Book reviews by Mobilism's Book Review team
Apr 13th, 2017, 3:29 pm
Image

TITLE: Everyday Super Food
AUTHOR: Jamie Oliver
GENRE: Non-Fiction, Diets & Healthy Eating, Cookbooks
PUBLISHED: August 27, 2015
RATING: ★★★★★

PURCHASE LINKS: Amazon iBookStore
MOBILISM LINK: Read Here

Review: I believe cooking should be easy and fun, not complicated or frustrating. I also believe that quick and easy food does not have to be bland or boring. Jamie Oliver was the first chef that inspired me to cook international cuisine. It was love at first sight and also love at first bite. Jamie’s cooking seems uncomplicated and non-intimidating due to his down-to-earth cooking style, especially Italian food. Watching him cook I felt the confidence that, yes, I can definitely give it a go, it doesn't look that hard to me. And from there I never looked back.

Jamie Oliver has come a long way from his Italian cuisine and his latest culinary adventure takes us on a delightful journey where healthy food doesn't have to be unexciting or loaded with calories. Watching Super Food on TV, was really interesting as he takes us to various cultures and food habits around the world and telling us how fresh is best. Also how by the simple swapping out of processed flours for whole wheat, brown rice instead of white, etc we can make our daily food more healthy.

Jamie teaches us how to make popular recipes more healthful by modernising them, reducing their fat content but at the same time he explains how to increase/maintain flavour and health benefits.

Everyday Super Food is full of lovely looking recipes accompanied with fabulous pictures, excellent explanations with cute little narratives between two recipes. The book also contains a small calorie count table for each recipe below the picture. Everyday Super Food looks like an odd-man out when compared to his previous collection of cookbooks but he explains what brought this sudden change of direction from his usual repertoire in the introduction.
“By the time you read this, I will have reached my fortieth birthday. About 18 months ago, nudging ever closer to it, this upcoming milestone made me pause and look at life slightly differently. I’ll be honest: it’s taken me on a bit of a personal journey as far as my health is concerned. I believe my job with this book was to go out, learn from some of the best health and nutrition experts out there – doctors, scientists, professors – and travel to some of the healthiest places in the world, absorb as much info as possible, then express the most relevant stuff back to you. So that’s exactly what I’ve done, combined with my 30 years of cooking in order to create these yummy recipes, as well as sharing some bite-sized nuggets of super-useful info that will be relevant to you in your everyday life.”

The book is divided into sections including introduction, 30 breakfasts, 30 lunches, 30 dinners, snacks, and drinks. One recipe I find interesting is the Skinny Carbonara, but since I am a vegetarian I replace the bacon with some vegetables. Personal note: I had an initial apprehension about yogurt replacing the traditional cream but was pleasantly surprised by the result.
SKINNY CARBONARA
SERVES 2 | 20 MINUTES

200g freshly podded or frozen peas
1 tablespoon flaked almonds
1 small clove of garlic
½ a bunch of fresh basil (15g)
15g Parmesan cheese
1 lemon
150g wholewheat spaghetti
1 rasher of smoked streaky bacon
olive oil
1 large egg
100g fat-free natural yoghurt

Put a pan of boiling salted water on the heat for your pasta, dunk a sieve containing the peas into the water for just 30 seconds, then put aside, leaving the pan on the heat. Very lightly toast the almonds in a dry non-stick frying pan on a medium heat, then blitz until fine in a food processor. With the processor still running, peel and drop in the garlic, a pinch of sea salt, the basil leaves, the finely grated Parmesan and the lemon juice. Blitz until it comes together, then pulse in the peas, to try and keep a bit of texture.

Cook the pasta in the boiling salted water according to the packet instructions. Meanwhile, very finely slice the bacon and fry slowly in the frying pan with 1 teaspoon of oil and a good pinch of black pepper on a medium-low heat until golden and crispy, then use a slotted spoon to transfer to kitchen paper, so the flavoursome fat stays in the pan. Scoop in three-quarters of your pea mixture to heat through.

Whisk the egg and yoghurt together well. When the pasta’s done, reserving a mugful of cooking water, drain the pasta and toss straight into the pea pan, mixing well, then take the pan off the heat (this is very important, otherwise the egg will scramble when you add it, and we don’t want that). Pour in the egg mixture and toss until evenly coated, silky and creamy, loosening with cooking water if needed. Taste and season to perfection, and serve topped with the remaining pea mixture and the crispy bacon. It might be skinny, but it’s beautifully light and delicious. Enjoy!

Everyday Super Food is full of easy to make super food recipes, everything seems amazing, full of colour, and the ingredients are all fresh, easily available! I want to make the ‘Energy Balls’ next which are made out of Medjool dates and apricot, ginger, and cashews. This recipe includes a greater number of vegetables compared to the usual meat or fish preparations, and uses less sugar, salt, and fats.
MY TASTY ENERGY BALLS

MAKES 12 PORTIONS
25 MINUTES

100g unsalted cashew nuts
20g sesame seeds
80g dried apricots
20g puffed brown rice or puffed quinoa
4cm piece of ginger
½ teaspoon mixed spice
2 tablespoons manuka honey

Me and my nutrition team have worked hard to create these super-nutritious balanced flavour-packed balls that give us the perfect snack boost to get us through the day – enjoy two balls per snack. Toast the cashew nuts and sesame seeds in a dry non-stick pan on a medium heat until lightly golden, tossing occasionally, then tip onto a plate and leave to cool.

Remove 40g of the cashews and blitz into a fine dust in a food processor, then decant on to a separate plate. Place the remaining cashews and sesame seeds, the apricots and puffed rice or quinoa in the processor and blitz until finely chopped. Peel and finely grate in the ginger, and add the mixed spice. Blitz again until finely ground, then add the honey. Blitz for another 1 to 2 minutes, stopping to scrape down the sides a couple of times, and adding an extra squeeze of honey to bind, only if needed – it takes a while for the mixture to come together, so be patient and let the processor work its magic.

With wet hands, divide into 24 and roll into balls, dropping them into the ground cashew dust as you go. Shake to coat, storing them in the excess dust until needed. They’ll keep happily for up to 2 weeks in an airtight container.

At the end of the book is a section called “The BASICS OF SLEEP” in which Jamie Oliver explains the importance of sleep for good health; also very interesting information about “THE 90-MINUTE SLEEP CYCLE” along with the “TIPS FOR A GOOD NIGHT’S SLEEP.” Also is the LIVE WELL section, full of helpful information and guidelines to make a healthier, happier you. The chapter covers the idea of the balanced plate, calorie requirements, the importance of hydration, the key role breakfast plays in setting you up right for the day, eating the rainbow with fruit and veg, the idea of “good carbs” and dairy, the power of protein with the right kinds of fats.

My one complaint, and it is minor, is the travelogue bit of the TV show is not portrayed as much in the cookbook. I found those travel bits very interesting and lively.

If you are already a Jamie Oliver fan, you’ll love this book. but even if you are not I would definitely recommend this book to make things healthier and to bring a spring in your step by making your food lighter. Remember, though, this is not a diet food book.
Apr 13th, 2017, 3:29 pm
Apr 13th, 2017, 6:19 pm
I love your review WD!!

I'm not a big fan of Jamie Oliver, I'm more a James Martin girl :lol: but your review of this book made me really interested to see what is in this book not just for the recipes but for finding out how to get myself more into cooking from scratch as much as he's inspired you to cook :)

Thank you for the review. Downloading now. I am also intrigued by your thoughts on his tv program that accompanies the book :lol: I want to watch the series now :)

Xx

Bookie
Apr 13th, 2017, 6:19 pm
Apr 16th, 2017, 11:01 pm
Healthier alternatives! Given your great review, I will try some of these recipes. Thank you Diva :D
Apr 16th, 2017, 11:01 pm
Apr 18th, 2017, 2:52 am
Its great the way you present Oliver's way of cooking Diva, for those who want to start cooking it doesnt sound intimidating at all :thumbup:
An for me, well I want to know the taste of a zucchini bread with sweet potato instead of zucchini :lol:
Apr 18th, 2017, 2:52 am