Cookbook Review: The Clean Plate by Gwyneth Paltrow
Disclosure: This post may contain affiliate links, meaning, at no additional cost to you, I will earn a commission if you choose to click through and make a purchase. All comments and suggestions are my own. Since I am not a healthcare professional, please make sure to always seek the advice of your doctor before following a new diet or workout regimen.
After my latest blog post about eating clean for a full month, I received so many questions about what our family actually eats and details about the specific cookbook I am using. ALL the recipes that I currently use for eating clean came from this single cookbook.
What cookbook? you ask.
It’s The Clean Plate: Eat, Reset, Heal by Gwyneth Paltrow. And dare I say, that this cookbook completely changed the way I looked at healthier eating and healed my body from the inside out. Let me give you a little tour of how our family has used it and why we think it is crazy AWESOME.
The cookbook is divided into two parts: “The Recipes” and “Healing Cleanses”.
My first word of advice would be to read the beginning of the book labeled “Cooking With This Book.” I promise you. You won’t want to skip over this section. Here, Paltrow explains the four different cleanses, notes on serving sizes, how she categorizes each recipe, what items you will need in your pantry and fridge, and essential kitchen equipment she will be using throughout the book. Keep in mind that not every cookbook will fit the lifestyle or the diet of a particular person or family. And if you feel like you are going to have to break the bank just to keep up with these recipes, then I would say have fun looking through the book, but maybe put it off for now. Always do your research before you invest.
From there, I actually moved to the very back of the book where Gwyneth goes over six doctor-supported cleanses that you can follow. The cleanses are labeled Fat Flush, Heavy Metal Detox, Adrenal Support, Candida Reset, Heart Health, & Veg-Friendly Ayurveda. What I loved about this section is that you can read Paltrow’s thorough interviews with each doctor on the background and facts that support each cleanse and what it can do for your body. At the end of each interview, she even includes a “Food Shortlist” that lays out what foods you should be avoiding and foods that are great to add to your diet if you follow that specific cleanse. Want more? Paltrow also includes a seven-day menu for breakfast, lunch, and dinner that uses certain recipes from her book. Basically, it’s all there laid out for you to make your life super easy.
Since I knew I wanted to feel lighter and gain more energy, I personally took on both the Fat Flush and the Adrenal Support Cleanses.
After I knew which foods I could eat and which ones I wanted to steer clear from, I moved back to the recipe sections of the cookbook.
Let me just stop and say this. And you have gotta hear me out on this. Before this cookbook, I thought that eating clean meant that I would have to eat boring salads and raw vegetables would soon be my life. But what is SO STANKIN’ AMAZING about this cookbook is the amount of FLAVOR she infuses in every single recipe. You don’t feel like you are depriving yourself of anything because the food is just that good. Even my family was completely on board after the first 2 recipes we tried. And did I mention that there were so many recipes that required 15 ingredients or less and the procedures were easy to follow? This cookbook changed my idea of cleansing for just a week into an “all-in” attitude that is excited to make this healthy lifestyle change a permanent one.
My suggestion? Have fun going through all of the different recipes and see which ones would interest you. Sit down with your family, let them look through the cookbook, and make a meal plan together.
Want to know which recipes made our family’s favorites list? Here they are!
Breakfast
1. Easy Frittata
2. Seed Cracker with Smoked Salmon
3. Seed Cracker with Egg & Avocado
4. Sweet Buckwheat Porridge
5. Black Rice Pudding with Coconut Milk & Mango
Soups
1. Brown Rice, Turmeric & Spinach Porridge
2. Coconut Chicken Soup
3. Peruvian Chicken Cauli Rice Soup
4. Chicken Meatball Pho
5. Broccoli-Parsnip Soup
Salads, Bowls & Rolls
1. Teriyaki Bowl
2. Nori Salad Roll
3. Kimchi Chicken Lettuce Cups
4. Brown Rice Grain Bowl with Kale, Broccoli & Sesame
5. Carrot & Beet Slaw
A Little More Filling
1. Faux Meat Beet Tacos
2. Chicken & Cabbage Dim Sum
3. Braised Mexican Nomato Chicken
4. Sheet Pan Chicken Curry
5. White Bean & Zucchini Burgers
Drinks & Snacks
1. Cacao Date Truffles (a must for those who love sweets & chocolate)
2. Apricot, Cashew & Coconut Truffles
3. Dandelion Coconut Mocha (if you wanna kick the coffee to the curb)
Basics
1. Seed Cracker
2. Aquafaba Mayo
3. Cilantro Salsa Verde
4. Pickled Red Onions & Cucumbers
5. Cauliflower Rice
And lastly, hear me when I say this. You do not want to skip over “The Basic” section of this cookbook. All of these yummy recipes for condiments, dressings, sauces, and more are exactly what you need to take your clean eating meals from drab to flavor fab. Our family was obsessed with putting the “Cilantro Salsa Verde” and “Aquafaba Mayo” on pretty much EVERYTHING. Salads. Soups. Scrambled Eggs. Toast. If it was anything savory, you better believe that one of those two condiments was on it. Most of my Sunday food prep practices would be revolved around making tons of recipes from this section. And if you have ever wanted to make your own cauliflower rice, roasted beets, or chicken stock from scratch, this cookbook has you covered.
So overall, I would say that The Clean Plate by Gwyneth Paltrow is a MUST HAVE cookbook if you are on the road to a healthier lifestyle. Beautiful photos. Easy to follow instructions. Flavorful recipes. Life-changing outlooks on clean eating.
Our family is hooked!
Until next time, sweet friends…Happy & Healthy Eating!