I liked the concept of this book. As someone who works in Manhattan, a quick grab-n-go lunch is crucial for me. I want something healthy and quality, but with flavor. grain and salad bowls are a go-to for me but it's easy to rack up fat and calories. I love the idea that these can be made at home with a simple recipe:

whole grain + veggie + protein + sauce = meal.

And truly, it is that easy.

The book discusses which grains are best to build a delicious bowl, as well as tips and advice for choosing your grains. It goes further by discussing the different grain varieties and how to cook them. The recipes are full of fresh, healthy, whole ingredients.

One of my drawbacks was that I like to see images of every recipe. I know this isn't common, but I prefer to see what I'm making beforehand as it gives me a guide and sometimes things look better than they sound. The other is that a lot of the recipes require ingredients that I feel the average person doesn't keep on hand (pine nuts, fennel, sesame oil, burrata,, etc.)

Overall, great recipes and a great way to make a quick and nutritious lunch or dinner!

Thank you Storey Publishing for this free review book.

I love cookbooks that present a method in addition to recipes. Bowls are an efficient way to prepare a balanced meal, and the methods in this cookbook make it easy.

I was following Nicki's blog for a while and was very happy when I learned about her new food book. If you are a food lover but also look to eat more healthy, then you'll find this book quite inspiring.

This book is absolutely beautiful. I found the information thorough and right to the point. I loved the breakdown of how to put together the right bowl meals with healthy, tasty options.

A delicious-sounding collection of bowls, off of which sound very difficult to make, but delicious. Each recipe sounds like it requires way too much prep time, but if you do have the time, then you will be able to create yourself a delicious meal in a bowl.

Thanks to NetGalley and Storey Publishing for providing me with an Adobe Digital Edition ARC of this book.
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I requested this from NetGalley because I love Bibigo and miss Shop House--I love the make-your-own-bowl method of grabbing a fast lunch.

Sizemore explains her "use what you have" philosophy--which is my philosophy when cooking as well. Reading her intro chapter really helped me wrap my brain around how to make this work better for me than it currently does (I have a tendency to make soup or to have "leftover night" to use up all the leftovers in the fridge). Her method of using bowls is much more effective AND it makes it look like I've actually made dinner LOL. I am cooking for 2 active adults, a male college student (former varsity runner), and a male high school student (and XC/track runner). These boys eat a lot.

This cookbook is beautiful. There are lovely drawings and beautiful photos. There are descriptions of and explanations of the best ways to cook a variety of whole grains. There are photos of bowls put together, and there are photos of the ingredients together before preparation.

On to the recipes! Between using what I have and some food intolerances, I didn't make any of her recipes straight through. What I did:
• made the Cashew Cream from the "Peaches and Cream" recipe. I used oatmeal, cooked up some overripe apricots with pie spice, and added cashew cream. No sugar added! It was delicious.
• did beef burrito bowls with barley, based on her "Chicken Burrito Bowl" recipe. It was delicious, and all 4 of us had slightly different meals. My kids are not big on grains other than oatmeal and pasta, and one of them plowed right through his barley, yay. This was a "leftovers" dinner, I made the barley and the beef but all the rest was leftovers.
• made pan-fried pork bowls. Rice, pork, cabbage/onion/mushrooms/carrots, curry sauce
• made rice and ground chicken/cabbage/onion bowls with curry sauce
• planned to make a ground beef bowl of some sort, but when I got out my new Bob's Red Mill bulgur, opted to make the bulgur/ground beef croquettes on the package, and then filled in with veggies etc around the croquettes. Unknowing kid ate his croquette (and bulgur!) without knowing there was grain in it. Yay! This was also a leftovers meal--I had a pound of ground beef left from a 2-pound pack, and coleslaw, and carrots.

I have purchased several additional types of grain, and look forward to trying the dal recipe (with white and not sweet potatoes, however), and I will try some of her bean combos in the fall. I use dry beans and it is now too hot to cook beans. This is a fun book.

Review on Instagram, with pictures: https://www.instagram.com/p/BlT1sDJF0R6/?taken-by=dreesreads

Beautiful photos and easy to follow recipes. Lots of extra helpful info as well! I’ll definitely be trying some of these recipes.

This cookbook would be great for busy families and full-time professionals alike. Full-color photographs, helpful charts and diagrams, and a variety of recipes for every meal--including a surprising number for breakfast. Now I'm hungry.

In an effort to focus more on my health and wellness I have been on the hunt for variety in cooking options. Build a bowl by Nicki Sizemore gives me great options for healthy lunches and quick assemble dinners. I have the option of making single portions or larger scale meals to have over several days. I love the ease of recipes and easy to find ingredients and the variety it offers. I highly suggest it to folks looking for clever meal options.

I've been cooking for forty years, so I scrolled past most of the beginning of this book, but I understand the value of detailing ingredients. Most people don't cook anymore. They buy prepackaged. This book shows a different way to prepare a meal that relies on wholesome ingredients combined in interesting ways. There is lots to like with this cookbook. Using standard ingredients (and not so standard - I loved all the cashew sauces) meat, seafood, veggie meals prepared in new and healthy ways. Her Asian Lettuce Wraps, Lamp Kabobs are to die for. And her sauces are mouthwatering. Five stars.

This could possibly be the best cook book that I've ever reviewed. I love Nicki's humor and wit, and her take on food. Her food equation should win her a Nobel Peace Prize. I am a mother of 4 kids, each with different palletes, so constructed bowls is genius because they can add what they want it don't want, although I agree with Nicki's approach that the kids should try everything. I'm so excited to try these recipes out for my family. I think this book should be a staple in every household! Bravo to Nicki!!

I love making healthy bowls and loved this book i. It was filled with easy doable and delicious recipes

For a cookbook about bowls this book had a ton of variety!! Lots of different ingredients and combos. So far I made a few of the recipes and they were great! The majority of the ingredients in these recipes are inexpensive and are easy to find.

WOW!
This cookbook did not disappoint!
The images are stunning, the recipes look easy, and I am inspired to leap into the kitchen to make a health bowl of grains, veg and protein! Would definitely recommend to anyone on a health kick, or just wanting to mix it up in the kitchen. You could also customise some of these recipes for the kids!

Love bowls and love this book! Great recipes, and great instructions for how to prepare fresh and how to prepare for future meals. Also gives a lot of great information about different grains to use. A great variety of meal ideas! I will use lots of recipes out of this book. Highly recommended!

*I received this advanced readers copy in exchange for my honest review!

I received a digital copy of this book free from #NetGalley for an honest review.

The concept of this book is great! This book has yummy build-a-bowl recipes that combine whole grains, vegetables, protein and sauce. The recipes look delicious and the pictures are beautiful!! I am so excited to make some of these yummy new recipes for my family!

The one caveat I have is that I wish there was nutritional facts so I don't have to calculate them myself. However, the rest of the book looks so great that I believe that it is still a five star cookbook!

There are some recipes that use some harder to find or more expensive ingredients, such as lamb, mussels, creme fraiche, etc., but I just plan to skip them or try to switch out for a different meat.

A very helpful book, packed with nutritious and seemingly tasty recipes! I have to admit, I saved plenty of them for future use. It seems like there is something in here for every taste, as it includes breakfast recipes, as well as bowls including meet, vegetables, and fish, a variety of sauces and vegetarian and/or gluten free alternatives. Highly recommended!

It's a good thing I wasn't too hungry while browsing this title or else I might have licked my computer screen. The wide range of ingredients used are such that their cost or availability is fairly accessible to most cools. The variety and relatively uncomplicated recipes is a plus.

My review has been posted to Goodreads.

Review has also been tweeted as usual.

Thank you! :c)

What a terrific cookbook! Nice, healthy recipes, color photos sprinkled throughout, relatively easy ingredients to get.....I really enjoyed just looking through this cookbook and am looking forward to trying quite a few of the recipes. Definitely a book for the Library collection, since bowls are one of the latest food trends. I would highly recommend!