The very first thing you notice about My New Roots (Amazon Affiliate link) is the beautiful photography, right from the cover photo. The drool-worthy photos come straight from the blog (same name as the cookbook)/cookbook author, Sarah Britton.

Although My New Roots isn’t a blog I’ve been following, I’ve heard of it & after testing recipe from the cookbook, I will be adding it to my reader.

Who is My New Roots For?
Anyone with an interest in healthy cooking/baking and/or interested in adding more plant based meals to their diet, or going plant based period.

I, for the record, am not a vegetarian or a vegan. I eat everything. I like to say that I lean vegetarian, though, which may sound strange from someone who also dabbles in Paleo but it’s true. I enjoy vegetarian food, often eat it, but still do eat meat, dairy, & fish. I just try to limit my consumption of meat, dairy, & fish and am very choosy about where it comes from.

But What’s in the Book?
The recipes in the book are organized by season, which I like. I try to eat seasonally — somewhat. Bananas, for instance, are a staple in my home and they don’t even grow in upstate New York.

I tend to eat more salads in the summer & more soups in the winter; it’s just what I crave.

However, the cookbook is actually broken into five seasons:

1. Spring
2. Early Summer
3. Late Summer
4. Autumn
5. Winter

Sarah explains that she chose five seasons based on TCM (traditional Chinese medicine).

In addition to the recipes, there is a section on Essential Techniques (making ghee, nut milks, nut butter, etc.) and another on Stocking the Pantry.

My only complaint is that most (but not all) of the recipes have a long ingredient list and are time consuming. I’m sure many people will also balk at ingredients that are not in their pantry: coconut oil, buckwheat flour, brown rice syrup, etc. Because I enjoy experimenting with healthy cooking/baking, I really didn’t have to go out and buy any ingredients; I had them on hand, but YEMV (your experience may vary).

While the recipes may take time, they are well worth the effort. I don’t think there was a single recipe I made I didn’t enjoy or wouldn’t make again, and I tested quite a few – and still have a long list of recipes I’d like to try.

What I Tried

Multigrain Carrot Cake Porridge with Pecan Crunch
I just did not have time to make the pecan crunch and I must admit this particular recipe, while very healthy and I liked that I got some veggie in my breakfast, was disappointing. I’m sure if I had had the time to make the pecan crunch, I’d be singing a different tune.

Fully Loaded Breakfast Bars
These are the breakfast cookies I’ve been teasing you with a while. They are tasty, not too sweet, and I love that they get their protein from beans — a fact that my husband was unaware of, until now.

I would have liked them a little better even sweeter, but I’m better off with less of the sweet stuff. Next time I make them I will leave out the corn flakes; I didn’t feel they added anything to the cookies. The fact that I can give them to my husband for breakfast is a major plus. And they fueled my shorter runs well.

Black Lentil Salad with Tzatziki, Avocado, and Pea Shoots
I used lentils from Trader Joes, didn’t have pea shoots, and the salad was still very yummy and very filling. I also used cilantro from my garden instead of parsley.

Blueberry Cardamom Chia Pudding
I like to say if it doesn’t have chocolate in it, it’s not dessert. Or breakfast, frankly. But I absolutely loved this chia pudding and it had the bonus of being quick with just a handful of ingredients.

In fact, I have some chia seeds chilling in coconut milk right now just waiting to be made into this yummy pudding.

Rawkin’ Funky Monkey Ice Cream
I had 4 very ripe bananas, so I gave this recipe a whirl, too: only I left out the walnuts and subbed chocolate chips for the cacao nibs (although I wonder how it would taste with dark chocolate covered cacao nibs — probably awesome).

Another easy recipe with minimal ingredients, but there you do have to soak the cashews (the base of the “ice cream”) for hours — I had planned to make this several times and just kept forgetting that fact, so it took me a while to get around to this recipe. You probably could make it without soaking the cashews.

I haven’t actually had a bowl yet; I’m waiting until next week when we’re supposed to get back up into the 90s. But of course I’ve tasted it. No one will mistake it for real ice cream, but that doesn’t mean it isn’t some cold, creamy delicisiousness – which is is.

The One That Got Away
One recipe I didn’t get to, although I was dying to, was the life changing loaf of bread. I even bought pysllium powder to make it & up until now I’ve tried to avoid anything using psyllium powder — but it sounded good enough to give it a whirl.

Would I Buy This Book?
A resounding yes! Even though I primarily buy ebooks now, this is such a beautiful book. The recipes are healthy and delicious. The one downside, as I mentioned, is that most, but not all, of the recipes are time consuming and ingredient intensive.

I received this book from the Blogging for Books program in exchange for this review.