There were a handful of blogs that I discovered when I first began healing holistically. One of my main inspirations was Kimberly Snyder. I’ve always loved how accessible she makes healthy living, and most importantly she’s walking the walk. She’s always come across to me as very balanced inside and out, and she literally glows in every picture and video I see her in.

I’ve read both of her books before, and recently got really excited that she’s come out with a new one. I’m most excited because in the new book, she touches on beauty principles like meditation, the body’s second brain (in the gut!), positive thoughts, affirmations, and things other than what we eat that really affect health and wellbeing. The Beauty Detox Power is my kind of book!

There are apparently many other Kimberly Snyder fans in Pittsburgh because I’ve been on the wait list for this book at my library. While I’m waiting, I thought I’d take out one of her older books and make some of the recipes in it.

Believe it or not, despite being a really big fan of hers, I’ve barely made any of her recipes. Why? Well, they’re all very simple recipes, and many of them I have my own versions of. I think the simplicity speaks well of her ability to make healthy eating easy for anyone, not just those who have the culinary bug. Now that I’ve made more of her recipes, I can further back that statement up. The recipes are delicious as written, but they also would be as good if one were to get inspired to add and subtract ingredients intuitively.

My partner has been asking me to help him clean up his diet after his long, stressful winter mitigated by pizza, thai takeout, vegan cookie sandwiches, and the return of 2 liter bottles of sugary drinks. Of course, I thought I’d make some of Kimberly Snyder’s recipes and see how he likes them. They’ve all been successes, but the clear winner was Jenna’s baked falafel. It’s most likely going to make it into our dinner rotation.

What I’ve made so far:

Purple Cabbage Slaw (on a collard leaf with quinoa)

Spiralized Asian Veggie Salad and the Asian Tang Dressing (minus walnuts, plus clover sprouts)

Jenna’s Baked Falafel and the Oil-Free Garlic, Raw Apple Cider Vinegar, Tahini and Almond Butter Dressing (on a collard leaf with quinoa)

Fresh Asian Cucumber Spring Rolls

Portobello Mushroom Burgers. The second picture is a cross-section of the sandwich that I made. I topped the burger with sauerkraut and dijon mustard, wrapped it in a collard leaf (instead of topping with greens because it was a bit crumbly), and served it “open-faced” on a slice of gluten-free bread.

As I said before, the clear winner was the falafel, but we’ve really enjoyed every one of the recipes. My partner is grateful as well for my help with getting back in the groove of healthy, light, and sustaining meals!