The Blender Girl: Super-Easy, Super-Healthy Meals, Snacks, Desserts, and Drinks--100 Gluten-Free, Vegan Recipes!

This book, and truthfully Tess Masters, the beautiful chef and author, have honestly changed my life. I had the luxury of discovering Tess and her fabulous website [...] two years ago this month. I fell immediately in love, went out and bought a Vitamix based on her inspiring recipes and personal encouragement, and off I went into the kitchen. I eat better, I sleep better, my kids are healthier, my family and I ALL have more energy. We get sick less often. We are more FULL OF LIFE from following the recipes on her website and in this fantastic book! Have you seen the movie "Julie and Julia" about a young writer attempting to test each and every one of Julia Child's recipes in her first cookbook? Well, that's me and this book (and website, truth be known, but that's a lot of material!) I absolutely love every single Tess Masters recipe I have ever tried, and interestingly, I don't even tweak them. I tweak EVERY recipe, honestly, but not these - they're PERFECT the way they are. My kids are now slurping all things raw and full of nutrients: hemp seeds, chia seeds, almond milk and kale, gazpacho and cauliflower soup, among other things. They eat flax seeds, coconut and more - sometimes knowingly, sometimes - HA - not! That's the beauty of some of these recipes! You can honestly sneak in the healthy stuff and since the recipes are THAT GOOD the kids don't ask too many questions! We served the "Spicy Gazpacho Grab" and the ridiculously perfect "Pineapple Vanilla Sangria" at a fairly large party one evening and EVERYONE (not the kids) asked for the recipes. I told them all to go buy the book! There are smoothies, dips, spreads, pancakes, soups, desserts, salads and so much more - but it's not just the recipes that make this book seriously amazing. The educational, loving, teaching aspect makes me want to read and reread this book many times over. “The Blender Girl” cookbook has claimed a permanent spot on my kitchen counter. It's absolutely gorgeous, with stunning photography and outstanding information on how to do things I thought were "too difficult" before reading this. Make my own almond milk? What?! It’s Easy! Tonics? What are those? Fixer-uppers, that's what. Try them, you'll like them. Seriously. Yup, it's really that easy. Tess Masters breaks down healthy eating and blending to a simple step by step "how to" - it's really rather easy when you have a good teacher. Spend some time in this book and on her website and you'll find yourself hooked too.

Tess Masters delivers an incredible, inspiring book that contains a variety of mouth-watering recipes, helpful tips on health advice, and much more. The Introduction begins with her own personal story of her journey of discovery on flexibility, a key factor to healthy living. This book is packed with information on proper, healthy diets and the golden key to success in losing weight, and staying healthy. The author includes delicious recipes on:Appetizers; Snacks; Salads; Main Dishes; Smoothies; Dressings; and more. Tess Masters discusses the power of whole foods, balance, choosing the right blender, and other important information. We learn how to Soak, Chop, Mince, and Grate. The author also discusses why the Spatula is Queen, Types of blenders and performance, raw power, and the colorful photos are inviting. There is a section on Increased Energy, Prevention Of Disease, and discussions on the well-being of a healthy life. We also learn about Superfoods, Vitamins, minerals, and Antitoxidants. There is interesting information on soaking nuts, cheat charts, how to make homemade milk, and how to Store and Freeze. The author includes facts on Vegetables, Fruits, and Sweeteners, such as Stevia. She begins Recipes with delicious Smoothies and Shakes such as: Raspberry Lemon Cheesecake, Pineapple Salsa, Creamy Orange C, and other yummy recipes that make your mouth water. We made thus far, the Apple Pie In A Glass And the Chock-Full Chocolate Surprise, both were delicious, and my daughter requested those again. In addition, there is information on:Juicing Versus Blending, Nuts and Seeds, Dips and Spreads, and more. The desserts are amazing, and we had fun making the Ginger-Apple Pear Butter, which we love on toast. I've tasted Apple Butter once and loved it, so we were anxious to make this. Next we will make the Raspberry Jam, and the Rich But Simple Tomato Soup. My daughter selected the Butternut Bliss soup for tomorrow. I also made the Pear And Candied Walnut With Raspberry Vinaigrette Salad Dressing, very light, refreshing, and tasty. I will be making this again-and-again. We also learn how to make homemade Vegetable Broth, and the Main Dishes are fantastic. Some Recipes include: Pizza; Tacos; Lasagna; Creamy Mushroom Stronganoff; and other inviting recipes. This book is a delightful addition to my cookbook collection, and I will be gifting it to friends and family on special occasions. Highly recommended!

In the past I found cook books to be a bit dry and I have to hunt to find a good recipe I liked. As I have gotten older I have looked for a cook book that would be easy to use and provided me with recipes that truly benefited my health. So Glad I Found The Blender Girl! I have tasted 25 of the 100 recipes and loved each one so far. The author, Tess Masters, walks you through the recipes as if she was talking directly to you. Though you can try the recipes with any blender, I do recommend using a Vitamix or another high powered blender. You will be much happier with the results. As an experiment, I decided to eat only recipes from The Blender Girl for a week. By day 3 I was sleeping better, had more clarity and my blood pressure dropped. In addition, I had more energy throughout the day. Pretty remarkable. Looking forward to seeing if the recipes will also help my waist line. To wrap up ...honestly great recipes using healthy ingredients laid out in an engaging, mouth watering, personal way.

4 stars for helpful info and some very good recipes, and 1 star for having to navigate through irritating spin about me, Blender Girl - as in see me, BG, licking my fingers, wiggling my toes in the garden dirt, or see my strong hands working my produce (19 color pictures). We now know what BG adores and what she will never eat. And then there is the bouncy prose such as "cucumber - my go-to food - incredibly versatile - most hydrating food on the planet" and now I must light a candle and do what I do at the cucumber altar! Sorry to be so disagreeable to BG! My List of Pros: 1. Traditional food prep like proper soaking of beans, grains and nuts is emphasized. I appreciate this info in the book. 2. Use more veggies and less fruit to control sugar in your smoothies. 3. Whey Protein powder makes you bloat and feel tired. Hemp protein is so much better. Thanks BG. You are right! 4. Layer ingredients in blender for best mixing. I was doing it all backwards! 5. Pay attention to food combos. BG tells you why and I am a believer now. You will feel better after a meal of protein and veggie (like steak and salad or veggie) or a meal of baked potato and salad or veggie. 6. Alternate the leafy greens to control oxalic acid. She mentions Sally Fallon and Nourishing Traditions, a marvelous book that shows the superior benefits of traditional food preparation. Oxalic acid attacks calcium, iron, zinc and other minerals and is loaded up in raw greens. Fallon recommends eating raw greens like spinach, kale, collards and such only once a month. So, a better way than alternating greens is lightly steam the leafies. Just chop, wash, and steam 3-5 minutes, drain in colander and freeze in silicon large cube ice trays. 7. Strawberries and avacados and leafies go with everything and are easy to digest. 8. The best thing about this book is the motivation and inspiration it stirs up to make more healthy smoothies. I also got an itch for a Vitamix. Pictures and info on blenders are pretty good. Cons 1. Pictures of super foods and various beans are very pretty, but nothing is identified as to what is what. 2. Soak nuts before blending. Almonds 8 hours and cashews 4 hours, then use immediately. Oh help me here. I blend my smoothie for breakfast so I have to get up at 4 am to soak my cashews!. 3. My cheap blender turned snow pea sprouts into scary long blobs. A cow would bring that up and chew it again. The sprouts did ok with mincing like BG says, but the taste was so pastureland. No amount of lemon zest or vanilla will make me eat them again. 4. I just think that more than one blender drink a day is sick. And I don't want to wash the thing 3X in one day. 5. I tried the avocado/chocolate pudding. Interesting, but maybe I'll never try it again. 6. Cucumbers take over everything else. They are stronger than kale. So I learned something. Salads yes, smoothies no.

I pre-ordered a while back and received my book on April 8th. The book is is absolutely gorgeous, there are tons of pictures and delicious looking recipes. The recipes themselves seem a bit complicated, most of the recipes have alot of ingredients. I will need to pick a few recipes a week and make sure I go to the market to pick up the ingredients. I purchased the book to learn more about nut milks and butters, she does a great job at explaining how to soak the nuts and recommends great combinations. Lately I have been on a Haylie Pomroy kick, her cookbook is great and her recipes are really easy to make, but I have been wanting to add a little variety so I think I will try some of Tess' recipes. <a href="http://www.amazon.com/gp/product/0770436234/ref=as_li_ss_tl?ie=UTF8&camp=1789&creative=390957&creativeASIN=0770436234&linkCode=as2&tag=dfon08-20">The Fast Metabolism Diet Cookbook: Eat Even More Food and Lose Even More Weight</a><img src="http://ir-na.amazon-adsystem.com/e/ir?t=dfon08-20&l=as2&o=1&a=0770436234" width="1" height="1" border="0" alt="" style="border:none !important; margin:0px !important;" >

Fun, fiesty, funny, fresh and quirky... and even for a crap cook like me, EASY!!! (Even if you don't cook, it's a great read!) Using easy to find foods it's great for those with No Kitchen Courage to whip in there and make yourself healthy and make yourself The House To Visit for Dinner Parties. Yes, YOU CAN COOK! You just didn't know it yet. You learn lots about food, and you feel like you are right there in the kitchen with this witty, lovable Blender Girl. Lovin' her Tessipes! There are just three easy steps to a new you in your kitchen.... 1 : Buy. 2 : Cook. (oh, and Blend, as part of that. 3 : Eat. Now, GET STARTED! Shez

3,5 stars. Main grievance is the print size of the recipes. Too small for me to read. Descriptive paragraphs above seem better. Book seems well laid out with varied and interesting recipes. Some seem lengthy on ingredients for a 'blender based' book though I could be mistaken. I could do without the drinks, condiment, sauces, and salad recipes and possibly more main entrees, soups and smoothies. (Which look and sound scrumptious) She offers solid info on blending, sprouting, etc and she seems genuine in her approach and commitment to good health. I commend her on this book which is professional, inspiring and full of nutrient dense colorful and seemingly delicious recipes. It's only fair that I write another review once I have tried her recipes. --Main issue is the print size. Otherwise looks promising

I have been honored to have known and met Tess within the past year, and was thrilled to learn of her work behind and into this first amazing blending book! I normally eat incredibly healthy and juice to-boot, but getting this gorgeously pictured book filled with amazing recipes in my hand was Nirvana ! ~ Becoming a 'Passionista Blender' indeed, along with my teenage daughters. What I love about these recipes is that her words encourage you to try stuff you wouldn't think of trying before in a blender. We use our Vitamix daily with these recipes, a few of our all-time favs are 'Pad Thai is a Good Idea', 'Creamy Cauliflower' soup (I can't keep enough in stock!), the 'Magic Mango Massage' and the 'Pear and Candied Walnut with Raspberry Viniaigrette' salads are amazing and I always make those for company and family, and guests lick their salad bowls clean! I also make weekly the 'Chia Choo Choo' drink which is a fantastic pick me up before and/or after a workout. I cannot recommend this amazing book myself (I bought 4 copies to give away!), and love that it is paperback so it sits great on my recipe holder on my counter - I can't wait to make every single dish in here.... making my Passionista Blending really come to life, thanks to Tess.