Half Baked Harvest Every Day: Recipes for Balanced, Flexible, Feel-Good Meals by Tieghan Gerard

Half Baked Harvest Every Day: Recipes for Balanced, Flexible, Feel-Good Meals Reviews

• 
  Lauren

  I’m one of those people that loves to read cookbooks cover to cover, and this one didn’t disappoint! Gorgeous photography with beautiful layouts and detailed instructions. I loved her little anecdotes that accompanied each recipe and I appreciated the swaps she offered for different ingredients. I’m a half baked harvest fan for life!
• 
  Amanda

  While I do like some recipes in here and will cook them, and others which are promising after I make some adjustments and eliminations, I've got some problems.
  
  Firstly, Gerard's cookbook recipes are better vetted than her blog ones, which tend to be massively over-seasoned and overly fattened. The more ingredients called for, especially in something that should be a simple dish, it's a red flag. She also lists expensive, risky to make or hard to find ingredients quite often: whole wheat pastry flour, pink himalayan sea salt, browned butter - in this book the main offender is raw honey, which is in nearly every recipe. This book has *some* very good, simple recipes that are somewhat healthy and others that can be made healthy after some substitutions or eliminations, so I don't see how this fits the book's title of being balanced and "feel-good", which implies healthy. One example is the Candied BLT with brown butter aioli, which makes my stomach hurt just thinking about it. Or the reuben sandwich that has soy sauce. Or so many of the seafood recipes being drenched in cream sauces or super sugary glazes. A massive problem I have with her recipes is her use of only salted butter in everything, and then adding extra salt. This is especially terrible in baking recipes, as salted butter contains more moisture than unsalted, and baking with it will cause the recipes to fail or turn out not quite right. Example: the salty chocolate pretzel rye cookies. They contain salted butter, pink sea salt, salted pretzels, and then topped with more sea salt! The brown sugar tahini shortbread is a very obvious rip-off of Alison Roman's chocolate chunk shortbread (apparently snitching recipes has been a problem, which doesn't surprise me given her output of 4-5 recipes a week on her blog).
  
  On another note, I've noticed that she has an obsession with all things "creamy, buttery, cheesy, saucy" etc and uses these words so liberally throughout her recipes that it's off-putting, and uses those fatty ingredients to excess, while she herself suffers from a very obvious eating disorder and doesn't eat her own food. The pictures of her in the book have been very heavily edited, but it can't disguise how emaciated she is.
• 
  Laura Elizabeth

  I love this authors Instagram page. Always filled with fantastic recipes that always come out as expected. I forgot I preordered this. When it arrived in the mail today it felt like Christmas 🎄. Paging through I see almost every recipe I will want to make. Made a delicious dinner from it already tonight. Her other cookbooks are fantastic too. Five stars 🌟
• 
  False

  I actually find this cookbook to be less healthy than the others. A decent amount of it is breaded or oven fried, which is also hard to re-heat and seems to be more for a special occasion than something you’d eat every day. I have checked out other cookbooks, but I’ve found that Every Day has a lot of very similar recipes to the others. These similar recipes are technically different but they’re the same concept and not unique. I’m kind of surprised that more readers haven’t mentioned it in their reviews. I listed just a few examples below:
  
  - Dark Mocha Lava Cakes (Every Day) vs. Molten Chocolate Cakes with Whipped Vanilla Mascarpone (original)
  
  - Sheet Pan Meatball Pitas with Garlic Fries, Tzatziki, and the Works (Every Day) vs. Gyros with Roasted Garlic Tzatziki and Feta Fries (original)
  
  - Red Wine-Braised Short Ribs with Whipped Provolone Cauliflower (Every Day) vs. Roasted Garlic and Tomato-Braised Lamb Shanks with Parmesan Mashers (original). The ingredient list for the meats is almost identical
  
  - Paprika-Rubbed Rotisserie Chicken (Super Simple) vs. Slow Roasted Sunday Chicken (every day)
  
  I understand that there are only so many ways to prepare chicken, beef, etc., so it’s totally understandable that every once in a while you’ll have similar recipes, but I think the crossover here is a little too much. I notice a lot of crossover on the blog as well. I think this is largely because it’s difficult to produce so much content for the blog, as well as three cookbooks in five-ish years. This book feels rushed compared to books by other authors who spend a ton of time perfecting every single recipe as its own. I think they just need to be spread out a lot more.
• 
  Liquidlasagna

  the french toast recipe is better than many
  
  eggs - milk - salted butter
  vanilla - honey - cinnamon
  nutmeg - himalayan salt - brioche
  
  2 cups of fresh berries
  honey - flaky sea salt
  
  ricotta - honey - lemon zest
  
  drizzle with maple syrup or raw honey
  
  ---
  
  never a fan of muffins but she does one of the better jobs i've seen
  
  her secret is use a mixture of fresh blueberries and then one adds in blueberry jam, so you get the right taste, and the proper moisture content, and no unpleasant texture
• 
  Tiana

  My favorite Half Baked Harvest cookbook to date (and one of my new all-time favorite cookbooks in general!)
• 
  Sara Rishforth

  I made the sweet and spicy ginger soy noodles! Pretty tasty! Subbed bok choy and spinach for the kale.
• 
  Tena Edlin

  I follow this account on Instagram, and the recipes are all so beautiful and sound so delicious. I wanted a whole cookbook full of them. I wasn’t disappointed. I marked so many to try, and I like how the author/creator/chef tries to create delicious flavors in ways that are healthier than the traditional versions of similar recipes. I also appreciate how she gives a variety of instructions based on different cookware & appliances that a kitchen might or might not have. I can’t wait to try the recipes out for myself!
• 
  Amy Noe

  Half Baked Harvest is my go to source for all the best flavorful and incredible recipes. I have all the cookbooks, but this one looks especially fantastic. I bookmarked almost every recipe and can't wait to get started! As with all her recipes, they are a bit more labor intensive and require a lot of ingredients you might not have on hand (such as tons of fresh herbs!), but they are WORTH IT. Best recipe creator ever!
• 
  Dorothy Greco

  Some terrific recipes here. Not all of them are Gf or Df but most can easily be adapted.
• 
  Christina

  Another beautiful book by Half Baked Harvest. I have her first two books and this one is just as wonderful and I cannot wait to cook/bake up these delicious foods. I did find it heavy on the comfort food or what I would call fall/winter eats so as summer is winding down I will be turning to the book for inspiration. I have found her recipes incredibly delicious but they do often have many ingredients and/or steps. I am happy she included the time to make the recipe in this book.
• 
  Becca

  A gorgeous addition to my cookbook collection, with delicious recipes I will be having in the weeknight rotation. I have not made a single dud with her recipes and I love feeling more confident trying these inventive meals. I have not made every recipe in here yet, but I have poured over this book and lovingly bookmarked my favorites I have made and I am looking forward to making so many more of these lovely meals for my fam.
• 
  Gina Zappa

  This went straight in the amazon cart and I wish I was eating everything in it right now!
  
• 
  Leanne

  We got this in the library this week, and now I need to buy it for myself!
• 
  Christine Norvell

  My first Gerard cookbook. I savored reading it over a week.
• 
  Jessica

  I liked Gerard's pervious Half Baked Harvest cookbooks, but this one didn't impress me as much. It's set up like a typical cookbook with chapters for breakfast, appetizers, chicken, beef, dessert, etc. There were a few recipes I'd like to try, but not as many as in her previous ones. I did like that she notes which recipes are 30 minutes or less, one-pan, etc. Overall, a good cookbook but not one I'm going to run out and buy or heavily recommend.
• 
  Morgan Vigil-Hayes

  I generally like the recipes in here. Things that were a bit annoying were the little blurbs written about every single recipe. It’s cool to have a few anecdotes, but I found the amount to be tedious and not different enough from each other to warrant the amount of text dedicated to them.
  
  The second chicken recipe is actually a pork recipe.
  
  
• 
  Lauren R.

  Okay so not my favorite of her three books but I think it’s because I’m slightly burnt out from cooking lately! I didn’t want to rush to add ingredients to a grocery order for the first time in a while. Thinking back on this book though… definitely a lot of tasty-sounding recipes!
• 
  Catherine

  I have several favorite recipes that I found on
  Half Baked Harvest, so I borrowed this book from the library.
  
  Several of the recipes are just variations on ones that I've made from her website. For example:
  
  "kale caesar with house dressing and sourdough croutons" is similar to
  Kale Caesar Salad with Sweet Potatoes and Crispy Chickpeas without very basic croutons subbed for the more interesting ingredients from the website.
  
  "spiced lentil soup with curried acorn squash" is the exact same soup base as my favorite
  Coconut Sweet Potato Lentil Soup with Rice with the omission of sweet potatoes in the soup and the addition of seasoned roasted squash chunks on top.
  
  "saucy garlic peanut noodles with sesame sweet potatoes" is just
  Saucy Tahini Noodles with Honey’d Sweet Potatoes with peanut butter subbed for tahini and the herbs omitted from the sauce, and sesame seeds on the roasted sweet potatoes. (The tahini noodle recipe is amazing and totally worth trying.)
  
  Lest you think all her recipes include sweet potatoes, that is all about me picking recipes with sweet potatoes because I love them and usually have a ton from the garden.
  
  A couple of other recipes that I want to try:
  
  "reuben melt" -- a vegetarian take that features cabbage cooked down with corned beef flavors and a "billion island dressing" that she swears is better than Russian or Thousand Island dressings
  
  "almond cake with rosemary lemon sugar" -- olive oil almond cake with whipped ricotta topping? I'm sold.
  
  
• 
  Miss Clark

  Lovely photos accompany each of these recipes. There is everything from delicious versions of classics such as spaghetti and tacos to new sure-to-be-in-your-weekly-rotation favourites like Spicy Gingery Chicken or Nutty, Herby Spicy Pasta!
  
  Favourites:
  Sheet Pan French Toast
  Pumpkin Streusel Coffee Cake
  Blueberry Lemon Poppyseed Muffins*
  Chai Orchard Doughnuts
  Prosciutto Breakfast Cups
  Cinnamon Sugar Knots
  Herb and Mustard Potato Stacks
  Mozzarella Bites - yummm
  Cheddar Ranch Snack Crackers
  Candied BLT with Brown Butter Aioli
  Honey Roasted Carrots with Herb Oil
  Crispy Sour Cream and Onion Potatoes
  Zuppa Toscana with Gnocchi
  Chipotle Cheddar Corn Chowder
  Rosemary Chicken Avocado Salad with Bacon Salad Vinaigrette (There are so many good salads!)
  Easier Italian Wedding Soup*
  Roasted Red Pepper Bolognese
  Pizza Alla Diavola
  Easy Ricotta Ravioli with Lemon Herb Corn*
  Sunday Sauce
  Reuben Melt
  Crispy Carnitas Taquitos*
  Cashew Butter Chicken*
  Spicy Pretzel Fingers with Hot Honey*
  Coq Au Vin Blanc Meatballs*
  Parmesan Chicken Saltimbocca
  Mom's Pot Roast
  Dad's Cheesy Baked Tacos
  Uncle Joe's Stuffed Peppers
  Carne Asada "Crunch Wraps"
  Mongolian Beef
  Holy Grail Spaghetti and Meatballs
  Sheet Pan Meatball Pitas
  Spicy Basil Beef Bowl
  Burrata Margherita Pizza
  The Florida Vacation Sandwich
  Salted Chocolate Pretzel Rye Cookies
  Creamy Vegan Coconut Chocolate Pudding
  Lemon Tart with Vanilla Sugar
  Maple Oatmeal Lace Cookies
  Malted Milk Cookie Dough Cups
  Crinkle-Top Roasted Banana Bread*
  
• 
  Charles Eldridge

  First off, I’d never heard of this author or her blogs/social media presence before reading this book. I picked it up solely because of the cover photo of Sweet Potato Pierogis in Sage Browned Butter. I made that recipe last night and it tasted like pure Fall. After reading the cookbook cover to cover, here are my thoughts:
  
  If you only by one cookbook, this is it.
  
  Bold claim, right? Is this the best cookbook, the most interesting cookbook, the most mouth-watering cookbook? No, it is not. But the sheer variety of EXTREMELY WELL PRESENTED RECIPES can greatly assist any level of home cook in trying and making a cornucopia of delicious and fairly easy recipes. So many other cookbook publishers could learn from how the recipes are presented here: clearly written prep times, yield, ingredients for each part and clear step-by-step instructions. You’d be surprised how many new cookbooks over-stylize their pages making them non functional.
  
  This book is a gateway to learning how to make and explore a variety of flavors that will absolutely impress your palate and your family/guests. You will eventually find better and more inspiring cookbooks (“Israeli Soul” by Michael Solomonov and “Night + Market” by Kris Yenbamroong come to mind) that speak to your specific culinary interests, but this book has countless recipes that will make your weeknight rotation right now.
• 
  Lora Hogan

  Very disappointing. Nothing original, definitely not healthy, and just too "instagram." Like why is she posing awkwardly throughout the cookbook in various outfits? (Hint: she's sponsored.) But mostly, the recipes are just rehashed variations of previous cookbooks or her blog. Nothing unique about them, in fact, most she just adds extra fat or cheese and says "hey! this is new." Read real cookbooks by real chefs and skip this one unless you want to look at how to take food photography. Her photos are pretty. (Well the food ones, I really seriously don't get why she just keeps posing awkwardly for no reason on her property in various outfits.) I also can't get past the cult-ey vibe of her family of 10+ and the paragraph intros (mom just had ANOTHER BABY?!). Glad I got this from the library, because it's just a hard pass. I used to like her blog and recipes ten years ago, but they are not up to date with the world nowadays.
• 
  Fancy

  Meh. Another beautiful perfect Instagram chick cookbook full of pictures of how beautiful and perfect she is and how beautiful and perfect her life is and food someone else probably cooked and styled for her. Complicated fattening recipes. Lost me at the beginning when she told me every kind of ingredient I had to buy (I agree but don’t tell me why I need butter, lady) and for eggs she had to mention her twelve chickens. Of course there’s a picture of her looking gorgeous and holding an equally beautiful and perfect chicken. No nutritional info. Tons of gluten. For rich white ladies who want to pretend to have her pretend life.
  
  Probably good food but the whole thing just made me stabby.
• 
  Cathy Klein

  I have a feeling that I will probably change this rating to 5 after I am able to make some more of the recipes. I have been following Gerard on Instagram for awhile and always think her food looks delicious. When I started reading this cookbook, I really liked how she concentrates on things that are good for you without going to the extreme. She talks a lot about gut health or healthier options which I appreciate having a daughter with a sensitive belly and always striving to be healthy.
  
  I borrowed this cookbook from the library, but instead of making copies of the few recipes I like, I need to add this one to my collection as there are too many that I want to make.
• 
  Jessica Bishop

  I got this book by a friends recommendation, then found her blog and eventually started following the author on her social medias.
  I feel like a sales rep for this (and all other) book from her, because it’s absolutely phenomenal. It’s the type of food you want to cook and eat on a weekday; comforting, known ingredients, full of flavor, and relatively healthy.
  I have cooked all of the recipes that doesn’t contain ingredients my partner won’t eat, as I don’t want to cook for myself alone, and now I’ve migrated over to her website. It is very, very rare that one of her recipes isn’t a complete success? Her style of cooking is amazing and so “accomplishable” and rewarding!