The Colorful Kitchen

This book makes such good sense! I loved that the recipes weren't loaded with sugar and low on the oil. I would definitely use these recipes over and over again. They have my salivary glands tingling and as I turned the pages so I wanted to make nearly every single recipe.

I love the fun, easy vibe of this cookbook! In the introduction, the author states "make my recipes your own," which I find refreshing. Not that I don't sometimes alter recipes as I go, but this author wants you to tailor recipes to your tastes. That in itself is relaxing. She is basically saying not to worry if you don't follow the recipe strictly. Just have fun!

The recipes are bright and simple, and they all look delicious, while still being modern and healthy. There is a large breakfast section. And there are a lot of recipes. By the time I got to the <i>Mains</i> section, I was expecting the book to be over, but there were still many more recipes to go.

I really liked that the kitchen staples section (recipes for vegan milks, creams and sauces) at the back, which is ingenuous placement. Usually it is in the beginning, and I find that I skip over them to the get to the good stuff.

This is a fantastic plant based recipe book living up to its claim of uncomplicated and nutritious. All of my friends know how domestically challenged I am in a kitchen and were amazed I was able to cook a few recipes which tasted better than average.
I really loved the chatty little sections at the start of each recipe, as it seemed to give it a more personal touch and helped relax me before I started cooking ha ha. The little tips/hints were extremely useful for someone like me.
Recently I attended a vegan cooking class and had an amazing time. I am not vegetarian or a vegan but I was encouraged to make a few changes in my diet. So much so, I have decided to attempt a one-month challenge from 1 January 2018. The recipes in this book will certainly give me a helping hand along the way and something I will keep going back to.
I cant recommend this book enough to anyone who is thinking they would like to make some better eating choices and don’t know how to go about it. Owning a book like this is one of the first steps in making eating a healthy, vibrant & flavorsome experience instead of just an unhealthy habit.

I was thrilled to see this cookbook listed on Netgalley because I follow The Colorful Kitchen blog. If you enjoy beautiful photos of food, her instagram page is breathtaking. All of the recipes are simple, and most use unprocessed ingredients. Occasionally, there is a call for vegan cheese, but for many ingredients, she also offers the homemade recipe, such as cashew sour cream. As I reviewed, I found myself bookmarking at least every other page, which by the way- there are pictures of every.single.recipe. Yes! ✋ The sections included are:

Smoothies
Breakfasts
Salads
Entrees
Appetizers/Snacks
Desserts

I found something new to try under each heading. Some recipes I have tried different versions of before, so everything may not be completely unique, but the refreshing twists the author make has me eager to try them. I also loved her "burger" ideas that were different than the usual. For example, she has a butternut squash burger that I cannot wait to try. She also has a mustard squash "grilled cheese" that sounds (and looks!) heavenly. I'm also eager to try the varieties of hummus presented (I could survive on hummus and peanut butter alone. Yes, I could!), including a stunning beet version. Purple food always appeals to me! It must be my inner 80s child?!

Overall, this cookbook has me inspired to try several of its recipes, and that's always a great thing because I tend to get bored with food quickly. If you've been around the vegan block for a while, check out Ilene's blog and see if the recipes appeal to you. If you are new to plant-based recipes, this is a great place to start because of the ease factor and well-roundedness of the recipes.

Thank you to Ilene Godofsky Moreno, BenBella books, and Netgalley, for the opportunity to read and review this cookbook. I will update my review once I've tried a few recipes, and I think I'll be buying the print version because it's too pretty not to have on my shelf! 🌈

This book is, simply put, stunning. The pictures are vibrant and made me want to immediately cook many of the recipes. This is a book I want to own.

There is something for everybody in here, I am sure. The recipes are easily replicated and you don’t need to hunt down rare ingredients. Still, Ilene Godosky Moreno combines ingredients in a way I find highly original and appealing. It is the kind of non-fuss vegan food that I adore.

One other thing that I like is how she breaks down the time needed to prepare the dishes into “total time” and “active time”. This makes planning so much easier and gives me an estimate on how my kitchen will look afterwards (that always depends on whether I can clean while I cook or not).

PS: I find the current obsession with kale slightly bemusing. In Germany we call it “Grünkohl” and it is such a staple that I cannot get over how hyped it is elsewhere (if that makes sense).

I am far from being a vegetarian, but I love veggies and fruits! This book has a lot of really great recipes for breakfasts, lunches and dinner and snack ideas! Drinks, too! I am always on the look out for new ways to eat them in dishes. So the recipes in here should please everyone., not just vegetarians or vegans! I can't wait to see a hardcopy of this book to see the photos of the foods in color!

I think this is fantastic! Thrilled to have it. So many good recipes. I was getting bored with breakfast. Now I’ve had time to try some of these and I can tell you they are very satisfying and hearty. I especially like the carrot cake oatmeal. Yum!

Ilene Moreno started out as a blogger. She has an education in art and has had a career in the textile industry. She initially turned to a vegetarian way of eating because she didn’t want to participate in eating animals anymore. Too much suffering. She tried the junk food vegan lifestyle for awhile. Because of various health issues she later turned to a plant based diet. I follow one too and can attest to the many health benefits I have experienced for myself. She tells us that she began to approach cooking the same way she approached her design work. She viewed each meal through a designer’s lens.

So many good recipes! The shredded Brussels Slaw helped me get in my daily greens. The author tells us right up front that you don’t need a lot of kitchen equipment or space. I have found that to be true. The recipes are colorful and not complicated. The photos are beautiful. All the recipes look mouth watering good. I need variety. This provides just that. I want to eat healthy and well. Easy peezy with a cookbook like this.

Many thanks to NetGalley, BenBella Books, and Ilene Godofsky Moreno for a digital copy to read in exchange for a review. Highly recommended!

The photos in this book were STUNNING!! They were absolutely gorgeous and probably some of the best food photography I've seen in a cookbook. I really enjoy the colorful, plant based recipes in this book. I loved that it had a section for sauces/condiments to utilize and I also enjoyed she talked about categories of food. I docked a star because there is no nutrition breakdown although I acknowledge not everyone has the budget to do recipe analysis.

This cookbook is gorgeous. I wanted to have it simply for the pleasure of looking through it. So it is delightful that it turns out I want to try so many of the recipes. Sweet Potato Toast, Strawberry Loaf with Cream Cheese Glaze, Edamame Peanut Noodle Salad, Baked Rosemary Root Vegetable Fries just to name a few. This book even makes me WANT to try tofu and tempeh bacon. I have a feeling this cookbook will see regular rotation in my kitchen.

As someone who is currently vegetarian with a vegan best friend and who has been cutting out even more dairy cheese from my diet as that is the only animal product I still eat I was very interested in what recipes would be in this cookbook! I consider myself a picky eater and always have been since I was young even if I do try new foods now and again. Multiple times throughout looking at the recipes in this cookbook I found myself saying "that sounds so good!" or "that looks so yummy!" My best friend and I have cooked together before and I feel like this is the perfect cookbook to use when cooking with friends or even cooking for family who might not be plant based eaters because there is something in it for everyone even though the recipes are all entirely plant based recipes. There is everything from appetizers to entrees to even being able to satisfy a sweet tooth with some beautiful desserts! Also when we are young we are told the more colors on a plate the better, I learned this more while I did a nutrition class in high school and the name of the book is true it really is a Colorful Kitchen! Also another thing that I really enjoyed is that some of the recipes involved using other foods you can learn to make and reinventing them into something new which I believe is great for busy families and a good way to use leftovers so they don't go bad.

I found this book very helpful and insightful. It helpef broaden my view of cooking with all colors of food.

Great plant based cookbook. Innovative ideas with flavours and textures and a great concept; eat more colour! The intro is great, a nice piece about the author and her story, one that felt genuine and real. The style is nice, easy to read and follow and the images are attractive. I will definitely be making some of the delicious looking recipes.

NetGalley kindly provided this book in exchange for my honest review.