Tag Archives: blender

Cookbook Giveaway: The Blender Girl

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OK, so here’s the deal: I never jumped on the smoothie bandwagon. Sure, smoothies are BIG these days, but they’re just not my thing. So when Tess Masters’ popular blog, The Blender Girl, started crossing my radar, I thought, Oh, yeah, smoothies.

Well, it is that, but not just that, as a peek at her new cookbook, The Blender Girl: Super-Easy, Super-Healthy Meals, Snacks, Desserts & Drinks (Ten Speed Press), proves — deliciously. Nor is it a liquid diet. “No, we didn’t check our teeth at the door,” jokes Masters, a self-confessed blendaholic. To celebrate, we’re hosting a giveaway for one lucky reader to win a copy of her book (keep reading for details to enter).

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Masters has plenty of smoothies in there, to be sure, and a whole lot more among the book’s 100 gluten-free, vegan recipes, all of which involve using your blender. You’ll also find creative soups, salad dressings, entrees, desserts, some raw fruit butter and jam that looks really intriguing, and concoctions for nut milk and nut cheese. There’s even her margarita recipe — a nice touch with Cinco de Mayo around the corner.

But why blenders? Masters loves them for the same reason we all do — they make quick work of healthy, tasty meals. And for Masters, who was diagnosed with Epstein-Barr as a teenager and embarked on her own NOURISH Evolution to find a diet that was healthy and delicious, her “s’blended” appliance was the key.

She also shares her tips for choosing a blender (she’s tried them all so you don’t have to) and how to use it wisely. (Tip: Always wash your blender by hand, even if the manufacturer claims it’s dishwasher-safe. Your investment will last longer.)

So if you need some fun ideas to get more mileage out of your blender, Masters has ’em. I’m certainly digging in. Heck, I may even whirl up a smoothie or two.

FOR THE GIVEAWAY: We’re giving away one copy of The Blender Girl to one lucky reader. Here’s how to enter: Just leave a comment below. We’ll draw a winner at random and announce the lucky duck on the site on Wednesday, April 16, 2014.

In the meantime, you can try a taste of The Blender Girl with Masters’ recipe for Creamy Cauliflower Soup.

UPDATE (4/16/14): We have a winner: Nina S! Thank you to all who entered. Please check back for future giveaways!

The Blender Girl’s Cauliflower Soup

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This vegan, dairy-free, gluten-free cauliflower soup from Tess Masters’ cookbook The Blender Girl (Ten Speed Press) gets its luscious, creamy texture from soaked nuts. Masters is a big fan of soaking nuts, seeds, dried fruits and grains to improve the texture (for nuts, seeds and dried fruit) and reduce cooking time (for grains). Soaking the nuts is also easier on your blender and ensures they break down to a creamy consistency. Masters uses a high-powered Vitamix blender, which pulverizes the soup to a silky-smooth consistency. If you’re using a less high-powered blender or food processor and want a perfectly smooth texture, strain the soup through a fine-mesh sieve after blending. You can also take a cue from Masters and stir a protein-rich cooked grain, such as quinoa or millet, into the finished soup to give it extra nutritional punch. However you garnish it, this cauliflower soup is even tastier the next day. (Want your own copy of The Blender Girl? We’re giving away one copy to one lucky reader. Click here to enter.)

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