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Forget the ‘Diet,’ The Digest Diet Cookbook Is Dang Delicious

digest diet cookbook

I’m not sure what rock I was living under, but I’d somehow missed The Digest Diet. But when The Digest Diet Cookbook arrived on my doorstep for a review, filled with 150 yummy-looking recipes, I was ready to get cooking.

Yes, technically the book is based on a “diet,” which is pretty much what we’re not about here. But, diet aside, this cookbook is full of a lot of cool factoids on healthy eating. It’s a little gimmicky with a three-phase plan and an emphasis on eating “fat-releasing foods” like vinegar, chili powder and chicken at every meal, but all the recommendations are sane and actually good for you. And, no matter if you follow the diet or not, the healthy recipes are worth a look-see. From breakfasts to salads to main dishes and desserts, the whole day of healthy eating is covered. Full of bright color photos and tips on organizing your kitchen and pantry to make cooking easier, it’s a beautiful and useful book for the fit foodie.
And how do I know? Because I tried some of those recipes, of course!
digest diet cookbook page
Now that the weather is finally warming up, I couldn’t resist making Golden Gazpacho (p. 99). Sure, I couldn’t find the yellow tomatoes that the recipe called for, but I was still determined to enjoy cold soup. (And, oh my goodness, how gorgeous are tomatoes on the vine? I am clearly so ready for summer.)
gazpacho ingredients
Super simple to make, I chopped up my veggies and threw them in my Vitamix.
gazpacho raw vitamix
Added some “fat-releasers” like apple cider vinegar, almonds and water, plus salt and olive oil…
almonds
When blended, I got more of an orange-y pink gazpacho instead of golden. Oh, well! And dude, this barely fit in my blender. Talk about a close call to Mess Central.
gazpacho vitamix
Then, I popped it in the fridge for cooling. Pretty in pink, eh?
gazpacho made
To go along with my gazpacho, I decided to make Flank Steak with Scallion Chimichurri (p. 113). It was a beautiful spring day, so I decided to forgo the broiling of the flank steak and instead invite myself over to my parents’ so that “we” could grill it on their big ol’ smoker. “We” meaning “my dad,” of course. I bribed them with bringing the pup over.
dad and siena
And a bottle of wine. Works every time…
red wine
The recipe on this one couldn’t be easier. You simply get your fresh chimichurri ingredients together—scallions, parsley and garlic…
scallions parsley
…and blend them up with pickled jalapeno, red wine vinegar, mustard, EVOO and oregano.
jalapenos
Together, it mixes into smooth green coolness. Or hotness. ‘Cause you know I went a little heavy on the jalapeno.
steak sauce
Then you prep your flank steak with just a little salt and ground black pepper.
raw steak
And throw it on a freakin’ hot grill.
raw steak on grill
Cook until desired doneness, let it rest for five minutes, and then slice.
cutting steak
We may have slightly overcooked ours, but it was our first time cooking flank steak, and it was still so juicy and tender and flavorful—and pretty!—that we didn’t care. (P.S. My mom took this photo—the money shot of the meal.)
steak dinner
But before we ate the flank steak, we started with the gazpacho—which was now nicely chilled and topped with scallions and walnuts (it calls for slivered almonds, but I switched it up). This was my parents’ first time eating gazpacho, and they really liked it! It was fresh and delicious, and the perfect first course.
gazpacho bowls
Then, it was steak time. Which we were psyched enough about to pose for silly carnivore photographs.
mom eating
jenn eating
Super delicious. I will definitely be making this again and was a fool for not making a double batch of the chimichurri. Both refreshing and spicy, I want to put it on EVERYTHING.
And last but not least, we ended with a simple dessert that wasn’t from the book but was tasty enough to have been. Two small scoops of mango sorbet and a couple pieces of good-quality mint dark chocolate. We put it in a wine glass for fun. And because it was pretty.
mango sorbet
Pretty festive for a weeknight dinner, but the whole thing with prep and cooking (not including gazpacho-chillin’ time) probably took an hour. Not bad for a three-course meal!
So if you’re looking for simple, tasty and no-fuss healthy recipes, check out The Digest Diet Cookbook. Go ahead and skip “the diet,” read the tips and nutrition facts and definitely, definitely cook a bunch from it! And tune back in tomorrow and Friday for a couple of full recipes from the book. Sharing is caring! And we care, so we must share this stuff with you!
What do you look for in a healthy cookbook? Does the word “diet” make you wary, too? —Jenn

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