I loved how many unexpected recipes there were here. The apple molasses was spectacular as was the rhubarb marinated tofu steaks, and the fava bean falafel.

This cookbook is filled with recipes that are delicious and simple to make. I also liked the background information about the recipes. Mindfulness is a useful tool for all ages, so kids might like using these recipes with their parents.

A lovely cookbook about more than just cooking. Heather Thomas encourages readers to think about their relationship with the food, where it comes from, how it nourishes us, enjoying the process of cooking, and being thankful for the meal you've created. The recipes use seasonal vegetables and encourage no waste cooking, as well as creative use of leftovers, and the recipes look delicious! I'm looking forward to trying the Sweet Potato and Apple Bake and the Leek and Carrot Coconut Soup!

#MindfulKitchen #NetGalley

The Mindful Kitchen has some great recipes and information. This would be a great gift for a vegetarian.

First, the recipes in this book are fantastic! I loved how they are very easy to make even though they seem like they wouldn't be. Sometimes it is better to use such simple and easy ingredients to make complex and flavorful food. Secondly, I love the overall message of this cookbook. Mindfulness is pretty popular today, but I don't know how many people think about it in relation to the food we create and eat. The idea of eating with intention and with care of the environment is something that I really enjoyed and will keep with me even after finishing this book.

Over one hundred seasonal vegetarian recipes but not just recipes, there's so much more.
You become one with nature as you make mindful choices based on how and what you eat.
Various tips,tricks and colorful full color recipes will keep your attention!
Published October 1st 2019 by Leaping Hare Press

I was given a complimentary copy. Thank you.
All opinions expressed are my own.

A deliciously crafted new age cookbook. If you're at all interested in an ecologically-friendly eating style this is for you. Brimming with seasonal recipes that will appeal to all audiences but sprinkled with ideas to make the most of your food like "zero-waste tomato powder". With chapter headings such as "Eating for Vitality" and "Eating for Connection" this cookbook is sure to get you thinking about, and looking at your food in a whole new light.

Thank you to Quarto Publishing and #NetGalley for allowing me to read this beautiful cookbook in exchange for my honest review. All opinions are my own.

This was a bit of a miss for me. I love the idea of combining cooking (and eating) with mindfulness, nature, etc. and it's something that's already a big part of our cooking traditions in our family. We forage with our kids, grow an organic garden, cook together often, make up our own spice mixes to cook with, cultivate wild yeast to infuse our local terroir in homemade wines and use foods for healing, to name a few of the ways. I honestly think we do a lot more than is in this book, which tries to be very new-agey but reminds me more in content and recipes of something I'd have seen in the 1970's. Most of the recipes use plain wheat flour (no gluten free options are ever given or even mentioned). They're not spectacularly healthy, though they tend towards simple and whole foods based. You're asked to *think* about things that seem pretty standard common sense to me. The wild berry sauce is made from store bought cranberries and then there's a blurb about wild cranberries being hard to farm, for instance. First off, I'd expect wild berries to be an ingredient in a wild berry recipe, and secondly I think we all kind of understand that lots of foods don't farm and ship well even though they're great in the wild. I don't know that I need to sit and think about it. That's why I forage and grow so much wild food (well, one of many reasons). Shrug.

The book includes animal products like dairy (she says that's important for the soil) and no substitutions are given for vegans. No nutritional information is given. Color photos are provided for some recipes.

There are some nice sounding recipes and this is an interesting read. Goodreads considers 2 stars "it was okay" and that was pretty much my take on it. Others are likely to enjoy it much more.

I read a temporary digital ARC of this book for the purpose of review.

Personally I found this book just a bit too weird. I was expecting more of a focus on eating sustainably, eg buying local, using seasonal fruit and veg, etc. While this did feature (for example zero waste tomato powder using tomato skins, using egg shells in the garden), there were an awful lot of weird 'rituals' and thoughts which I just didn't find particularly thought-provoking. There are a few nice recipes, eg green pea guacamole (which also featured a recipe for pasta using the leftovers - great!). However, there are also some strange ones, eg stone soup which, yes, uses an actual stone. Something I felt that this book really needed was to go into more detail about seasonal recipes. It claims this in the description, and while recipes are clearly organised into some sort of seasonal order (eg there is a section on pumpkin recipes) I felt that a better job could have been done explaining to the reader WHEN the seasonal recipes were actually seasonal - for example start looking for pumpkins in the shops in these months, as this is when they're grown in the UK.
Although overall I didn't particularly enjoy the extra information around the recipes, it still must be said that I did find a couple of unusual but interesting recipes that I will be using.

A nice selection of recipes. And a nice look at making them and the atmosphere of the kitchen. Nicely done.

I'm a sucker for cookbooks so I was super happy to get an electronic version of The Mindful Kitchen. I enjoyed the recipes and the photos were great and makes you want to make the recipes in the book.

The Mindful Kitchen is filled with easy to follow, mouthwatering vegan recipes that I can't wait to try my hands on. Ranging from appetisers to desserts, each recipe is well thought of and considered their impact on our environment, providing alternatives to classic dishes and repurposing leftovers. The little thought box after each recipe helps to cultivate your awareness and learn how to be more mindful in life in general.

A very insightful cookbook presenting a mindful approach in the kitchen.
Even not being vegetarian or vegan, I am trying to have more healthy and plant based meals in my diet.

The book is easy to follow and offers recipes that could be cooked by anyone.
I was particularly interested in the chapter about preserving food,given the fact that colder months are approaching.I believe it is also important to highlight the importance of not wasting any food and reusing or preserving it in different ways.

Really enjoyed the book and the innovative approach!

Mindfulness is everywhere, I swear I see at least two new magazines a week dedicated to the idea of slowing down and appreciating the moment. It makes sense this trend would lead to the kitchen, where most of us see meal preparation as something to get through, not enjoy. Thomas takes readers on a journey of respecting nature and the seasons in our cooking and provides yummy vegetarian recipes for all seasons along the way

This was certainly an interesting cookbook. Beautiful photos, interesting recipes and various tips and tricks.

This book presents a different approach to heathy and natural eating, focusing on the emotional connection to different ingredients and emphasizing different states enhanced by specific recipes. The imagery is inspiring and the final results look appetizing. It presents a lot of the recipes I've grown up with but done in a more natural approach which is great. I've learned a lot of tricks and enjoyed discovering new ideas for oatmeal honey bread and aubergine dip. Good layout of ingredients, method and serving, and I especially liked the conversion charts at the end. Overall a great vegetarian cookbook with a bit of feelings inspiration.

I was very skeptical at first, when I picked up Mindful Kitchen, because of the fact that it was vegetarian. Not that I have anything against vegetarian cooking, actually I raised two kids who are by choice vegetarian (my son) and vegan (my daughter).

What concerned me was, that I thought this book may be preachy when it comes to a plant-based and vegetarian lifestyle, which would be a turn-off for many cookbook readers that could benefit from the idea of combining mindfulness and food.

However, I was pleasantly surprised to find instead an insightful book, that not only provided amazing recipes but also showcased ways to connect to the food in a much more meaningful way, from the preparation to the consuming of the meals.



5 POINTS MINDFUL KITCHEN MAKES THAT I REALLY LOVE:

- it makes us aware of the thoughts we think about our food.

In the section “Eating For Comfort”, Heather Thomas asks us to think about the memories that we associate with comfort food, and what feelings are, that we associate with it. Often our relationship with our meals is not only based on emotional reactions and memories, but also of the unconscious kind. The awareness that this brings is not to be overstated – it is often our loaded relationship with food that gets us to react unhealthily with it.

- finding a new way to look at repurposing leftovers.

No, she does not focus on the obvious reason to utilize leftovers, as it relates to having waste, but she places the focus on the creativity that is involved in the use of leftovers and the freedom of not having to use a recipe to make a wholesome meal. What a beautiful way to look at making the most of what we already have!

- the hopefulness in the action of preserving, as we focus on the present moment of creating a food item, such as the savory tomato jam featured in this book, but also an expectation of future deliciousness

I grew up with two sets of Grandparents who were masters of canning, preparing jams, and preserving that which they harvested from their gardens. That entire time, assisting them both, I never had this beautiful mindful point of view, as featured in this book. It makes me want to use that which I have learned as a child again. Very inspiring.

- looking at food ingredients as creative partners beyond the recipe.

The author points as an example to the relationship between peanuts and oats – peanuts leaving access of nitrogen during harvest, which is exactly what oats thrive on. This balance in nature is evident everywhere you look if you are willing to dig deeper – if you are a gardener you may know which plants are beneficial to grow close to each other for mutual support – and it is something beautiful to contemplate during cooking and eating.

it questions us to look at why we categorize certain foods as specifically tied to a particular part of the day.
Why do we look at breakfast foods as breakfast foods? What do you consider breakfast food? These questions challenge our way of how we use food and take us from being on autopilot into even more awareness.


There are a lot more mindful points that the author is making in this peaceful, creative and inspiring book. I hope that not only vegetarians but those who want to eat more thoughtfully will pick up this book as well. I am somewhat worried that this cookbook may not get the attention that it truly deserves because I am sure that I am not the only one who will approach it with a preconceived judgment.

Visually, I really enjoyed the soft-colored pages, and a large amount of warm, and friendly images, which make me hungry, and ready for more.

The recipes are creative and beautiful – some are old favorites, others provide a unique twist to a standard fair in delightfully creative ways. My personal favorites at this point are the “Vegetarian Smorrebrod” and the “Leak and Hazelnut Risotto”.

While the Author has a popular blog called MindfulKitchen.org, but this is her first book. I hope it will not be the last.

Nice book, full of helpful tips and information. Really gets you thinking about food, waste and lots of other issues. It will inspire you to think differently and want to improve the way you eat and look at food. I liked the pictures and some of the recipes, but some of them were a little disappointing. Overall though a good book.

As a vegan I absolutely love cooking my own plant based foods, so I was curious about The recepies in The Mindful Kitchen. Thank you to the publisher and Netgalley for the ARC. I enjoyed the book and the useful hints contained in it, for example the zero waste recepies for making my own veggie stock from left over veg and also love how simplified the recepies was for preserving my own lemons. The book also contains recepies for homemade hummus, pizza, tabblouh etc., Also the pictures in the book are beautiful, I will be buying the hard copy when it’s published.