Your Cookbook Questions: Answered! | Ambitious Kitchen

Thank you all SO much for your support and excitement for the Ambitious Kitchen Cookbook so far! The recipes in the book (which is officially available for preorder now!) were created by yours truly over the course of an entire year! I spent hours upon hours developing, editing, writing, and testing and I couldn’t be more excited for you to have the book in your hands in a few short months.

In the meantime, I wanted to dedicate a post to answering ALL of your burning questions about the book and the recipes that are inside. Scroll through to get a behind-the-scenes look and a full FAQ section where I answered the most commonly asked questions.

Have any more Q’s? Leave a comment! Get a sneak peek of the recipes and more details here, and be sure to sign up for our email list to get exclusive cookbook content to your email list.

All about The Ambitious Kitchen Cookbook

The recipes in my cookbook include everything from breakfasts, snacks, appetizers, fun playful dinners or even recipes for entertaining guests, sauces, dressings and tons of desserts for every occasion (or just because baking = therapy)! In this cookbook, I wanted to offer a little bit of everything because that’s exactly what I do on my site. I love creating everything from beautiful yeast breads and nourishing, better-for-you muffins to delicious, hearty salads and soups to fabulous weeknight or weekend dinners. Oh and desserts. You know your girl never forgets dessert.

Most of all, I want you to know that The Ambitious Kitchen Cookbook is really about inviting YOU to get ambitious in your own kitchen, whatever that may mean to you. Whether it means trying a new recipe, condiment, ingredient or technique or learning to nourish your body, this cookbook is for you. I want you to find JOY in cooking and baking, and I want to help you nourish your body at the same time. Together, we will find YOUR Ambitious Kitchen.

When does the cookbook come out?

The Ambitious Kitchen Cookbook is officially for sale starting September 10, 2024, but you can preorder now (which helps SO much!).

Why preorder the book?

I know September feels far away, but preordering is incredibly important for authors — especially NEW authors like me! There are a few reasons why:

Retail availability. The number of preordered books lets retailers know that they should stock more copies, which in turn gets even more copies in readers’ hands. Publishers will print more copies to sell in stores when they see that the book is in demand.
Media opportunities. The more the book is preordered, the more opportunities my team and I will have to share it around the country (and the world!) through TV appearances, and online and in-print articles.
Becoming a bestseller. Preordering the book helps it climb coveted bestseller lists on New York Times, Amazon, and more. A TRUE honor for any author.

Your support means the world to me! I couldn’t do this without you!

How to preorder

I’ve included all of our available retailers on this page, but I’ll link them below as well!

All about the recipes

Around 85% of the recipes in my cookbook are BRAND NEW. I hand-picked a few reader favorites that I felt deserved a spot in a cookbook, and that you’d make again and again.

I started coming up with the recipes based around themes and concepts I wanted to execute in the book. I knew I wanted the cookbook to represent my brand and what Ambitious Kitchen stands for, but I also wanted to book to feel like an instant classic, and one that you would be excited about cooking from again and again. I had very specific ideas about the design layout of the book and how it could stand out from all the other cookbooks on the shelves. From there, I created my table of contents and then began testing and developing recipes based off of flavors and ideas I had. The thing about recipe testing (and me) is that I like to pivot, so I might start out with having an idea but then it just builds and builds and builds as I go. That’s all apart of the process! Sometimes I make a pasta and then go… wait, this would be incredible with lemon and a whipped lemon ricotta… oh and maybe thyme, too? Therefore, I test and test again! In fact, each recipe has been tested at LEAST 3-4 times.

Most of all, I wanted these recipes to be a combination of recipes that made you feel good from the inside out (think protein and fiber-packed, veggie-loaded meals!), but I also wanted recipes that felt unique, sometimes celebratory or perhaps even a fun twist on a classic dish. I pulled inspiration from my Hispanic heritage and dishes that have been passed down through generations, so here and there, you’ll notice a few Puerto Rican recipes inspired by my beautiful mom and grandmother.

Lastly, I’m SO proud of the beautiful, VIBRANT photography that I feel really represents Ambitious Kitchen. It’s colorful and modern with vintage touches. Basically, I can’t wait for you to open up the cookbook because I think you are going to be drawn in from the very first chapter!

What’s inside?

As mentioned above, you’ll find all sorts of recipes in the book. Breakfasts/snacks, appetizers/starters, soups, vegetarian mains, dinners, desserts and a whole chapter devoted to sauces, dressings, dips and more! A cookbook for everyday life (and every season!). Get a sneak peek here!

Other recipe details:

75% of the recipes are gluten free or can be made gluten free
65% of the recipes are dairy free or can easily be made dairy free
70% of the recipes are vegetarian or easily made vegetarian

Make it Your Way

You’ll find this section after most of my recipes in the cookbook. This is where you can find my suggestions for making swaps and substitutions, such as how to make a recipe gluten free, dairy free, or vegan, when applicable.

Make it Nutrient Dense

This section lives below some of the recipes in the cookbook and includes my tips for throwing in nutrient-packed ingredients to boost the nutrition of the recipe without sacrificing flavor. I’ll tell you how to add protein, increase the veggies, etc.

FAQs

Are there vegetarian recipes?
- Yes! Around 70% of the recipes are vegetarian or vegetarian-friendly!
Is the nutrition information available for each recipe?
- I decided not to include nutritional information in my cookbook because 1) we didn’t have room to include them and 2) I didn’t want the numbers to overshadow the recipes — but please know that most of the recipes are incredibly nutrient dense and if necessary from a health standpoint, you are welcome to use various online nutrition calculators!
What’s in the Table of Contents?
- We’ll plan to share this in another blog post! Be sure to sign up for our email list so you can be the first to know.
Are there kid-friendly options?
- There are definitely plenty of kid-friendly options, like my cornflake crusted chicken tenders (with honey mustard dipping sauce!) or my scoop ’em up mini pesto turkey meatballs.
Fav new recipe from the book?
- Don’t make me pick!!! Okay, but I really love my enchilada recipes in the book (there are 3 enchilada type of recipes)! Especially my Magical Sweet Potato Black Bean Enchiladas with Creamy Poblano-Jalapeno Sauce. They’re vegetarian but you can easily add chicken if you’d like. The sauce is INSANELY GOOD.
Are weights included for baking recipes?
- Yes! I’ve included weights for all my baking recipes! YAY!
Are there notes on how to make a recipe gluten free and/or dairy free?
- Yes, most recipes have special note section called ‘Make It Your Way’ where I include how to make a recipe gluten free or dairy free whenever possible.
Storing and freezing tips?
- I’ve included storing and freezing tips for almost all of my recipes. In fact, I have an entire how to freeze everything section in my book, too!
Are there photos of every recipe?
- Yes! I was adamant about having a photo for every recipe because let’s be honest… we all eat with our eyes first!
Are there desserts and snacks or just meals?
- There’s everything in this cookbook. See above for more details!
Are there easy recipes or are they difficult?
- Most of the recipes are very easy and straight-forward, but I also have recipes that offer a fun project or challenge or include a potentially new technique you haven’t tried before.
Hardest recipe to craft?
- My Milk & Honey Oatmeal Dinner Rolls (or burger buns!). I tested this recipe 8 times before I finally nailed it. And let me tell you they are FABULOUS. Made with oats, honey, bread flour and white whole wheat flour and fun seeds on top + a honey butter… omg!! So good to make as a fun project, or fun a beautiful dinner — and they are VERY freezer-friendly and can be made ahead of time! Whoo hoo!