Book Review: Trim Healthy Mama Cookbook {Blogging for Books}

Trim Healthy Mama Cookbook: Eat up and slim down with more than 350 healthy recipes by Pearl Barrett and Serene Allison
ISBN: 9781101902660
Paperback, 512 pages
Publisher: Harmony
Retail: $27.99

***This post contains an Amazon affiliate link. See Disclosure/Policies.***

About the book (from Penguin Random House):
In their debut cookbook, the Trim Healthy Mama’s share hundreds of delicious, healthy recipes to help readers successfully slim down while eating well.  This companion cookbook to the bestselling Trim Healthy Mama Plan is just what readers have been waiting for. It features simple, mouthwatering, recipes for breakfast, lunch and dinner—including slow cooker and one-pot meals, hearty soups and salads, omelets and waffles, pizzas, breads and more.  No Trim Healthy Mama should be deprived, so there are also favorite snacks, delectable desserts, and the smoothies, sippers and teas fans love. With  pantry-stocking advice, time-saving tips, and information on how to cook for the entire family, the Trim Healthy Mama Cookbook offers a delicious and nutritious way to make trim and healthy meals with less stress—so you have more time with your loved ones.

About the authors (from the back of the book):
Pearl and Serene are sisters who share a passion for healthy eating. They both have large boisterous households and love to experiment in the kitchen on ways to best nourish their families and stay slim and healthy in the process. They were recording artists with a Christian music label and traveled extensively, but they relinquished their touring careers to embrace a life at home with children, dinners, dishes, and diapers. They have never looked back. Learn more at TrimHealthyMama.com

My thoughts:
I preface my review with this: I've been on the THM wagon for about 2.5 years now. I lost 30 lbs while on plan and completely believe the plan is sound. I bought the original THM book in pdf form after being interested in a friend's new eating habits in 2013. The recipes were...weird. I'm the kind of person who already used coconut, almond, and flax 'flour' (or meal if you prefer), and lots of coconut oil. But still the recipes were quite different than I was used to. I am also a very simple kind of food person. Oatmeal was my favorite food for a long time at the start of THM. Honestly, not many of the original recipes became favorites in our house.

I finally bought the original book in physical form just this year because it is nice to have an actual book to flip through. I'd gotten used to the recipes more and had learned how to tweak them to suit me better. When the new cookbook came out, well, other than it was supposed to be a better print job, I wasn't expecting it to be a lot better than the original.

I was wrong.

This book is my favorite cookbook! I have a few in my cupboard that I'm always wanting to love. But this one is my favorite. The recipes are more 'normal' than the original. I don't know if that is because I am just more used to the ingredient list or it is because of the beautiful photographs of the yummy prepared foods.

Have a look inside at this Amazon affiliate link*.

The recipes now include some ingredients that were not in the first- most noticeably to me are the addition of okra, inclusion of sprouted tofu, and sunflower lecithin. I do not like okra and won't try it. There I said it. I also won't do the tofu, sprouted or not, because soy and I do not get along. Otherwise, I have tried the sunflower lecithin and rather like it.

Also, since the original book, THM has come out with their own label of foodstuffs, like THM Baking Blend, and Not Naughty Noodles. These are often included in the recipes in this book. But there are also No Special Ingredients (NSI) tweaks included in some recipes. Unfortunately the authors don't consider things like the THM Baking Blend and konjac noodles to be a 'special' ingredient as I do.

Throughout the book (or at least the beginning) there are little 'shout outs' that give tips, hints, notes, etc.

I had a little difficulty finding recipes because I couldn't recall exactly their given names. In the end I took a suggestion from another THMer to put tabs in the book.

In this cookbook all the photographs were taken by one person. And they are wonderfully done. Admittedly, my attempts have rarely resulted in the same look but the visuals make me want to try more and more of the recipes in the book. My son, who is stubbornly against THM meals (he's a teen and just stubborn to be stubborn), was the first of us to actual pick and make something from this cookbook. And he declared it to be good.

That's a win.

There are many recipes in this book that now have a little heart by their titles. That means they are approved by everyone in the family. I didn't have any hearts in the original book...

So, my final thoughts- which I think I've made clear already- are that this is an awesome cookbook for those who are familiar with THM. It is presented in an aesthetically pleasing way and it is improved from the original cookbook portion of the THM book. I still think it is difficult to find recipes through the index but have circumvented this somewhat with the tabs. I think it is important to understand the THM plan (the plan book is available through many booksellers, such as Amazon*) to get the most benefit from the recipes in this cookbook. I am thankful for the opportunity to review this book through the Blogging for Books program for free.

I'm adding to this post a few days later to share the list of recipes I have tried (and liked!):
Cajun Cream Chicken (p. 36)
Wipe Your Mouth BBQ (p. 43)
Smarty-Pants Stroganoff (p. 44)
Swedish Meatballs in Cream Sauce (p. 61- this one has three hearts!)
Egg Roll in a Bowl (p. 62)
Alfredo Sauce (from the Chicken Alfredo recipe) (p. 67)
Creamless Creamy Chicken (p. 78)
Lentil Soup (p. 89)
Sweet Potato and Oat Soup (p. 102)
Wonder-wrap-ful Lasagna (p. 148)
Cheeseburger Pie (p. 149)
Fussless Fuel Pull Quiche (p. 151)
Potsticker Patties (p. 175)
Wonder Wraps (p. 204)
Perfect Pizza (p. 211)
Troodles (p. 222)
Light and Lovely Coleslaw (p. 231)
Big Fried-egg Trick (p. 243)
Banana Creamy Grains (p. 253)
Bring on da Buttah Pancakes (p. 262)
Chocolate Waffles with Strawberries (p. 265)
Brainy Blueberry Muffin (p. 275)
Luscious Lemon Cake (p. 289)
Trimtastic Chocolate Zucchini Cake (p. 296- with two hearts)
Bust-a-myth Banana Cake (p. 298)
Zapple Crumble (p. 337)
Collagen Berry Whip (p. 375- but I made it 'fruit', not berries...)
Skinny Chocolate (p. 377)
Treeces (p. 378- another two hearts!)
Skinny Peppermint Patties (p. 380)
Pay Off Day Candies (p. 381)
Good Girl Moonshine (p. 397)
The Shrinker (p. 400)
Pumpkin Pie Sipper (p. 401)
Winter Wonderland Sip (p. 405)
Thin Mint Chocolate Chip Shake (p. 410)
Trimmy Lite (p. 430)
Trimmy Rich (p. 430)
Hot Chocolate Trimmy (p. 431)
Vanilla Rooibos Trimmy (p. 433)
Turmeric Toddy Trimmy (p. 433)
Body-burn Mayonnaise (p. 470)
Peanut Junkie Butter (p. 481)
Trimquik (p. 494)