McLay, a recipe developer for Betty Crocker and General Mills, has created a cookbook where the main ingredient is the almond. Some recipes call for whole almonds, while others consist of almond flour, almond milk or almond butter.
The book begins with an introduction to the almond and lists a few reasons
that almond products have become more popular over the years. For someone like myself who has never used these products, a tips and tricks page explains how long the products will last, where to store them, and how to swap them with regular milk, flour, and other nut butters in recipes.
The recipes are divided into nine chapters: homemade basics, breakfast, breads and muffins, smoothies and beverages, snacks, appetizers and sides, sandwiches, soups, dinner,
and dessert. Each recipe is marked with diet icons tagging them as dairy-free, gluten-free, grain-free, Paleo, peanut, vegan, and/or vegetarian. Under the title of the recipe is a short description of the recipe, and to the side is a list of nutrients and calories in a serving size--total fat, total carb, dietary fiber, sugars, protein, sodium,
and cholesterol. The directions are numbered in steps and the measurements are in metric (conversions are available in the back). Color photographs of
27 of the recipes can be found in the middle of the book, labeled with recipe names and the page number where the recipe can be found. Only a few of the recipes have hard-to-find ingredients (depending on the size of the city you live in), but when listed in the recipe, substitutes are listed as well (1 ½ tablespoons coconut oil, butter, or Earth Balance). The recipe titles are straightforward (Sweet Corn Muffins, Almond Butter Hummus, Creamy Cauliflower Soup) and short (one to two pages). Back material includes six pages of almond product reviews and information about where to buy them in stores or online.
I enjoy recipe books with color pictures appearing beside each recipe, but to keep the cost
down, the book contains fewer photographs. The best feature of this cookbook are the recipes for making your own almond flour, almond milk, and almond butter.