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onesonicbite 's review for:
One of the first few blogs I started to visit frequently as an adult was Oh She Glows, written by Angela Liddon. It seemed I kept finding my way back to her blog whenever I googled recipes. I found her recipes reliable and delicious at a time when most blogs had me questioning whether or not the authors even attempt to make the recipes about which they write. When I scrolled upon a post by Angela in which she mentioned she had a book in the works, I became both excited and skeptical. Many bloggers have been published but yield disappointing cookbooks. But of course, I knew I had to get her book. I’ve read The Oh She Glows Cookbook front to back and tried some recipes. I’m ready to share the results!
Photos
The bonus of some blog cookbooks is that they are filled with lots of beautiful photos. Each main recipe is accompanied by a photograph. There really aren’t any photos for “how-to” instructions for things like beans, banana ice cream, flours, etc. And that is fine. I don’t think we need a photo of a food processor filled with almonds.
I also liked how her pictures were realistic. Unlike the wax and clay food photography you often find in the professional world, Angela’s food photography looked like I could have made it myself. Granted, my freezer pizza didn’t look nearly as nice as the photo, but that is partially because I didn’t care enough to drizzle the chocolate. Nor did Angela try and bore us with individual photos of each smoothie. She grouped some together and found interesting ways to shoot the teas.
Set-up
The format of the book is well-structured, especially for heath-food newbies. Angela begins with a detailed description of commonly used ingredients in the book that aren’t so commonly found in the average person’s cabinet. She gives brief outlines about the obscure ingredients and discusses the recipes that use them, ways to store them, and sometimes the unique nutritional benefits. This section is well-written and would be a shame for people to skim it or flip past it altogether. Even a seasoned cook can learn a thing or two from her notes.
The book then introduces the various types of recipes: breakfast, drinks, appetizers, salads, soup, entrees, sides, power snacks, and desserts. I do have to say I was a little disappointed from the limited amount of dinner choices. I usually use my cookbooks specifically for dinners, but it is good to have a wide variety of meal types. I know friends and family have a hard time thinking of vegan appetizers as they don’t seem to get much attention in cookbooks. Her power snacks is an interesting section that give snacking options that aren’t overly sweet.
Angela concludes the book with cooking basics. She writes about how to perform several simple basic kitchen functions. In older cookbooks, authors would tend to sprinkle this type of information throughout different sections of the book. For example, if author highlights a section on beans, he or she may insert a small page on how to cook dry beans. I never really liked this approach. If you need that reference, it just takes longer, so having all the small things in the back adds efficiency.
Writing
Angela writes beautifully. She is simple, easy to read, and to the point. Nothing was difficult or a pain to figure out. Most cookbooks are rushed to print and may lack enough instruction or can cause confusion. The only head scratcher for me was in the “Beat the Heat Frozen Dessert Pizza,” where she calls for 2 tbsp and 1 1/2 tsp of brown syrup. Granted this was grammatically correct, I got confused and wish she worded it as 7 1/2 tsp or 2 1/2 tbsp.
And since I did read front to back, (seriously I did!) I noticed that Angela was a little repetitive in the sides category. Almost all the recipe introductions started with “I never really liked (insert food here) but now I do!” Of course most people wouldn’t notice this in a normal cookbook setting since you would read the two different recipes listed next to each other on different days.
Recipes
Angela took great care in writing new recipes as well as including favorites found on her blog. Although some reviews complained that she included blog recipes, I found this a good thing. I now have a hard copy that is easier to reference. It is also great for new readers. For example, my boss from Animo happened to pick up the book from a store. She was raving to me about the Green Monster drink. But even as a big fan of the site, I didn’t feel ripped off since Angela offers two versions, Mojito Green Monster and Tropical Beauty Green Monster.
The book comes off as a starter guide to healthy eating, and this might not be a bad thing for a first book. She touches on everything a person would need to cook breakfast, lunches, dinners, desserts and for entertainment. I did kind of hope for a little bit more from the entrees and to have a little bit more jazzed up recipes in the sides section. Her focus is on easy to prepare recipes, which is a great way to ease people into daily cooking. Regardless, I am happy with my purchase, and I will be cooking many more recipes from the book.
If you want to read my individual recipe reviews please check out my blog
Photos
The bonus of some blog cookbooks is that they are filled with lots of beautiful photos. Each main recipe is accompanied by a photograph. There really aren’t any photos for “how-to” instructions for things like beans, banana ice cream, flours, etc. And that is fine. I don’t think we need a photo of a food processor filled with almonds.
I also liked how her pictures were realistic. Unlike the wax and clay food photography you often find in the professional world, Angela’s food photography looked like I could have made it myself. Granted, my freezer pizza didn’t look nearly as nice as the photo, but that is partially because I didn’t care enough to drizzle the chocolate. Nor did Angela try and bore us with individual photos of each smoothie. She grouped some together and found interesting ways to shoot the teas.
Set-up
The format of the book is well-structured, especially for heath-food newbies. Angela begins with a detailed description of commonly used ingredients in the book that aren’t so commonly found in the average person’s cabinet. She gives brief outlines about the obscure ingredients and discusses the recipes that use them, ways to store them, and sometimes the unique nutritional benefits. This section is well-written and would be a shame for people to skim it or flip past it altogether. Even a seasoned cook can learn a thing or two from her notes.
The book then introduces the various types of recipes: breakfast, drinks, appetizers, salads, soup, entrees, sides, power snacks, and desserts. I do have to say I was a little disappointed from the limited amount of dinner choices. I usually use my cookbooks specifically for dinners, but it is good to have a wide variety of meal types. I know friends and family have a hard time thinking of vegan appetizers as they don’t seem to get much attention in cookbooks. Her power snacks is an interesting section that give snacking options that aren’t overly sweet.
Angela concludes the book with cooking basics. She writes about how to perform several simple basic kitchen functions. In older cookbooks, authors would tend to sprinkle this type of information throughout different sections of the book. For example, if author highlights a section on beans, he or she may insert a small page on how to cook dry beans. I never really liked this approach. If you need that reference, it just takes longer, so having all the small things in the back adds efficiency.
Writing
Angela writes beautifully. She is simple, easy to read, and to the point. Nothing was difficult or a pain to figure out. Most cookbooks are rushed to print and may lack enough instruction or can cause confusion. The only head scratcher for me was in the “Beat the Heat Frozen Dessert Pizza,” where she calls for 2 tbsp and 1 1/2 tsp of brown syrup. Granted this was grammatically correct, I got confused and wish she worded it as 7 1/2 tsp or 2 1/2 tbsp.
And since I did read front to back, (seriously I did!) I noticed that Angela was a little repetitive in the sides category. Almost all the recipe introductions started with “I never really liked (insert food here) but now I do!” Of course most people wouldn’t notice this in a normal cookbook setting since you would read the two different recipes listed next to each other on different days.
Recipes
Angela took great care in writing new recipes as well as including favorites found on her blog. Although some reviews complained that she included blog recipes, I found this a good thing. I now have a hard copy that is easier to reference. It is also great for new readers. For example, my boss from Animo happened to pick up the book from a store. She was raving to me about the Green Monster drink. But even as a big fan of the site, I didn’t feel ripped off since Angela offers two versions, Mojito Green Monster and Tropical Beauty Green Monster.
The book comes off as a starter guide to healthy eating, and this might not be a bad thing for a first book. She touches on everything a person would need to cook breakfast, lunches, dinners, desserts and for entertainment. I did kind of hope for a little bit more from the entrees and to have a little bit more jazzed up recipes in the sides section. Her focus is on easy to prepare recipes, which is a great way to ease people into daily cooking. Regardless, I am happy with my purchase, and I will be cooking many more recipes from the book.
If you want to read my individual recipe reviews please check out my blog