I’ve found a couple of new “best of” lists recently for Spring 2026, one at Bon Appétit and one at Forbes. I started putting in holds at the library. One Plate at a Time by Demi Lovato is one of these.
About the Book:
From Grammy-nominated singer, actor, and advocate Demi Lovato, a deeply personal cookbook that celebrates finding joy in the kitchen
Demi Lovato’s cooking journey started when she was almost thirty. After years of navigating a challenging relationship with food, she found that learning to cook—discovering how to truly nourish herself in mind, body, and spirit—was a revelation. It was in the kitchen, experimenting with flavors, connecting with loved ones, and channeling her creativity in a new way—that she truly began to appreciate and celebrate the joy of food.
Now, in One Plate at a Time, Demi welcomes everyone into the kitchen with a collection of more than eighty recipes, all created to emphasize enjoyment over perfection. You won’t find overwhelming ingredient lists or tricky techniques, but instead a collection of simple yet memorable favorites anyone can make. Demi shares her “top five” favorite foolproof recipes in a range of categories, creating “capsule collections” for everything from breakfast to dinner, comfort foods to fast food-inspired favorites, soups to salads, and even go-to sweet treats.
Filled with beautiful food photography as well as snapshots that give fans a peek into Demi’s home life, personal anecdotes, pantry tips, and cooking hacks, this is a cookbook for Demi Lovato fans, for people who struggle to enjoy food without guilt, and for anyone looking for a gentler, more grounded approach to cooking. One Plate at a Time is Demi’s set list for a delicious new way of thinking about food and how it fits into our lives. (from MacMillan)
About the author:
Demi Lovato is a GRAMMY-nominated and award-winning musician, actor and New York Times best-selling author. Demi has released eight original studio albums, all of which debuted in the Top 10 of the Billboard 200 and earned Demi a combined 50 billion streams worldwide. Most recently, Demi made her directorial debut with the Hulu documentary Child Star. As an actor, Demi can next be seen in Stephanie Laing’s Tow.
What I thought….
Lovato begins honestly. She started down the cooking path after “spending five years in recovery from anorexia and bulimia” (2).
Because while I don’t claim to be a superstar chef who can whip up a souffle at the drop of a hat, learning how to feed myself has saved my life. I found freedom with food in the kitchen, of all places. (2)
One Plate at a Time almost reads like a memoir at least starting out. Chapter 1, “Food: A Love/Hate/Love Story,” outlines her food memories, growing up in the south with huge family reunion type meals of mac ‘n cheese, jello with mayo, fruit salad with lots of cool whip and sugar, and eating out. At home, her mom was on a budget so it was a lot of cheap processed foods. After she starts her career as a young actor, she then is forced to either rely on food on the road, in hotels, or from craft services. She has been dealing with EDNOS (Eating Disorder Not Otherwise Specified) since she was twelve and been in and out of treatment. Today, she writes, food represents joy and fun and fellowship. She includes a refrigerator pickle recipe here because she was amazed the she could make one of her favorite foods herself (13). To finish out the chapter, she gives tips on how to broaden your palate, recognize and cope with trigger foods, and why you won’t find any recipes with alcohol or wine as ingredients in her book. (It’s because eating disorders often exist with addictions.)
Chapter 2, “Getting Started,” deals with common myths about cooking: It’s too time consuming, too costly, too hard, and even “I don’t have the right ingredients.” So, there’s a pretty nifty substitution table on page 21. The rest of the chapter addresses issues like stocking the pantry, utilizing your freezer, shopping tips, avoiding kitchen waste, etc.
Chapter 3 starts the recipes and obviously starts with the first meal of the day, breakfast, with ten recipes. Five are “Grab-and-Go” and five are fun leisurely weekend recipes. Granola is one of the quick recipes and she includes a basic formula but also adds a “menu” of choices. Choose an oil, a sweetener, add-ins, spices, along with combos to try.
Chapter 4 is Midday Meals and Bites. The first section includes “Five Sandwich Stuffers.” I love this idea because you can put these recipes between bread, in a wrap, topping some crackers, or just on top of some greens. Lovato also includes five salads and five soups. Her “stuffers” use hacks like rotisserie chicken (or leftovers), bottled sauces, and packaged slaw. The salads are simple as well and she includes tips on how to make them full meals (like adding protein). The soups are simple but homey, like Grandma’s Chicken Noodle soup.
Lovato loves the number five so in Chapter 5 she presents her “Classics”: Five Almost Instant Snacks, Five Fast Food Favorites, and Five Surefire Comfort Foods. I’m not sure I consider a smoothie a snack, but her Green Smoothie (pineapple, spinach, ginger, yogurt) does sound great. Nachos Now! is a very basic recipe with black beans. I did think her Peanut Better & Jelly Yogurt might be genius! Her Fast Food Faves are also pretty basic with canned dough pizza rolls, basic tacos, and a classic cheeseburger. The spice on her Honey-Glazed Lemon Pepper Wings sounds delicious. I was also intrigued by her Chicken Nuggets made with ground meat. She rounds out her classics with roast chicken, beef stew, meatloaf, chili, and mac ‘n cheese.
Dinner Plans, Chapter 6, are more adult-like recipes including pastas (and one risotto), chicken dinners, and 15-minute recipes. She morphs the standby “Marry Me Chicken” into her version of Honeymoon Chicken by adding orzo and broccoli for a one dish meal. The rest of the dishes are more comfort food but perhaps dinner party worthy.
The Essentials make up Chapter 7. She teaches how to make the perfect proteins: Steakhouse Steak, Citrus Salmon, chicken breasts, pulled pork, and easy shrimp. She adds condiments and “flavor builders” like vinaigrette, salsa verde, pico de gallo, marinara, and savory breadcrumbs. She rounds out the chapter with more easy meals like a cheese omelette, Buddha Bowls, fried rice, quesadillas, and sesame noodles.
“Something Sweet” is the final chapter separated into small-batch desserts and desserts that wow! I have always loved that chocolate avocado pudding that was making the rounds about ten years ago. Her version includes a bit of espresso powder. Most of recipes are pretty basic: a chocolate chip cookie, an oatmeal cookie, and a fudge brownie. There are also a cupcake, crumble, crostata, and two cake recipes.
My favorite section and what I utilized most was the Midday Meal one. I am making all of the sandwich stuffers. (But, I am also making that peanut butter & jelly yogurt!)
In her opening, Lovato states that “This is the cookbook I wish I’d had when I took those first tentative steps at the stove…. I just wanted a manageable selection of recipes I could have in my back pocket….. I wanted comfort, not stress; ease, not anxiety” (3). I think she achieved this goal and I feel like this book is definitely for a beginner. Lovato includes enough hacks to make most of her recipes doable for just about anyone. If you’re an accomplished cook, I’m not sure you would enjoy this book, unless you are a Lovato fan. It’s not a terrible cookbook; but I am glad I checked it out of the library and didn’t purchase it.
What I made:
As mentioned above, I do want to make all the sandwich stuffers eventually. I did try her Mediterraean Chickpea Spread with a few additions and instruction tweaks.
Mediterranean Chickpea Salad
Based on Mediterranean Chickpea Spread from Demi Lovato
Ingredients
- 1 (15 oz) can chickpeas, drained
- 1 small garlic clove, chopped
- 1/2 t. Kosher salt
- 1 (6 oz.) jar marinated artichokes, chopped (reserve oil)
- 1/3 c. jarred roasted red peppers, chopped
- 2 green onions, chopped
- 1 large handful of parsley leaves (about 1/2 cup packed)
- Juice of ½ lemon (and perhaps more to taste)
- 1 stalk celery, diced
Instructions
- Add the drained chickpeas to a food processor. Add the garlic and pulse until chickpeas are just broken up but don’t puree.
- Add 3 tablespoons of the reserved artichoke oil. Add the salt and pulse once or twice to combine.
- Add the chopped artichokes, red peppers, parsley and lemon juice. Pulse on and off 2-3 times, just so ingredients are combined. Taste and add more lemon juice if needed.
- Place in a bowl and stir in celery. Refrigerate for at least one hour.
- You can scoop this on lettuce leaves with some tomatoes for a salad or stuff in a pita for a sandwich.
Yield: 4 servings
I loved all the ingredients in this salad. Lovato calls for a whole lemon but I thought it was too tart. I would start with a half and adjust from there. I also decreased the amount of parsley and added a few ingredient amounts. (She called for 2 roasted red peppers…. My jar contained some huge almost whole red peppers. I decided that 1/3 cup would be a good start.) I also added the celery for crunch. Stirring in some slivered almonds might be good too. Play around. Honestly, you will need to. This needed a bit more spice.
Lovato does give instructions for to “Level Up” this dish for your next gathering. Place two tubs of prepared hummus on a serving dish and mound 1 cup of this spread in the center. Drizzle with a good olive oil and sprinkle with paprika. I think I would just add some tahini to this recipe and make a roasted red pepper-artichoke hummus.
I’m linking up with Foodies Read for July.
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