Get Back to Basic and Leave Room for Dessert
Katzie Guy-Hamilton
The Experiment
January 1, 2019
Blurb: Pastry chef Katzie Guy-Hamilton was living her dream—traveling worldwide to represent Max Brenner chocolate—but her whirlwind lifestyle began taking a toll on her health. She started down the path to wellness by eating clean, but soon realized something essential was missing . . . dessert!
Today, Katzie cooks and eats “clean enough”—a more forgiving (and fun) approach that serves up equal helpings of healthful, effortless entrées and satisfying treats, all made with natural, whole ingredients and accessible techniques. Ranging from Blistered Miso Sweet Potatoes and Green Fava Baked Eggs, to Generous Chocolate Chunk Cookies and Pan di Spagna, the 100+ recipes in Clean Enough are designed to strike a delicious balance between savory and sweet; to be enjoyed on a busy weeknight, leisurely Sunday, or in the company of friends.
Katzie’s refreshing attitude toward health is a welcome reminder that there’s space in every day for broccoli and bread, mango and meringue. After all, eating clean is only half of living well—and you deserve enough to thrive.
SASCHA DARLINGTON’S REVIEW
At this time of year with good eating intentions still at the forefront of New Year’s resolutions, new recipe books on healthful eating are always welcome. Katzie Guy-Hamilton’s Clean Enough tries to find a niche by encouraging her readers to try new foods and adopt a healthier lifestyle while leaving room for dessert.
Honestly, none of the recipes in the “Clean” section of the book jumped out at me and begged to be eaten despite the fact that they are all vegetarian, although there is a gigante bean recipe that I might try. Many of the recipes are ones you will find in other cookbooks and sometimes better done. Take the guac recipe, for example. Why anyone would want a guacamole with red pepper flakes instead of fresh chilies and no fresh tomato is beyond me, both bring their own nutritional value to the table–or the dip–and add layered, healthy flavor.
As usual, there is a drink section with smoothies, and you may already know my opinion on those. The drink section does include a couple of nut milk recipes. And there’s a recipe for lemon and hot water…those are the ingredients…that you put in a mug…and wait until it’s cool enough to drink.
Where Clean Enough really shines, however, is in the last section with the dessert. Guy-Hamilton was a pastry chef, and many of these desserts are mouth-watering. The roasted coconut cookies are tantalizing as well as several of the cakes, coconut, and pies, caramelized apple, for instance.
The one thing that immediately jumped out at me while I read through the recipes in Clean Enough is that many of the recommended ingredients are not within everyone’s budget. Also, a section on where to acquire some of the rarer ingredients (pine pollen?) would have been welcome.
Get this one for the desserts.
I received an ARC in exchange for an honest review.
rating: 
3 butterflies and a ladybug out of 5 butterflies