Behind the Scenes: Choosing the Cover & What I Cooked Last Week

The Cover Shot (& the runner up that almost was!), Healthy Shrimp Tacos with Cilantro-Lime Greek Yogurt Slaw, Rice Paper Sushi Wrap

Hi everyone,

Hope you had a great week! Thank you for all your sweet comments and messages about my cookbook, your support over the years is the reason this book exists. I appreciate you all so much! If you haven’t preordered yet, it would mean the world to me if you did. Preorders make a huge difference for first-time authors, helping determine events and whether local bookstores stock the book.

Today I’m sharing the story of how we landed on the cover image. Fun fact: it wasn’t our initial pick! Up until a few weeks ago, we had a completely different cover confirmed for the printer 😅. Read on to hear about the process of shooting cover tries, the cover we almost went with, and why we made a last-minute change.

But first, here’s a recipe for one of my favorite healthy meals, shrimp tacos with lime-cilantro cabbage slaw. I’ve made them on repeat for years and love them so much that they made it into the cookbook. They’re full of bold flavors: spiced shrimp, pickled onions, tangy slaw, and creamy avocado. I like them with cassava flour tortillas from Siete Foods, but you can use any tortillas you love. I hope you give them a try!

What I Cooked Last Week! ↓

Healthy Shrimp Tacos with Cilantro-Lime Greek Yogurt Slaw

My signature healthy recipe! Made with spiced shrimp and a delicious cabbage yogurt slaw, they’re colorful and bursting with flavor.

Healthy Shrimp Tacos With Cilantro Lime Greek Yogurt Slaw

82.2KB ∙ PDF file

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You can download the PDF recipe above and watch the video here :)

How We Chose the Cookbook Cover

The cover is such an important part of a cookbook. People always say “don’t judge a book by its cover,” but let’s be honest… they do! So, how did we land on this one?

It all started with the photoshoot. Even before then, we made a mood board with the publisher and photography team. I knew right away I didn’t want to be on the cover. I wanted it to be beautiful on people’s countertops, not a big photo of my face (lol!). My goal was for the cover to be something you would enjoy seeing every day if it was out in your kitchen, like a piece of art in the home.

We went through the recipes and marked the ones that could work for a cover. We chose five to six colorful dishes that would really pop and felt most reflective of my cooking. When we shot them, we paid extra attention to the propping. The publisher had sent a template to Amy, the photographer, so she could leave negative space for the title and my name.

Behind the scenes at the cookbook shoot! I didn’t get any photos of the actual cover moment, but this should give you a feel for the setup.

So many props in the prop room!

I didn’t know exactly what I wanted, but I wanted it to stand out and feel unique from other covers. The lemongrass pork vermicelli noodle bowl (the final cover) was shot halfway through our two-week shoot. Earlier, we’d photographed a delicious edamame appetizer with a big red peony in the background. I loved it so much that Amy tried a cover version with that same peony, plus some vintage photographs and postcards for texture. You can even see the corner of a black-and-white photo behind a bottle. That image instantly became my favorite, and I hoped the publisher would love it too.

After the shoot, we sent everything to the publisher. My editor and the creative director reviewed the options and sent me a PowerPoint with mockups. I was SO excited! Without a cover, the book still didn’t feel completely real. I was on the edge of my seat, waiting for my editor to call.