«Gesund Kochen ist Liebe» is german and means «Cooking Healthy is Love». Isn’t this a beautiful title that Veronika Pachala has chosen for her cookbook? Cooking a healthy meal is really a wonderful way to express ones love. The author does this everyday for her little daugher and her husband. With her blog «Carrots for Claire» and the new cookbook, she aims to inspire other people to do the same. In my opinion, this sentence can also be reversed: “Cooking with love is healthy”. The more love we put into the preparation of a meal, the healthier and tastier it is for the person who eats it. In a book about ayurvedic nutrition I recently bought, a whole chapter is dedicated to this principle. This is why I recommend you to treat the ingredients as lovingly as you can and to have positive thoughts when preparing the delicious millet pilaf I’m going to present you. The recipe for the millet pilaf is so great that I already made it several times as a side dish. It is from Veronika Pachala’s cookbook «Gesund kochen ist Liebe». What else there is to discover in this book, I’ll tell you in this article.
Here is my review of Veronika Pachala’s «Gesund Kochen ist Liebe».
Author: Veronika Pachala
Publisher: ZS Verlag
On her blog called «Carrots for Claire», Veronika Pachala shares delicious and healthy family recipes.
Who is Veronika Pachala?
Veronika Pachala is a german food blogger. In her blog «Carrots for Claire», she shares healthy meals she prepares for her daughter Claire. But she didn’t always take care of her nutrition. For a long time of her life, she felt unconfortable in her body and tried to loose weight with different diets, always without success. Her daughter was still a baby when several intolerances against food additives and cow’s milk products were diagnosed. Veronika Pachala found herself constraint to change her diet. She started to use natural, nutritious and high-quality products in the kitchen. As a consequence, she lost 13 kg (28,7 lbs) in less than one year and is now very happy about her fit lifestyle. Her social environment got more and more interested in the tasty recipes she created and the knowledge about nutrition she had acquired. This is why she decided to start the blog, that won the german food blog award in 2014.
How are the recipes?
The recipes in «Gesund Kochen ist Liebe» are full of special ingredients. You really notice that Veronika Pachala loves to stay in health food stores and to discover the their range. The reader is introduced to many healthy ingredients and even learns how to use them. In my case, what I didn’t know before reading the book, was for example teff flour or tiger nuts. All the recipes are free from cow’s milk products, refined sugar or wheat. As a substitute vor milk, Veronika Pachala uses different kinds of plant-milk. Instead of wheat, she simply uses various other cereals, mainly spelt. Her favorite sweeteners are dates, rice syrup, coconut sugar, birch sugar and maple syrup. Some ingredients contain animal products. However, you’ll often find a vegan variation. The book starts with smoothies, drinks and breakfast. Then there are chapters on salads, soups and small dishes, on main dishes and finally on sweets and baked goods. All recipes are uncomplicated and easy to make.
What else can you find?
It is a very authentic book. In the introduction, Veronika Pachala tells her personal story with the way that lead her to a healthy diet. Then, she offers a very detailed insight into her larder. Many ingredients including all their benefits are described. Throughout the book, you’ll find again and again some tips and tricks for the recipes. If a recipe is vegan, there is always a little sign. Many beautiful food photos make you really want to try out the recipes. Furthermore, the book is illustrated with lovely pictures of Veronika Pachala and her small family.
What is particularly good?
I like that the book shows how to cook with unknown ingredients. These ingredients are not only mentioned, but also presented with all their benefits. The recipes are very versatile and sound totally delicious. Veronika Pachala successfully shows how our favorite meals can be made healthier. For example, among the desserts you’ll find cheesecake or some traditional German specialties. Not only the recipes, but also the book is made with a lot of love. You’ll notice this by the personal comments of the author and the playful layout.
What could be better?
Even though the book contains more than 80 recipes, it seems a little thin. Maybe the reason is that not every recipe contains a photo. However, Veronika Pachala perfectly knows how to present her goodies in a way that you wish you could just bite into the photo. This is why I think it would have been great to have a photo for each recipe.
For whom is this book interesting?
The book is particularly great for people that want to discover new healthy ingredients and to know how to cook with them. Regarding this, «Gesund Kochen ist Liebe» is a huge inspiration. In general, I also recommend it to people that want to eat healthier without sacrificing taste or following a restrictive diet, maybe even for reaching the same goals as Veronika Pachala. Parents, that want to cook nutritious dishes full of love for their youngest family members, will find child-friendly and tasty recipes.
Recipe
We already prepared the millet pilaf from the book «Gesund Kochen ist Liebe» several times as a side dish. It is actually very simple and due to the oriental tastes of cinnamon and roasted almonds it is also very special. As Veronika Pachala suggests, it goes perfectly with a ratatouille. Just make your favorite ratatouille with seasonal vegetables and a tomato sauce. Matching spices for the ratatouille are dried oregano, garlic, cinnamon, black pepper and parsley. My personal secret for every tomato sauce is to add a spoon of molasses. You’ll find a ratatouille recipe in «Gesund Kochen ist Liebe». Maybe you’re thinking of other great sauces and dishes with whom you’d like to combine the millet pilaf. In my opinion, you can be very creative with that.
MILLEET PILAF
lactose-free, soy-free, gluten-free, plant-based (vegan)
4 servings
Level of difficulty: easy
Preparation time:
Ingredients:
- 200 g/7 oz millet
- 1 onion
- 1 tbsp olive oil
- 4 tbsp almonds (or flaked almonds)
- 1 tsp cinnamon
Directions:
- Wash the millet and cover it with water in a large vessel. Let it soak for at least two hours.
- Now you can sieve the millet and drain it well. Cut the almonds into thin slices.
- Chop the onion. In a large pot, heat the olive oil and fry the onion until they are glazed. Add the almonds and fry them as well.
- Finally, add the millet, the cinnamon, some salt and 700 ml water. Let this cook for 10 minutes. Still covered with a lid, allow the millet to swell for 5 minutes.
This is how the frying of the onions and almonds looks like.
On one side, you see my millet pilaf with a seasonal ratatouille and roasted raisins. On the other side, there is the photo of the cookbook « Gesund Kochen ist Liebe », where the millet pillaf is served with a turkish ratatouille based on zucchini and eggplant.
And here you can buy the book:
Print: books.ch, buch.ch, thalia.ch, amazon.de, amazon.com
How do you like the millet pilaf? Do you have any ideas on how to combine it?
Kind regards
Lisa
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