Liddon - Oh she glows every day: quick and simply satisfying plant-based recipes

The Oh She Glows Cookbook

I ts been almost two and a half years since the release of my first cookbook, but it feels like the blink of an eye. When The Oh She Glows Cookbook came out in March 2014, I was a few months pregnant with our first baby, and my husband, Eric, and I were going through a move and major house renovation all at once. Miraculously, our marriage survived, but not without the help of a freezer full of vegan cookie dough ice cream! Beyond that, 2014 was easily my most exciting year on record, as it brought the birth of our daughter, Adriana. With these major life experiences also came big changes in me and in our family dynamic. After 2014, I knew that life would never be the same again, and I soon found out that I wouldnt want it to be.

When our daughter was just a few months old, I signed on to write this second cookbook. Some friends and family thought I was overly ambitious (or sleep deprived and not thinking clearly!) for taking on such a big project with a baby, but I was yearning to awaken my creative side again. During pregnancy, my love for food often dwindled, but the postpartum period was a totally different story. My creativity and passion for food returned quickly after I gave birth, which was a relief for this plant-based-food lover. I had such a ravenous appetite while breastfeeding that I found myself dreaming of recipes around the clock. In fact, some of my favorite recipes in this cookbook were created during middle-of-the-night nursing sessions (, anyone?).

Once the creative juices were flowing, there was no stopping me! I discovered that as long as I fueled myself with healthy food (including a steady supply of green smoothies), my energy levels remained quite high, in spite of the lack of sleep. My friends couldnt understand how I had so much energy, but Im convinced that a balanced diet can do wonders for energy levels, mood, and general well-being. Of course, there were weeks when I ate poorly and didnt feel my best (hello, leftover pie for breakfast!), but those times only reminded me to stay on a healthy path. I was also motivated by the immense encouragement of you, my amazing readers, who let me know loud and clear that you were eagerly awaiting another cookbook. I started to do cookbook work on the sly, adding recipe ideas to my Google document in the middle of the night and testing recipes whenever I had a spare moment. Soon enough this cookbook took shape. Eric and I (and eventually, Adriana) happily ate our way through the recipes, as did our dedicated group of recipe testers.

Many of us know that big life changes tend to decrease the time we have for food preparation. As a new parent, I found myself looking for ways to save time on the preparation and execution of my favorite recipes, without compromising taste and nutrition. I discovered rather quickly that I would go hungry if I didnt have a balanced breakfast waiting for me in the morning, so I relied on breakfasts that could be prepared in advance more than ever, as well as dinner recipes that could be thawed and reheated, or whipped up in about a half hour and provide ample leftovers for the next days lunch. Of course, things didnt always go as planned, and on many occasions we had to rely on a bowl of cereal or takeout for dinner. I wont try to tell you that we eat perfect, cooked-from-scratch meals all the time (does anyone?), but devoting a bit of time each day to food preparation and sitting down together to enjoy healthy food is definitely a goal we continually strive for.