Whole Food Energy: 200 All-Natural Recipes to Help You Prepare, Refuel, and Recover Paperback – January 1, 1611

I read about this book in magazine I subscribe to and though I own a lot of books on plant based healthy eating; decided to get it as it filled a much needed void in our home - creating healthy snacks. We eat healthy much of the time, but where we fell short was snacks for the kids lunchbox or if they wanted something between meals. We usually just rely on fruit and yogurt, but this book was packed full of creative and tasty ideas that we all enjoyed, and included great ideas that the kids could pack for school.To begin with it is loaded with recipes -over 200 in fact with multiple short, easy recipes on each page. So big points here both for the fact that you get so many ideas, and most importantly that so many of these are quick and easy. Like most families, we are super busy and if a book is loaded with complex recipes that call for many steps and weird ingredients, it is likely to collect dust on the shelf or be auctioned off on eBay, but this one is made for families, and even kids can figure these recipes out!The book begins with a quick guide to whole foods, including basic backgrounder, equipment you might need and a stocking up your pantry guide (and no expensive trips to health food stores needed here either). This is a great chapter that even includes ideas to energize, sustain and replenish your diet at different time points, and sample whole food day plans.The chapters are broken up as follows: Smoothies; juices and drinks; whole food mornings; granolas and trail mixes; quick bites; energy bars; energy balls; desserts and parfaits; and whole food staples (milks, yogurts and nut butters). This is followed by a section on nutritional information. Another huge call out here, is every recipe includes the nutritional information, which again owning a lot of health food books, is typically absent. This is invaluable for those watching calorie intakes or with specific dietary goals such as increasing protein intake or reducing carbs!Some of my favorites so far include the beet dips as for some odd reason I had an abundance of beets at home; and the energy bits in all forms. I recently discovered these and they are incredible on the go bites for fueling pre and post workout and give me so much energy! My ids are having a blast also as they work their way through the recipes in this book as many are just so simple!Great book for the whole family with many simple, quick but wholesome recipes for on the go energy! Love it!!

I have been lucky to have worked with Elise in the past and am a big fan of Kaleandchocolate.com so I was very excited to find out she was going to publish a book. It was so much more than I hoped for. While I have been fairly successful at eating better snacking has not been so successful. Whole Food Energy is a wonderful gift. The layout is wonderful and there are great tips throughout the book. I now have the tools to make really health snacks so that I do not have to resort to unhealthy choices like chips. I have already made my first recipe, the Sea Salt, Paprika, Cumin and Cinnamon Chickpeas. It was so easy and so delicious it beats chips anytime. I am looking forward to trying a few new recipes every week.

“Whole Food Energy” has already become a dog-eared and bookmarked staple of my family’s kitchen. As a busy working mother, Elise’s easy and plant-based recipes take weight off of my shoulders. With healthy yet indulgent breakfast options like Almond Butter Cup (ABC) smoothie and snacks like blueberry breakfast bars, my kitchen and purse are stocked with child-friendly and mother-approved on-the-go whole foods. This cookbook has also made cooking fun for the whole family as we set aside time during the weekend to batch-make some of these delicious recipes. This is an incredible cookbook for anyone who wants to fuel themselves in a fun, easy, and plant-based way with whole foods.

I have used many recipes and like most of them. I've found some keepers for sure! However, the binding of the book just fell apart after a couple of uses. I now have big chunks of this book. I would give the recipes 5 starts and the binding 1 star. Maybe they will improve it on the next edition!

WHOLE FOOD ENERGY by ELISE MUSELES is a must-have book for those who strive for a long-term healthy lifestyle. Ms Museles advocates for the integration of mindful eating with a gorgeous flare for the heightening of our senses. The nutritious recipes for smoothies, health-enriched bars, quick savory bites and more will motivate you into a realm of positive and sustainable mind-set. Among my favorites are the Guacamole, Coconut Ice Cubes and Frittata Cups. Positively delicious! I never thought eating healthy could be this much fun! Please order this quintessential compendium of an introduction to the new you...the you who can be healthy, energized and enriched while savoring every morsel of gratitude that Elise Museles can bestow. WHOLE FOOD ENERGY is a wonderful gift to others and to you.

A few of the recipes were featured in a magazine and I had to get the book. I was looking for something for my kids to eat other than the processed junk at the grocery store. This fits the bill. The recipes are very easy and use easily attainable ingredients. As long as you stock up on the dried fruit and nuts you are good to go. The only con I can see is that it says there are 200 recipes but there are quite a few that are single ingredient variations. Fro example, there is a recipe for simple chia seed pudding and the next recipe is zesty lemon chia seed pudding. The only difference is that you add lemon zest. Despite that, there are so many recipes in this book that appeal to me it still deserves 5 stars.

I just got lucky this week. I ordered two new cookbooks and love them both. This one is just fantastic. If you hate low-fat, low-carb, and other stupid unhealthy diets, but like high quality nutritious food in proper portions as a method of weight control, you will love this book. The recipes use all clean, ultra-nutritious ingredients, and if you already use a lot of veggies, seeds, nuts, and superspices in your kitchen, you will be able to start making recipes before you even have to go to the store. And if you don't have these ingredients, prepare for the small investment. It will be worth every penny. Great for fueling child athletes, too!