100 Days of Real Food on a Budget Cookbook Review and a Sneak Peek Recipe!

What was the first cookbook I picked up when I made the decision to get my WHOLE family on the path to eating real food? 100 Days of Real Food. From lunchbox ideas to fast and uncomplicated dinner recipes, this might have been the book that got me started and really taught me to understand that good, clean eating isn’t about juice cleanses and low-fat foods. So can I tell you how excited I was to learn that I’d been selected to receive an early copy of Lisa Leake’s newest cookbook, 100 Days of Real Food on a Budget?! Thumbing through it I can see a lot of recipes we will be trying and hot damn, who doesn’t want to reign in the weekly grocery bill?! My 9 year old has gotten into Nailed It! (a ridiculous baking show on Netflix if you haven't heard of it) and Chopped Junior and has a budding interest in cooking so our plan for the Fall is that one meal a week, she gets to pick and cook dinner for the family. We started off with something any kid can do from this new cookbook: Oatmeal Cookie Energy Balls. A no-cooking, minimal ingredient, low-mess (!!) winner!

Oatmeal Cookie Energy Balls

Ingredients:

1.5 cups gluten free rolled oats

2/3 cup peanut butter

1/2 cup raisins (I subbed mini chocolate chips - always a kid hit)

1/4 cup maple syrup

1/2 tsp ground cinnamon

Combine all ingredients in a bowl and mix well. Roll into balls with wet hands to keep mixture from sticking to you. I keep them in the freezer because they firm up and stick together better this way.

Now we’ve gotta pick our next great recipe from this cookbook! I’m thinking Weeknight Tandoori Chicken?!