As I explained on my Instagram, cookbooks have never really been my thing. I've always had my own recipes and on occasion took to the internet to spice things up a bit. With the frustration of having to change my diet so drastically after establishing my favourite personal recipes, I kind of had to be grateful for the faddiness of 'eating clean'. I bought this alongside Deliciously Ella (Ella Woodward) - the review is coming! - in the hope of getting some ideas.
The first section introduces Madeleine's 'six week programme', breaking down the weeks individually and discussing what should be introduced to and banished from your belly. The weeks go as follows:
- Week One: 'Ditch the Junk' encourages you cut out all sugars
- Week Two: 'Fat: Friend or Foe?' differentiates the good fats from the bad
- Week Three: 'Eat Clean, Think Clean' promotes self love and positive affirmations
- Week Four: 'Beat the Bloat' pushes a completely gluten-free diet
- Week Five: 'Rest and Digest' talks about mindful eating and exercise
- Week Six: 'Live Your Glow' concludes the programme, touching on maintenance and ethical food sourcing
Now I must start by saying I love this book, however, this section of the book does contain a tiny bit of pseudoscience in places, much like most clean-eating books currently circulating. This aside, this section is super helpful and informative to those who are new to this way of eating, or people who want to know more about key nutrients. A very minuscule criticism I will make (this is my inner bopo babe talking) is about the few references to weight loss as a result of adapting to the programme. If it was down to me, I probably wouldn't have mentioned it, but I understand that there are more people out there who want to eat healthily with weight loss as a key objective. However to me this isn't a selling point; the 'glow' is something that prioritises you feeling better over dropping a dress size, and in Madeleine's defence, increased health is her most important consideration.
Now for the fun part, the FOOD!
No dishes are void of colour, flavour, or goodness, and with 100 recipes to choose from, there's something for everyone. The fact that all dishes are gluten-free is obviously a bonus, and with the exclusion of dishes that are egg-focused (for example the yummy-looking pea and dill omelette with smoked salmon), everything is pretty easy to substitute where needed in order to fit in with my diet. I've noticed that with my diet, I do use more sugar than I used to, so it's nice to know that with the occasional recipe extracted from this book (especially the desserts), my sugar levels are safe.
I'm most excited for the chocolate hazelnut crepes, the Mexican BBQ grilled corn and quinoa salad with chilli salsa, and of course the raw lemon cheesecake!
Most people's concerns with cookbooks that feature clean and raw recipes are the cost of groceries and their availability. Yes, some ingredients can be tough to find and little bit pricey, but I shop frequently at the likes of Whole Foods and Holland & Barrett, where I generally find everything I need. I'm also pretty used to paying more for my groceries these days anyway, so personally for me this makes no massive difference. However, I got my mum (who has no intolerances or allergies and eats a normal diet) to have a look through the book and see if there were any ingredients that she didn't know of or thought were generally inaccessible. There were no ingredients that jumped out at her as something new to her or too expensive to buy. She said that she noticed that lots of the ingredients reappeared in other recipes, which therefore makes it more economical. We all know there's nothing worse than buying special ingredients for one recipe and then leaving them in the cupboard never to be used again.
Overall I think it's safe to say that this book is gorgeous, both in content and in layout. Madeleine's collection of recipes and friendly introduction leaves you eager to get cooking and working on your glow. I would most definitely recommend this to anyone who fancies a fresh injection of goodness into their meals!
You can get your copy of Get The Glow (£20, Orion Books) here.
RATING: ★★★★★
