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Clean Food, Revised Edition: A Seasonal Guide to Eating Close to the Source
Clean Food is a feast for the senses that will nourish mind, body, and soul--and this revised edition offers lovers of fresh, seasonal vegan fare even more than before. In addition to all-new color photographs and 20 entirely new recipes, acclaimed chef and nutritionist Terry Walters has updated the dishes to feature today's most healthful ingredients. Now, for example, virgin coconut oil substitutes for canola oil and maple syrup replaces agave nectar as a sweetener. In addition, those going gluten-free will find recipe variations throughout the book to meet their needs.
368 pages, Hardcover
First published January 1, 2007
16 people are currently reading
2019 people want to read
About the author
Terry Walters
14 books6 followersTerry Walters is a Certified Holistic Health Counselor who empowers individuals to make positive physiological changes through one-on-one health and nutrition counseling, whole food cooking instruction, workshops, public speaking engagements, and programs designed to support and facilitate change to a healthier life. Terry draws from extensive educational and life experiences including training from The Institute of Integrative Nutrition, The Natural Gourmet Cookery School, The Kushi Institute, and the Chopra Center.
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Displaying 1 - 30 of 111 reviews
November 14, 2009
I’ve been so excited to be able to get some of my vegan cookbooks from the library but this one, a healthy recipes one, might be a good one to own and use.
There’s a lot of good basic information and instructions such as how and how long to cook grains and, even though there are no photos, the layout is attractive, and this is one of the few cookbooks without photos where I haven’t minded the lack of photos. I love the personal notes that accompany each recipe. Some are very amusing and some are interesting and some are useful. I especially love the comments that mention her children, and many of these recipes are kid friendly.
I could do (and will do) without all the sea vegetables, vinegar, wine, and mirin, and what’s with all the soaking she recommends?!
I love how mentions honey but says it isn’t vegetarian. However, I did notice it in at least one recipe. So, this isn’t strictly a vegan cookbook but it would be easy to substitute another sweetener for the rarely appearing honey.
The index is really helpful as it’s by both type of food (soups, etc.) and by specific foods/ingredients.
The recipes are healthy but not boring or depriving in any way: there are desserts and many delicious looking savory dishes. the recipes are divided by seasons for eating in season.
Just some of the recipes I want to try are:
Spring: Millet Black Bean Patties with Corn, Sautéed Yams with Ginger and Lime, Crispy Rice Squares
Summer: Traditional Guacamole, Wheatberry Salad, Chocolate Pudding with Fresh Berries, Fresh Berries with Tofu Cream
and no surprise to me, much of what looks irresistible to me are some of the fall and winter recipes:
Fall: Kale with Caramelized Shallots, Curried Parsnips, Root Veggie Fries, Roasted Kabocha Squash and Creminis with Fresh Herbs (without the vinegar), Kabocha Stuffed with Brown Rice and Chickpea Pilaf, Silky Sweet Potato Pie, Millet Aduki Bean and Corn with Lemon Dressing, Skillet Cornbread, Multigrain Pilaf with Toasted Sunflower Seeds, Tofu Pumpkin Pie with Ginger Snap Crust, Chocolate Lover’s Tart
Winter: * many of the soups (without the vinegar, wine, mirin), Not Mashed Potatoes, Simply Delicious Spaghetti Squash, Polenta au Gratin, Baked Stuffed Shells, Maple-Spiced Almonds
and
Anytime: Teff Peanut Butter Chocolate Chip Cookies.
What I most want right now is a personal chef. It’s not that most of these recipes are so hard to make. Many are reasonably easy. I’m just too lazy to cook this way except on rare occasions.
There’s a lot of good basic information and instructions such as how and how long to cook grains and, even though there are no photos, the layout is attractive, and this is one of the few cookbooks without photos where I haven’t minded the lack of photos. I love the personal notes that accompany each recipe. Some are very amusing and some are interesting and some are useful. I especially love the comments that mention her children, and many of these recipes are kid friendly.
I could do (and will do) without all the sea vegetables, vinegar, wine, and mirin, and what’s with all the soaking she recommends?!
I love how mentions honey but says it isn’t vegetarian. However, I did notice it in at least one recipe. So, this isn’t strictly a vegan cookbook but it would be easy to substitute another sweetener for the rarely appearing honey.
The index is really helpful as it’s by both type of food (soups, etc.) and by specific foods/ingredients.
The recipes are healthy but not boring or depriving in any way: there are desserts and many delicious looking savory dishes. the recipes are divided by seasons for eating in season.
Just some of the recipes I want to try are:
Spring: Millet Black Bean Patties with Corn, Sautéed Yams with Ginger and Lime, Crispy Rice Squares
Summer: Traditional Guacamole, Wheatberry Salad, Chocolate Pudding with Fresh Berries, Fresh Berries with Tofu Cream
and no surprise to me, much of what looks irresistible to me are some of the fall and winter recipes:
Fall: Kale with Caramelized Shallots, Curried Parsnips, Root Veggie Fries, Roasted Kabocha Squash and Creminis with Fresh Herbs (without the vinegar), Kabocha Stuffed with Brown Rice and Chickpea Pilaf, Silky Sweet Potato Pie, Millet Aduki Bean and Corn with Lemon Dressing, Skillet Cornbread, Multigrain Pilaf with Toasted Sunflower Seeds, Tofu Pumpkin Pie with Ginger Snap Crust, Chocolate Lover’s Tart
Winter: * many of the soups (without the vinegar, wine, mirin), Not Mashed Potatoes, Simply Delicious Spaghetti Squash, Polenta au Gratin, Baked Stuffed Shells, Maple-Spiced Almonds
and
Anytime: Teff Peanut Butter Chocolate Chip Cookies.
What I most want right now is a personal chef. It’s not that most of these recipes are so hard to make. Many are reasonably easy. I’m just too lazy to cook this way except on rare occasions.
July 5, 2020
ARC
The idea behind this cookbook is to get people thinking about healthier food choices for both you and the planet. It starts off with quite a large introduction that covers what the author wants you to think about when buying and eating food. I liked that Walters emphasizes the importance of eating whole foods, and buying locally and organic when possible. However, some of the advice seems to fall into the category of nutrition fad instead of nutrition fact, like sea salt, pre-soaking grains, and soy. So I would say to take it with a grain of "salt".
The cookbook has also been organized seasonally, which I love, making it easier to find recipes based on fresh seasonal foods you will be finding at the market. So many of these recipes look so tasty. With Autumn in full swing here are some Autumn recipes I can't wait to try:
1. Creamy Shiitake and Chickpea Soup
2. Roasted Root vegetables with Truffle Oil
3. Marinated Tofu with Ginger Cashew Dressing
4. Chocolate Lover's Tart
The idea behind this cookbook is to get people thinking about healthier food choices for both you and the planet. It starts off with quite a large introduction that covers what the author wants you to think about when buying and eating food. I liked that Walters emphasizes the importance of eating whole foods, and buying locally and organic when possible. However, some of the advice seems to fall into the category of nutrition fad instead of nutrition fact, like sea salt, pre-soaking grains, and soy. So I would say to take it with a grain of "salt".
The cookbook has also been organized seasonally, which I love, making it easier to find recipes based on fresh seasonal foods you will be finding at the market. So many of these recipes look so tasty. With Autumn in full swing here are some Autumn recipes I can't wait to try:
1. Creamy Shiitake and Chickpea Soup
2. Roasted Root vegetables with Truffle Oil
3. Marinated Tofu with Ginger Cashew Dressing
4. Chocolate Lover's Tart
August 16, 2013
I like that this was a vegan cook book NOT filled with soy and imitation-meat type recipes. The author actually mentioned something about the health risks of excessive soy, which a lot of vegans get by on. As a person who's interested in nutrition, I actually enjoyed the 'About Food' part more than I did the actual recipes. The author goes into depth about natural eating. Buying foods that are only in season that hasn't been picked, thrown in a box and carried miles on end in the back of a truck. This is a book I'd like to buy in order to keep as a reference guide when I'm ready to buy according to season, as it is a life changing adjustment (in a good way of course).
I did get to make one recipe, which was Black Bean Burgers with Guacamole and Pineapple. Unfortunately,I had to make a few changes:
1. I used a mixture of navy, pinto, and black beans because that's all I had in the cabinets at the moment.
2. I forgot the breadcrumbs which is why the patties wouldn't stick together when it was time to fry them.
3. Due to the patties not being able to stick together, I ended up putting the entire mixture into a loaf pan and baked it!
There was one thing I didn't like about this cook book: A LOT of the recipes included oil, which adds a significant amount of fat. I would estimate a 30% of the recipes were non-oil.
I did get to make one recipe, which was Black Bean Burgers with Guacamole and Pineapple. Unfortunately,I had to make a few changes:
1. I used a mixture of navy, pinto, and black beans because that's all I had in the cabinets at the moment.
2. I forgot the breadcrumbs which is why the patties wouldn't stick together when it was time to fry them.
3. Due to the patties not being able to stick together, I ended up putting the entire mixture into a loaf pan and baked it!
There was one thing I didn't like about this cook book: A LOT of the recipes included oil, which adds a significant amount of fat. I would estimate a 30% of the recipes were non-oil.
January 28, 2013
i guess i can say currently reading because i'm currently cooking from it?? ;)
i am still forming my opinions on this cookbook, but a few thoughts on it...
1. this is no beginner's cookbook. you need to already be committed to really nourishing your family, not just feeding them. if you're not, you will take one look at the recipes and give up. it has a lot of hard to find ingredients and things you've just plain never heard of.
2. it is organized seasonally, which is fabulous. that way you can actually cook with things that are grown locally, or at least not too far away :)
3. i fully subscribe to the philosophy of training your taste buds not to need so much salt, sugar, etc. but to learn truly to appreciate the taste of beautiful, natural food. even still, i've had to "fix" a few of these recipes so far (e.g adding greek seasoning or a dipping sauce). some have been just a little bland. having said that, there are also some recipes in here that are satisfying on every level: extremely healthy and extremely tasty.
i am still forming my opinions on this cookbook, but a few thoughts on it...
1. this is no beginner's cookbook. you need to already be committed to really nourishing your family, not just feeding them. if you're not, you will take one look at the recipes and give up. it has a lot of hard to find ingredients and things you've just plain never heard of.
2. it is organized seasonally, which is fabulous. that way you can actually cook with things that are grown locally, or at least not too far away :)
3. i fully subscribe to the philosophy of training your taste buds not to need so much salt, sugar, etc. but to learn truly to appreciate the taste of beautiful, natural food. even still, i've had to "fix" a few of these recipes so far (e.g adding greek seasoning or a dipping sauce). some have been just a little bland. having said that, there are also some recipes in here that are satisfying on every level: extremely healthy and extremely tasty.
May 22, 2014
Notes:
No photos of any recipe.
Vegan cookbook -- excludes cream, butter, cheese, eggs, honey, meat or bacon, basically everything that gives food flavor.
Instead you are expected to flavor with vinegar and Asian ingredients that are NOT locally sourced and I never heard of before -- miso, mochi, mirin, gomasio, galangal, kudzu, seitan, tamarind, tempeh, parcel, umeboshi plums, and several kinds of seaweed. She also suggests buying an egg-replacement powder. Yum.
Author's only source of dietary fat is olive oil and the occasional nut butter; also she says coconut milk is questionable for heart health.
This is not healthy or sustainable.
No photos of any recipe.
Vegan cookbook -- excludes cream, butter, cheese, eggs, honey, meat or bacon, basically everything that gives food flavor.
Instead you are expected to flavor with vinegar and Asian ingredients that are NOT locally sourced and I never heard of before -- miso, mochi, mirin, gomasio, galangal, kudzu, seitan, tamarind, tempeh, parcel, umeboshi plums, and several kinds of seaweed. She also suggests buying an egg-replacement powder. Yum.
Author's only source of dietary fat is olive oil and the occasional nut butter; also she says coconut milk is questionable for heart health.
This is not healthy or sustainable.
March 14, 2010
I'm not a Vegan or even a Vegetarian for that matter, that said I enjoy switching up meals everyonce in a while and trying new things. I borrowed this book from the library and tried 3 of the recipes. All very delicious and good for you. Because the book is based on Clean eating it's written by seasons so you cook recipes based on the freshest produce available at that time of year. It enhanced my obsession with butternut squash and gave me new tips to seak tofu into my diet. I would recommend borrowing this book before you buy it.
November 17, 2009
It's probably not in the spirit of the book to think about how you would pair the recipes with meat dishes, but that's what I thought about when reading it. I am not in the camp that thinks that "pinenuts are an indulgence" like the author, so perhaps this one is a bit too restrictive for me. The recipes look pretty good--if you're planning on serving them as sides.
May 24, 2011
Totally agree with the need to eat locally, be organic and buy seasonally... but seriously I don't want to be vegan and I found of the three recipes in this book that they were too messy, complicated and bland for the amount of effort put into making it. Good to read, bad to cook.
February 5, 2010
Another nearly macrobiotic book. Looks great. Just a little to "clean" for my everyday cooking.
Want to read
August 10, 2011many gluten-free recipes
August 7, 2022
I'll be honest: I never tried any of the recipes. I gave the rating based on the intro.
I gave 2 stars because I couldn't find a single recipe that felt accessible, local, and interesting. This didn't feel like eating close to the source and was faaar from local. I live in the upper-midwest, so I understand that it's challenging to find local ingredients year-round. But, for example, the winter section listed lots of fruits in the recipes. Fruits are often shipped hundreds, if not thousands, of miles for most of the United States. Especially so in the winter.
There were also a lot of expensive, never- heard-of ingredients that are most popular in Asian and Middle- Eastern regions. These are obviously not local.
I think if this book was pitched a bit differently, it would work a lot better. It should just be a "clean eating, vegan cookbook" and forget the local or seasonal aspects.
I gave 2 stars because I couldn't find a single recipe that felt accessible, local, and interesting. This didn't feel like eating close to the source and was faaar from local. I live in the upper-midwest, so I understand that it's challenging to find local ingredients year-round. But, for example, the winter section listed lots of fruits in the recipes. Fruits are often shipped hundreds, if not thousands, of miles for most of the United States. Especially so in the winter.
There were also a lot of expensive, never- heard-of ingredients that are most popular in Asian and Middle- Eastern regions. These are obviously not local.
I think if this book was pitched a bit differently, it would work a lot better. It should just be a "clean eating, vegan cookbook" and forget the local or seasonal aspects.
April 18, 2021
One of the absolute best cookbooks I've ever encountered. It challenged me to learn more about lesser known ingredients over 12 years ago, and I've recently re-discovered how fantastic it is.
Also a great guide for focusing meals on seasonal vegetables, using what is in abundance at that time of the year.
Also a great guide for focusing meals on seasonal vegetables, using what is in abundance at that time of the year.
June 24, 2017
Great recipes that are easy, use fresh ingredients, and taste good. Lots of different varieties and sorted by season. I returned the book to the library then bought it in Amazon. That's how much I liked it!
July 28, 2020
Great cookbook! I picked this up years ago on a bargain table at Bookwarehouse in North Vancouver. The chocolate pecan pie is amazing. I have adjusted the recipe a little. In saying that all the recipes are rich and nourishing. Wonderful cookbook.
November 23, 2021
This is such a wonderful cookbook: everything you could ever want to make food and cooking that much more enjoyable and joyful. It will forever be my first and favorite cookbook... and if I could only have one? This is it :)
March 9, 2019
Love the seasonal breakout!
June 8, 2019
Beautifully written and illustrated guide to clean and seasonal eating.
July 20, 2019
I'd give it 5 stars but I haven't tried the recipes yet. Sounds good.
Read
February 12, 2026review text for 1891
December 4, 2016
I love the seasonal organization and focus on beautiful ingredients.
November 17, 2012
I've read through most of the recipes in the book, and have actually made 4 of the recipes.
I really enjoyed the beginning with the introduction to various clean foods and the simple directions for cooking grains and other basics.
I have noticed a number of things about the book that I find make the recipes difficult to follow. As a student on a limited budget, I don't think this book makes clean eating particularly easy because of the number of ingredients required for many of the recipes, which tend to be rather expensive. I have found myself making small modifications to some of the recipes and rather significant modifications to others. For example, the recipe for Tempeh Salad on page 76 calls for 2 tablespoons of grapeseed oil mayonnaise; I was unable to find grapeseed oil mayonaise at any of the stores I usually shop at (including Whole Foods) so instead am using Nasoya Nayonaise; I also had to use 8 tablespoons of "mayonnaise". I think the problem may be that the recipe calls for amounts such as "1 carrot" and "1/2 fennel bulb", vegetables that can vary greatly in size. I think the recipes would turn out better if more precise measurements were used, such as "1/2 cup diced carrot" or even measurements in ounces or grams.
Despite the difficulties in making the recipes accurately, I have enjoyed the dishes I have made (although I am unsure if they are what the author intended) and will continue to try more of the recipes.
ETA: I've now owned this book for over 2 years, and have continued to use the recipes in the book as starting points or ideas for other recipes. Unfortunately, my difficulty in finding the ingredients used in the book has only gotten worse since moving to Shanghai. I'm hoping to use some of the recipes that require mostly fresh fruits and vegetables more often and alter them to use the ingredients that are more regularly available here.
I really enjoyed the beginning with the introduction to various clean foods and the simple directions for cooking grains and other basics.
I have noticed a number of things about the book that I find make the recipes difficult to follow. As a student on a limited budget, I don't think this book makes clean eating particularly easy because of the number of ingredients required for many of the recipes, which tend to be rather expensive. I have found myself making small modifications to some of the recipes and rather significant modifications to others. For example, the recipe for Tempeh Salad on page 76 calls for 2 tablespoons of grapeseed oil mayonnaise; I was unable to find grapeseed oil mayonaise at any of the stores I usually shop at (including Whole Foods) so instead am using Nasoya Nayonaise; I also had to use 8 tablespoons of "mayonnaise". I think the problem may be that the recipe calls for amounts such as "1 carrot" and "1/2 fennel bulb", vegetables that can vary greatly in size. I think the recipes would turn out better if more precise measurements were used, such as "1/2 cup diced carrot" or even measurements in ounces or grams.
Despite the difficulties in making the recipes accurately, I have enjoyed the dishes I have made (although I am unsure if they are what the author intended) and will continue to try more of the recipes.
ETA: I've now owned this book for over 2 years, and have continued to use the recipes in the book as starting points or ideas for other recipes. Unfortunately, my difficulty in finding the ingredients used in the book has only gotten worse since moving to Shanghai. I'm hoping to use some of the recipes that require mostly fresh fruits and vegetables more often and alter them to use the ingredients that are more regularly available here.
May 11, 2011
My first intentions had turned to the dessert section of each section, I am inclined (or inspired by a sweet tooth) to look for better, wholesome treats for my family. I love that the book, and the recipes were divided by seasons, knowing and cooking by seasonal foods, is the best way to enjoy food at it's highest peak and sustain the bounty's nutritional value. I, also, was re-introduced to using that jar of brown rice syrup and bag of brown rice again for several recipes. I love that the index was catergorized by food instead of recipe. Most of the ingredients were something I was familiar with (tamari, teff flour, mirin) and new ingredients were introduced (kudzu, galangal, aduki beans) as well. I can agree that if this is the very first book you come across to eat better, gathering all these new ingredients can be expensive, if bought at the same time. However, there are simple recipes that don't require a trip to the health store "Traditional Guacamole" "Heirloom Tomato Salad" "Grilled Vegetables w/ Pasta", those are just a few. I did want so much more out of the "Summer" season, instead of the plethora of sides, and salads. I have added a few new recipes to our family cookbook which include "Toasted Sesame Nori Chips","Not Mashed Potatoes", "Maple Spice Almonds" and the teff cookies.
July 8, 2010
If you’re looking for a cookbook to help you actually enjoy eating more fruits and vegetables, Clean Food is the one. Packed with mouthwatering recipes that get their assertive flavors from fresh, local produce, the book groups recipes by season, making it easy to track down their star components. Fresh spring and summer recipes feature creamy asparagus soup, golden beet and snap pea salad, and strawberry rhubarb compote, while warming fall and winter dishes include savory stuffed pumpkins and sweet potato parsnip pancakes. These may sound elaborate, but no recipe takes more than a page to explain, and none requires more than the most basic set of kitchen tools and skills to prepare.
Author Terry Walters also provides a set of helpful sections to acquaint you with some of the less familiar ingredients as well as some straightforward kitchen tips for whole foods — soaking grains, roasting nuts and the like. Her “clean food” philosophy stresses the importance of cooking your own local, fresh foods in sync with the seasons while steering clear of the bugaboos of the standard Western diet, like sugar, wheat, dairy and animal foods. But vegans and carnivores alike will enjoy these recipes, which make a delicious celebration of plant-based foods as simple as can be.
Author Terry Walters also provides a set of helpful sections to acquaint you with some of the less familiar ingredients as well as some straightforward kitchen tips for whole foods — soaking grains, roasting nuts and the like. Her “clean food” philosophy stresses the importance of cooking your own local, fresh foods in sync with the seasons while steering clear of the bugaboos of the standard Western diet, like sugar, wheat, dairy and animal foods. But vegans and carnivores alike will enjoy these recipes, which make a delicious celebration of plant-based foods as simple as can be.
January 15, 2010
I know this is a cook book too, so it's kind of cheating putting it in as a "read" book on good reads, BUT I really want to share it with everyone as it has taught me a lot. I reread the introduction pages (all the stuff before the recipes) about 3 times and I still keep learning and trying to remember everything from those pages. This book is a great help to learning to eat locally and learning how to cook and prepare your food to make it more nutritional for your body. It's hard to memorize all the little things we should do to make food better for us, but this intro is laid out wonderfully and is easy to keep up with. Everything from tools to use in the kitchen and types of grains, legumes and vegetables that are best for you.
The recipes are broken down into Spring, Summer, Fall and Winter, so you know what you should be eating each season for your health and for our environment. If you are at all a health conscious person I recommend purchasing this book and keeping it in your kitchen as a constant reference. I look it over before I go grocery shopping and before I prepare certain foods. I just made the cranberry apple sauce last night - mmmmmmm.
The recipes are broken down into Spring, Summer, Fall and Winter, so you know what you should be eating each season for your health and for our environment. If you are at all a health conscious person I recommend purchasing this book and keeping it in your kitchen as a constant reference. I look it over before I go grocery shopping and before I prepare certain foods. I just made the cranberry apple sauce last night - mmmmmmm.
February 17, 2016
WHERE ARE THE PHOTOGRAPHS? $30 for a cookbook sans photos? Oh No Way!
Printed on pastel colored paper doesn't make up for anything..... The title font is extra large, bold and a darker color to match the page color, the paragraph under the title is a medium bold font, while the ingredients & instructions are a small regular font (which depending on the color of the page) are sometimes difficult to read.
Contents include: Introduction; Getting started; The Basics; Recipes; & Index.
Getting Started: A cleaner healthier way; Clean food; Eating for balance; & Ways to improve health & well-being.
The Basics: Tools; Basic Cooking methods; Grains; Vegetables; Legumes/Beans; Soy (GMOooooo); Nuts & seeds; Fruit; Notes about Oxalic & Phytic acids; Organic vs Conventional (and she uses soy?); Guide to reading recipes; Commonly used ingredients; and What's that.
Recipes: Spring; Summer; Fall; Winter; and Anytime.....
The reason I haven't listed the actual recipes is two-fold; she didn't make them readily visible and I didn't like the book enough to even care what they are!
Printed on pastel colored paper doesn't make up for anything..... The title font is extra large, bold and a darker color to match the page color, the paragraph under the title is a medium bold font, while the ingredients & instructions are a small regular font (which depending on the color of the page) are sometimes difficult to read.
Contents include: Introduction; Getting started; The Basics; Recipes; & Index.
Getting Started: A cleaner healthier way; Clean food; Eating for balance; & Ways to improve health & well-being.
The Basics: Tools; Basic Cooking methods; Grains; Vegetables; Legumes/Beans; Soy (GMOooooo); Nuts & seeds; Fruit; Notes about Oxalic & Phytic acids; Organic vs Conventional (and she uses soy?); Guide to reading recipes; Commonly used ingredients; and What's that.
Recipes: Spring; Summer; Fall; Winter; and Anytime.....
The reason I haven't listed the actual recipes is two-fold; she didn't make them readily visible and I didn't like the book enough to even care what they are!
May 14, 2012
I loved the beginning of this book--wherein the author describes what she means by clean food as well as a no-nonsense guide to eating well with simple guidelines like "eat all the colors of the rainbow" and whatnot. It's clear that she has a real passion for being healthy and eating healthful foods without being some crazy obsessed calorie counter or someone preoccupied with nutritionism. I genuinely enjoyed what she had to say about food. And there were some very useful pages in which she described various vegetables, legumes, etc. and their beneficial qualities. The book would almost be worth owning for those pages alone.
However, the recipes didn't really do a lot for me. Either I already know how to make the things that she describes, or I'm not that interested. I think out of the whole book, only maybe two or three things stood out to me as things that I want to try. For the most part, the recipes seemed a little too bland for my husband's taste--which means they're off-limits for me, too.
Some great ideas, but pretty uninspired food.
However, the recipes didn't really do a lot for me. Either I already know how to make the things that she describes, or I'm not that interested. I think out of the whole book, only maybe two or three things stood out to me as things that I want to try. For the most part, the recipes seemed a little too bland for my husband's taste--which means they're off-limits for me, too.
Some great ideas, but pretty uninspired food.
January 12, 2010
At its heart, the message seemed sensible enough to me: eat what's in season and local, as much as possible, and barring the ability to do that, eat what has been shipped from as close by as possible. there were some pretty good looking recipes, but i was really hoping for some more suggestions as to how to store and preserve what's local in order to KEEP eating local during the winter months. As the author is from the same cold, wintry region of the world, she MUST deal with this issue, too, mustn't she?
I guess she just doesn't eat local in the winter months,either???
Additionally, I fail to see how umeboshi plum paste is local, along with a bunch of the other weird supplemental ingredients she suggests. Okay, sea vegetables may be high in minerals, but I fail to see any sea vegetable harvesters anywhere nearby...
I dunno... I guess I just didn't get everything I was hoping for from this book.
I guess she just doesn't eat local in the winter months,either???
Additionally, I fail to see how umeboshi plum paste is local, along with a bunch of the other weird supplemental ingredients she suggests. Okay, sea vegetables may be high in minerals, but I fail to see any sea vegetable harvesters anywhere nearby...
I dunno... I guess I just didn't get everything I was hoping for from this book.
September 14, 2010
one of tom's coworkers lent us this book and then eventually let us keep it (I guess we kept it too long hehe). months later I finally decided to try it out.
I'll be honest and say now that I skipped that whole intro chapter about whole/clean eating. so I have no idea what she claims in that section. I have tried a few of the recipes from the summer section and they have all been delicious. the black bean patties were awesome, so was the white bean/roasted tomato/arugala salad. the mushroom ragout with polenta was easy, though the mushrooms could have used a little more of something. not sure what yet. next recipe we're trying is the tempeh quesadilla.
one off thing (and maybe this would be more clear if I read that pesky intro) is the suggestion of serving one of the salads as a side to chicken or fish. I thought this was a vegetarian book? I haven't looked through the whole all the recipes so I can't say how often this happens.
I'll be honest and say now that I skipped that whole intro chapter about whole/clean eating. so I have no idea what she claims in that section. I have tried a few of the recipes from the summer section and they have all been delicious. the black bean patties were awesome, so was the white bean/roasted tomato/arugala salad. the mushroom ragout with polenta was easy, though the mushrooms could have used a little more of something. not sure what yet. next recipe we're trying is the tempeh quesadilla.
one off thing (and maybe this would be more clear if I read that pesky intro) is the suggestion of serving one of the salads as a side to chicken or fish. I thought this was a vegetarian book? I haven't looked through the whole all the recipes so I can't say how often this happens.
March 3, 2013
This a great starting point to learning how to incorporate healthy food into your lifestyle if it's lacking or nonexistent.
This books champions taking small steps for big results over time. You learn how to make healthier choices of the foods you're already eating, and introduces you to new ingredients that will give you shortcuts without sacrificing your healthier cooking/eating goals.
A good example is oatmeal, if you switch from instant, artificially-flavored oatmeal to either oat groats (Which need to be ground and soaked overnight before use), to steel cut oats that take little prep and cook a bit slower than instant, but better health benefits and absolute control over fat, salt and sweetener (Which ideally is natural), it's worth the effort.
It positively encourages meat and dairy lovers to embrace vegetarian meal options for health and flavor reasons without characterizing you as "Savage."
This books champions taking small steps for big results over time. You learn how to make healthier choices of the foods you're already eating, and introduces you to new ingredients that will give you shortcuts without sacrificing your healthier cooking/eating goals.
A good example is oatmeal, if you switch from instant, artificially-flavored oatmeal to either oat groats (Which need to be ground and soaked overnight before use), to steel cut oats that take little prep and cook a bit slower than instant, but better health benefits and absolute control over fat, salt and sweetener (Which ideally is natural), it's worth the effort.
It positively encourages meat and dairy lovers to embrace vegetarian meal options for health and flavor reasons without characterizing you as "Savage."
August 14, 2010
So far this book hasn't lived up to my expectations. I love eating plant-based foods and I enjoyed the writing in the beginning but one of the recipes that I made from it came out absolutely awful. It was inedible and I had to throw the whole thing out - didn't have time to tinker with it because I'm already making my meals separately from the family's much of the time (this is exhausting in and of itself). I hate having to ditch a whole dinner - I was looking forward to it for one, then I had to figure out what to ACTUALLY eat, and it also makes me feel guilty for being so wasteful. I'm still going to try a few more because maybe I chose the one bad one, since I've heard so many good things about this book, but this is where I'm at now.
I'd love to hear others' experiences with this book, specifically which recipes they really liked.
I'd love to hear others' experiences with this book, specifically which recipes they really liked.
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