Blissful Bites: Vegan Meals That Nourish Mind, Body, and Planet [Paperback]

Christy Morgan (Author)

Book Description

Publication Date: September 6, 2011

Cooking in a way that’s good for you and for the environment—not to mention delicious—doesn’t have to be a pain; in fact, it can be sheer bliss. In Blissful Bites: Vegan Meals That Nourish Mind, Body, and Planet, Christy Morgan shows readers how to make healthy, delicious, animal-product free meals without a lot of effort. It’s been long-accepted that giving up animal products also means giving up easy and enjoyable cooking, but that’s just not true. Blissful Bites is a refreshing introduction to the idea that switching to a plant-based diet that uses locally grown and organic products can be easy and rewarding—for both body and mind.

Blissful Bites includes more than 150 recipes that make eating every meal healthier and exciting. Morgan, known to her online audience as “The Blissful Chef,” also delivers recipes that are easy for the typical home cook to follow, making a plant-based diet seem simpler and more delicious to implement than ever before.

Blissful Bites is filled with unique recipes and plenty of tips on how to live a healthier, more environmentally friendly life, without sacrificing an ounce of taste.

Editorial Reviews

Review

"Blissful Bites will take you on a spiritual culinary journey. It is filled with mouth watering recipes that are healthy and easy to prepare. This cookbook should be a staple in everyone's kitchen."

--Kim Barnouin, co-author of the #1 New York Times bestseller Skinny Bitch

"Blissful Bites will inspire you to make delicious, healthy meals you’ll enjoy feeding your family. Christy Morgan makes plant-based eating easy and addictive!"

--Rory Freedman, co-author of the #1 New York Times bestseller Skinny Bitch

"Blissful Bites is everything you’ve wanted on your path to optimal health, all in one beautiful book! The recipes are a paradise for your taste buds and a treat for your body. Christy Morgan has devised each one to bring you to the best of health in the most delicious possible way. If you want to slim down and boost your energy, or if you have any health concern—excess weight, high cholesterol, or diabetes, for example—this book will give you the tools you need.

Christy Morgan’s wonderful book makes the journey to health wonderfully easy and delicious!"

--Neal Barnard, MD, President of the Physicians Committee for Responsible Medicine

"Finally—a cookbook that speaks directly to the soul! Christy Morgan’s Blissful Bites is a perfect combination of healthy and satisfying recipe ideas, both light and filling, with just the right mix of food philosophy and spiritual inspiration blended in.

Emphasizing local, organic, seasonal, plant-based cuisine, there is a solid and friendly feel to this book that inspires trust and confidence. Highly recommended!"

--Will Tuttle, PhD, author of the best-selling book, The World Peace Diet, recipient of the Courage of Conscience Award, the co-founder of Circle of Compassion, and an acclaimed pianist and composer.

"Using only healthy, whole food ingredients, Blissful Bites if packed full of simple vegan recipes to help you add a delicious twist to any meal. This book is a must have for every kitchen."

--Ani Phyo, author of Ani's Raw Food Asia

"I am constantly amazed by Christy's ability to whip up stellar dishes seemingly out of thin air; she is prolific, talented, and an inspiration. Blissful Bites is a must-have in any healthy kitchen."

--Jessica Porter, author of The Hip Chick's Guide to Macrobiotics

About the Author

Christy Morgan, also known as The Blissful Chef, is a successful vegan macrobiotic chef whose business is changing people’s lives through healthy cooking classes, lectures, in-home cooking instruction, healthy living consultations, and corporate team building. With her first cookbook Blissful Bites and various online and offline articles, she is well-published in the world of natural foods.

Training at The Natural Epicurean Academy of Culinary Arts in Austin, Texas strengthened Christy’s knowledge of nutrition and diet, and deepened her passion for food and the world around her. After graduating, she moved back to Los Angeles to follow her new dream of helping others to find the balance and health benefits that she was now experiencing. After four years of cooking and teaching in Los Angeles, Christy took to the online world, where her videos and blogs allow her to share her knowledge, passion, and delicious recipes with countless fans around the globe.

Christy’s on a mission to show that clean food can be delicious and easy to make—and will bring more energy and bliss into your life. Her fun and informative classes teach amateurs and seasoned veterans alike how to create simple yet delicious, sustainable, “green” meals using local organic produce and seasonal cooking techniques.

Product Details

• Paperback: 280 pages
• Publisher: BenBella Books; Original edition (September 6, 2011)
• Language: English
• ISBN-10: 1935618512
• ISBN-13: 978-1935618515
• Product Dimensions: 6.9 x 0.7 x 9.1 inches
• Shipping Weight: 1.6 pounds (View shipping rates and policies)
• Average Customer Review: 4.7 out of 5 stars  See all reviews (74 customer reviews)
• Amazon Best Sellers Rank: #63,464 in Books (See Top 100 in Books)
  • #93 in Books > Health, Fitness & Dieting > Diets & Weight Loss > Vegetarian

More About the Author

Christy's passion and mission is to help others make the connection between the mind, body, and spirit, and to show that healthy food not only tastes great but makes you feel amazing too. Her fun, informative cooking classes teach amateurs and seasoned veterans how to make sustainable, "green" meals using local organic produce and seasonal cooking techniques. Recently having moved to Austin, she is offering her services to corporations and individuals in Austin and all around Texas. She is available to travel and speak at your next conference or festival!

Christy's first career was far from natural foods cooking. After receiving a Fashion Design degree from The University of Texas she moved to Los Angeles to work in wardrobe for movies and television. While in LA she became friends with many vegans, watched the Meet Your Meat video on PETA, and decided to give veganism a try. Christy didn't know then that vegan cooking would become her passion in life. One thing she did know was that she wanted to help people and have a career that was compassionate. After visiting The Natural Epicurean Academy of Culinary Arts in Austin she decided to move back to attend specializing in vegan, macrobiotic cuisine.

Studying macrobiotic principles gave her a foundation for optimal health that Christy couldn't experience just being vegan. After graduating, she moved back to Los Angeles to follow her dreams of helping others find the balance and optimum health that she discovered. After private chefing for celebrities like Alicia Silverstone, Christy decided to give blogging a try and fell in love with the blogging community. It's makes her so happy to bring blissful food, cooking videos, and other healthful information to the world. When people want to make lasting impacts on their health and lifestyle they look for The Blissful Chef.

Christy contributes wellness tips and healthy recipes for various websites like One Green Planet, Elephant Journal, Happy Cow, and Christina Cooks. Her blogs include delicious cooking videos and recipes, ways in which you can make easy changes in your diet and lifestyle, nutritional information for those flirting with plant-based diets, and anything to do with living a eco-friendly life.

Thanks for joining us on this adventure to happier hearts, stuffed bellies, and higher consciousness!

Most Helpful Customer Reviews

107 of 113 people found the following review helpful

4.0 out of 5 stars Vibrant Vegan Recipes for the Health-Conscious September 6, 2011

By Jennifer Mo VINE™ VOICE

Format:Paperback

You'd be forgiven for thinking that a diet without animal products, processed foods, nightshades (tomatoes, potatoes, peppers, eggplants), alliums (onions and garlic), wheat, and oil would be a particularly cruel form of punishment. Blissful Bites proves otherwise. While it didn't convert me to author Christy Morgan's super healthy way of eating, I definitely did enjoy the colorful and, yes, tasty recipes within it.

Blissful Bites is a collection of over 175 vegan and macrobiotic recipes, including some raw and gluten-free dishes. Most are low in oil and (more importantly for me) can be made in under 45 minutes. There's an emphasis on seasonal, whole foods and hardly a stick of Earth Balance or bag of Daiya to be seen. Also good: lots of glossy, full color pictures to inspire you. Sections, which feature recipes organized by season, include breakfast, salads, soups and appetizers, sea vegetables, grains, and desserts.

To be perfectly honest, I wasn't immediately attracted to many of the recipes. The author favors very different spices and seasonings than I do -- lots of recipes call for miso, different vinegars, sea vegetables, brown rice syrup, ginger, coriander, and nutritional yeast. But I rolled up my sleeves and started cooking. Instructions were clear and easy to follow, and although everything tasted very different from what I usually eat, nothing was less than enjoyable. I faced down my tofu prejudices and surprised myself by liking the Southwest Tofu Scramble. The Un-Tuna sandwich filler, which calls for garbanzo beans, was a welcome change from my usual mock tuna recipe with green onions, and the Sweet Carrot-Ginger Bisque had a delicate, mild flavor with a definite zap at the very end. The soup section is my favorite; there are quite a few that I'm looking forward to trying this fall.

A few caveats: I didn't find the dessert section very interesting, since 1) my kitchen is not equipped for vegan, gluten-free baking, and 2) I refuse to believe that tofu has any place in dessert. I also found that a few of the recipes sacrifice a little flavor or time to be healthier. If I make the Sage-Infused Polenta Fries again, I will probably pan-fry rather than bake them. Also, a number of the recipes in Blissful Bites will require either substitutions or trips to Whole Foods for the more obscure ingredients (palm sugar, arrowroot powder, dulse flakes, brown rice flour).

Being neither vegan, macro, low-fat, nor gluten-free, I'm probably not quite the right type of eater to get the most out of Blissful Bites. But macrobiotic vegans and other health conscious eaters might well fall in love with its bright flavors and emphasis on healthy yet tasty meals.

43 of 43 people found the following review helpful

5.0 out of 5 stars Full of winners! September 15, 2011

By Nicole Burley

Format:Paperback

I am a health coach and I go through a LOT of cookbooks! Personally, I'm not much of a cook or a chef without a recipe to follow - and I don't like to spend more than 45-minutes on making a meal - so I'm always looking for recipes or cookbooks that make it EASY and doable to make something wonderful. I swear - I have yet to make a recipe from this cookbook that wasn't fantastic. Everything has turned out great! And they have been EASY and quick to put together. I am in heaven. This is my new go-to book. Christy's book is full of top-notch information and tips - and the recipes are seriously delicious. Some of my favorites are the penne with creamy red pepper sauce (my husband flipped for this), the macro mac and cheese, Mac n' Kale (my new favorite salad), soba noodles with peanut sauce, and the lemony-lime hummus. I should also add that this is the first review I have ever written for a cookbook - so you know I am serious about this one! Blissful Bites will do wonderful things for your health, your spirit, and your taste buds. I highly recommend it!

32 of 33 people found the following review helpful

5.0 out of 5 stars Excellent cookbook with delicious and healthy recipes August 27, 2011

By viaje34

Format:Paperback

I really love this cookbook. The recipes are fresh, healthy and delicious. It's organized efficiently and beautifully with incredible attention to detail. It is full of beautiful photos, not just a few scattered here and there. The recipes are organized as follows: Breakfast and brunch of champions; Appetizers and soups for every occasion; Not-your-average fresh salads and dressings; Delectable vegetable sides; Whole grains and carbs do a body good; Sea vegetables, huh?; Compassionate proteins; and Healthier desserts you crave. Each of these individual sections begins with a table of contents and the recipes are organized by season. So far my favorites include the fresh corn and zucchini frittata (LOVED it!), curry chicken-less salad and lemon-basil potato salad. I highly recommend this cookbook and look forward to using it often.