Member Reviews
I enjoyed reading the cookbook, but it is one for a specific audience. I would only suggest it to someone who wants to change what they eat to a more health-focused diet. I liked some of the recipes and I will try to make them this summer.
The Conscious Cleanse Cookbook by Jo Schaalman and Julie Pelaez was interesting.
At first, I almost did not continue. I found the intro very long and was not really into the whole idea.
However, I am glad I continued. There are some delicious recipes in this book. At the end, I also appreciate the trusted brands section. Also, while I don't plan on using this book as a diet, but just for some healthy recipes, I really appreciate the meal plans.
I received an eArc from DK and Alpha through NetGalley. All opinions are 100% my own.
Seems like a good cookbook. The rental version though that I had was hard to read, but I think that's just a technical issue. But for that reason I wasn't able to try any of the recipes. However, looking at this cookbook I can tell that the people who wrote it really cared. The recipe sound very good, which is saying something for healthy food. 😂 My favorite thing about it is that these recipes look simple. Like they won't take hours in the kitchen but you will still leave the kitchen with food that feels like you have.I'm reading a four only because I've yet to try the actual recipes. For photography, creativity, care and simplicity (Which also means less money spent per meal because the ingredient list is quite simple and doesn't have an overabundance of things in it.)
Thanks #netgalley for allowing me the opportunity to review this beautiful book.
What a great cookbook! I really enjoyed this cookbook and have saved lots of recipes to try.
Thank you to netgalley and the publishers for providing me with an arc for an honest review.
I was honestly pretty disappointed in this cookbook when I opened it up. While there is a lot of info at the beginning about staying healthy and the importance of eating clean, the recipes themselves don't have much variety and their "plan" for a cleanse isn't a plan at all. This is not quite what I was expecting, and overall, I'm disappointed.
After being allowed to read and review this book on Netgalley, I promptly went and ordered so I would have a copy in hand. I own several "clean eating" cookbooks, and none are so easy, inspiring, and yummy as this. So many healthy recipes. It gives a 14 day guideline for cleansing, using an 80/20 method, or a low sugar method. So 3 different ways, but of course with all of these recipes you can easily make this a lifestyle. I probably will skip right over the lamb recipes (not a fan) but I love the variety. I also love the photos and the detail of each recipe. Organized well. So excited for this book. Highly recommended for anyone who wants an much easier way than most other books to eat healthier.
The Conscious Cleanse Cookbook is a great book for those interested in making a diet makeover.
Jo Schaalman and Julie Peláez have created a holistic-style diet re-invention that focuses on first eliminating food that are common allergens and irritants and focusing on whole foods (fibrous) greens over grains. The diet may be modified for dairy, gluten/grain-free as well as meat options for those that prefer or need a more herbivore-style diet.
Now, we say diet and most people hear diet as in I'm on a diet. But when I say diet, I mean the whole of everything you eat. Jo and Julie are focusing on a complete reframing of how you eat and what you eat. The initial premise is based on an elimination diet. In this book, the elimination phase lasts 14 days. Then common allergen/irritating foods are slowly added back in to see if you FEEL any differences with them being reintegrated.
There are tons of recipes that aim to aid you in this reframed diet. Those that have an idea of the whole 30 may recognize some of the concepts but instead of just focusing on whole foods, the authors focus on each plate's overall composition. The focus being 80% fibrous greens and 20% other (meat, grains, sugars/starches combined).
The concepts in this book, I think, are excellent to help those that want to reframe their diet into something that allows for the foods we love but also provides us with simple and delicious fibrous greens that help our bodies get what they need to be healthier. Some ingredients may be prohibitive (bison, cashew flour, etc...) but some major grocer chains are starting to add these alternate foods to their stock. (I found cashew flour at Walmart the other day- and I live in a very small town in rural NC).
The Conscious Cleanse contains information and concepts that can help anyone interested in wanting to help reframe their diet into life-long healthy concepts for betting living.
*ARC provided by NetGalley in exchange for an honest review.*
I like the concept and the organization of this book. The recipes are easy to follow and the photos are pretty. I received a free digital copy of this book from NetGalley in exchange for my honest review
I get cookbooks like this to find recipes to make for family and friends with sensitivities to certain things. This one delivered. The maple-sage breakfast sausage was delicious. The zesty lemon balls hit the sweet spot perfectly. The Purification soup was perfect for when the weather changed and we felt under it. I look forward to trying the breakfast nicoise salad when it warms up again. The recipes are easy to follow. The photography is beautiful. The plan is written in easy to digest chunks.
I am always in search of a cookbook that can give me great healthy recipes for all the meals of the day. For this cookbooks, I loved how they labeled the recipes to fit the different meal plans that they were promoting and gave the reader many options as to how to use the cookbook.
I really enjoyed the basics at the back - how to make your own pestos and milks. This cookbook may lead me to try to make my own almond or oat milk!
The smoothies are the star of this show. If you want a wide range of healthy smoothies, this cookbook can check that box for you.
This book was received as an ARC from DK - Alpha in exchange for an honest review. Opinions and thoughts expressed in this review are completely my own.
I have been waiting for a cookbook like this that promotes comfort food without all of the guilt you will have from added calories and fat. Jo and Julie took a fun and whimsy approach to a not so popular group of foods and turned them into the food you want to eat. All the recipes look absolutely delicious and this book could not have come at a better time for me learning how to be more aware of what I put in my body and eating more whole food and choosing healthier options. I can't wait to try the Coconut Glazed Halibut with Butternut Curry Sauce and I know my husband will love it too.
We will consider adding this title to our TX Non-Fiction collection at our library. That is why we give this book 5 stars.
This is one of those books that will be a great resource for people who are already fans of the authors and following their program. It is not really a cleanse as much as an elimination program, which another review pointed out. They eliminate gluten, dairy and soy for 14 days and have you eat whole foods during this time with a focus on Whole 30 kinds of foods.
There is no nutritional information provided for the recipes, which is a major gripe of mine with cookbooks in general but especially with those geared towards improving health conditions. Many people need or want to track things like fiber, protein, fat, carbs, sugar, sodium and calories. Provide that information or expect many people not to buy your book for that reason alone. This gives little icons like LS for low sugar, but they don't really say what qualifies so it's not very helpful.
The authors acknowledge that there are three main types of diets that people look for -- plant based (vegan), meat eaters (paleo), and carb conscious (which they call low sugar). They don't use these terms per se, but they gear at least some recipes to all of these. This works best for the first two groups, as many of the low sugar recipes are still too high in carbs for people who are following a keto or low carb diet.
Photos are provided for about 25% of the recipes. These are nice photos, but more would be nicer. As another reviewer mention, many recipes call for very expensive ingredients like lacuma powder (sp?), cashew flour, grassfed bison, dragonfruit smoothie packs, and so on.
I didn't find much that I found helpful or appetizing, but fans of the authors and the programs are likely to find it quite helpful. The authors have a previous book and this is not so much a standalone book as one that provides recipes to accompany that.
I read a temporary digital ARC of this book for review.
This was such a neat cookbook. I absolutely loved the layout of this book, the beautiful font and the several drawing pictures. The recipes are so easy to follow and tons of photos. I drooled over all the photos. I personally loved ALL the healthy smooth recipes. I made several, (mornings can be tough for me so this made it so easy to still have breakfast on minimal time).
The Conscious Cleanse Cookbook: 150 Recipes to Lose Weight, Heal Your Body, and Transform Your Life by Jo Schaalman & Julie Pelaez
Publisher: DK
Genre: Cooking, Food & Wine | Health, Mind & Body
Release Date: December 1, 2020
The Conscious Cleanse Cookbook by Jo Schaalman & Julie Pelaez is inspired by the program (Conscious Cleanse) created by the authors almost 10 years ago.
The book opens with a quick introduction to the Conscious Cleanse (program) and what inspired its creation. I found it interesting that one of the primary goals is to determine how food makes you feel.
Each recipe is labeled with program icons, such as Cleanse, 80:20, & LS. Each recipe in the cookbook is "dairy-free, gluten-free, soy-free, and peanut-free."
The first section of recipes is for smoothies & juices. Some of the recipes include: cran-pear smoothie, carrot caked in a bowl, apple pie smoothie, mint chocolate chip smoothies, dragon fruit smoothie bowl, and immune blaster juice shot.
The next section is breakfasts and includes recipes like, egg-free veggie scramble, five-ingredient breakfast books, turkey breakfast skillet, and maple sage breakfast sausage.
The third section is salads and includes recipes for Greek wedge salad, Thai flank steak salad, gut-healing slaw, and fall harvest salad.
The fourth section is soups and includes recipes for chicken bone broth, veggie kelp noodle pho, slow cooker bison stew, nightshade-free turkey chili, and Vietnamese chicken pho.
The fifth section is meats & seafoods and includes recipes for lamp gyro lettuce wrap, bison broccoli stir-fry, cashew chicken stir-fry, and easy weeknight fish tacos. (I might actually be able to get my husband to eat some of these!)
The sixth sections is recipes for vegetables, including Mexican rice bowl, clean & simple stir-fry, roasted cabbage, zucchini lasagna, fried cauliflower rice, and sweet potato toast.
The seventh section includes recipes for dips, snacks & starters, including roasted garlic cauliflower hummus, simple guacamole, chickpea rosemary flatbread, parsnip fries, and sesame cauli wings.
The eight section (the one I most look forward to) is sweet treats and includes recipes for peach crumble bard, five-spice pumpkin cookies, molten chocolate cake, chocolate chip cookie dough balls, no-bake mini carrot cake bites, sunflower cookies, pumpkin fudge, and salted caramel ice cream!
Section nine is beverages and elixirs and includes recipes for homemade plant-based milks, matcha green tea latte, and jalapeño cilantro mezcal margarita.
Section ten is for condiments and includes recipes for no-mato marina, egg-free avocado mayo and homemade pestos.
The cookbook ends with resources, including a list of trusted brands and 7-day meal plans.
The photos in the cookbook are beautiful! There are definitely some recipes I want to try and the program sounds fascinating and is something I will be checking out!
I'm so grateful to Jo Schaalman & Julie Pelaez, DK, and NetGalley for providing me with a free copy of this ARC ebook in exchange for my honest review.
2.5 stars
So the term “cleanse” in the title is a bit of a misnomer. This is really an elimination diet (combined with a Whole 30 program). This book goes over eliminating common allergens and problematic foods, and replacing those meals with whole foods like veggies, fruits, legumes, grass-fed meats, and non-gluten grains. After following the cleanse for 14 days, you then slowly reintroduce other foods. The goal is to eat an 80:20 plan, thereby ensuring that most of your diet is whole foods. The book is put together in a very orderly fashion, and has lovely photography throughout.
A couple issues that I had with this book are:
-some recipes contain quite expensive ingredients, such as grass fed bison, lucuma powder, tiger nut flour, and cashew flour (sidenote: I’ve been gluten-free for almost 4 years, and I have never heard of or seen cashew flour).
-there is almost no information given in the book regarding how to reintroduce problematic foods. There is literally one paragraph that discusses reintroduction. I then realized that this was probably done on purpose, as the authors run a Conscious Cleanse website that has a subscription program. I don’t begrudge the authors for running this program, but they really needed to have more information in this book regarding reintroduction of foods, otherwise it erases all of the good work a person could have done.
If you’re someone who currently eats the standard American diet, then this cookbook could be a good introduction for you on eating healthier foods. But you really do need to do more research on your own regarding a proper elimination diet.
Thank you to NetGalley and DK for this advanced reader copy. All opinions expressed in this review are my own.