Clean Enough: Get Back to Basics and Leave Room for Dessert

Guy-Hamilton, the food director for the Equinox Fitness chain, combines her pastry chef roots (she trained at Spago) with health expertise in this solid guide to balanced healthy eating without going “too green and too clean” or ”demonizing treats.” Her journey from “pastry maven to kale queen” led to develop her “Clean Enough” philosophy: a sustainable approach to optimum health and “food freedom” from which dairy, fish, meat, tofu, and refined sugars are absent. The 100+ recipes use the highest-quality organic ingredients possible, including fats (coconut, olive oil); vegan proteins (legumes, seeds, nuts); fermented products (miso, sauerkraut); slow-release starches (whole grains, sweet potatoes, quinoa); vegetables; and fruit-based sugar substitutions. There are healing tonics (Green Pow Wow Smoothie, with spinach and cashew milk) and morning breakfast bowls (Luxury Granola with apricots, dates, oranges, and pistachios) along with simple greens and a vegetable bibimbap. Guy-Hamilton’s passion for baked treats is apparent, with over half the recipes showcasing desserts such as a chocolate banana whiskey torte and meringues, to which she devotes an entire chapter. Home cooks will be bolstered by Guy-Hamilton’s accessible, non-restrictive recipes. (Jan.)