A year ago, my friend Sharon published – to great acclaim – her cookbook, Bit of the Good Stuff but because I was still travelling, I wasn’t able to buy a copy. I told Sharon that as soon as she had an eBook, I’d be all over it like a rash! A few weeks ago, she was kind enough to send me a free copy of her newly-released Kindle version.
This is the point where I say something about receiving a product but not being obliged to give a favourable review! However, when I asked Sharon what the deadline for publishing a review is, she told me that she gave me the book as a gift, and not because she wanted me to review it.
I’m going to anyway, though because you guys need to know just how fab it is!
Bit Of The Good Stuff begins with Sharon sharing how she and her family came to be vegan, and she explains in a very rational and non-emotive way, why she feels that a whole food, plant-based (WFPB) diet is optimal, and how increasing demand for animal-derived foods is playing a critical part in destroying our planet and harming all life upon it.
In addition, Sharon shares her own and her family’s experiences of life on a WFPB diet. Something I really love is that she’s not a twenty-something wellness blogger, peddling the latest in woo-water and derp-berries. She’s actually in her mid-40s, although you’d never know it to look at her!
Like me, Sharon writes about the food she makes for her family. Food that can almost always be made with everyday ingredients which can very easily be sourced from your local market, greengrocer, or supermarket, and which won’t break the bank.
Sharon very thoughtfully includes a comprehensive list of handy tips to help veg-wary children learn to love eating vegetables. Fortunately for me, this is not something I ever had to do with mine, who were all the least fussy children I knew! However, they had several friends who thought that the only vegetables in existence worth bothering with were fries and baked beans. When they'd come over for dinner, I had to employ many tricks to get them to eat veggies, so I know how valuable the employment of sneak tactics can be.
As I said earlier, almost all the recipes in Bit Of The Good Stuff can be made with everyday ingredients but there are a few which require some less everyday items (unless like me, you cook a lot of Asian food!).
Sharon has you covered here, and not only explains in detail what each ingredient is but also where to easily source it.
Sandwiched between the chapters on organic produce and kitchen equipment, and the start of the recipe section, Sharon provides even more information regarding preparation and basic cooking techniques.
Also, littered throughout the book are little ‘The Good Stuff’ notes that explain a bit more about some of the ingredients, and in which ways they are good for us.
This book is chock-full of beautiful, mouthwatering photos, as well as delightful illustrations throughout, and each one of the 100+ recipes is really easy to make.
There is no pretence about Bit Of The Good Stuff – the recipes are tried, tested, and loved by not only Sharon’s family but thousands of others too. Which means they’ll be loved by yours as well. We certainly love them, here at Chez yumsome!
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