Good + Simple by Hemsley and Hemsley

Are you ready for some back-to-basics cooking with a lot of nutrient dense recipes? I know I am! I was super excited to receive Good + Simple by Jasmine and Melissa Hemsley. Once I got the book, I immediately choose some recipes to try out. I loved the Spicy Miso Salmon with Broccoli Rice. I left out the chili powder so it wasn't spicy for my family. The Avocado Boats 3 Ways was also a hit. I have one child who loves avocado and another who hates it. The child who usually hates avocado loved the variation with the drizzled honey on top of the avocado. I love how this cookbook has a number of recipes that shows you how to prepare it 2-3 ways.

We also liked the Cucumber and Smoked Salmon Canapés. I love all the simple recipes that are quick to prepare but are also healthy for my children. It was such a nice surprise and a huge plus that the cookbook includes smoothies and healthy juice recipes. Truth be told, I was looking for a juice recipe book because I bought a juicer recently and really wanted to get in the habit of juicing to help get the nutrients in my family's bodies.

I loved reading about the Hemsley sisters' philosophy on food and all the little tidbits included in the cookbook. Most of what they mentioned, I already knew and follow, but it's nice to be reminded why I had originally followed certain routines (soaking nuts, make bone broth, cook with leaf lard). I loved how they mention that "fat is your friend". I've always felt that there is nothing wrong with eating lots of healthy whole fat (we cook with leaf lard, use a lot of pastured and cultured butter, drink whole raw milk); it's all the other processed junk food that is bad for us. But companies blame fat and have convinced so many of us to consume a low-fat diet.

I have not had the opportunity to try out the baked goods recipes. I'm not much of a baker. Probably because I hate baking! However, my children love it when we do bake so every now and then, I will try to indulge them and bake some cookies. With that said, I am delighted to see some baked good recipes that DOES NOT use refined white sugar. I cannot wait to try Nicky's Chocolate Chip Cookies. Instead of white sugar, the recipe calls for maple syrup as a sweetener. I've never had a cookie with maple syrup in it so I am a little leery but excited at the same time to try it. I usually use rapadura as a sweetener when I'm baking so I'm looking forward to try an alternative.

I can't wait to try out the recipes that use a spiralizer. The spiralizer cuts the vegetables so it looks like spaghetti noodles. My children LOVE pasta, but I am trying to not eat it so often.  I MUST HAVE A SPIRALIZER! Now I just have to convince my husband that we need yet another kitchen gadget.

I wished the photography was nicer like some of the other cookbooks I've seen. But I guess since the recipes are so healthy and basic, maybe it's hard to make them look super pretty. Still, I LOVE the cookbook because it's exactly what I'm looking for in a cookbook at this point...simple and healthy recipes.

Disclaimer: I received the above book from Blogging for Books in an exchange for a honest review.