Blooming Delicious is a beautifully designed book with over 100 recipes. It packed full of helpful information as well as recipes to stay healthy during preconception and post-baby. A decent chunk of the book is dedicated to providing guidance from Henrietta Norton, a nutritional therapist, on the key nutrients, vitamins and minerals needed to prepare and sustain your body. Sections include battling hunger, indigestion, anaemia, to look at how healthy eating can support you more.
Each recipe then continues this guidance by giving a short overview of the nutrients featured and a description on why these are particularly important – for example whether it be to boost energy levels, immunity, or fertility.
Unlike most recipe books, instead of being split in to meat, fish, veggie sections, you can follow the book as your pregnancy progresses. Each stage (pre-conception through to nesting) includes around 10 to 15 main dish recipes so there is lots to choose from. Each one is clear and simple to follow with up to five to six steps to follow – making it easy even when you are sleep deprived with a newborn!
I tried three recipes (cod, ravioli pasta and la Provence chicken). The recipes were simple to follow, easy to pick up and didn't contain too complex ingredients that can't be found in you local shop – something that really frustrates me about some health cook books. I made a few tweaks to simplify the recipes further and everyone agreed that they were tasty, nutritious and filling. I will certainly be exploring more of them.
Overall I really enjoyed trying out some tasty new recipes and my husband and friends did as well!
Having gone through pregnancy, the only thing I would say is that sometimes you are pretty shattered and craving more carbs, so some healthy ways to tackle this craving through more comfort food recipes might have been useful.
PWT rating: ♥♥♥♥♥
Published by Vermilion, Blooming Delicious