Essential Nourishment

Recipes from My Estonian Farm

Visually stunning and potentially life-changing, Essential Nourishment is your feel-good guide to living well, one delicious meal at a time, one nurturing action at a time.

Breaking News: 

April 20 - May 1: San Francisco Bay Area and Portland, OR Book Tour - see entire schedule here.

April 2: ESSENTIAL NOURISHMENT is nominated for the BOOK OF THE YEAR AWARD.

Los Angeles: on January 12 Marika had the great honor to present Estonian food as well as her book at the Taste Awards  in Hollywood. See video here.

Book Reviews

 

Marika Blossfeldt’s thoughtful holistic approach to nutrition combined with her extensive knowledge of natural ingredients make for a pleasurable read. In her well-articulated book, she considers all aspects of food: eating, nutrition, spirituality, ritual and social connection. All facets are integrated in a common-sense approach that is broken down into simple, easy steps so even the most hesitant person can start bringing health-enhancing changes to everyday routines and LIVE BETTER.

 

Her tables for cooking grains and legumes take the guesswork out of preparing these important foods from scratch. They are so clear and concise you will refer to them again and again.

 

Blossfeldt’s warmth and joy shine through on every page and make me want to take a trip to her farm and arts center right away.

 

Miriam Russell-Wadleigh, Executive Chef, Piacere Restaurant, San Carlos, CA 

 

 

Marika successfully integrates two approaches to the subject of food — food as an essential part of a holistic lifestyle and food preparation as part of everyday living. In a clear and understandable way, she discusses many fundamental nutrition topics — such as the benefits of eating whole foods, the need for hydration, the acid/alkaline balance in the body and natural weight loss strategies.

 

Besides being an excellent everyday cooking guide, Essential Nourishment is superbly educational. It belongs on every school’s reading list!  I recommend it to all who hold life dear.  

 

Peeter Jalakas, Artist and Restaurant Owner, Tallinn, Estonia 

 

 

In her book, Marika reminds us of a truth that we might not hear or consider anymore: Food is not the only thing that nourishes us. She reminds us that food plays a supportive role — it should foster good health and supply our body with essentials, offering nurturing and sensual pleasure.  But she makes us aware that there are other human needs that food will not satisfy.  I like that food for Marika is neither reward nor penalty, but simply sustenance — the way God meant it to be, simple and sufficient.  There are many cookbooks, from healthful to decadent, but only a few adequately teach us to eat—to relate to food. Essential Nourishment is complete in its teaching, actually guiding the reader through a process of unlearning that leads back to simplicity and delight.

Aigi Vahing, Journalist and Writer, Brooklyn, NY

 

Health food doesn't need to taste like health food. "Essential Nourishment: Recipes from my Estonian Farm" is a book of natural and health-driven recipes that will taste like anything but. Marika Blossfeldt uses life's expertise to encourage readers to choose their food well, use their diet to deal with diabetes, and embrace a more natural weight loss plan. For those who seek better health but hate health food, "Essential Nourishment" proves an excellent cookbook that is in full color and organized well to prepare for any ingredient, highly recommended.

Midwest Book Review, Oregon, WI

Holistic Health and Wellness has a new and gentle voice. Marika Blossfeldt shares her extensive knowledge on how to nourish the body and soul starting with the inside. Essential Nourishment delivers from the start, with a detailed look at how the foods around you affect your overall health and mood, from cravings, illness to balancing the body. She will teach her reader to get back to basics and I don't mean with ingredients but with a generous dose of love. After leading numerous groups on holistic retreats with success and results, Ms. Blossfeldt brings the Estonian countryside and spa into the kitchen with wholesome dishes like the curried red lentil and a chanterelle quiche that was truly exquisite and pure. We love the Yogi Tea recipe as well. If you are looking for a simple and delicious way to get your balance back, then look no further.

Penelope Barcelo, Kepler's Bookstore, Menlo Park, CA

Marika Blossfeldt is a holistic health coach and yoga teacher who divides her time between Beacon and Estonia. After studying at the Institute for Integrative Nutrition, in 2006 she began offering summer wellness workshops at her farm in Estonia. Eventually, with the help of her niece, she wrote down the recipes that retreat participants had been enjoying and asking for. In 2009, the first edition was self-published in Estonian, and promptly became a bestseller in that country. The proceeds from that book funded the publishing this year of the English version, Essential Nourishment (Delicious Nutrition). It’s a cookbook, but with substantial sections on nutrition and wellness that make it a practical guide for clean living and eating. In an age of countless fad diets and media hype, this is a calm, balanced alternative that is worth seeking out. Where Italian and Indian foods carry the weight of certain expectations, Blossfeldt’s food is simply food, made from the best seasonal ingredients available, without any particular regional accent besides the climate in which the produce is grown. As such, it offers a potent inspiration for anyone seeking to let the produce speak for itself, especially during our fecund summers.

Peter Barrett for Chronogram Magazine, August issue

Essential Nourishment is a book to cherish. Graced with gorgeous photos and abundant knowledge, it is more than a cookbook – it is a holistic lifestyle companion that informs as well as inspires. Marika Blossfeldt’s recipes are healthy, delicious and beautiful. Her approach to the art of eating will nourish the reader with her words and nourish the belly with naturally prepared goodness.  Essential Nourishment encourages awareness of not only the foods we eat but of the “food-mood connection,” food energies and even discusses the importance of physical activity and relationships to support a lifestyle filled with conscious intention.

Ashley Ess for Bamboo Magazine, Conscious Family Living, Los Angeles CA

Ask ten people what their favorite ethnic cuisine is and the answers would likely be predictable: Italian, Greek, Soul, Asian fusion, whatever. Your money would be safe if you bet no one would say “Estonian”. To be honest, Marika Blossfeldt’s self-published cookbook, Essential Nourishment: Recipes from My Estonian Farm (Beacon: Delicious Nutrition, 2011; $34.99 softcover) is not exactly an ethnic cookbook, despite the subtitle, but we‘re getting ahead of ourselves.
 
Blossfeldt, an artist and former dancer, is a Kundalini yoga teacher who spends about half of the year teaching and cooking in Beacon; the other part of the year she presides over the Polli Talu Arts Center, a farm-turned-wellness retreat she founded in her native Estonia, and which was the inspiration for the book.
 
While many of the recipes in Essential Nourishment contain ethnic elements, their more central character belongs in the health spa—yoga retreat category. Some are openly derivative (the barley salad recipe is from Peter Berley’s The Modern Vegetarian Kitchen, for example); others are hardly Estonian but do have a personal touch (Spaghetti aglio e olio a là Polli); and others could be from handouts at a health spa (the Chanterelle quiche recipe fits that bill).
 
What is captivating on the pages, however, are Blossfeldt's sincerity, compassion, gentleness and good humor. The recipes are clean, wholesome and simple; the introductory essays are positive and instructive. The photographs are uniformly excellent - and what's not to like about a cookbook that dares include pictures of cats?

                                                                        The Valley Table, Newburgh, NY

A Sample Recipe       Root Vegetable Vinaigrette    serves 4

The beet turns this vinaigrette a vibrant magenta, and the dish provides a gorgeous color accent for any occasion.

Vegetables:       1 beet, peeled and cubed       2 carrots, sliced into rounds       1 turnip, peeled and cubed       1 parsnip, peeled and sliced into rounds       Dressing:       3 tablespoons olive oil       3 tablespoons red balsamic vinegar       salt and pepper       1 handful chopped scallions       1 handful chopped basil

1  Fill a pot with 1 inch (2½ cm) of water, insert a steamer basket and bring the water to a boil.

2  Add the vegetables – start with the beet, then add the carrots, then the turnip, then the parsnip – waiting three minutes after each addition. Steam until the vegetables start to get soft. Transfer the vegetables to a colander, rinse with cold water and drain. Transfer to a bowl.

3  Combine the dressing ingredients in a glass jar. Close the lid and shake to mix. Pour the dressing over the vegetables, mix well, and let the salad marinate for at least 1 hour.

4  Before serving, toss, taste and add vinegar or seasoning if needed.

Garnish with basil leaves.

Note: You can use just about any vegetable in this recipe – it is also a great way to make vegetable leftovers taste delicious the next day.

Essential Nourishment

Visually stunning and potentially life-changing, Essential Nourishment is your feel-good guide to living well, one delicious meal at a time, one nurturing action at a time.

The recipes inspire you to create dishes that are both mouthwatering and easy to make.

These flavorful, nutrient-dense meals also give you the energy you need to lead an active life for years to come and pursue your passions with enthusiasm and delight.

Essential Nourishment — once and for all — ends the confusion around food. It helps you to:

• Choose food purposefully, making food your friend and not your enemy

• Understand how your moods are affected by the foods you eat

• Discover how you can stabilize your blood sugar naturally by consciously eating balanced meals

• Achieve weight loss —  without counting calories or dieting — simply by eating great-tasting, nourishing foods

Essential Nourishment shows you how to effortlessly shift to a healthy and fulfilling lifestyle. It brings fun to your kitchen, well-being to your body, clarity to your mind, and joy to your heart.

Testimonials

Dear Marika,

Your book is more beautiful and more informative than I ever could have imagined. I am so excited to work my way through the recipes one by one. And enjoy the photographs as I go ... and LEARN so much about eating and cooking in a more healthy way. Very few things are as important, especially now that I'm a new mom and have 2 of us to take good care of!

You have given many people so many gifts through your teaching, your art, your work as a nutrition consultant, your farm, and now – your book!                    

Greta Winograd, New York NY

 

I first saw the Estonian version and I knew I had to get this book when it came out in English.

The pages inside are full of the most beautiful photography of both the food and the healthy healing landscapes that nature provides us. Looking through this book is food for the soul and spirit, before you even try one recipe. The entire book is printed in high-quality full-color, so that you think you can reach into the page and pluck some delicious morsel, or gather together a bouquet of wildflowers right off the page. You can almost smell the food, the photography is so amazing.

But it's not just a bunch of pretty pictures! There are recipes -- wonderful delicious recipes! And there's a storehouse of nutritional information at the front of the book.

So we did try recipes. My 13 year old son went through the book and found several he wanted to try. They were a hit with our family. Now he's home schooling in the fall, and we're using Essential Nourishment as his primary textbook for Food & Nutrition. The information on nutrition in the beginning of this book is clear and easy to understand, the recipes are simple, delicious, and well-received even by my young teen -- helped greatly by the beautiful presentation of the photos for each recipe. Try this book with picky children -- let them find something that looks irresistible and then try the recipe together!

I can't think of anything to change that would make me more satisfied with this book. I don't even want to put it on the shelf with my other recipe books -- it's much too lovely to sit on a shelf! It deserves to flit back and forth between the kitchen and the coffee table!

Rev. Criss Ittermann, Middletown NY