Unlock Vibrant Flavors and Zero Stress: The Ultimate Recipe Hacks That Will Transform Every Meal and Skyrocket Your Energy!
In today’s whirlwind world of swipe-right dinners and UberEats on speed dial, who hasn’t asked themselves—when was the last time they actually cooked a meal from scratch? It’s wild how easy it is to get caught up in the insta-food frenzy, gobbling down pre-made meals without a second thought. But honestly, there’s something magical about rolling up your sleeves, chopping veggies, and savoring not just the dish but the whole vibe around the table. Enter Stephanie Valentine’s new gem, Love What’s On Your Plate: a colorful, vibrant celebration of wholesome recipes that remind us cooking isn’t a chore—it’s a joy. With over 100 accessible dishes designed for every occasion—whether you’re prepping a cozy date night or a lively guys’ BBQ—this cookbook might just be the perfect nudge back to the heart of the home: the kitchen. Ready to reclaim that dinner table magic?
In an age of insta-food, Ubereats and pre-made meals, maybe sometimes it’s good to return to old school meals, making things from scratch, and enjoying not just the fruits of our labor but the interaction at the table.
A new cookbook has come along that shows us how simple it is to bring diverse and delicious food to our kitchens, and realize how fun the experience can be. Love What’s On Your Plate: Wholesome recipes to cherish and share, by Stephanie Valentine, is that very book.
Valentine, a certified holistic and culinary nutritionist, has collected over 100 well-balanced recipes designed to make meal preparation as colorful and vibrant as the photographs on the glossy pages.
From brunch spreads to BBQs, these recipes are designed to make things stress-free and rewarding, whether a pro or a novice in the kitchen. There are all-occasion foods that can be made for date nights, with family, having the fellas over for a men’s night food adventure, or prepping for the week’s work lunch.
Swagger interviews Stephanie Valentine on the new cookbook, and why Swagger readers should pick it up.
Let’s start with what made you want to write the book.
Stephanie Valentine: What made me want to write the book was basically when my kids went away to university. I put together all of the recipes from all the food that I made. My mom made the foods that we felt made our house a home, and I sent them away with a binder so they themselves could duplicate that.
The kitchen table, the dining room table, was such a hub in my mom’s home growing up that I just wanted to give them the tools to be able to have that magic in their own homes as well.
What do you bring as a nutritionist?
Stephanie Valentine: My kids were in elementary school at the time, and I always felt that I didn’t want to hide nutrition in food for my kids. I wanted to educate them along the way, and explain to them why they want to have eggs for breakfast before an exam, because the choline in it is good brain food. Or, you know, why they feel tired after eating turkey, because of the tryptophan.
And you know, the heart healthy tomatoes that look like a heart, make sure to have it with your fat so you can absorb it best.
My son was an athlete and I had two girls. I wanted to show them that a healthy lifestyle includes desserts, little bit of white flour, some white sugar. Because it’s a lifestyle, it’s not a diet.
What was your vision for what the book was going to look like?
Stephanie Valentine: I went into it with this concept that I wanted it to be part coffee table book, part cookbook. I had never made a recipe from a cookbook that didn’t have a picture with it, so it was very important to me that it was beautiful. It has this big, gorgeous, glossy aesthetic. I hired a photographer and somebody who helped design everything out with me, from the fashion industry.
My daughter actually is a graphic designer, and she did the layout and a lot of the editing. Working together with her was incredible.
What kind of feedback have you gotten?
Stephanie Valentine: Everybody loves it. Honestly. I feel that everyone who has it in their hands, the first thing that they notice is how it looks. The other feedback that I’m getting is how easy the recipes are, how accessible they are. A guide for somebody else to create their own family kitchen.
I want this to be their hub. With this book, it will allow a young person who’s never cooked before, somebody who’s getting married, and somebody who wants to have a larger repertoire of foods that their family would like.
What’s something that you really want people to know about the book?
Stephanie Valentine: I think people should pick up the book because it can take away their dinner stress. I’m not going to be sexist and say “mom,” because a lot of dads do this as well. So like, you get into a rut and you know, you want your family to eat healthy, and you think the kids are going to revolt and not eat something that you know has a vegetable in it.
My husband has a “no vegetables policy,” so he won’t eat cauliflower, broccoli, brussel sprouts. But the recipes in here, even he will eat. The cauliflower soup, for instance. I served that to him. I said, “take a taste of this before you tell me if you like it or not.” And he said, “what is it?” I said, “I will tell you after you taste it.”
He had it. He was like, “this is delicious. It tastes like leek potato soup.” I’m like, “Yes, it does. It’s cauliflower soup.” And then he said, “Oh, amazing. This I will eat.”
I have in there symbols on the recipes that indicate whether it’s vegan or gluten free, or freezable or fast-making. Everybody has different, you know, dietary requirements these days. I have prep-ahead notes, and I think that’s really helpful for people.
The recipes are so easy that you don’t actually have to be a cook, because a lot of the recipes are actually just putting pieces together.
Post Comment