Food Archives - Keeper of the Kitchen

December 31, 2016January 2, 2017

15+ Free eBooks For Your New Years Foodie Goals

Christmas is over and January is looming and with it all the new year’s resolutions. The times for making plans and promises, and for hoping for change in the new year. There’s nothing wrong with that, of course – a wise man once said “The measure of success isn’t in how many times you fall, but in how many times you get up again”.

If one of your goals for the year ahead are eating healthier, more cooking from scratch or simply just adjusting your food habits, then here are 17 free Kindle eBooks * (free at the time of publishing. please confirm before downloading)

Don’t have a Kindle eReader? Never mind – you can download one of the multitude of free Kindle readers onto your phone, laptop or other device.

Free eBooks for Slowcooker Meals

Slowcookers really come into their own at this time of year, whether because you want a warm and hearty meal ready when you step through the door, or whether because it’s too hot to turn the oven no and stand cooking in the kitchen, the slow cooker is perfect. The Slender Slowcooker Cookbook (UK link) (US link) contains low calorie recipes for slow cooking under 200, 300 and 400 calories. Amazon says this book is for you if – you’re looking for easy low calorie slow cooker recipes, which keep an eye on your calorie intake, a slow cooker cookbook that’s full of flavour, and you don’t want to spend all your time in the kitchen. ” The slow cooker recipes are easy to put together in the morning, leaving you free to come home to a delicious meal in the evening”.

There’s also Low Carb Slow Cooker Recipes (UK) (US link) a book full of meaty recipes. There are over 100 low carb recipes here, and while it’s very Americanised, there should be some recipes for every slowcooker user.

Paleo Gluten Free Slow Cooker Recipes (UK) (US link) offers precisely what it says on the cover – paleo and gluten free recipes for the slow cooker. Loads of four and five-star reviews too!

Stirring Slowly (UK link) (US link) is a beautiful “short” with wholesome, gorgeous recipes. There are only a few recipes, meant to entice you into buying the book, but you can enjoy the freebie for a start.

I’ve always heard of the health benefits of bone broth, but have found it quite daunting getting started. This guide A Simple Bone Broth Recipe to Heal Leaky Gut Syndrome (UK link) (US link)

Plant based and Clean Eating Free eBooks

Want to try something new and different this year? Start with this free Plant Based Eating (UK link) (US link) – it doesn’t seem to be the book for those who already follow a plant based diet, with some reviewers calling it a ‘sampler’ of other books. It seems like a good place to start though – choose the recipes you like, and find out where to find more from those authors. For more on the subject, Plant Based Cookbook (UK link) (US link) offers 3 books in 1: Alkaline Breakfast, Lunch & Dinner Recipes for Weight Loss & Health – loads of info for those interested in Plant Based diets.

Clean Eating Alice’s Spring Clean (UK link) (US link) is another sampler book – there are 8 recipes introducing clean eating, so if you like them, and get on with the author and the style you can invest further.

For a little more on the Clean Eating diet, Clean Eating by Dale Roberts (UK link) (US link) offers 30 recipes and an introduction to the diet.

If you’re thinking Ketogenic, there’s Ketogenic Vegetarian (UK link) (US link) – even if you’re not keen on the full Ketogenic diet, there are some really good looking spiralizer recipes here.

Meat Free or Vegan Free eBook Recipes

I find the idea of Veganism quite intimidating, especially when you look at egg or dairy free living, so a book on baking Vegan foods – in this case Vegan Baking(UK link) (US link) – that still look and hopefully taste good is positive.

If Vegan Baking seems like a lofty starting point, you could try the Vegan Cookbook for Beginners (UK link) (US link). This eBook contains everything from breakfasts to dinner party treats, so it seems a good starting point, even if you’re just catering for a Vegan friend.

Juices and Smoothies Free eBooks

I don’t juice because I can’t be doing with the cleaning, but the recipes in 40 Juicing Recipes For Weight Loss and Healthy Living (UK link) (US link) give some lovely new flavour combinations that work well for smoothies, and also tell you why each recipe aids in health and weight loss. The first recipe calls for 2 teaspoons of sugar, which seems to have made reviewers heads explode, but there aren’t any in the rest of the book, but some good new recipes and ways of combining fruit and veg.

If you’d rather try a smoothie book for smoothies, Smoothie Recipes For Weight Loss (UK link) (US link) is a good one, by the looks of things. Some reviews are fairly negative about the amount of juice or fruit in the recipes, so use your own discretion.

Time for a little something?

Yeah, we should all be healthy, but there’s always time for cake, right? And one of those resolutions for the new year may be to make more friends? Well, if so – look into the Clandestine Cake Club, and their Clandestine Cake Club Sampler B0ok.

Mrs. Claus’ Christmas Cookies (UK link) (US link) is filled to the brim with Impressive Holiday Treats. This book is great for learning the science and techniques of cookies, which can be a fantastic transferable skill to the rest of your baking.

Spices make a lovely gift for any time of the year, and Seasonings (UK link) (US Link) contains 31 recipes that will help you improve your cooking repertoire.

Please note that these are FREE books at the time of publishing. As such, while they are affiliate links, they won’t currently cost you anything. Please check before you ‘buy’ though to make sure the price hasn’t changed.

September 28, 2016

DegustaBox September {Review}

We’ve been receiving the DegustaBox as a monthly subscription box for ages, and with Christmas around the corner and mince pies on the shelves, I thought it would be a good time to mention it again – what a fab gift to give someone: a year’s worth of monthly mainly, exposing you to new food, and giving you the opportunity to try things you might not normally?

The September box arrived today, and it’s definitely a *yum* box, this month, with loads of snacks. The August box was all food stuffs with a fair selection of chilli, and the July box had a penchant for drinks, while the June box, if I recall, was focused on BBQ products – you can see everything from the last three year’s worth of boxes here.

This months box seems to focus on yummy snacking for lunch boxes, with Popcorn Thins, Fruity Bars, Banana Crisps, No added sugar Jelly Pots and Chia Seed Sachets.

The prize from this box were the two Rooibos tea drinks. As I was drinking them, I thought to myself “wow, these could have been made in South Africa!” Low and behold! they are, and they are delicious. Flavour packed and gorgeous – I will be buying these Cape drinks again.

The kids were thrilled to find four jellies in the box too, and since they were no-sugar added, I let them have them after dinner.

I’ve been making fruit vinegars from my various Autumn harvests, so I’m waiting for them to be ready before I crack open this bag of bread chips – I’m keen to try them out though.

There’s also a pack of pasta which should serve as a lunch box snack you can eat at your desk, but I’m not convinced by the portion sizes for this – it says suits one as a meal or two as a side, but it barely filled two children. They are pretty convenient though.

Finally, we received three tins of Berlotti Beans, and we don’t eat beans at all! There was only one thing to do about it, really: Make Magic Bean Brownies! They’re fantastic, and filling too!

I love the DegustaBox. It’s exciting to go through it and try new products every month. Some we don’t like, some we love, but that’s pretty normal for opinionated people. While the DegustaBox is a luxury item, at £12 a box, it’s worth a little bit of fun in the kitchen.

There’s also a fabulous discount code for readers who might want to try a box. Use the code BLDEG15 for a whopping £7 off the usual £12 price of the box.

I was sent this box free in exchange for an honest review.

June 10, 2016June 10, 2016

Degustabox Food Subscription Box {Review & Offer}

Over the last six months I’ve been receiving a monthly Degustabox and for some reason I’ve never even written about it! So here’s me today, telling you about it!

As the title says, Degustabox is a food subscription box. You pay a monthly fee and the Degustabox is delivered to your door (I receive a text message the day before to tell me my box will be with me tomorrow, and on the day to tell me between what time and what time [1 hour slots] and they have not once yet been late, so that’s pretty impressive all on it’s own!)

Each month the Degustabox comes with a selection of goodies new to the market or that companies would like to promote. For some things you’ll receive a whole packet like you would buying it in the shop and for other things you’ll receive a sample – for example you might receive a large bag of crisps or a bag of 6 croissants, or you might receive a sample size biscuits or fortune cookies. There’s a good mix and match. There will normally be enough of everything to allow two – three people to share one box, though you might not all get the same flavour, and not everyone will get one of everything. That’s okay – I hide the best stuff from the kids and eat it on my own 😉

The Degustabox might include snacks, food, juices or soft drinks and/or alcohol. Sometimes it contains parts for a meal – say packet rice or sauce for a slow-cooked meal, or stuffing for a turkey, so it’s a great mix that you can easily incorporate into your monthly or weekly meal plan.

In the Degustabox you will also receive flyers about some of the newer or more unusual products, and an information sheet that contains everything in the box, along with the prices you would pay for it in a shop.

In six months we’ve not had any serious breakages – maybe a biscuit here or there but no glass or anything as it’s all individually wrapped or packaged intelligently, which was a concern for me!

The Degustabox is a luxury item, I’ll admit. It’s something I really look forward to receiving because I rarely ‘break’ away from my shopping list and my grocery budget. I have a very fussy eater in my four year old, so sometimes I’ll just choose to not bother buying new things because I hate food waste. This way, I am able to test things in sometimes smaller portions, or just have things that I kind of consider as treats for myself. I have always been an adventurous eater, and opening up my monthly Degustabox is a very exciting thing!

Of course there have been things we’ve chosen not to eat in the box too, like a bottle of artificial sweetener or the occasional bar of chocolate from a brand we’re not keen on, but those we pass on or drop give away or whatever, and so far it’s been rare that we’ve not finished everything in the box!

The Degustabox is £12.99 including delivery, and there are 10 – 15 items in each box. There are no contracts or commitments, if you want to cancel let them know before the 9th of the month. If you sign up to their newsletter or website you will also receive recipe ideas to accompany the contents of the box. Readers can use the code BLDEG15 o take a whopping £6 off your first box, making it just £6.99 delivered.

We love our Degustabox and hope you will too!