A New Way to Food: 100 Recipes to Encourage a Healthy Relationship with Food, Nourish Your Beautiful Body, and Celebrate Real Wellness for Life by Maggie Battista

A New Way to Food: 100 Recipes to Encourage a Healthy Relationship with Food, Nourish Your Beautiful Body, and Celebrate Real Wellness for Life Reviews

• 
  Cassandra

  The title says it all!
  
  I really did feel like this was a new approach to healthy eating. I loved Maggie's carefree, yet totally honest way of eating healthy and staying happy. This book is jam packed with a wide variety of recipes. From Breakfast Toast Salad, to Eggs in Tomato Sauce, to Instant Faux Pho Jars, to Spring Roll Salad, and everything in between. She has your stomach rumbling, your mouth watering, and your hand cramping from ferociously writing out a grocery list.
  
  She knows that what works for her, might not necessarily work for you, and she's not ashamed to admit that. She's also not ashamed to say she has some not to healthy craving every now and again. She has graciously included some yummy recipes for when you're craving a little something something too.
  
  One thing that I really found unique about this recipe book was that Maggie included a little section in each recipe where she wrote how often she ate that specific meal. Almost every day, a few times a week, a few times a year, only on occasion, etc. I loved this! It helped me to choose between which recipes I had to try right away, and which I would bookmark for later.
  
  All in all, the photos were stunning, the recipes looked divine, and I'll be looking to get a physical copy for my kitchen.
  
  A huge thank you to NetGalley and the publisher for sending me a digital copy of this book in exchange for an honest review. I truly appreciate it!
• 
  Jean MacLeod

  A New Way to Food should come equipped with a magnifying glass. Perhaps the digital copy was easier on the eyes, the print book certainly was not. Unfortunately, I was unable to give this book a decent evaluation because wading through it was a strain and I finally gave up
  When will publishers start giving readers a break?
• 
  RedRobinXXX

  I am reviewing this book ‘A New Way to Food’ for Maggie Battisa, Roost Books and NetGalley, who gave me a copy of their book for an honest review.
  I loved the photographs throughout showing some of the cooked foods and food in their natural state. It isn't a diet book but a healthy eating recipe book.
  The only downside to me was that I didn't know what some of the ingredients were and so this would put me off trying to find them - too much effort.
• 
  Jo

  Diet Culture (tm) in disguise, blegh.
• 
  Sandra

  A New Way to Food is a sort of biography and cookbook. You see, Maggie Battista was plagued with the problems of being overweight. Although she tried dieting, nothing seemed to work for her. She remained in pain, both physical and emotional. Then, she started eating for health. She avoided dairy, to ease the pain and inflammation in her joints. And that worked! It also helped her to feel less lethargic. She started eating a plant-based diet and noticed how much better she felt.
  
  In addition to the change in her diet, she changed her mindset. She started on a journey of self-discovery and self-love.
  
  She begins her cookbook by preparing the reader with a list of helpful ideas that helped her get started on her healthy path. Then, she shows the reader how to revamp the kitchen to contain healthier options in place of poor ones. For example, she shows how to replace unhealthy sweeteners with healthier ones. She also replaces dairy with plant-based cheeses and milk, and replaces unhealthy fats with healthier fats. Then, she gives a sample menu for a week of meals from the cookbook.
  
  The recipes, themselves are good. They are normal recipes with adjustments made toward healthier ingredients. Also, for each recipe, she includes preparation time, how often a month she usually makes it, whether it is nut-free, gluten-free, refined sugar-free, vegan, etc. She also includes a little blurb about each recipe.
  
  Throughout the book are little hints on how to find happiness. These are valuable, little gems. There are also photos of each recipe, to show how it should look upon completion.
  
  This is a valuable resource, not for losing weight, but for enjoying healthful recipes and a happy mindset. I highly recommend this book.
  
  I received a free copy of this book in exchange for an unbiased review.
  
• 
  Jessica

  Maggie Battista grew up always being the heavier girl. Everyone always had a backhanded compliment like, "your face is so pretty" or "good thing you're so smart." Her parents would hide food from her, but that only served to teach her to hide food and sneak it when alone. Finally after many years of struggling with her weight she began to work toward truly loving herself and that led her to a healthier life overall - not just the goal of losing weight. In A New Way to Food Battista shares her struggles and gives recipes she used to eat healthier without giving up whole food groups or constantly depriving herself. I liked that she focused on just making steps toward being healthier, not before and after photos or insisting that her way is the right way. She shows what she did, but also encourages readers to find their own way or start where they can now. While this is definitely a cookbook there was a several page introduction to each section and I almost feel like this would have been better as more of a memoir with recipes included instead of a cookbook with long memoir-like sections. But, overall I like her approach and while I don't want to be vegetarian Battista is showing what worked for her. And there are a few recipes I'd like to try as well.
• 
  Cherie

  I really liked this approach to this book (even if, HELLO, i need a bit more gluten and wine in my life) of loving yourself, eating to what feels good, and stopping hating your body. Just fresh, loved the combo of memoir plus recipe, and such a nice vibe.
• 
  Rebecca

  Made a bunch of recipes already! I like the way the recipes are presented; love the presentation of “how often” in terms of eating. Enjoyed that most of the recipes were plant centric but not entirely vegan or bean-heavy. Didn’t get too much from all the essays.
• 
  Amy

  While I have yet to attempt any of the recipes, I appreciated Maggie Battista's personal story and approachable style. Look forward to trying out the recipes themselves, which seem to be a nice balance of flavor and freshness.
• 
  Brianna Sowinski

  Fresh ideas! Would check out again, oh wait I still have this one indefinitely...lucky me!
• 
  Ashani

  The cookbook that resonates "SELF LOVE" all over !
• 
  Sondra Brooks

  I've read, literally, hundreds of cookbooks. If I find one or two recipes in a cookbook that turn out to be winners, I consider myself lucky. "A New Way to Food" is a page-turner for me, so much so that I'm requesting it as a Christmas gift from hubby. Not only do the majority of recipes look like they're right up my alley (lots of vegan options), but there are new ideas for me to try, such as mushroom powder (sounds divine for a mushroom addict) and Roasted Stone Fruit Rhubarb Jam (for those of us who love to can). Beans from scratch? I'm so there! The addition of the herbs the author suggests will make this a winner, I'm sure.
  
  There are even recipes for pickling.
  
  Okay, so there is all that. Add attractive, simple, and clean-looking photography. Seriously, I want this book for Christmas.
  
  Thanks to NetGalley for providing a download in exchange for an honest review.
• 
  Caroline

  Made 2 green smoothies & the Spring roll Salad and the recipes were all well written. Though the author is still a big person, her passion for food shows in this collection. I like that she's into thinking about food in a less harsh/critical way, more into healthy eating rather than depriving yourself like in a diet. May check this out again.
• 
  Jo

  Disclaimer: I had technical difficulties with the digital copy and could not see full pages or recipes. However, I thought this book seemed like a great one to grab! The recipes were healthy and relatively unique (most cookbooks these days seem to all have the same recipes however there were some new and different ones in this book). Beautiful book!
  
  Thank you, Roost Books and NetGalley!