Power Plates | Gena Hamshaw | Review + Recipe Test

Wednesday, 10 January 2018

Power Plates | Gena Hamshaw | Review + Recipe Test

*Review copy c/o Netgalley, cover image via goodreads.com

Power Plants is a new cookbook from The Full Helping’s Gena Hamshaw featuring 100 recipes that are nutritionally balanced and completely plant-based. Building upon the ideas the author has shared on her blog the book is also packed full with useful information on everything from macronutrients to advance prepping, batch cooking, freezing and even seasonal meal plan ideas.

The overall design of the book is beautiful with soft colours and photos that showcase the delicious nutritionally balanced dishes. I was a little disappointed by the lack of allergen key alongside the recipes, something which I’m used to seeing in the cookbooks I review. Although these can help to identify allergens at a glance, the layout of this book makes it easy to quickly scan the ingredients lists if necessary.

Instead of just sharing my top picks from the book for this review I thought I would try out one of the recipes and share the results with you. I chose the Curried Tomato Stew with Chickpea Dumplings (pictured above) as I’d never cooked anything like this before and loved the idea of making gluten free, vegan dumplings.

The instructions were really easy to follow and unlike with some ‘free from’ cookbooks none of the ingredients were difficult to track down, in fact I already had most of them in my kitchen. The finished stew tasted great and I’ll definitely be making it again in future, as well as attempting to cook more recipes from this book - I’m looking at you Golden Rice Bowls!

Overall I'm really impressed with the design, selection of recipes and amount of information packed into Power Plates. With little added extras such as the meal plans this book is a great introduction to plant-based eating.

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How You Can Get Involved With BB This January

Monday, 8 January 2018

How You Can Get Involved With BB This January

This is just a quick reminder that you only have a few days left to send us your responses for our January group post!

It's quick and easy to get involved, all you need to do is tell us the titles and authors of five books you 'vow to read' in 2018 via this Google form (also below). We'll be sharing your lists here on 14th January so we'll need your responses by this Friday.



If you're also joining in with our January book club, don't forget to send us your thoughts by 19th January!

- Team BB

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Bookish Links #38

Sunday, 7 January 2018

Bookish Links #38

1. Writing Goals - if tackling your writing goals is top of your 2018 to-do list this is the post for you. Check out Loretta's top tips to help get you started!

2. 2018 YA Fantasy - this article over on Bustle shares twenty-seven upcoming YA Fantasy releases that are sure to make your 2018 TBR even more exciting!

3. A Christmas Book Haul - we loved Lauren's post about all of the amazing books she received for Christmas. We think Adultolescence in particular sounds like a great read!

4. Brains Over Brawn - if you're looking to read more books featuring awesome female characters check out Bec's list of her five favourites.

5. Bookish Crafts - how amazing is this personalised bookshelf quilt Carys shared over on Twitter?

6. Kick-Start 2018 - over at Daisybutter Michelle shared her six top picks to kick-start your 2018 reading. We love the sound of The Working Women's Handbook and would highly recommend another of her selections; Lauren Graham's Talking As Fast As I Can.

7. Books To Movies - if you can't resist a good book to movie adaptation you'll love Jamie's recent post which lists all of those due for release this year. Which adaptation are you most excited about?

8. Gripping Reads - we enjoyed this post where Anne shared recommendations for some real page turners!

9. More Recommendations - our final link this month is Estee's recent video on the books she read and loved in 2017. Have you read any of these books?

If you've read or written an interesting bookish article you think our readers would enjoy please let us know - it may be featured in a future post!

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Features | New Year, New Reading Goals

Friday, 5 January 2018

Features | New Year, New Reading Goals

Can you believe it's this time of year again already? It feels like only a few weeks ago I was writing about suggested reading goals for 2017 and saying exactly the same thing about how fast 2016 went. Time truly is a flat circle.

Now, on to more important things. Reading goals. Love them or loathe them, most readers have them. From something as simple as 'get through my TBR' to the more specific 'read more classics' or 'read more diversely', we all have some kind of challenge in the backs of our minds to improve our reading in the new year. Personally, I'm hoping to read some of the Brontës' novels this year, keep reading as much of my TBR as I can, and reread some old favourites. Nothing too stressful or demanding. (Hopefully the rest of my year will be the same!)

As for the Goodreads reading challenge, which I became somewhat obsessed with last year, I've set myself the same goal of 52 books again this year, mostly because I surpassed it quite easily last year and my real goal is not to get quite so obsessed with it this time. Wish me luck with that...

The thing about reading goals is that they should be fun. Now matter how challenging or not-so-challenging your goal, the idea should never be to make reading a chore. Remember this year, whatever your goals, that the most important one should always be to enjoy your reading. By all means, read more diversely, try to read more books than you've ever read in one year before, try your absolute hardest to read every unread book you own, but remember that as much fun as it is to challenge yourself, reading a book you really love is usually even more fun.

So, my reading challenge for you this year is to read books you know you're going to love. Read books whose descriptions mention all your favourite things, read books by your favourite authors, re-read books you've read a hundred times before. Enjoy your reading year as much as you possibly can. And throw in one or two other challenges too, because that's probably the best way to find those books that totally surprise you with how much you love them.

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Release | Patrick Ness | Review

Tuesday, 2 January 2018

Release | Patrick Ness | Review

Before I left St Andrews, I got a little spendy in Toppings & Co - otherwise known as the best bookshop ever - and stocked up on some beautiful signed copies. One such book was Release. To be perfectly honest, I picked it up because I fell in love with A Monster Calls. It dug its hooks into my heart so deeply that I knew I wanted to read something else by Patrick Ness. Release seemed as good a place as any to make good on that promise.

Release is a microcosm of a book, with the entire narrative centred around one day. It just so happens that on that one day Adam Thorn’s life begins to change and that some things decide that they can’t stay buried any longer. It’s a day of heartbreak and loss - one that Adam will always remember.

Adam is a brilliantly vivid and likeable character, that you can’t help but root for. I was on his team from the very beginning, until the novel drew to an unwelcome close.

I would have been perfectly happy to continue reading his story far beyond the final page. But I also understand that a big part of the magic of Release is that you feel like you a seeing such a short period of time when everything suddenly gets shaken up. It is a really simple premise but Ness has managed to make something truly wonderful from it. It is obvious that he has complete control of his craft; it takes great skill to pull it off.

It is also brilliantly creative, with a healthy sprinkling of magical realism within it. As you probably know, I do enjoy that and Release was no exception to that rule.

If you're looking for an engaging and utterly lovely novel about the moment your entire life changes (and how on earth you are meant to deal with that),  you should definitely pick up Patrick Ness’ Release and read it.

Kelly x

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Get Involved | Which Books Do You Vow To Read In 2018?

Monday, 1 January 2018

Get Involved | Which Books Do You Vow To Read In 2018?

Image via unsplash.com

Happy new year everyone! We hope you've had a lovely holiday season and are as eager to dive into your 2018 TBR piles as we are.

The time has arrived once again to share our reading goals for the year ahead! Every year we ask you to join in selecting five books you vow to read over the next twelve months and we can't wait to hear which books have made your 2018 lists.

It's quick and easy to get involved, all you need to do is tell us the titles and authors of your five picks via this Google form! We'll be sharing your lists here on 14th January so we'll need your responses by the 12th.

For updates on all things BB including how you can get involved in future collaborative posts subscribe to our shiny new mailing list! Don't forget to also send us your thoughts on our January Book Club pick Tales Of The Peculiar by 19th January.

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