The Happy Balance

Perfect book for people who are considering or already living eating a plant based diet.Beautifully photographed incredible delicious recipes an easy guide to healthy eating.Plan on giving as gift to friends I know will devour the recipes #netgalley #quartobooks.

Interesting premise for a cookbook; however, I always add a healthy dose of skepticism as soon as I see "detox" in a narrative.  Full disclosure - I am not a vegetarian, but I do try to eat more plant-based foods.  That said, I am always looking for more delicious healthy foods.  I am eager to try some of the recipes in this book - starting with the sweet potato chocolate mousse.

In addition to a variety of recipes for breakfast, smoothies, lunch and dinner, there are some yummy looking dessert recipes.  The book also includes quick recipes for plant-based milks and butter.

The happy balance, 60 recipes to nourish body and mind, is a must. An informative book but also delicious recipes and a personal stance on healthy eating as the authors experienced helath issues and share their experience with us.
The book includes recipes to help with menopause and perimenopause among others. It is not a list of dos and don'ts but instead it shows us that we need to be flexible.It is packed with information about hormones, the menstrual phase, etc and is most useful! I particularly love the advice on how to regulate stress and sleep which are 2 of my own problems!
In conclusion, I highly recommend it!

I picked up this book because of an ad I keep seeing on television that promises weight loss and happiness through the centers hormone balancing. I couldn't help but think: "is that really a thing?"

I'm still skeptical, but after going through the book, I can't help but feel that there is a lot of good information in it. It has a suggestions for a lot of different ideas and 60 recipes that sound yummy. Since I'm trying to add a lot more plant-based foods to my diet, I am looking forward to making my way through them.

This is a great cook book for women at various stages in life. The focus is on hormone health and it is especially useful for the various stages of menopause. It is a feel good book packed with information and lots of nourishing recipes. The only downside were some of the ingredients are not readily available, and it felt as though they were a little more complex than necessary. I am not a great lover of smoothies so would have liked to see more healthy biscuit and cake recipes. The pictures are lovely and definitely make you feel like cooking ! Overall a good book that highlights a crucial area of women's health.

"The Happy Balance" provides an overview of hormones related to the menstrual cycle and natural ways to balance those hormones, plus recipes. The author started with a "crash guide" to the hormones and menstrual cycle. She then talked some about how to balance your hormones through nutrition, exercise, managing stress, avoiding toxins and pollutants, and how some medications can affect your hormones. This is not a comprehensive or highly scientific guide, but it may be useful to those who know little to nothing about the topic.

She included 60 recipes (plant-based and mostly whole-food, minimally processed ingredients) for things like smoothies, juice, and other drinks, main meals, salads, soups, sides, snacks and desserts, nut butters, dressings, and dips. She also indicated what recipes are good for different times in your cycle. She often used greens that I'd never heard of before and (non-gluten) grains that are also pretty hard to find even when it comes to my health food store. She pointed out specific ingredients in each recipe that were good for hormone health (and why). Overall, I'd recommend this book to those who have PMS or irregular periods.

In this intriguing vegetarian cookbook, the authors posit that women can eat in a way that helps keep their hormones in balance, whether they are still menstruating or are in perimenopause or menopause. They even have a section in the book where she described the endocrine system and the hormones that can affect us cyclically or after we are no longer having cycles. Some of the general advice about eating healthy is just that, general—the type that you see in many books or on websites about carbs, sugars, etc. The recipes themselves look creative and fun for those who eat a vegetarian diet. There is quite a lengthy section on breakfast ideas, including juices, smoothies, and breakfast bowls. There are also sections on lunch and dinner (of course), salads (including a lovely one on jarred salads), sides, desserts, and DIY (like making your own nondairy milks and nut butters). Quite a lot of the recipes seem to be involved or time consuming. Most of the recipes have common ingredients, though some do have some offbeat ones that you would need to order online or get from your favorite local health food store.

Yes! As a recent convert from vegetarian to vegan I’m always on the lookout for suitable cookbooks. Looking forward to giving the recipes from this a whirl

I enjoyed the book - however I felt it was more geared towards the 20 - 40 age female group, a lot about female hormones and what foods should be eaten to control hormones, reduce mensural problems, etc overall not a bad book but as a 52 year old vegan and plant based foodie lover its not something i would purchase myself. There a a glut of similar books in an already saturated market.
I received a DIGITAL Advance Reader Copy of this book from #NetGalley in exchange for an honest review

The author begins her book by stating that the book is not to be used for treating medical conditions, curing diseases, or as a substitute for medication. The author thoroughly discusses the effects that hormones imbalances can have on your physical and emotional health, and how eating certain foods and avoiding others can lead to a healthier and stabler you!
You will not go hungry, there are so many varied recipes in this cookbook that even finicky eaters will find food that they like!
The recipes use dates, maple syrup, nut butters and cacao for sweeteners; wild, black and brown rices, sweet potatoes, buckwheat soba noodles, flaxseed, buckwheat flour, healthy pasta for starches; and coconut yogurt, coconut cream,
hazelnuts, cashews, sunflower and pumpkin seeds for making smoothies, milks and desserts.
You will enjoy fixing Blueberry Breakfast Smoothies with blueberries, almonds and sweet potatoes, Almond Butter And Ginger Crumble Granola made with rhubarb, rolled oats, ginger, coconut oil and flaxseed, and Cherry Cacao Teff Pancakes made with Teff flour, almond milk, flaxseed and rolled oats.
For lunch, the Chunky Veggie and Quinoa Soup looks delicious! There is also a colorful Peanut Soba Jar made with buckwheat noodles, coconut milk, peanut butter and ginger.
There are even comfort foods such as Lentil Shepherd’s Pie with Creamy Cashew and Sweet Potato Mash, Coconut Butter Cups with cacao, coconut butter and sea salt flakes, and Chocolate Peanut Bars sweetened with dates, peanut butter and dark chocolate!