Christmas Gift Guide 2016: Gift Ideas for Cooks & Foodies

Whole Bowls Cookbook by Allison Day

When I had to quit eating wheat and gluten (as well as cooking, baking, smelling, and dreaming about them), I had to adopt and adapt. Adopt a new way of eating, cooking, and serving meals and adapt to every single change or be a miserable cuss.

I have no intention of being a miserable cuss… so adapt, I did!

One of my favorite sanity savers and means of serving meals became (and remains) “Bowls.”  Some call them Buddha Bowls and others call them even fancier names. Me.. well I’m a simple gal from Kentucky, so Bowls suits me just fine.

My middle daughter, Brittany (who happens to be a beautiful vegetarian – more about her here!), knew how much Bowls mean to me and gifted me with the gorgeous cookbook you see here, “Whole Bowls: Complete Gluten-Free and Vegetarian Meals to Power Your Day.” This cookbook could not be more up my alley! Not only are there MANY (countless, really) great gluten-free recipes but they’re ALSO vegetarian, meaning I can make them for Brittany to enjoy as well.

Only fair, right? After all, she bought the book!

Above, I referred to the recipes in this cookbook as “countless.” Obviously, the actual recipes can be counted – I’ll tell you why I insist on calling them countless! Each and every recipe in Whole Bowls can be tweaked and switched up to your individual tastes. For example, “Loaded Baked Potatoes with Baked Beans and the Works” (page 157), calls for russet potatoes, you can easily use sweet potatoes. If a recipe calls for quinoa, you can use brown rice.. if a recipe calls for white rice, you could use cauliflower rice… and on and on. I would recommend making each recipe exactly as given – but, after that, get creative. It’s your Bowl, after all!

There are also recipes for out of this world sauces that can be incorporated into the bowls they’re recommended for as well as other bowl recipes (whether in or out of this particular cookbook). A few of the sauces are Pumpkin Seed Sauce, Homemade Mayonnaise, Balsamic Glaze, and a Chive Oil (page 109) that is extraordinary on just about anything and everything. In fact, I have a special glass bottle in my Amazon cart I’m buying solely for keeping some of this oil made up and handy.

I love that author Allison Day has made Whole Foods such a gorgeous cookbook (they’re somehow more enjoyable to use, aren’t they?) and that the recipes are completely gluten-free. I also love that they’re basic – deliciously creative, but yet “doable.”

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Other AMAZING Recipes Include:

• Mac and Cheese with Smoked Tofu and Baked Tomatoes
• Mediterranean Pasta with Arugula, Peas, Yellow Tomatoes, and Feta
• Roasted Pears with Whipped Goat Cheese and Maple Pine Nut Brittle
• Hummus
• Coconut Dreamy Whip
• Homemade Nut Butter
• Spring Rice Bowls with Chive Oil
• Holiday Bowls with Stuffing, Sweet Potato Latkes, Brussels Sprouts, and Balsamic Glaze
• Greek Mushrooms Stifado with Horseradish Mashed Potatoes
• Miso Meal in a Bowl
• Black Beans with Butternut Squash, Black Rice, and Chimichurri
• Three Bean Garden Salad with Asparagus and Coconut Dressing
• Curried Falafel with Kale Salad
• Winter Chopped Salad
• South of the Border Bowls with Walnut Meat and Grilled Avocado
• And many, many, many more creative, delicious, and nutritious recipes.

About the Author

Whether you choose to eat gluten-free or the choice has been made for you, you will absolutely love Whole Bowls. For that matter, you’ll love it if you eat gluten with wild abandon! This is just a fun, exciting, and delicious cookbook. I highly recommend it to everyone.

{A few more words about Bowls below the picture…}

A few tips I’ve picked up along the path of my relationship with Bowls:

• If you’ve given up wheat/gluten for health reasons, to cut calories, or because you’re on a particular “diet,” you don’t have to give up flavors because of it. Get creative! Sloppy Joes, for example don’t have to have buns – they can just as easily be served over potatoes (baked, mashed, roasted..) in a bowl with pickles and onions on the side. Same with Pulled Pork or any other “sandwich” you need to deconstruct. Even Egg Rolls can be deconstructed and presented, beautifully, in bowls.
• We all know how nutritious vegetables are or us. I won’t insult your intelligence or bore you unmercifully by going into their virtues. One of the wonderful things about Bowls is that you can “sneak” beautiful, colorful, and healthy vegetables in to the mix without compromising the taste. I love to keep avocados on hand because they add SO MUCH to bowls. They look great, taste great, and are healthy to boot.
• Spiralized vegetables aren’t just beautiful in Bowls, they’re also filling and fun to eat. Kids, especially, love different sizes, shapes, and textures.
• Roasted vegetables are also fun to throw into Bowls – they give a delicious contrast in flavors alongside cooked or raw vegetables and grains.
• Bowls are IDEAL for those of us who keep and insist on using leftovers. Leftover corn is one of my favorite things to pop into bowls.
• A “mock” KFC Chicken Bowl technique I love – Put Mashed Potatoes into the bowl(s), top with cooked yellow corn, chicken (omit if you choose), and brown gravy. I love to make and add a little vinegar coleslaw to the side, too. It’s outrageously good.
• When buying bowls for… well… Bowls… look for wide-open bowls, usually called pasta or salad bowls.  Bowls can make a gorgeous presentation – I like to use white bowls, often, but have also fallen in love with colorful ones.
• Bowls are ideal for breakfast, lunch, and supper. Breakfast bowls are another favorite. Potatoes, bacon or sausage, eggs, broccoli, and cauliflower bowls make a breakfast that’s worth getting out of bed early for even on a Saturday.
• Once you go down the Bowls rabbit hole, you’ll wonder what took you so long! Again, Whole Bowls is a wonderful source for inspiration and countless ideas.