IT'S ALL GOOD: Delicious, Easy Recipes That Will Make You Look Good and Feel Great

I'm delighted that this cookbook is so highly rated on Amazon, because it deserves it. When I have given this book an enthusiastic recommendation in the real world, I'm usually met with an incredulous look.It's All Good is beautifully styled and photographed, and the recipes are well written (well, sort of dorkily-written, but I just opened my review with the word "delighted," so, you know...). Frankly, I don't see what there is to dislike about it. I suspect that the poor ratings come primarily from people who dislike Gwenyth Paltrow the Public Persona, which is ridiculous; there is a lot to be outraged about in the world, so directing your vitriol to some actress who writes cookbooks in her spare time borders on the absurd. (Can we digress for a tiny second? Let's just take a brief retrospective of Paltrow's life: she was born to and raised by Blythe Danner; then she grew up, dated Brad Pitt, and finally settled down with the singer for one of the highest-grossing bands in the English-speaking world. And now normal people bemoan the fact that she's unrelatable. With that biography, I'm surprised that the entirety of this book isn't just an advocation for eating caviar smeared on shaved black truffle as you bathe in a tub of La Mer. I wouldn't even call myself a Paltrow fan--my opinion of her is pretty much limited to, "Oh, isn't she pretty?"--but I think it's adorable that she basically wrote a cookbook showing us how she [or her personal chef] cooks her vegetables.)More important than the presentation of the book itself are the recipes contained therein, and they are GOOD; all of them fall somewhere on the spectrum between "Hey, this is pretty tasty," and "OMG IN MY MOUTH WHAT IS THIS AMAZING THING?".I'm vegan, so I can't speak to any of the meaty recipes, but even with approximately 1/3 of the book rendered useless to me, I still use it a few times a week. I have tried the following:Avocado toast: I've been making this for years, and despite its non-recipe status, I'm still glad it's in here. The world deserves to know about avocado toast.Sweet Potato + Five Spice Muffins: These are AMAZING. I have made them both gluten-free and with autumn red whole wheat flour (it was a 1:1 swap) and they were good both ways. I liked the results with the whole wheat flour slightly better, because the texture provided by whole wheat flour is a good compliment for the flavors in these muffins. But nevertheless, following the recipe as-is (which is to say, gluten-free) is totally delicious, and I have baked them for everyone I know who can't process gluten.Buckwheat-Banana Pancakes: I haven't bothered with any other pancake recipe since discovering this one. It is perfect.Go-to Black Beans: These aren't drop-everything amazing, but they ARE pretty tasty and I use the recipe often. I mean, it's a recipe for black beans, so what do you expect?Mexican Green Goddess Dressing: This is pretty delicious. It's perfect for when you can't handle one more cilantro-lime vinaigrette on your Mexican-ish salad.Carrot-Ginger Dressing: Also delicious! I was practically drinking it the first time I made it.Apple Cider Vinaigrette: This was my least favorite of the dressings, but it was still good enough that I would probably make it again.Green Goddess Dressing: My favorite of the dressings--it's a long list of ingredients (mostly herbs), but worth the effort. A note: in general, I find these salad dressings a smidgen too sweet; I would recommend beginning with half of the recommended amount of sweetener and then adding more to taste.White Bean + Swiss Chard Soup: I made a soup like this once before and my tactless ex-boyfriend described it as "like gruel," but he was a ridiculous human being. That soup was good, and so is this one, even if the texture is a little strange (it's halfway between a normal rustic soup and a pureed soup).Spicy Sweet Potato Soup with Chipotle + Coriander: I was using fingerling sweet potatoes in this recipe and ended up needing to more than double the number to get the right texture (in short: if the recipe calls for large sweet potatoes, it means it), but once I did, it was really good! When I had leftovers, I stirred in steamed kale, black beans and avocado and gave it a squeeze of lime. Do that.Korean Slaw: I never thought I would get excited about slaw, BUT SERIOUSLY: this is delicious slaw! And it's surprisingly versatile. I use it on my kung pao tacos, and when I have leftovers I use it as a bed for proteins.Miso-almond sauce: I probably was least impressed with this recipe, mostly because it reminded me of a lesser version of macro-crack (2 parts tahini plus one part tamari; add water to reach desired consistency). It was still good, don't get me wrong--but seriously. Try macro crack.Charred Corn with Sage: If you're tired of making elotes, make this!Roasted Cauliflower + Chickpeas with Mustard + Parsley: This is the first thing I made in this book, and it's really delicious. It's pretty oily, but that's what makes it so satisfying! Though it's listed as a side dish, it's both calorically dense and filling enough that it can (should?) be served as a main course.Risotto with Peas + Greens: Other reviewers have called this recipe a bomb, but they are crazy. This is one of my favorites in the book! It may be a non-traditional risotto dish, but it's basically a flavor explosion. Maybe it should be called something else?Almond + Kale smoothie: THIS IS DELICIOUS. I like to drink it and pretend like I'm actually health-minded, as though having kale for breakfast can negate the fact that I had ice cream for dinner the night before.Creamy Avocado + Cacao smoothie: I modified this a bit (I use chocolate hemp protein powder instead of hemp seeds and cacao, and then I add flax--you know, for fun), but I wholeheartedly endorse anything that makes use of avocado.Bernardo's Pumpkin Pie Shake: So tasty! Rather than the whey and ice cubes, I substitute half of a frozen banana. I also add cinnamon, because duh.Banana Ice Cream with Sweet-and-Salty Roasted Almonds: I have always been a big fan of banana sorbets, but this blew me away with its simplicity and with how badly I wanted to eat all of it in one sitting.And there are still other recipes in here that I want to try! This book has definitely paid for itself by now (if you assume that if I hadn't made something from this cookbook, I would have gone and gotten a pizza instead; I'm a college student so that assumption isn't too far fetched).To address some of the criticisms that have been leveled at the book:1. It's littered with aspirational photos of Paltrow. Like, a lot of them. -- Well, yeah, that's true. But as another reviewer pointed out, that is the case with any celebrity cookbook. And, I feel inclined to add, this really happens whenever the cookbook author is conventionally attractive. On a related note, there is maybe a little more editorializing by Gwenyth and co. in this book than in a normal cookbook, but again: it's a celebrity cookbook. Who cares? Are the cookbook police forcing you to read it?2. The ingredients are esoteric and expensive. -- I actually find this completely untrue, but I am an occasionally health-minded vegan, and already the sort of person who bought a jar of Vegenaise to keep at her (practically carnivorous) boyfriend's apartment just in case of emergency. If you live in an area with privileged food access, as I do (I live in a coastal, urban area), you won't have any problem finding the ingredients.3. You need a fancypants blender. -- This is actually less true than the editorial parts of the book would have you believe. I have a fancypants blender (Ninja NL770 MEGA Blender, whatwhat!), but for a long time I made do with a crappy Oster that had a semi-burned out motor, and even that hunk of junk could have handled most of the recipes in the book. You're out of luck if you want to make the carrot dressing or kale smoothie; otherwise, probably any old blender will do. I have lost count of the number of cookbooks that have inexplicably presumed that I was in possession of a food processor, so this phenomenon certainly isn't unique to It's All Good. Also, there are occasions when using an immersion blender is more appropriate than transferring the contents of your soup to a blender (as the recipes in It's All Good instruct), so keep that in mind.4. The reasoning behind cookbook was clearly a ploy; everyone knows that Gwenyth Paltrow doesn't overindulge and that she's a fan of fad dieting. -- Yeah, probably. So? Is that really even grounds for critique? Do you honestly demand that the presaging conditions upon which your cookbooks are composed are 100% authentic? If those are your standards in life, then you are probably frequently disappointed and/or enraged.5. She calls recipes vegan when they contain honey. -- Yep. Better use agave if you don't like that.6. She calls recipes sugar-free when they contain honey/maple syrup/basically any manner of sweetener that is not derived immediately from sugar cane. -- It's true. This text demands a strict interpretation of the phrase "sugar free."7. This book purports to contain recipes low in fat, but did you see how much olive oil I just used? -- I did, I saw it. Too bad oil is what makes food delicious. But seriously: although these recipes are allegedly the sort that Paltrow uses to "lose weight" (per the publisher's blurb on the cover) I don't see how that could be. Although wholesome and obviously nutritious, a lot of the recipes employ liberal amounts of olive/coconut/grapeseed oil, nuts and nut butters, Vegenaise, avocado, and other sources of (healthy!) fats. If your baseline eating is already moderately healthy, this cookbook probably won't help you lose weight. I certainly haven't lost any. However, I will say that using it regularly helps me feel better, if not look thinner, because I'm eating so many damn vegetables.Anyway, as you can see, I heartily recommend this book. Get it!

I feel like I first need to confess to being a fan of GP - I've been a fan for over a decade. I don't hate her. I purchased her first book when it came out and found several recipes that I really enjoyed, so I was eager for this second one to come out. I have also long since been a fan of whole foods and processed foods of any sort have been absent from my house for a long time. Though I am a fairly accomplished cook, I still have an obsessive impulse to follow recipes and instructions. I think I just find it comforting.Now - firstly, I am really sick and tired of all the reviews I've read of this book tearing it to shreds based solely on the foreward, introduction, and the "health information" she gives. I don't agree with all of it. I don't agree with any "diet" really, nor any of the fad ingredients that people are into lately. I don't know the woman personally, I think maybe some of her health issues sound a tad dramatic, but whatever. I, too, lost a father to cancer recently and have decided to clean up our diet even more - to a reasonable degree. We have also recently found out that my husband is allergic to eggs (no, I mean truly allergic, he had an allergy test done. Eggs will not kill him, but they do create respiratory issues.) I LOVE eggs. I am slowly learning how to cook without them and use replacements.Most of the bad reviews I've read of this book are all about the "information" she gives and barely mention the actual food and recipes. That's a bad way to review a cookbook.True, many of these things may not be actual "recipes" to some, but I look to this for ideas. She even writes, in the "recipe" that "this is not an actual recipe" on a few things. Scrambled tofu - NOT A RECIPE. But you know what? I have shunned scrambled tofu since the beginning of time, even back in my vegetarian days. Because I tried it once and it was gross. But here it is, in this book with some avocado and some lovely pickled jalapenos, plus my husband is allergic to eggs so... yes! Let's give it a go. Quinoa granola? hmmm... I love my orange & currant granola (with oats) that I make weekly, but I'm happy to switch it up and try something new. Lots of hearty salads, plenty of fish ideas, chicken... even steak & duck. A redux on her fish tacos (which I made from her previous book and they were AMAZING).I look to cookbooks for ideas. I am thrilled to have this book on hand as warm weather draws near because it's chock full of easy, bright things to make. I am excited to try a new style of fish - salt roasted fish, Thai style. I am ESPECIALLY excited to have the recipe in front of me for that dressing they serve on salads at Japanese restaurants. I love that stuff.I will swap out all the "gluten-free" stuff for gluten because we don't have an issue with gluten. And I'll swap soy milk out for real milk (because I love my dairy.) But there are no recipes in this book that are super expensive to make, nor super difficult, nor unattainable. Maybe they aren't all "recipes" but they're a really nice guideline.Say what you want about her "information", but you need to mention the food, also. And if there are some people who don't have "real allergies" to gluten or whatever, but they find that they feel better & are more focused on healthful food if they cut out gluten... then so what?** Update: I've made a few things from this book and I want to reiterate: All of the food is NORMAL FOOD. There was a recent article stating that cooking recipes from this book is approx $300/day and that's bull. My grocery bill this week was LESS than usual as I purchased items to make 7 different things from this book. (My pantry is pretty well stocked with basics.) It never occurred to me to pickle jalapenos - they're awesome. The spicy chipotle sweet potato soup is delicious - my 3 year old son ate two bowls (I backed off on the heat a little bit for his sake.) The "NY Street Vendor Salad" broke me out of my same-old salad dressing rut - my husband (and I) LOVED the yogurt-tahini dressing. The buttermilk waffles were yummy (though I subbed actual milk & flour for the soy milk and gluten free flours) and they don't contain egg so my husband was SO happy when I made them (he's having a hard time adjusting to this no-egg thing.) Teriyaki chicken with make-your-own teriyaki sauce, WONDERFUL. I'm making the grilled striped sea bass this week. There are MANY great-sounding poultry & fish ideas in here. Now, it is true as I go through it that many of them are basics or not "recipes" and I'm fine with that. Because then I find myself saying, "Oh! I can't believe that never occurred to me before" or "Oh! I haven't made that in ages" or "Oh, that's an interesting twist on something I always make." This is not a book that's meant to be adventurous or groundbreaking in culinary arts - it's a book that's simply meant to present you with several healthy recipes in one place. (Dispute her three pages of "health information" all you want, but the actual food IS all normal & healthy whole foods stuff.) I have tons of fancy Spanish cookbooks, the classics, and cookbooks from hot, trendy chefs. I like learning and making things from those books. But most nights I just want nice, clean food and I'm tired of making all the same old. So here's some new ideas. There's even a vegan shepherd's pie that I plan on making - I make traditional shepherd's pie as well, but the vegan version is made with black beans and I happen to like black beans. Plus, I have some vegetarian and vegan friends who will appreciate this.**** Edited to add this after another review I read: I haven't yet seen the page where she tells you how to cook an egg or fry one in Olive oil. I make a perfect hard-cooked egg but it took me some practice to get the timing right. I had also grown up only frying eggs in butter - not until I fell in love with Spanish cooking did I learn about frying it in olive oil. While these things may seem "basic" and "not recipes" - sometimes people are afraid to learn these basic things or think they're more difficult than they are. Then all it takes is seeing it in a cookbook to feel motivated & inspired to practice & learn. So when I see these types of things in a cookbook, I don't get mad and declare it "not a recipe!" I think, "Oh, that's nice... this can be good motivation for some people to go ahead and learn something new." This book is not *just* for someone like me, who knows how to cook an egg. Or even popcorn - I haven't used a microwave to make popcorn in a decade. Do you know how many people don't know how to cook popcorn outside of a microwave?

I have had to adapt a number of recipes in this book to suit what I already have in the cupboard because I went shopping based on the "pantry" section in this book and nearly had to re-mortgage the house on my fabulously healthy food. I found I didn't need to buy "rice wine vinegar" for example and that apple cider vinegar worked absolutely fine (purchased on the basis of another health book I'd bought). I didn't buy "brown rice syrup" again either and replaced it with a dash of honey. I also don't want to buy xylitol, so honey replaces that too. The "gochujang" I replaced with a few shakes of chilli powder. There are so many esoteric ingredients but I do think it's possible to make these recipes without them and for the results to be just as good.One discovery: soaked almonds. I actually did find them much easier to eat after they'd been soaked and it might have been my imagination, but I think they tasted better. I also liked (and adapted) the weekly menus section.

Bought this book as it was really inexpensive and I absolutely love it, love the story of Gwyneth's beginnings from ill health right through to her receipes and basic cooking skills. Not only a lovely coffee table book but great ideas and recipes too. I am going to buy another one of her books now.

I brought this book because I am gluten and wheat intolerant and there are quite a few recipes that looked good with this in mind.There are some nice recipes in this book but she hasn't given a lot of thought to her British readers (which is surprising given that she lived here on and off for some time) She uses quite a few hard to find ingredients and some terminology that relates more to the American market.As you would expect a lot of emphasis is based on healthy food which appealed to me particularly with my dietry requirements and generally it is a good book if you have the time to source the ingredients.

Interesting that I received these books just days before her separation/divorce was announced. I digress. These books look lovely. I haven't had the opportunity to use them just yet but look forward to it...and also taking her advise to have allergy testing and food sensitivity testing done on the whole family.

I bought this book for my daughter, who's totally into good food cooking. This book is not just a recipe book, but has references to why certain foods are good for you....and my daughter loved it. five start, totally worth the money.Great packaging, arrived promptly...always pleased with Amazon!