Archive for February, 2013

Top 30 Quick Vegetarian Breakfast Recipes for Busy Women

by on Wednesday, February 27th, 2013

Top 30 Quick Vegetarian Breakfast Recipes for Busy Women is an older digital cookbook presented as a shortcut to simpler mornings. The original description promises more energy and better health within days, but it offers no recipe list or supporting evidence. It is more useful to judge this title as a potentially convenient collection of breakfast ideas than to accept its marketing claims.

What can we verify about this edition?

The historic Veggie-Blog entry identifies the title, named author and an Amazon Kindle product link. Little further detail about its contents is available, so this overview stays general.

What makes a vegetarian breakfast practical?

Good weekday breakfasts rely on familiar ingredients and minimal preparation. A jar of overnight oats with berries and nuts, whole-grain toast with peanut butter, or yoghurt with fruit and seeds can be assembled quickly. Savoury options include beans on toast, an egg-and-vegetable sandwich for ovo-vegetarians, or a tofu scramble for vegans. These are examples of convenient breakfasts, not recipes verified as coming from the book.

When building a meal, think about a satisfying source of protein, some fibre-rich carbohydrate and fruit or vegetables. Using whole grains can help add fibre; Harvard’s Nutrition Source explains why whole grains differ from refined grains. The FDA also explains how to identify added sugars when buying breakfast cereals and other packaged foods.

Our assessment

The older e-book’s central promise—make mornings easier—still makes sense. But health benefits depend on what you regularly eat, how much variety your diet contains and your individual needs, not on a book’s claim of instant transformation. For today’s readers, a readily available cookbook with a detailed publisher description is the safer purchase recommendation.

Related reading: Eating to Lower Cholesterol: Oats, Fruit, Beans and Healthy Fats.

Book: Top 30 Quick Vegetarian Breakfast Recipes for Busy Women

View the original e-book on Amazon (affiliate link; we may earn a commission at no extra cost to you)

Vegetarian 5-Ingredient Gourmet by Nava Atlas

by on Sunday, February 24th, 2013

Book Description
“Nava Atlas has solutions for maintaining sophisticated flavors in the dishes she creates and still manages to keep the ingredients healthy.” —Cooking Light

Eating healthfully is a challenge for those with fast-paced lives. In The Vegetarian 5-Ingredient Gourmet, Nava Atlas pares meal preparation down to the essentials, using just a few high-quality ingredients in each delicious dish. Focusing on whole foods and fresh produce (with a little help from convenient natural sauces and condiments) she serves up a varied range of choices for everyday fare.
More than 250 recipes include soups, salads, and pastas; grain, bean, and soy entrees; wraps and sandwich fillings; simple side dishes; fruit-filled finales; and more. The full-flavored fare made from five ingredients or less includes Curried Red Lentil and Spinach Soup; Greek-Flavored Potato Salad; Black Bean Nachos Grandes; Baked Barbecue Tofu and Peppers; and Miniature Fresh Fruit Tarts. Filled with ingenious shortcuts and sprinkled with kitchen wisdom and tips throughout, The Vegetarian 5-Ingredient Gourmet also offers the reader dozens of menu suggestions to help make meal planning effortless.
From sophisticated (Mixed Greens with Pears, Cranberries, and Goat Cheese) to kid-friendly, (Peanut Butter Noodles), here are recipes to suit every taste. Nava Atlas makes it simple for busy families or active singles to eat the kind of high-nutrient foods everyone needs and to enjoy the robust flavors everyone craves.

Book: Vegetarian 5-Ingredient Gourmet by Nava Atlas
View this book on Amazon (affiliate link: we may earn a commission at no cost to you)

The Mediterranean Vegan Kitchen by Donna Klein

by on Thursday, February 21st, 2013

For anyone who loves the vegetables, herbs, olives and grains of Southern European cooking, Donna Klein’s The Mediterranean Vegan Kitchen offers a practical way to bring those flavours to a completely plant-based table. First published in 2001, it remains listed by Penguin Random House in both paperback and e-book formats. This is a recipe collection with a distinct regional focus, not a strict detox or weight-loss programme.

What will you find in the cookbook?

The publisher describes recipes for appetizers, main dishes, breads and dairy-free desserts. Examples on its catalogue page include Sicilian eggplant relish, Catalan grilled vegetables with almond sauce, Italian minestrone, Moroccan tomato salad, black olive bread and zucchini-lemon couscous. That gives readers a useful sense of the variety: bright vegetables, pantry staples, herbs and simple preparations that do not depend on meat, eggs or dairy.

What makes Mediterranean-style vegan cooking appealing?

Beans, lentils, whole grains, nuts, vegetables and olive oil are everyday ingredients in many Mediterranean food traditions. They are also relatively easy to combine into satisfying, budget-conscious meals. A pan of roasted vegetables can become a warm salad, a sandwich filling or a topping for couscous; a batch of beans can anchor soup, pasta or a grain bowl. Klein’s approach fits that flexible style of cooking.

Does the Mediterranean diet have proven benefits?

The book’s original description uses sweeping praise for the Mediterranean diet. The better distinction is that studies concern overall dietary patterns, not the benefits of any one cookbook. Harvard’s Nutrition Source describes the traditional pattern and the evidence often associated with it. A strictly vegan version is an adaptation: it removes fish and dairy, so nutritional balance needs to be planned accordingly.

Who should buy it?

This is a strong fit for home cooks who want recipes with Mediterranean character without animal products, particularly people seeking inspiration beyond basic green salads. It may be less suitable for readers wanting glossy step-by-step photography or a modern beginner’s nutrition course. As with any fully vegan diet, vitamin B12 must come from fortified foods or supplements; the NIH vitamin B12 fact sheet is a useful starting point.

The publisher’s current listing confirms the title, author and paperback ISBN 9781557883599; Amazon stock for the linked edition still needs checking.

Related reading: Diet and Fitness: How Carbs, Fat and Protein Fit Together.

Book: The Mediterranean Vegan Kitchen by Donna Klein

View this book on Amazon (affiliate link; we may earn a commission at no extra cost to you)

Great Vegetarian Cooking Under Pressure by Lorna J. Sass

by on Monday, February 18th, 2013

Book Description
Under pressure to prepare a quick, nutritious dinner? Under pressure to reduce your fat and cholesterol? When the pressure’s on for a great vegetarian meal on the run, turn to Lorna Sass’s second guide to the safe and delicious use of the pressure cooker.

Following the phenomenal success of Cooking Under Pressure, this collection of recipes dispels the myth of the difficult-to-use pressure cooker — which is in fact easier and faster than the microwave — and shows how vegetarian fare can be vibrantly colorful and full of flavor!

Bursting with rich soups, hearty stews and casseroles, zesty curries, and flavor-packed chilis, Great Vegetarion Cooking Under Pressure brings together over 150 recipes, most with cooking times of under ten minutes. Arrive in Provence with a two-minute soupe au pistou laced with garlic and fennel; serve up an elegant zucchini bisque with tomatoes and fresh basil in just five minutes; or prepare a polenta good enough for a palazzo in only ten minutes. There are also scores of perfect vegetable side dish recipes, with an instructive chart detailing how to prepare everything from artichokes to zucchini.

Lorna Sass devotes special attention to grains — a vital part of the healthy diet — and shows how brown rice, millet, couscous, quinoa, and bulgur can turn from gourmet store items into staples of your pantry. Whether it’s Risotto with Broccoli Rabe and White Beans in five minutes, or Mediterranean Vegetable Couscous in just six, these recipes lock in delicious nutrition without tying up precious time. There’s even a section about the splendid desserts that are possible with the pressure cooker, like Banana Pudding Cake and Pumpkin Bread Pudding.

Filled with informative sections about the equipment, ingredients, and language of pressure cooking, suggestions for theme menus, and mail-order resources, this compendium of high-quality, high-fiber, low-fat (and mostly cholesterol-free) dishes will become an essential guide for today’s bustling cook.

Book: Great Vegetarian Cooking Under Pressure by Lorna J. Sass
View this book on Amazon (affiliate link: we may earn a commission at no cost to you)

God’s Diet by Karen Peebles

by on Friday, February 15th, 2013

God’s Diet: The Daniel Fast Recipe Cookbook by Karen Peebles is a short, faith-oriented recipe booklet based on a contemporary interpretation of the biblical Daniel Fast. Its original description promises recipes that follow the author’s understanding of foods associated with the Book of Daniel. For someone curious about a religiously inspired plant-based eating practice, that is the main reason to read it.

What is the book actually about?

The title may sound like a general diet manual, but the material describes a Daniel Fast recipe collection, not a medically validated weight-loss programme. A bibliographic listing dates the Kindle booklet to 2011 and identifies it as a very short publication. The original promotional description supplies little detail about the individual dishes, so it would be misleading to claim that the book contains a particular meal plan or any clinical evidence.

Where does the Daniel Fast come from?

The Daniel Fast is a modern religious practice inspired by passages in the biblical Book of Daniel. People who follow it commonly choose simple plant foods and avoid various animal products and highly processed ingredients, although the rules differ between communities and authors. It is best understood as a personal spiritual discipline rather than a universal nutritional prescription.

How can a plant-based fast be approached sensibly?

A varied eating pattern with beans, lentils, vegetables, fruit, whole grains, nuts and seeds can provide many important nutrients. Very restrictive versions, however, may be difficult to sustain. People who eat fully vegan diets should pay particular attention to reliable vitamin B12 sources. The NIH Office of Dietary Supplements explains why B12 matters, while MedlinePlus offers general guidance on vegetarian eating. Anyone who is pregnant, has diabetes, has a history of an eating disorder or takes medication affected by food intake should obtain individual medical guidance before making major restrictions.

Related reading: Diet and Fitness: How Carbs, Fat and Protein Fit Together.

Book: God’s Diet: The Daniel Fast Recipe Cookbook by Karen Peebles