On Her Plate
By Ky-Lee Hanson
Golden Brick Publishing
Release Date: 2nd October 2018
Rating: *****

Review:
I was really excited to read this book, at Brunching Bookworms we are all about filling our minds and bellies, so this book is the perfect combination to learn some fantastic things about health, wellbeing, diet and lifestyle as well as sharing some delicious recipe ideas which I can’ wait to try out.

On Her Plate is not just written by Ky-Lee Hanson but a numerous amount of women who in small essays write real stories about their lives and why they have chosen a healthy and plant based diet, how this has improved their life in a variety of different ways. Each woman goes on to share their experience and knowledge they have gained from; mindfulness, what we put into our bodies, how food can effect mental and physical health, helping the environment and so much more. It is literally packed with useful information and really made me sit back, think and reflect on what I eat myself, my wellbeing, happiness and my impact on the environment.

Not every single story was truly relevant to me, even so, each chapter still gave me useful information or tips that I can think about or use in my own life. Chapter 7 “Mindful living for the empowered woman” by Kelly Spencer really stood out for me. I have a busy and sometimes stressful life, so I have been practising mindfulness a lot. She shares an exercise that you should repeat ever 28 days which I am wanting to try out. She gives a few titles to write in your journal such as “Mindful stress levels and energy management” and says under each one list three ways you can live more mindfully in this area of your life. I think setting these little mindful goals is a great way to remember how you want to progress with a new lifestyle.

Nearer the end of the book there are some great recipes for breakfast, lunch dinner and snacks. This really brings the entire book together for me with what you have learnt so far. Each recipe has an easy to follow guide of ingredients and method and shows the amazing benefits you will gain from ingredients in that meal. Also some beautiful photos of each meal, from soups to salads, to muffins and spreads these recipes and photos really inspire you and get those taste buds tingling. 

There were only a couple of downfalls I felt this book had:
1. I read it off my phone, so a lot of things felt a bit jumbled such as quotes and chapter titles, this may have been because I was reading a version before publication but I would have preferred to read this as a lovely hard back copy, however I can always buy it when it’s released so it's a win-win anyway.

2. The second thing I picked up on was because the authors were American a lot of the facts and figures were from the USA and not British. Though in a way this was very interesting as in Meghan Rose’s chapter “A Toxic Agenda” she discusses how certain personal care products that are banned in Europe, as they contain toxic chemicals, are not banned in the America. I found this utterly shocking that one country can deem a product unusable and unsafe for humans and another thinks that it’s okay to pour harmful toxins all over your body. Shouldn’t all safety standards be a global agreement where it regards human safety? A debate for another time, but it really got me thinking.

On Her Plate is extremely interesting book and makes me want to change things within my lifestyle. I’m not saying I will suddenly jump into a plant-based diet and become a new person over night, but I will really consider what I am putting into my body and come up with meal plans so I can have a more healthy and sustainable diet. I have suffered from stress and depression, acne and other health issues that I think stemmed from my stressful period in my life. From reading this book I now understand that the gut is like a second brain and everything I put in there has such a profound effect on my mental health and happiness. I wish I knew this before, as when I was unhappy I reached for the unhealthy, sugary snacks instead of the wholesome healthy food my body craved, thinking back this is probably where my acne stemmed from and I hope that a healthier nutritious diet will hopefully conquer this. When I go in the supermarket I hope to buy more local produce, organic and fair trade products, stepping back and thinking about what my body needs, what am I lacking maybe Zinc, Vitamin C, Vitamin B12 how can I make healthy delicious meals to overcome what I am lacking? Well I have all the facts and figures I need to do so now, I am excited to do my next grocery shop and I have already started a list!

I personally felt that I read this book at a great time in my life, after overcoming a great stressful period where I was very down and negative I feel back on track and now I can use what I have learnt in this book to go to the next step. I highly recommend this read to any woman who has an interest in their diet, where their food comes from, well-being, happiness and general lifestyle. It was a very inspiring, eye-opening and informative read which also has made me reflect on my life and I hope that it can help you in the same way as it has for me.

On Her Plate is being released 2nd October 2018 you can pre order it here via Golden Brick Road Publishing.

i am a diabetic type one so choosing what I put on my plate is very important. This book is eye opening in how what we choose not only fills us but heals us.

Recently I was accepted into the prestigious T. Colin Campbell Center for Nutrition Studies affiliated with Cornell University. The intensive program focuses on plant-based eating. When I read the book description for "On Her Plate" by Ky-Lee Hanson, I was so excited because I'm very interested in exactly what Ms. Hanson writes about: "plant based recipes, life stories, and natural health sciences"! I'm so happy I found this book. The author did a wonderful job of synthesizing recipes with essays by a variety of women (a.k.a. Wellness Warriors) and I loved her realistic approach to creating lives that are flexible, not "perfect." The author's writing style is confident, passionate, and conversational. It's a very interesting read; I'll definitely recommend On Her Plate" to my classmates once I begin my studies. Great book!

This book is an excellent one-stop shop for mindfulness, empowerment, and embracing the beauty of embracing your body. I found On Her Plate to be such a well done and well-rounded book with so many elements that, quite frankly, women need right now. Every chapter is relatable and provides nourishing lessons and food for thought. Every lesson more like nuggets for consideration and not hard and fast rules that set you up to fail. This book is what I needed right now, like a hard reset that, for once, doles out hope as well.

Very informative and comprehensive resource for patrons. The information is well structured throughout and Hanson has clearly done a lot of research on the topics and nutritional sources mentioned.

As I started reading this I knew it wasn't the type of book for me, and as such, I didn't finish it.

However, what I did read I thought was thoroughly researched and explained. And perhaps this is what I wasn't a fan of - the book felt like a sort of text book. There was so much information that I was overloaded, overwhelmed, and left with a pile of statistics and numbers. This is not to say the information is wrong or unnecessary, I think I would have just preferred it to be less, as it was a lot to take in.