Book review by Miriam Baxt – http://www.betweenskyandearth.com.au &http://www.australianrawfoodnetwork.com.au
I have been having green smoothies, on and off for over 3 years. I never bought a book as there was SO much information – free – on the internet. Plus the free community support you can tap into via social media makes it much easier than back in the 80’s when I first got into raw food.
BUT, you know what?! I am so greatful for the opportunity to review Jennifer’s book. I really liked it and happily recommend it. It covers a lot of ground about many aspects to going raw and making and drinking/eating green smoothies. There were a small number of issues for me personally but they did not really impact the purpose of the book.
Jennifer has a great, easy to read, minimal jargon style of writing. When Jargon is used, it gets explained as do many other aspects like equipment and certain types of foods. While this is mostly a beginners guide, it has good recipe sections for stages of life or special needs like pre- & post-workout nutrition, preconception, pregnancy, babies, kids, detoxification and chronic illness. You do not need to read the whole book or start in a particular spot but you will get a much better appreciation of the great health benefit of green smoothies if you can take the time to read it through.
Jennifer also refers back to other sections to re-iterate certain information. The main thing lacking with this was a page number. Maybe in the next edition, the copy editor might consider adding them in plus a few other aspects that need a tidy up (sorry – I am a pedant for editing!)
Do note that while there is no dairy in the recipes, this is not a true vegan book as some recipes include bee products for their healing powers. I personally found the amounts of honey too much. BUT Jennifer regularly reminds the reader that it is ok to modify the recipes and she does state if something should not be used. All recipes come with basic a nutritional breakdown too. Also, before each recipe containing bee products there is an excellent allergy warning.
There are some good extras on the publisher’s website – http://www.dummies.com which Jennifer regularly remind the reader about. If you are using the e-book version, that makes it very easy to open to the link if you are using a smart device. I honestly cannot compare this book to any others as I do not have any other green smoothie books – and I honestly feel you do not need another one. You may want to expand your knowledge by learning more about what is in season when, what you might be able to grow for yourself and how to grow it. I am big on experimentation, so encourage everyone to go and explore new ingredients. I hope it will spur you on to delving deeper into the raw food lifestyle and culinary delights – especially those that can be done without much more equipment than what you already have in your kitchen drawers and cupboards!
I love how Jennifer supports the idea that you do not need a high speed blender. I started with a good basic kitchen blender and I instinctively blended the fruit and liquid first before adding the greens – just as Jennifer recommends. The main reason I chose to switch to a high speed blender was to make a smoother blend and to blend up root vegetables for savoury blends. (You need a stronger motor for blending raw beetroot.)
The things/details I would like to see improved -
* I was a bit surprised by the non-inclusion of some items in the “superfoods” section as they are in some of the recipes – eg. Chia, Hemp, Carob, Cacao.
* the book is obviously written for the American audience so perhaps either be a bit more generic with some of the details or include better information for other geographic zones. This is relevant for a few things such as blender brands & models, the “dirty dozen” list,
* the pictures were poorly included – a few pages slapped in the middle of the book and not well explained i.e. no reference to “from left to right” or “from the back to the front”. I would have preferred to see them next to or much closer to their recipe and interspersed which makes for a nicer reader experience.
* there were a few copy editing issues – all extra words as opposed to missing words or incorrect spellings.
* I was a bit surprised by the non-inclusion of some items in the “superfoods” section as they are in some of the recipes – eg. Chia, Hemp, Carob, Cacao.
* the book is obviously written for the American audience so perhaps either be a bit more generic with some of the details or include better information for other geographic zones. This is relevant for a few things such as blender brands & models, the “dirty dozen” list,
* the pictures were poorly included – a few pages slapped in the middle of the book and not well explained i.e. no reference to “from left to right” or “from the back to the front”. I would have preferred to see them next to or much closer to their recipe and interspersed which makes for a nicer reader experience.
* there were a few copy editing issues – all extra words as opposed to missing words or incorrect spellings.
Peace to all,
KISS for Life,
Miriam.
KISS for Life,
Miriam.
