To celebrate the release of her second cookbook ‘Simply Laura Lea’, holistic chef Laura Lea speaks to PURE Living Nashville and shares exclusive new recipes from her book.
I knew I wanted to write a second cookbook as soon as I sent my first into the world. By the time cookbook one was released, I had already gathered a list of recipes I wanted to put into print, and I had learned so much! That is the beauty of books – they can reflect your growth and evolution, while still preserving a moment in time.
My first cookbook, The Laura Lea Balanced Cookbook, is a collection of family-friendly, make-ahead, comfort-food-inspired, nutritious and delectable recipes. In addition, it’s a resource for building a healthy pantry and learning about new ingredients. Throughout the book, I made sure to repeat all ingredients as much as possible, as well as offer creative solutions for leftovers, recipe pairings, substitutions and more. The book is for omnivores and herbivores alike, with a mixture of plant-based and animal protein-based recipes.
This content resonated with my audience, so as I headed into book two, I didn’t want to ‘reinvent the wheel’. I simply wanted to introduce new (but similar in accessibility and style) recipes, new ingredients and new perspectives on topics such as dairy and soy. In addition, I took feedback from my community and incorporated it throughout the book. Some of the “mini themes” that you’ll see in Simply Laura Lea are Instant Pot recipes, Keto-Friendly options, double the vegan and vegetarian entrees and the inclusion of more cheese! (Note: there’s a Crockpot version for every Instant Pot dish, so you won’t need to go buy one). The vast majority of the recipes are completely brand new, but I took a small handful of the “hits” from my blog as well.
Some of my favorite dishes from the book are Chocolate Chip Cookie Dough Pancakes, Biscuits with Tempeh Gravy, Hot Honey Cheesy Twice Baked Sweet Potatoes, “Big Mac” Meatza with Special Sauce, Macadamia Sesame Crusted Tuna (listed below), Tomato Spinach “Ricotta” Lasagna and Lemon Almond Pound Cake.
Overall, my hope with Simply Laura Lea is to, once again, make life easier for the busy home cook, as well as provide education for making healthier choices in every aspect of life. I want to see this book dog-eared, scraped up, covered in food and generally ‘loved on’; that’s how I’ll know I’ve done my job!
Click here to order Laura Lea’s book.