Mind Food

This is a gorgeous book with a thoughtful message that is inspiring, hopeful, and holistic. It is curated like a minimalistic instagram feed with neutral pottery that lets the colors in the food really shine. I loved the photography, especially that it came across as more "lifestyle" since that is the message of the book. She also experiments with CBD cooking.

The book is broken into sections by season, which I love. There are additional sections for Drinks, Desserts, Pantry Staples, Far Out Fermentation, and Make a Batch.

Some standout recipes that I look forward to making: The Ultimate Kimchi Curry, Smoked Carrots on Charcoal Pancakes, Miso Porridge and Cacao Baked Beetroot.

The recipes are inventive, colorful, and healthful. This is a great book for everyone interested in cooking more holistically and healthfully. This book greatly succeeds in achieving what it sets out to do!

This book is really helpful and informative! I cant wait to revisit this for meal planning and such.

So picturesque!! This cookbook is nothing but good vibes and hearty, healthy, delicious meal ideas. The interludes with healthy living tips were inspirational and wholesome. I have plenty of fun smoothie ideas to try!

Thank you to netgalley for providing a digital copy in exchange for an honest review.

I really enjoyed this book. It’s a great reference for a plant based diet. I will continue to use this while I try to meal prep my weeks!

Mind Food is an absolutely gorgeous book. The photographs are just stunning! I thoroughly enjoyed reading the notes and recipes throughout the seasons. From purple plants to peaches and cream chia, there is not a recipe in here that I wouldn't try. If you are diving into plant based eating, or are already vegan, you will love this book.

Many thanks to NetGalley and The Quarto Group for the eARC in return for an honest review.

I received a copy of this book through NetGalley in exchange for an honest review.

While some of the recipes in this book are appealing, the approach is concerning at times.

The premise of this book is essentially we are what we eat, so the less steps between food coming out of the ground and us eating it is makes us feel better. While this may be true, this book focuses on eating to improve mental health, which isn't something that can be guaranteed. There's a small disclaimer that food can't replace medication, but other than that this book doesn't have a super nuanced exploration of food and mental health.

The recipes themselves are interesting. I was hoping for more pictures since I like pictures in recipe books. There's a big focus on vegetables and minimally processed foods.

The most enticing part of a book about food is the photographs; Mind Food is crammed with stunning, colourful mouthwatering dishes that makes you want grab your apron and start cooking! Interesting concepts shared, you can’t avoid the feel good vibes promoted by the fresh, natural ingredients used to create these healthy recipes. Amazingly, the decadent dessert section which looks truly ‘naughty’ might actually be ‘nice’ - the ingredients used are innovative offering just the sweet treats we love without the guilt!

This cookbook is a stunning resource! The photography is beautiful and the recipes look delicious. I can't wait to give them a try. This is definitely one I'll return to again and again. Many thanks to the author, publisher, and NetGalley for the advanced copy of the book.

This is a nice book, showing some lovely recipes that I can't wait to try!

Thanks to Lauren Lovatt, NetGalley, and Leaping Hare Press for this copy.

I received a copy of this from NetGalley in exchange for an honest review.

This is a beautiful book. The pictures are fantastic and it was funny of delicious looking food that will nourish both your body and your mind!

Lauren Lovatt has created a beautiful book that is a necessity to read for anyone struggling with severe mental health issues. Combining holistic and traditional healing methods with personal anecdotes, Lovatt walks readers through seasonal, plant-based recipes that anyone can make. Each recipe has been crafted with the reader's mental health in mind, as well as a description of what each ingredient has to offer the reader in their journey to healing their mental health. I really enjoyed reading this cookbook and learning about the healing properties of plant-based eating. The pictures are beautiful, colorful, and the language is simple and inviting. Although I am not plant-based, I plan to incorporate some of the recipes into my weekly cooking, as I am sure anyone who struggles with their mental health would surely do after reading this book. I wish that it was longer, and had more recipes included, which is why I did not give it a full five-star rating. I would recommend this cookbook to anyone who has mental health struggles and wants to use food as additional healing support.

Mind Food is one seriously beautiful cookbook. You can tell that so much work went into the images and down to every last detail the layout and design make it very easy to read. It’s very clear how much living a mind food focused life has helped Lovatt, and she is very passionate about sharing it in the hopes of helping others improve their own lives. This is a solid mix of recipes, grouped by the seasons to encourage eating seasonally. There is also quite a few pantry staple recipes, like hemp milk and nut butter, which give you the ability to really customize your ingredients to your own taste.

In general it’s pretty sound nutritional advice- that she gives with the endorsement of a registered Dietician Nutritionist- but I don’t know if it’s totally practical for your average reader. It focuses on unprocessed, whole foods, which are good for everyone, but it leaves very little wiggle room for those wanting to follow the lifestyle while living a life not conducive to cooking everything from scratch. There is some information on batch cooking toward the end, but one looking at this as a lifestyle guide instead of just a book of recipes to pull from may still find this lifestyle inaccessible. Also, the ‘Tonic Herbs’ mentioned in the blurb of the book basically mean adaptogen powers, many from mushrooms and roots, which can be very expensive. They are optional in most of the recipes they are in, and do last a long time since the doses are small, but they are expensive. I worry someone reading this book would find they can’t afford a $30+ jar of brown powder and give up on including more whole foods into their diet. It’s the same with CBD oil. It’s used as a drizzle on multiple recipes, so it’s easily omitted, but could give someone the wrong idea that eating more vegetables is expensive.

I tried her ‘Sunshine Cup,’ which was an interesting way to try saffron and learn what it’s flavor is like. ‘Hemp butter’ was fun to make, and doesn’t have too strong of a taste, so I can see it working in a lot of recipes to create a creamy texture. The ‘garlic sprouts’ were fantastic too, but my favorite were the ‘Kale Chips’. The chickpea flour makes such a great breading, and even the veggie haters in my life enjoyed them.

Overall a beautiful book with some good recipes, even if the lifestyle it promotes may not quite be for everyone.

Thanks to NetGalley for the ARC in exchange for my honest review.

I adore 'Mind Food' by Lauren Lovatt. The book had everything I am looking for in not only a wellness book, a cookbook, and for me a lifestyle book but it captured the joy of why conscious eating, conscious choices of food can give you such a feeling of joy.. Food can make you feel like you're living your best life because of those choices that make you feel so vibrant. You know when you go to the grocery store, a good one, and you are surrounded by all this great quality food and it just makes you feel happy to be alive? This book gave me that moment also. The writing, the photography even the serve ware spoke to me. I almost feel like it was written for me and so timely with so much great produce about to be available..

The book is divided into seasons, which I always appreciate in a cookbook because when you appreciate quality food you make a lot of your food choices by seasonally available. Chosing food is at its peak, its freshness and celebrating its season, whether it's lemons, asparagus, pomegranates, persimmons, etc. I tried the "Spring Board' recipe which I thought was very inventive and it did not disappoint. It made me use my nutritional yeast again and start adding in into the foods I eat again.

I loved this book so much I could go on and on but to sum it up 'Mind Food' captures the whole mind-body experience of food, especially these plant-based recipes which are crucial to what our bodies are needing. I also need to point out Lauren Lovatt's writing was relatable, personal, and touched on why food is so great not just for our bodies but why the mind is a conduit to bringing us together which also serves our well being, can bring bonding with our love of food preparation togetherness and the reason why we embrace the joy food can bring to our lives.

So many beautiful photographs, the majority of recipes have a photo that I greatly appreciate because it brings more interest in creating the recipe and there are also such fun names for recipes, such as 'Sunshine on a Plate, 'Smashing Summer Salad 'and 'Garden of My Mind'. Each recipe will list how much it serves, the time taken to prepare, the ingredients, and how to serve the recipe.

'Mind Food' is innovative, a nod to mindfulness, and a joy. An absolute joy. It's everything I've been waiting for in a cookbook from its recipes, photos, inspiring trying new ingredients, or incorporating more of what I love. At the end of the book, Lauren has included in the Resources section links of great sites for mindfulness, wellbeing, and mental health resources. The only thing I would change is a resource section for the serveware used. I would love to know how to get the marble plate used on Cacao Bake Beetroot. I've searched the world over for one. Like many who have great serveware it's curated over many years of collecting and many in shops or places where it was just a found treasure. That's what this book is for me a surprising joyful treasure in a sea of so many unoriginal cookbooks, same ol same old cookbooks this one is so set apart from the tiring same cookbooks. Mind Food regenerates our bodies, minds and brings the joy of a lifestyle of plant based foods and embraces why such simple things as bringing plants together bring an alchemy of the senses from food, from color pairings, taste pairing, and great scents. Such joy. when this is captured in this simplicity but it creates so much magic. This one I will buy and it will be on my living room table not tucked on a shelf.

I love this. Loved the connection between food and mental health. Really cool to see the author give us plant based recipes and the concept that "we are what we eat" is very true so we should try and preserve the food or do less to it. I loved this. And want the physical copy'

I have been leaning more plant based lately and MIND FOOD looked exactly like a cookbook I would be into.

I really enjoyed the sections separated by season. Having foods and nutrients by season is important. There are also sections for desserts and fermented foods. The focus on mental health is seen throughout and I really needed to take in some of this information. The author also included some self-care rituals to go along with the recipes, which I appreciated.

An enjoyable book and good to refer to if you are considering a plant based diet. I will be using this going forward for meal ideas and inspiration.

Wonderful, delicious recipes for each season. Includes meals, drinks, and desserts. Each recipe is simple and the ingredients are healthy. I found the directions to be straightforward and easy to follow. The pictures are bright and make each item look delicious.

This book was beautiful and Insightful! The few recipes I tried were nourishing and yummy. I loved the way she organized them in seasons, I can’t wait to try more when the produce becomes more in season.

The photos are beautiful and I would try some of these recipes. Some of the recipes use Hemp and CBD ingredients. The recipes look great and they're colorful and fresh looking. I received a free digital copy of this book from NetGalley in exchange for my honest review

Mind Food is a fairly slim volume written under the premise, "We are what we eat." The author has used her own mental health struggles to come to a way of eating healthy, plant based food for well being. You know who else espouses this? Jane Goodall, my hero!

The author presents a series of recipes with a "tag" of how they may affect mood. The tags are soothe, chill, lift, balance, and focus. Some reviewers seem to take umbrage at the book, as if the author is giving medical advice on how to handle mental illness. I had a different take. To me, these recipes and this way of eating are just one of many tools in the toolbox to live a healthy life. Who hasn't binged on a bag of potato chips, then suffered the greasy, queasy regretful aftereffects? Conversely, who hasn't eaten a salad made with fresh seasonal ingredients beautifully presented, and not had the resulting feeling of well being and contentment of a choice well made afterwards?

This book presents the reader with a few of these recipes to sprinkle into your week, in the hopes of ultimately eating delicious foods that will garner good feelings, in addition to their healthy effects. The pictures are gorgeous, and while I wouldn't say the recipes necessarily look easy or quick to prepare, the author presents them as almost a meditative way to give attention to one's health. I have reviewed a few cookbooks, and generally they are filled with lovely pictures and recipes, but this is one I will actually be seeking out because I like the premise, and there are some interesting recipes. I also like the way the author divides the recipes into seasons, as this is when it is easier to find certain produce. Lastly, I was most drawn to the chapter on fermentation, as I have felt the postivie effects of drinking kombucha, and I would like to add more fermented foods into my diet.

Thank you to author Lauren Lovatt, Quarto Publishing/White Lion, and NetGalley for allowing me to view this ARC in exchange for an honest review.