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It's time to get motivated! #letsmove
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It's time to get motivated! #letsmove
Hi! I’m Helen Gambarota and I am delighted to be back with Jo’s Weekly Workout Family to share my love of books with you.
I am a total book nerd and an avid reader and a compulsive book buyer, although I do need to slow down on the book buying as there are piles of books all around the house. I started reviewing books on Instagram as @BestBookFoward almost 4 years ago and I love chatting about books and sharing my passion for reading.
Each month I bring you my recommendation of a must-read book. I read a variety of genres so it could be anything from fiction, non-fiction, romance, historical fiction or a thriller and I really hope that you’ll enjoy each of them as much as I do. This month, it’s all about my awards.
If you’d like more book inspiration you can find my reviews on my Instagram account which is @BestBookForward, on Facebook or on my website bestbookforward.org
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The end of the year is fast approaching and what a brilliant year it has been for books. Over the last month, I’ve been running my book awards on Instagram and so for my final post of the year with you, I’m sharing all the winners from my Best Book Forward 2022 Awards. It’s a great stack of books, I think there is something for everyone and also if you’re struggling with present ideas maybe give the gift of a great read.
Lessons in Chemistry by Bonnie Garmus
When I read this back in March I knew it would be one of my top reads of the year and that it would come up in the Awards. Bonnie Garmus has taken the book world by storm with her award winning debut; Waterstones selected her as Author of the Year and it’s being made into a TV series. Over at Best Book Forward it was crowned Best Fiction, Best Debut and Best Cover. There is so much love for this book, if you haven’t read it you really are in for a treat.
The Whalebone Theatre by Joanna Quinn
Another of my top reads of the year that I was delighted to see making it on to the Shortlists for Best Fiction, Best Historical Fiction, Best Debut and Best Cover. The Best Book Forward readers voted it as the winner for Best Historical Fiction. It is a wonderful read and it’s even has a very royal fan, as The Queen Consort also picked it as her Reading Room!
A Lady’s Guide to Fortune Hunting by Sophie Irwin
Sophie picked up this year’s Best Romance and which made me so happy. Her book, a fun Regency romance, just filled me with joy. It is fabulous debut and I cannot wait to read her second book which comes out in May. If there’s a Bridgerton shape hole in your life then this is for you.
Wrong Place Wrong Time by Gillian McAllistair
And finally, our Best Thriller of 2022. This book had me glued to its pages. It is a really fast paced, twisty and clever read that is actually quite thought-provoking. This is the first of Gillian’s books that I’ve read and as soon as I finished it and went and added all of her others to my list. It is that good.
I hope that you’ll find something here that you will love. I’ll be back in January with another recommendation for you, but in the meantime I wish you a happy and healthy Christmas.
Please either login or refresh your page to view if you are already part of my Workout Family.
If you would like to become a member sign up, I would love to have you join the club.
It's time to get motivated! #letsmove
Please either login or refresh your page to view if you are already part of my Workout Family.
If you would like to become a member sign up, I would love to have you join the club.
It's time to get motivated! #letsmove
I found this cookbook through a friend and I have enjoyed cooking sooooo many recipes from it – they are really yummy and I wanted to share it with the world!
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Anna’s Family Kitchen is a fun family-friendly cookbook, which shares nutritious but minimal faff recipes with families across the country. Including more than 70 recipes, this book explores the variety of dishes you can bring to the table for any occasion. From lights bites to fakeaways and working smarter not harder in the kitchen, you can achieve fun and easy mealtimes every day.
BBQ Salmon Cowboy Salad
Anna’s Family Kitchen was inspired by the author’s love of food and desire to feed her family healthy, home-cooked, wholesome meals that are beautifully presented but don’t require hours of prep in the kitchen. Her cookbook showcases the reality of family life, and how to achieve fun and easy mealtimes that aren’t all-consuming.
Anna describes the book as the go-to cookbook for busy families, intending to transform cooking from an everyday chore to an enjoyable process. It includes over 70 recipes, created for families of all shapes and sizes, inspiring people to take a new approach to cooking.
The recipes are divided into five chapters, covering all aspects of everyday challenges faced in the kitchen. These include Light Bites & Snacks, Quick & Easy Weekdays, Weekends & Gatherings, Fakeaways, and Cook Clever, which is full of useful hints and tips to save money, batch cook ahead of time and utilise your freezer to make sure you aren’t wasting food!
Anna’s Family Kitchen also includes tailored tips and tricks to assist families in cooking nutritional but tasty dishes. Perfect for any home cook, it contains a diverse range of recipes that are easy to follow and cover all occasions. Almost every recipe can be adapted with easy swaps to cater to individual needs within the demanding task of feeding a family. Dishes include Beef Massaman Curry, Summer Roast Chicken, Harissa Hake & Couscous Traybake, Chana Masala and Foolproof Bread.
An excerpt from the book – Hoisin Chicken
BATCH COOKING/MAKE AHEAD/FREEZABLE
This crowd pleaser is a much easier, quicker and cheaper alternative to hoisin duck pancakes, plus you get more meat! Chicken thighs are roasted in homemade hoisin sauce then shredded, ready for loading into Asian pancakes or wraps with cucumber, spring onion and more hoisin sauce.
Prep time: 10 minutes
Cooking time: 50 minutes
Serves: 4-6
INGREDIENTS
8-10 chicken thighs, skin on and bone in
Mini wraps or Chinese pancakes
1 cucumber, cut into batons
Spring onions, shredded
For the hoisin sauce
4 tbsp soy sauce
2 tbsp peanut butter
2 tbsp rice wine
1 tbsp honey
1 tbsp dark brown sugar
1 clove of garlic, crushed
½ tsp Chinese five spice
¼ tsp chilli flakes (optional)
15ml water
METHOD
Blitz all the hoisin sauce ingredients together in a blender. Set half aside and pour the rest over the chicken thighs in a roasting tray. Cook the chicken in the oven at 180-200°c fan for 25 minutes.
Turn the chicken thighs over, making sure they are completely coated in the sauce, then arrange them skin side up and return to the oven for 25 more minutes.
Pull the chicken apart using two forks and serve with the wraps or pancakes, cucumber batons, shredded spring onion and the remaining hoisin sauce.
Tip! The sauce can be made ahead in a large batch, then refrigerated or frozen.
About the Author
Anna Stanford, is a self-taught cook and mother of three, started Anna’s Family Kitchen 4 years ago as a passionate hobby, creating recipes for her family and friends on Instagram and Facebook, and has now achieved a loyal following on social media. You can find more information about her and her recipes on her social media pages @annasfamilykitchen or on her website annasfamilykitchen.com
Anna’s Family Kitchen is a 192-page hardback and at the time of writing, retails at £18. It is available from Amazon here.
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Please either login or refresh your page to view if you are already part of my Workout Family.
If you would like to become a member sign up, I would love to have you join the club.
It's time to get motivated! #letsmove
Please either login or refresh your page to view if you are already part of my Workout Family.
If you would like to become a member sign up, I would love to have you join the club.
It's time to get motivated! #letsmove