A Plan for Being Well and Eating Right: Ellie Krieger’s Small Changes Big Results
It’s that time again…time for another cookbook review! And Small Changes Big Results by Ellie Krieger is actually more than just a cookbook; it’s a full-out wellness plan.
Ellie, who is one of our favorite healthy chefs, takes you through a comprehensive 12-week program that helps you to eat right, get moving and know the basics of living a healthy life. Step by step (oh, baby!), she takes you through starting a food journal, choosing healthy fats and proteins, beating cravings, getting fit and replacing refined grains with whole grains. Nothing is off limits—and it’s a super sane guide to eating right.
So the overall book? We totally dig for beginners. But in each chapter there are also recipes—a total of 65 healthy ones, in fact. And that’s what we really like about the book. Kind of like the The Digest Diet Cookbook, these recipes are balanced, no-fuss, healthy and totally tasty. Or at least the three recipes I tried were!
While there are no photos of them (always a bit of a bummer, I think) and sometimes the recipes don’t make total sense (a few times the steps didn’t seem to be logical, and—this is just my opinion—so many of them were missing garlic!), they are flavorful and extremely easy for you to adapt and tweak to make your own. Which I always dig.
The first one I tried was Creamy Cauliflower Soup (p. 56). Despite having no cream in it, this soup turned out rich and delicious. Who knew a couple of potatoes, a head of cauliflower, an onion and some chicken broth could be so tasty?
The secret is boiling them until soft and then pureeing with an immersion blender. (I simply LOVE mine. So handy!)
Cook it on the stove for a bit (barefoot, of course)…
Season it with salt, pepper and a little nutmeg, and you are good to go. I will definitely be making this one again—and maybe even play around with making it with sweet potatoes instead of white…and garlic! This was delicious alongside some baked chicken and sauteed greens.
I also tried the Spinach-Feta Frittata on p. 276. Frittatas are always one of my favorite quick dinners to make because they are so easy to whip up. For this one, you just saute a bunch of spinach (love how much is in there—a full 10-ounce package!) and an onion. (See, wouldn’t garlic also be good in this? Ellie, why no love for the garlic?)
Add your eggs and egg whites, top with cheese (I went with goat cheese instead of feta, and it was awesome), cook on the stove until almost set, and then pop in the broiler to finish it off. How gorgeous is this?! I paired it with some roasted Brussels sprouts and dinner was ON.
The final recipe I tried was Tilapia With Greek-Style Herb Sauce (this is the recipe I alluded to yesterday!). This one might have been my favorite, as it goes from prep to table in less than 10 minutes and is gorgeously simple. You begin by whisking together the sauce, which is a mix of lemon, oregano, olive oil, salt, pepper and parsley. (Again, I have to imagine garlic would be tasty here…)
And then you broil your fish. (This is a good example of a time I thought the steps of the recipes were a bit off. Why not pop the fish in the broiler and then whip up the sauce? Do it that way and it’s even faster, methinks.) Spoon sauce over fish; wow guests and taste-buds. This was particularly good with roasted sweet potatoes and a side spinach salad with fresh strawberries.
So there you have it; three recipes tried and three delicious meals eaten. While the recipes may not be perfect (at least in my opinion), they certainly deliver good eats. Healthy, simple, delicious. What more could you ask for? Well, besides garlic…
Are you an Ellie Krieger fan? Love garlic, too? Love simple and quick recipes? Love this cookbook? —Jenn