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MEDIA REVIEWS // BOOKS
Siriously Delicious
by Siri Daly
Oxmoor House
Maybe you aspire to be one of those
Instagram-worthy chefs for whom everything
they touch seems to turn into a vibrant photo
of bright colors and appetite-stimulating per-
fection. Or you may want to simply be a home
chef who creates delicious family-friendly
meals with a greater sense of ease.
Popular food blogger, TODAY show food
contributor, and former producer of the
Carson Daly show (who happens to also be
Carson Daly’s wife and mother of their three
kids), Siri Daly has a fun, playful, and healthy
approach to the kitchen that she shares in
Siriously Delicious: 100 Nutritious (and Not
So Nutritious) Simple Recipes for the Real
Home Cook.
The six sections in the book cover some
of our favorite approaches to food: Wakey
Wakey! (I don’t need to tell you this is morn-
ing/breakfast fare), Halftime (the oft-neglected
lunch), It’s Five O’Clock Somewhere (a selec-
tion of DIY drinks and apps), Time for Din-
ner, Sidekicks (side dishes), and Sweet Treats.
For breakfast, Siri plates Frozen Fruit and
Yogurt Parfaits in muffin cups for kid-friendly
nibbles. She also includes a preponderance of
veggies in items like the Open-Faced Green
Breakfast Sandwich. Of course there’s a
pancake dish (Spiced Pumpkin). Siri encour-
ages us to include lunch in meal-planning. She
offers creative takes on happy hour apps, like
Miso Tzatziki. The colorful side dishes include
Roasted Carrot and Pumpkin Seed Salad,
Buffalo-Baked Cauliflower, and Pan-Roasted
Brussels Sprouts.
The colorful photos throughout provide
inspiration when you need something new to
do with veggies.
Reviewed by Felicia Tomasko, RN, editor-in-chief of
LA YOGA and Find Bliss Magazines and editorial
director of Find Bliss.
The Yoga Mindby Rina Jakubowicz
Rockridge PressThe Yoga Mind: 52 Essential Principles of
Yoga Philosophy to Deepen Your Practice,
delivers on the promise of the title. Author Rina
Jakubowicz is both a sincere teacher as well as
a dedicated student of all of the limbs of yoga
practice. In this user-friendly tome, she shares
a number of practices that are organized into
digestible segments that combine philosophy
and practice.
Rina dedicates the book to her guru Swami
Parthasarathy, a Vedanta teacher, as well as
her husband Eric Paskel, the owner of Electric
Soul Yoga in Studio City. Their influence shines
through in the book, yet the evocative words
and simple practices are Rina’s own.
The 52 principles in The Yoga Mind are orga-
nized into seven sections: The Basics, Vedanta,
Bhagavad Gita, The Eight Limbs of Yoga,
Practice, Chakras, and Hatha Yoga Styles. She
covers topics such as Santosa (Contentment),
Mudras (Gestures), Pratipaksha Bhavana (Shift-
ing Perspectives), Mindfulness, Mantra (Repeti-
tive Sounds), Sakshi (Witness), Sattva (Purity),
Buddhi (the Intellect), and more.
The philosophical segments are paired with
practices. For example, Vedanta is described as
the scientific knowledge explaining how to have
both an active and peaceful life. The accompa-
nying practice that illustrates this is Vrikshasana:
tree pose. Dhyana: Meditation is followed by a
journaling practice that offers a means for reflec-
tion on desire, clarity, happiness, and patience.
If you’re looking for a book that explains
a number of yogic concepts in contemporary
language, this may be the one for you. The Yoga
Mind is a collection gems of wisdom that benefit
beginners as well as longtime practitioners.Reviewed by Felicia Tomasko, RN, editor-in-chief of
LA YOGA and Find Bliss Magazines and editorial
director of Find Bliss.Ayurveda Cooking for Beginnersby Laura Plumb
Rock Ridge PressLaura Plumb has written an accessible guide
to the Ayurvedic art of food. It’s far more than a
cookbook. The primer begins with the art of pay-
ing attention, one of the most important practices
for integrating Ayurveda into your daily life.
Once she’s captured your attention, Plumb
outlines a five-step plan for cooking using the
principles of Ayurveda. These are as follows:- Examine your doshic environment.
- Plan your meals.
- Shop.
- Set up your kitchen.
- Cook with love and awareness.
Then there’s the cooking. The selection of
108 recipes in the book offer a contemporary
approach to world and fusion cuisine, with the
added ingredient of balancing energy through
Ayurveda. Plumb includes instructions for
Ayurvedic mainstays such as kitchari (for each
season), ghee, stuffed dates, and chutney.
In addition, the recipes include how to make
a savory kitchari veggie burger, rice and bean
hummus, cilantro pesto, healthy hot chocolate,
pho soup, curried green beans, ginger broc-
colini, creamy watercress soup, yam fries, and
more. Each recipe comes with tips that support
ease of preparation and enjoyment. Personally,
I’m looking forward to mixing up my standard
breakfast by trying some of the recipes for
dishes such as the breakfast soup and the
amaranth chai porridge.
If you need some suggestions for how to
combine the recipes, Plumb includes easy-
to-follow seven-day seasonal meal plans
that mix and match the recipes in the book.
Overall, Ayurveda Cooking for Beginners is a
welcome addition to any enthusiast’s kitchen
for fresh ideas for food prep.
Reviewed by Felicia Tomasko RN, who is an
Ayurvedic Practition in addition to being the
Editor-in-Chief and President at Bliss Network.