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!

Don't let the Gluten-Free/Vegan part scare you - this Montana cattle ranching gal... LOVES this cookbook by Tess Masters. This is one of those cookbooks that you'll have out on your kitchen counter all the time, as the photos are just exquisite!! (Do I dare say to put it on the coffee table?)... but no, you'll want to use it daily, so probably buy 2 !! First of all, I know very little about alkaline, gluten, superfoods, enzymes... but Tess talks you thru it and it's really quite fascinating. I love that she talks "real" and that my 11 year old Osterizer Blender would do the trick.. and it does !! My all time favorite recipe is the Cauliflower Soup.... I don't care what time of year, this is comfort food at it's best (and healthy!) I have definitely gone outside my comfort zone in trying some of these recipes (and word of wisdom: Tahini is NOT like peanut butter... it looks like you want to just grab a spoon and eat it-- but don't... ewww, I learned the hard way!). So, dust off that blender and have a great time with these amazing recipes !!

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.

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.

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.

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

This is a real inspiring way for me to use alot of raw vegetables and fruits in smoothies and juices to get the amount of nutrients, vitamins and minerals I need per day. I love the milk alternatives. She knows her blenders, done all the research for you. I love this book and pleased to see others in the world that live passionately and ethically not harming animals for food source that we really don't need. Advertising and habits and cause we were told that to get our certain proteins and other vitamins and minerals we have to derive from animals. I don't hold that as my values or beliefs and since I made the change. I feel that we are making a difference in the world. Thanks for opening my eyes to wonderful delicious recipes that are not hard at all. Healthier too.

Just what I was hoping for. The book has tasty, simple dishes that are at my skill level, and are useful practice for getting my cooking skills up and running

I live in the south of France now and just discovered the Blender Girl blog. I am gluten, egg and dairy free due to food allergies... yikes, and I LOVE this blog and now this amazing book!!! Well done. beautiful piece of work, lots of great recipes.. although there is no Kale here but I can grow it in my garden... as well as I can scrounge up other ingredients thanks to the internet :-).. I have a Vitamix and now will be using it every day!! Thanks you Tess!!!

'The Blender Girl' by Tess Masters was beyond my expectations. I bought it when I was searching for a good recipe book to use with my new Omni Blender (think vitamix/blendtec.) I knew my big boy blender had many uses, and I wanted to get my money's worth out of it. This book does not disappoint, but more than that, these recipes are absolutely amazing! Though I lean towards a vegan diet, I am not a vegan and neither is my hubby. Yet, these recipes will definitely appeal to vegans and non-vegans alike. This is not a smoothie book (though smoothie recipes are included), there is plenty of variety here! Amazing dips, sauces, drinks, salad dressings, casseroles, soups, main dishes, you name it! If you get this book, you HAVE to try the raspberry cheesecake smoothie- gorgeous! As well as trying the Alkaline tacos and edamame dip- a-MAZ-ing! The vegan mayo is my go-to mayonnaise recipe now. I used to try to make it with eggs, but it just was the store mayo I grew up on (I know, that sounds awful!) I needed that creamy mayo that I was used to- this recipe does it! There is nutritional info included here as well, and I use it as a reference (and believe me, I have a LOT of health reference books!) This book is well made, beautifully crafted, and has awesome recipes. Definitely worth buying.

Love the receipes, an easy read and easy to make receipies with nice pictures, it's the book laying on my countertop since a few month now, and I tried already a few receipies! I would buy it again!

In una parola: SPETTACOLARE!!!!!! Ogni salutista dovrebbe averlo, mentre per iVegan.... un MUST HAVE!!! Scritto bene, ricette favolose, tante cose nuove da imparare, insomma libro da 10e Lode! :D