The Blender Girl!

The Blender Girl

I hate to cook. I mean, really. I know people say that, but I truly mean it. But here’s the problem: I’m super picky about what I eat and even pickier about what my son eats. So take out won’t work. Not cooking is not an option. The stove and the oven and the pots and the pans… Thank goodness my husband likes them because I do not. But, I LOVE my blender. (It’s a Vitamix.) I mean, love it. I talk about it like it’s my child because I think it’s so spectacularly amazing.

Not only does is work superbly but it’s also super easy to clean and makes some very healthy stuff. But the only blender recipes in my repertoire were a couple of smoothies and a couple of soups — until now! When I saw Tess Masters’ Blender Girl cookbook on Blogging for Books, I had to have it ASAP. I was so excited when it arrived that I ran to the front door.

And it totally lives up to the hype. All of the recipes are gluten-free and vegan, which I love. I make a lot of my own nut milks, grind flours, make nut butters, etc., so I was glad to see that Masters offers tons of tips for doing these basic blender things. I’m not so good about soaking… But I will be now! The Blender Girl offers a helpful chart on how long beans, nuts etc. should be soaked and how long it takes them to sprout, turning them into even more super super foods!

But on to the good stuff… the recipes! I make basically the same smoothie every day because I don’t know how to shove a bunch of vegetables in the blender, cover the flavor with fruit, and make it turn out okay moving beyond that one recipe. Masters, fortunately, does. The most surprisingly delicious smoothie recipe is the chock-full chocolate surprise that actually contains: spinach, broccoli and cauliflower — and still tastes chocolatey and delicious! The tastes-like-ice-cream kale is also amazing and so healthy. Beyond the specific smoothie recipes, Masters also includes a fun sort of how-to guide for mixing up whatever’s in the fridge and freezer and making it taste like a (toddler-approved) million bucks. I have a lot of smoothie recipe books, so it means something when I say that this is the only one I’m not getting rid of.

Way beyond smoothies, though, Masters offers up recipes for soups, crackers, dips, main dishes, drinks and desserts. Some of them do require a tiny bit of non-blender cooking, but a good number are totally made in the blender. The alkaline tacos, for example, require zero cooking and are so fabulous! And the chocolate truffles… And chocolate pudding… I’m really just scratching the surface here, but, let me tell you, this is one of the only cookbooks I own that is sure to be dog-eared, juice-stained and totally worn out.

If you aren’t convinced, when you see Masters’ ridiculously gorgeous skin, you’ll be running to the store to buy this book.

Thanks, Tess, for giving a girl who hates to cook, recipes she can look forward to!

And thanks, Blogging for Books, for giving me this fabulous book in exchange for this review!

I hope you are all having a wonderful (delicious!) day!