Faith, Food and Family

I don't usually have allergies but last week, something knocked me down hard. I know it was allergy based because of my symptoms but I think it also went to my sinuses. I was miserable for several days. I'm feeling better but still can't taste or smell 100%. I was very excited to look through the newest cookbook in my collection while I was sick though. It's called Pure Food by Veronica Bosgraaf. Her cookbook is all about eating clean with seasonal, plant-based recipes. She has actually laid her book out in chapters of the months of the year. So it gives you a good idea of what to fix during those months with the seasonal produce that will be available at that time. This book has many yummy sounding recipes with several pictures of the recipes situated right in the middle of the book. I do wish the pictures accompanied each recipe and that there were more pictures, but I am a picture lover when it comes to cookbooks. I feel with a cookbook, you never can hav

I've mentioned that we have been trying to eat healthier. It's been baby steps but my ultimate goal is very little, if any processed foods. I'm not sure that I will be able to eliminate them completely but the fewer processed items we eat, the better. One idea that has completely intrigued me, is making noodles out of veggies. I'm sure many of you have seen them around in recipes online or cookbooks. The most common seems to be using zucchini as "zoodles" as some refer to them. My youngest won't eat many veggies and I am looking forward to trying zucchini noodles in his spaghetti. If he will eat them, I think most picky eaters will. I will definitely report back when I am able to make them. With my interest in veggie noodles, I was excited to receive the Inspiralized cookbook by Ali Maffucci. Ms. Maffucci goes into all the ins and outs of spiralizing your veggies. She gives some great pointers and lots of information on what veggies to use. The book

I've been trying to eat healthier lately so I was excited when I received my new cookbook Lighten Up, Y'all by Virginia Willis. Many of the typical southern favorites aren't always the healthiest, so it was so neat to see a cookbook with the premise of making southern food healthier. I'm all about that! This book features so many beautiful pictures. Every recipe doesn't have a picture, but many do. There is a recipe for pimento cheese that I am anxious to try. The recipe for grilled potato salad sounds yummy and would be wonderful to try when it gets a bit warmer. There's even a recipe for Summer Squash Lasagna! That sounds really good. Flipping through this book definitely gets me excited about the warmer months and the yummy produce that follows, especially at the farmer's market. I can't wait! One recipe that I would like to make soon that would be good for these colder months is the Smothered and Covered Chicken and Gravy. Good comfort