What I'm Reading: Eating in the Middle

 

 

“In her inspiring New York Times bestselling memoir, It Was Me All Along, Andie Mitchell chronicled her struggles with obesity, losing weight, and finding balance. Now, in her debut cookbook, she gives readers the dishes that helped her reach her goals and maintain her new size.”

 

The above is Amazon’s description for Andie Mitchell’s Eating in the Middle: A Mostly Wholesome Cookbook.  For the most part I really like this book, although some of the recipes I found to be a bit… blasé.  Take the Kale Chips and Roasted Broccoli recipes for example.  Who hasn’t roasted broccoli or seen the same kale chip recipe over and over?

Many of the recipes however are quite original and I can’t wait to test a few out!   Like the Brown Sugar & Chili-Rubbed Salmon with Avocado Crema pictured below.  (Fingers crossed this one convinces my husband to like salmon!)

Or how about Baked Banana Bread Doughnuts? (Maple-Cinnamon Cream Cheese Glaze optional.) Or Chocolate Raspberry Breakfast Pudding to start your day?

 

Along with the recipes she shares, Andie also shares stories.  She tells stories about how she gained the weight, “a-ha!” moments she had losing the weight, and lessons she learned along the way. Obviously, to lose the weight in the first place she had to make changes to the way she had been eating.  Just as obviously, she had to keep those changes in place and make them her new normal.  Andie describes this cookbook as, “structured the way I eat and live my life.”  The vast majority of the recipes are healthy and wholesome with good-for-your waist line calorie counts, (she includes nutritional information with every recipe), but there also dessert recipes with real sugar and butter.  No fake or low calorie “desserts” in this book -  just the “sometime” foods that are meant to be indulged in… sometimes.  It’s all about balance.