Rainy days in the Netherlands, that means lots of time to spend reading my cookbooks and searching for inspirational recipes! This time I’ll be reviewing a cookbook I recently purchased and instantly LOVED: Power Food by Rens Kroes.

At first I was a bit sceptical about this book and I was in doubt wether I would buy it or not. I was afraid that it would be ‘more of the same’ for me and I wasn’t sure if it was worth the investment, considered all the healthy recipes you can find online. Then I came across the book in the bookstore and after browsing it for a moment I bought it immediately! I was instantly inspired by the nice pictures and of course the recipes!

About the Author. Rens Kroes is the sister of topmodel Doutzen Kroes! In the foreword of the book, Rens tells about her youth and how healthy food was a very important aspect of that! Her grandfather was the first biological farmer in the village they lived in and her mother was a nutritionist.

At the age of 19 Rens moved to New York for a while and this is where she was inspired by healthy food even more! Back in the Netherlands she started working in an obesity clinic and ever since she wants to inspire people to eat and live a happy and healthy lifestyle! Nowadays Rens works as a healthcoach and blogger, recently she published her first book: Powerfood!

The Book. The book is conveniently organized into different categories such as breakfast, lunch, diner, etc. as you can see in the picture above. This makes it really easy to find yourself a nice recipe for every moment of the day! The book is visually very pretty in my opinion with loads of pictures and a pleasant typography. Not every recipe is accompanied by a picture, but I like it that there are also quite some pictures of Rens herself, which makes this cookbook feel really ‘personal’.

Rens devoted a few pages to write about several ingredients she uses often in the recipes and their health benefits and interesting facts. Subsequently she wrote about a few ailments and which foods are best for prevention or healing. At the end of the book you can also find a super convenient index where you can easily find recipes by name or by ingredient.

The Recipes. As mentioned in the beginning I was a little sceptical when I heard about Rens’ book Powerfood. I was afraid it wouldn’t provide me with anything new and that it would require lots of different ‘Superfoods’. I was pleasantly surprised when I browsed throught the book in the bookstore and I immediately bought it. Rens works with very common and easy-to-find products instead of what I feared, a big range of superfoods! That is a big pro to me! I like the fact that she shows you that the ‘ordinary’ products can be super healthy as well! The recipes are easy to follow and you don’t need an endless list of ingredients. This makes every recipe perfect to incorporate into your daily life! The recipes are based on pure and natural ingredients.

On Rens’ website you can find some of the recipes that she published in her book. On her blog you can find even more recipes, but also stories about her life and interesting facts! I recommend to take a look!

Practical information

Title: Powerfood
Athor: Rens Kroes
Publisher: Spectrum, Houten
ISBN: 978 90 00 34101 6Hardcover, 176 pages
Language: Dutch

Was this review helpful to you? Feel free to share your thoughts in the comments below!