Mary Abitanto believes in celebrating nature’s harvest and living a healthy lifestyle.
“Eating healthy will give you more sustainable energy to do the things you love,” she said.
Abitanto has thrown that belief into her newest cookbook “Nourish – Celebrating Nature’s Harvest & A Healthy Lifestyle,” which launched last month.
“This book was created to be a go-to guide for family meal planning, jam-packed with nutrient-dense meals,” she said. “It will accommodate a gluten-free lifestyle for many of the recipes and makes adaptations for a vegetarian lifestyle, when possible.”
Also, included in this book is a question-and-answer section with local area Nutritionist Samara Kraft discussing heart health, bone hearth, brain health, and disease prevention through mindful nutrition.
This is Abitanto’s fourth cookbook she has authored. Her love for family is the main thread woven throughout all her books. Her parents instilled in her a love of family, faith, celebrating life, and enjoying good food. This book is dedicated to them.
“I have such fond memories of working with Mom side by side in the garden, spring through summer,” Abitanto said reminiscing growing up in Middlesex County. “She taught me how to stake out the garden; till the soil; plant the garden; plant marigolds to repel any little critters; and of course, there was the weeding, not a particular joy, but nonetheless I did it.
“A metaphor for life that ‘with love and care we can cultivate a beautiful and bountiful garden,’ she says.”
Abitanto’s favorite recipe in her latest cookbook is the Baked Oatmeal with Apples.
“… Sometimes I get to pick from my own apple orchard on my property which is sandwiched between two horse farms in Central Jersey,” she said. “The Everything Bagels which are gluten free and the most tested recipe in the book is another favorite. For the chocolate lovers, I have you covered with my Brownie Bites made from black beans and you would never be able to detect their presence. I love these too for a snack with afternoon coffee.”
The pages of the book brim with a vast collection of “mouth-watering and delicious” recipes paired with photographs taken by her including sweet and savory mornings; smoothies and healthy energy bites; handcrafted breads and bagels; vegetable-based bites; protein-packed meals; healthy and delightful desserts; and Italian inspiration.
Along with authoring the cookbooks, Abitanto is a food writer for the Princeton Magazine where she shares her love of food history, and recipe creations as well as stunning food styling and photography.
Abitanto’s celebrity Instagram following has increased since her first cookbook.
There will be a Meet the Author event at Anthropologie in the Princeton Market Fair Mall from 11 a.m. to 1 p.m. on Saturday, May 11. It is a Mother’s Day Pop-up event. Feel free to bring her cookbook and she will sign it. Snacks and refreshments will be served. Other events will be announced soon.
Abitanto’s books, including her newest cookbook, is available on Amazon.
