calorie counting because she says it “doesn’t take into account the quality of foods we’re consuming nor the body’s ability to digest natural foods versus processed ones.” Instead of looking at the calorie count on a label, she says to ask yourself a few questions: Where does the food come from? Is it in its natural state? How many ingredients does it contain and do you recognize those ingredients? Better yet, she says, select foods with no label at all. I love that last tip. The recipes in Everyday Detox are also based on the principles of food-combining and how food-combining can impact digestion (which is something I admit that I’m not overly motivated to follow), but whether you want to learn more about food-combining or not, the recipes can be enjoyed simply because they are healthful and delicious.
Today, I’m happy to share a recipe from her cookbook for all of the almond butter lovers out there! I couldn’t help myself and added a homemade chocolate topping and Maldon sea salt flakes. It was a hit with our friends!
I also tried out the Strawberry Basil Blast smoothie a few times. I change it up a bit using half the avocado and lemon juice. It’s also good without the fresh basil (I don’t always have it handy because I love to kill me a basil plant), but I do recommend trying the basil version first. I’ve made a cherry-basil combo in the past and it really is awesome in a smoothie! This smoothie will be on heavy rotation throughout the summer.
Some other recipes on my must-try list include: Raw Falafel Wraps, Enchilada Stuffed Cabbage Rolls, and “Beef” and Broccoli.
Thanks to Megan for letting me share this almond butter fudge recipe today. Be sure to check out Everyday Detox which is hot off the press this week!