Niomi Smart’s passion is healthy food and her most popular YouTube video series, What I Eat in a Day, inspires a global audience of millions to look, live and feel better. Now, for the first time, she has compiled all of her favourite recipes into a cookbook to show you the smart way to eat.
Niomi’s food is for everyone. Like her recently launched snacking service for the health conscious, SourcedBox, she focuses on natural food, using everyday ingredients that will work wonders on your well-being. And all her recipes are simple to make and can fit into your daily life.
Already an online phenomenon, Niomi creates recipes for anyone who wants to feel amazing from the inside out, breakfasts, lunches, dinners, desserts, snacks, baked treats and drinks, she offers a really easy way to eat delicious, healthy food at every mealtime. Wake up to a Tropical Smoothie Bowl, for example, whip up a Roasted Fennel, Lentil and Fig Salad for lunch, and finish off the day with a Mauritian Curry with Coconut and Coriander Rice, inspired by her travels. And with plenty of snacks and desserts to feast on too – try Niomi’s Beetroot Cake with Chocolate Ganache or a Salted Caramel Ice Cream – you’ll be surprised just how delicious eating smart can be.
Niomi Smart, blogger and entrepreneur, is passionate about healthy eating and living well. After graduating with a LLB Law Degree, she realised that something didn't feel quite right and decided to start a YouTube channel and lifestyle blog to share her food plans and style ideas. Five years later she has amassed a global audience of over 1.5m YouTube subscribers and Instagram followers alike and has even started her own business, SourcedBox, a snacking service designed to work wonders on your well-being.
The book looks beautiful and is well laid out. However there are too many pictures of the author and not enough pictures of what the recipes look like when cooked.
My other complaint is that some of the recipe ingredients are not accessible if live outside of London/big city where you can find stuff in health food shops large supermarkets. A lot of the ingredients are exotic - hemp powder, acai powder, Goji berries, exotic mushrooms (shitaki etc) etc. Not to mention quite expensive. If you're going to eat like this every day you will have to have quite deep pockets. I don't so I would rename the book Eat Smart: What to eat for a treat....
I never attended to write a review about this book, but some comments changed my opinion about to not write a review.
First, this book is amazingly structured. I love that she starts explaining herself, then she goes on about some basics you need. She does structure in breakfast lunch and so on.
I cooked quite a lot of food from the book already and not one was bad tasting.
I can agree with the negative comments about that there are a bit more pictures from the author then the food, but still some cookbooks have none pictures. So, I can overlook this point and it never bothered me while using this book anyway.
The point with the expensive ingredients, I actually want to go a bit deeper in this discussion and want to say my opinion about it. First of all, I do live on a plant based diet too. I needed to change that from one day to another because of the health issues I have. I do live gluten free and I do can say not all the recipes are but most of them are and if it’s not gluten free I just change it with gluten free ingredients.
People do ask me all the time if I don’t spend tons of money on my food now. Honestly, I don’t. I just want to say as a long meat eater that meat is expensive too and a lot of ingredients I buy now are more long lasting than meat. I would say to buy some of the plant based ingredients are for the first time expensive, but they do last for a long time and I don't buy them every day. I do not spend more money than I did before. I sometimes even spend less money on my food than before. Then, if you don't want to buy this berry or powder then just don't. I do not have always Shiitake mushrooms but I usually have other mushrooms so I just use them. Ingredients can be changed quick and easy so I actually do not see a problem there.
I do live right now in a small town in Germany and I do get everything I need in my local bio/organic shop or even the supermarket. For Shiitake mushrooms I always found them cheaper and easier to get in an Asian supermarket.
I can just say the book helped me a lot to organise my meals better and have different options every day. I do get if people don't want to spend the money on the new ingredients but then you could just change them step by step if you really want to. I do really like that this book has some quick and tasty recipes, because I tried a lot of plant based/ vegan recipes I can say some of the vegan recipes I tried just tasted terrible and were super difficult to cook and ended as a complete failure. That’s the reason I really love this book so much it’s just a cookbook I can use every day and usually I do have the ingredients at home and if not I just change some of them.
I just spent few hours reading all recipes and I must say that this cookbook is amazing, I personally being vegetarian find it hard to make my food exciting, this book has so many recipes that are easy to follow and most of the ingredients you can find in a local shop. The layout of the book is very nice and pictures are stunning.
It is a nice book with some simple sounding yet appealing plant-based recipes. However, I would have appreciated more photos of the food and less photos of niomi but this being a book by a YouTube personality the photos of her were to be expected. I would have also liked to have the time estimates for each dish given next to the servings.
I do look forward to making a bunch of these recipes and I like how many are healthier versions of good old comfort foods.
I wish each recipe had pictures with it and less pictures of the author. I like the beginning sections talking about basic spices and ingredients you should have on hand though.
I really enjoyed this book, its a bit different from so many cookbooks because Niomi discusses a bit about nutrition and exercise. I particularly like the fact that although it is a vegan book its not at all preachy about the topic the focus is very much on health and just good food. I think it is the beginning of the book that really makes it though, where Niomi talks about her choices and inspiration and the opening sections on superfoods and food cupboard staples are interesting. I know some of the negative reviews discuss how expensive some of the ingredients are but i find that to be true of most cook books but i think especially as a vegetarian rather than vegan it would be easy to adapt these recipes. I do however agree about the lack of photos of the food its always nice in a cookbook to know what the food looks like. Overall i really like the book and think it's quite a useful source i can't wait to see what Niomi brings out next, i think it would be nice to see a more lifestyle and fitness book from her.
The recipes in here are delicious but many of them have too many ingredients for me and a lot of things that I never have in my kitchen so it definitely limited what I could make. If you like spending time and going all out then I feel this is the book for you, but if you want simple quick recipes then I would maybe choose something else like Gwyneth Paltrow's It's All Easy cookbook; love that one!
Meine Meinung Das besondere an dem Kochbuch von Niomi Smart ist, dass es sich bei den Rezepten um Rezepte mit rein naturbelassenen und rein pflanzlichen Zutaten handelt. Somit sind die Rezepte nicht nur sehr gesund, sondern ebenso gut für Veganer und Vegetarier geeignet. Was mir wirklich sehr gut an diesem Kochbuch gefällt, ist, dass es kein reines Kochbuch ist, indem ausschließlich Rezepte stehen. Im ersten Kapitel erzählt Niomi nämlich von ihrem Weg zur gesunden Ernährung und berichtet von ihrem Leben mit dieser. Außerdem gibt es Themenseiten rund um das Thema Essgewohnheiten, sowie über das Thema Sport. Was mir ebenfalls sehr gut gefallen hat, ist, dass die Autorin die Bedeutung von Superfoods erklärt hat und ebenso eine Liste erstellt hat, in der man alltägliche, sowie exotische Superfoods nachlesen kann. Dadurch hat man als Laie eine gute Orientierung welche Lebensmittel besonders nährstoffreich sind und welche positiven Effekte die einzelnen Zutaten mit sich bringen. Außerdem gibt Niomi einen Überblick über Grundnahrungsmittel, die jeder zu Hause haben sollte, um verschiedene Gerichte zu kreieren. Die meisten dieser Lebensmittel findet man auf jeden Fall im Supermarkt, sodass man bei diesem Kochbuch keine Angst haben muss, dass man nur einen Bruchteil der Rezepte nachkochen kann, weil stets exotische Zutaten verwendet werden. Die Rezeptseiten sind zunächst in die drei Hauptmahlzeiten unterteilt. Des Weiteren gibt es Kapitel zu Beilagen, Snacks, Desserts und zu Drinks. Die Seiten sind stehst ansprechend und strukturiert gestaltet, sodass man schnell einen Überblick über die Zutaten, sowie die Durchführung erhält. Außerdem gibt es zu jedem Rezept eine kleine Beschreibung der Autorin mit hilfreichen Tipps oder Verbindungen zu ihrem Leben, was das Buch sehr persönlich macht, da man den Eindruck hat, dass die Autorin dem Leser selbst über diese Gerichte berichtet. Ebenso ist mir positiv aufgefallen, dass es sich bei den Gerichten um sehr außergewöhnliche Gerichte handelt, sodass es sich lohnt das Buch zu kaufen, weil es sehr vielfältig ist. Den Abschluss findet dieses Kochbuch in einem Kapitel über Speisepläne, die einen groben Anhaltspunkt darüber geben, was man an verschiedenen Wochentagen kochen könnte. Dadurch wird man als Leser motiviert die Gerichte selbst auszuprobieren. Das Buch ist ebenfalls sehr schön und hochwertig gestaltet. Die ansprechenden Bilder und ausgefallenen Rezepte motivieren somit umso mehr gesund zu kochen und sich mit einer ausgewogenen Ernährung zu beschäftigen.
Fazit Zusammenfassend kann ich sagen, dass mir das Kochbuch von Niomi Smart sehr gut gefallen hat, weil es auch für Nicht-Veganer eine gelungene Ernährungs-Abwechslung darstellt. Außerdem wird man durch die ansprechend gestalteten Seiten immerzu motiviert die Rezepte selbst auszuprobieren und nachzukochen. Besonders gut hat mir jedoch gefallen, dass es in diesem Kochbuch sehr außergewöhnliche Rezepte gibt, die eine gelungene Vielfalt schaffen. Des Weiten fand ich es sehr interessant mehr über das Leben der Autorin und ihren Weg zu dieser Ernährung zu erfahren, da somit eine persönliche Ebene erzeugt wurde und man als Leser umso mehr Spaß hatte durch die Rezepte zu stöbern. Deswegen vergebe ich für dieses Buch fünf von fünf Sternen und kann es jedem ans Herz legen, der auf der Suche nach einem Kochbuch mit außergewöhnlichen und gesunden Rezepten ist.
I absolutely adore this cookbook. Niomi offers a warm and friendly voice throughout and makes reading this cookbook a delight.
The recipes are easy to follow and the pictures are beautiful. I love how it separates chapters between breakfast, lunch, dessert, drinks and even offers advice on what to eat and drink before and after exercise.
I like how Niomi offers her staple ingredients and lists the health benefits of certain superfoods. I feel a lot more knowledgable about what foods are good for me and what I should be including in my food shop more often!
I particularly like the dessert section as it offers some exciting alternatives to shop bought sweet treats. Having a sweet tooth myself I love how I can make sweet tasting food by using natural ingredients. The fact that you can make Jammy Dodgers and Chocolate based desserts is a winner for me.
Would definitely recommend to anyone wanting to lead a healthier lifestyle!
I'm working on integrating more plant-based meals into my routine, and this $10 deal from B&N seemed as good a place to start as any! There are a ton of recipes throughout each section (Breakfast, Lunch, Dinner, Staples, Desserts, & Drinks) that I felt were pretty attainable for me, a lowly dishwasher turned stumbling and starving wannabe chef. I've yet to make any recipes, but I'm no stranger to vegetables or legumes—two of the foundations upon which this cookbook is written—so I just know they're bound to taste good. The real test will be making the raspberry and lemon cheesecake on pg. 182... I'm not sure I'm ready for such advanced cookery lol.
As much as I adore Niomi, I have to admit the book was not really what I have been looking for. My main problem is the amount of rare/expensive ingredients that you should have in order to make a simple recipe. I have had this book for over two years now and I could only use it for a handful of occasions. The book itself is beautiful thought, great photos and minimalist style. I gave 4 stars because it is a great cookbook with plenty of recipes, more likely targeted towards the more wealthy people. I hope her next book will have some more budget friendly recipes.
This is a great book with lots of inspiration for healthy eating. If you're planning on eating clean and healthy but don’t know where to start, this is the book for you! The book is wonderfully illustrated and the recipes quite easy too.
At first I was SO excited to try these recipes. But - there aren't enough details (no servings, cooking times, etc.) and a lot of the ingredients are very hard to find. The recipes themselves are pretty time consuming. And after all that trouble, all though the food wasn't bad, it wasn't nearly as good as I was expecting. I didn't come across a single recipe worth saving.
I'm not a plant based eater but I always loved watching Niomi's "What I Eat in a Day" videos. The meals always looked so tasty and way more creative than anything that I usually eat. I finally decided to buy this book as a spur of the moment purchase and I'm so glad I did. I now have a bunch of different recipes to try out and I'm so excited!
Love this book. One of the best vegan books and lovely food. Im not vegan myself but i've tried some of these recipes at lest 5 times. Especially the macaroni and spring garden risotto.
This entire review has been hidden because of spoilers.
Not my style of cookbook I’m afraid. The recipes didn’t inspire me. Lots of difficult/expensive to obtain ingredients included - and cooking vegan food is a step too far for me.
Absolutely loved this cookbook! I have to be honest, I was skeptical at the start, but soon enough I feel under the charm of Niomi and her recipes. I have challenged myself to eat meals from her cookbook this week and I was pleasantly surprised! Every single meal I've tried was delicious, nutritious & definitely a winner. I cannot wait to try more and I would recommend this to anyone who wants to try the vegan (plant-based) lifestyle. 100% happiness.
This is a beautiful, well put together recipe book focusing on plant-based recipes. The food looks so incredibly delicious and all the recipes I've tried so far confirmed that it is! I had post-it notes on hand while reading this and I ended up noting most of the pages. I'm very excited to try the different ingredients and ideas recommended. Yum yum!
Yesterday in Kuwait International Book Fair, I bought two books, and both of them happened to be cookbooks! I really need to return so I can discover more books.
Unlike the other author, I happen to know and actually follow Niomi Smart, I adore her social media platforms! While flipping through her cookbook I found myself surprised of how much 'healthy' it is, NO CHEATING! So I bought it because it's beautiful, and a lot of work has been put in it, I would have preferred though if every recipe had a photo, because all these dishes are new to me. I would like to learn a few healthier options for my day-to-day meals.
I really liked her photos, they are fresh, bright and very promising. I like that she added a chart as well. But truthfully I'm a bit worried about making her recipes, some of the ingredients are not something I have around the house, and I'm not sure I would like it or not. But I'm also excited about trying something new!