Most of the “best of” or “best seller” cookbooks I pick up at the library are by authors I’ve never heard of. I’ve mentioned before, if they’re TikTok  stars, I’ve never heard of them. If they’ve gone viral on YouTube, who knows? I don’t. So maybe my reviews are a little less star struck. I don’t know. You be the judge.

I had no idea who Kristen Cavallari was. I just grabbed the cookbook Truly Simple for two reasons: it was close to the other cookbook I picked up at the library and it had a “best seller” sticker on the spine.

About the book:

NEW YORK TIMES BESTSELLER • 140+ delicious and accessible recipes for super-easy, family-friendly, mostly gluten-free weekday meals, from the TV star and author of True Comfort

In her bestselling cookbooks, True Comfort and True Roots, Kristin Cavallari shared nourishing and comforting recipes that encouraged fans to cook healthy meals at home. Over the years she has changed her thinking on what healthy truly means, and has embraced intuitive eating with less restrictions. In Truly Simple, she focuses on the weekday meal, with more than 140 quick and easy recipes that will lift you out of that cooking rut (126 of the recipes are gluten-free). In her most personal book yet, Cavallari shares her hard-won philosophy on cooking for kids and spending more time out of the kitchen and around the table.

About the author:

Kristin Cavallari is a television host, designer, entrepreneur, and author of the New York Times bestsellers True Comfort, Balancing in Heels, and True Roots. She starred in MTV’s hit series Laguna Beach and The Hills, as well as her very own show, Very Cavallari on E!. Cavallari has a recurring role on E!, co-hosting the “Behind the Scenes at the Emmys” pre-show. She is the founder and CEO of the lifestyle and jewelry brand Uncommon James, and she resides in Nashville with her family.

(The book and author blurb taken from Penguin Random House site.)

What I thought…

Seriously people. I’ve never heard of her. I guess it’s because we don’t have cable anymore.

I was glad I read her introduction because that hinted at a couple of things I might need to know before I delved into the recipes:

• She has a thing for white foods but has made peace with a little bit of processed sugar.
• Her other cookbooks, it appears, contain a bit more elaborate recipes.
• This cookbook is about her cooking at home for her family, no pretentiousness.

I’m not trying to be something I’m not, and I’m okay with letting everyone see the real me. I’ve stepped into my comfort zone, and it feels really damn good. I’ve let go of perfectionism, and trying to do it all. In a general sense, I’m more at peace. And it shows through my cooking. I’m all about simplicity these days. (10)

Simplicity. Simplicity. Simplicity. That seems to be the theme of my cookbook selections lately. (See my recent post on Ina’s Go-To Dinners.)

Her pantry section suggestions? I’m not sure how simple they are (for me). Equipment needed is a bit pricey like a Vitamix and a food processor or a bit obscure like a nut milk bag. There are some pricey things in her fridge, too: wild-caught fish, grass-fed beef and bison, pasture-raised organic chicken and eggs, goat’s and sheep’s milk cheeses, sheep’s milk yogurt. Other “on hand” staples are pretty standard: nuts, pasta, chicken stock, etc.

So I’m wondering if you didn’t have the Cavallari lifestyle how simple these recipes really are. Beverages include ingredients such as brazil nut milk, chlorella powder, and “your favorite collagen powder.” These were for mostly the iced coffee drinks. The smoothies seemed a little more obtainable. The honey-maple lemonade sounds delicious.

The Breakfast section really is eclectic. There’s a few gluten free options, simple baked oats or yogurt parfaits, along with muffins and full blown huge meals. Some of the more promising ones were the Veggie, Bacon, and Feta Crustless Quiche (43); Tomato and Corn Breakfast Tostadas w/Fried Eggs (55); and Pesto Egg Casserole (56). Probably the weirdest recipe in this section was Cauliflower Oatmeal (60). It’s full of great stuff like cinnamon, vanilla, maple syrup, chia seeds, strawberries, coconut, hemp seeds, cacao nibs…. I just couldn’t get past the cauliflower. Her Blue Blueberry Muffins (63) contain spirulina so that’s interesting.

On to Salads. Her Taco Salad (66-67) has a rice base and features a spicy cilantro dressing. She throws in roasted asparagus to the Close-to-Classic Cobb (69-70). The salad dressings here might be more inventive than her salads: Spicy Cilantro Dressing (67), Spicy Tomatillo Ranch Dressing (74), and Whipped Goat’s Milk Cheese for the Charred Cabbage (76).

For Lunch, Cavallari features lots of bowls. The Vegan Rice Bowl (92) seemed the most appetizing to me. I also thought the Cheesy Chicken Stuff Poblanos (100) had some merit.

The Dinner section is the most extensive. After I first picked up this book, I quickly perused through this section for something quick to make for dinner. The Slow-Cooker Buffalo Chicken Casserole (136) sounded promising but it used cauliflower rice and was more of a one-pot slow-cooker meal than a casserole. I thought about subbing in brown rice but this recipe is literally just chicken thighs, a bottle of buffalo sauce with some broccoli thrown in along with a “tub” of cream cheese. It just didn’t sound good. The Creamy Prosciutto Pasta on the next page sounded a bit better but it used coconut milk. Again, I thought that would be a bit odd. Beef Stroganoff (131) was a bit more mainstream and Mediterranean Meatballs with Tzatziki Sauce (169) has promise.

Sides contains vegetables, cheddar buns (gluten-free), noodles, pasta and cornbread. The Sweet Harissa Cauliflower (174) is a keeper. The Tahini-Harissa Sauce probably makes this dish.

One can find lots more gluten-free recipes in Snacks like GF PBJ Oat Bars (202) and GF Naan (207). I’m a sucker for appetizers and the Baked Goat’s-Milk Cheese and Tomato Dip (208) along with the Green Chili Chicken Dip (219) sound good.

More GF recipes show up in Desserts: GF Maple Date Brownies (222), GF Lemon Strawberry Blondies (233), GF Cold Brew Brownie Cookies (236), GF Lemon Pound Cake (237) and GF and Dairy Free Chocolate Chip Pistachio Cookies (241). N’ice Cream Three Ways (Vanilla, Chocolate, and Strawberry) (242) is also a dairy-free recipe as is the Individual Key Lime Pies (238).

Staples lists the rest of the recipes you need to make the previous dishes things like Chicken Thighs Two Ways (245) which is mentioned in a lot of the salad and entrée dishes. Most of the rest of the recipes are sauces: Tzatziki (251), Pesto (254), Warm Berry Sauce (257), Spicy Mayo (263), and Ranch Dressing (264). The last recipe does use mayo but uses almond milk instead of buttermilk.

Final thoughts:

• There’s little milk-cow dairy in the book that I could find. Nut milks or full-fat coconut milk is subbed in.
• There is a bit of dairy sprinkled throughout like plain yogurt, whole-milk ricotta, grated cheeses and sour cream and the aforementioned “tub” of cream cheese.
• No refined wheat flour is mentioned. I saw coconut flour, lots of arrowroot, oat flour, and almond flour.
• There are suggestions for store-bought items like a brand of almond flour tortillas.
• It’s not all GF and (mostly) dairy-free stuff though—there is Sourdough French Toast (51) that sounds amazing.
• Her oils of choice are coconut oil or avocado oil.

I guess I didn’t find anything really remarkable. I decided to try the Goat Cheese/Tomato Dip though. I have a similar one that I make. I took her recipe and subbed in dried tomatoes for the fresh cherry tomatoes and made a few other changes. (See below.)

I think it’s a little telling that I chose one of the recipes that was not the healthiest. But let me tell you, this is a keeper. I think one could throw in a lot of other flavors too like marinated artichokes, or dare I say it, bacon. It is also an appetizer that you could whip up and refrigerate ahead of time, baked right before you need to serve it.

I threw some of this leftover dip into some scrambled eggs the next morning. That was delicious!

Is this book full of healthy options? Absolutely, and if you cooked this way and had the supplies on hand, this would be your go-to cookbook. I just didn’t see anything too revolutionary here. Maybe if I were a Cavalallari fan-girl, I would have loved it.

I’m linking up with February’s Foodies Read.