Fresh Made Simple

A Naturally Delicious Way to Eat: Look, Cook, and Savor

I’m excited to have my daughter Christina Wells provide today’s review: If you are anything like me, cooking can be such a chore. The whole process of grocery shopping, making the food and then cleaning up afterward. I felt that there were easier things to do to find food. Now that I’m more health conscious about my diet and looking for fun, creative, and delicious alternatives to the same boring salad or sandwich I’ve been eating for the past month.

I’ve found a cookbook that is unique, fun, and easy to follow. I’ve never been much of a “by the recipe” cook and I’ve had times that my loaves of bread never rose and my cookies never cooked.

If you’re the type of cook that likes to add your own flair or dash and splash in ingredients Fresh Made Simple by Lauren K. Stein is for you! The Boston native was inspired by her daughter who at the age of six months starting eating whole foods. Because she and her daughter spent most of their time together in the kitchen, Lauren wanted to create a book that any cook on any experience level would be able to follow.

Kudos to Katie Eberts who illustrated each recipe which makes this cookbook so unique and eye catching. This cookbook is for the adventurous chef, there are never more than fifty words for each recipe which includes the ingredients and assembling of the dish.

Fresh Made Simple (Amazon) is categorized by form or texture, for example in the scrambled section you will find Kale Egg Scramble but in the cheesy section, you find Tostada with Beans and Feta. The recipes are easy to follow and give you enough wiggle room to make it your own. On the left-hand side of the book is the signature ingredient with some suggested add-ons to your dish. On the right-hand side of the book is the preparation illustration showing the ingredients and how to assemble the dish.

I wanted to try a variety of things in the book to see if the pictures came close to how I imagined the food tasting. It was so much better. Finding the inspiration I made my first ever salad dressing made up of 6 ingredients: avocado, lime, cilantro, water, olive oil, and salt. The dressing was smooth and creamy and very green (which is never a bad thing!). I also made a toasted cucumber and tomato sandwich which was so simple and fresh I didn’t want it to end.

In the back of the book, there are examples of different types of sauces that you could use with these recipes like applesauce over pork. Also, all the recipes don’t involve meat but there is a “make it a fuller meal” suggestion page for adding meat to the recipes before the index.

In my opinion, Fresh Made Simple: A Naturally Delicious Way to Eat: Look, Cook, and Savor is a very fun and vibrant book that inspires the desire to make whole foods taste delicious. And the bonus is that it takes very little effort.

About the author: Lauren K. Stein is a former journalist from Reuters who has written for the Boston Globe, Boston Magazine and the website Eat Boutique. Stein spends a lot of time in the kitchen with her young daughter, an experience that inspired these recipes. She lives in Boston, MA.

About the Illustrator: Katie Eberts is a graduate of the University of Michigan Stamps School of Art & Design. Her illustrations have appeared in numerous food magazines and blogs and can be seen at katieeberts.com. She lives in Hessel, MI