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Natural Flava: Quick & Easy Plant-Based Caribbean Recipes
A vibrantly designed Caribbean vegan cookbook from the internationally celebrated duo behind Original Flava.
Caribbean food is often known for its tasty meat and fish dishes. However, there's more to Caribbean food than jerk chicken. It also features a wide variety of fresh fruit and vegetables like plantain, yams, jackfruit, guava, and plenty more, making it perfect for vegan recipes.
Jamaica has a long and authentic vegan tradition: the Ital diet of Jamaican Rastafarians. Ital means clean, natural, and unprocessed as much as possible. Rastafari is an expression of unity with all things, and the Ital diet reflects that through a sense of peace and togetherness with the natural world. Essentially Jamaican cooking without salt, meat, or additives, Ital is just as tasty but with the power to promote overall health and wellness.
Craig and Shaun charmed cooks everywhere with their essential introduction to home-cooked Caribbean food in Original Flava. Now, in Natural Flava, they're spreading the love, offering Ital inspiration and punchy Caribbean flavors to the feel-good, plant-based diet taking the world by storm.
Caribbean food is often known for its tasty meat and fish dishes. However, there's more to Caribbean food than jerk chicken. It also features a wide variety of fresh fruit and vegetables like plantain, yams, jackfruit, guava, and plenty more, making it perfect for vegan recipes.
Jamaica has a long and authentic vegan tradition: the Ital diet of Jamaican Rastafarians. Ital means clean, natural, and unprocessed as much as possible. Rastafari is an expression of unity with all things, and the Ital diet reflects that through a sense of peace and togetherness with the natural world. Essentially Jamaican cooking without salt, meat, or additives, Ital is just as tasty but with the power to promote overall health and wellness.
Craig and Shaun charmed cooks everywhere with their essential introduction to home-cooked Caribbean food in Original Flava. Now, in Natural Flava, they're spreading the love, offering Ital inspiration and punchy Caribbean flavors to the feel-good, plant-based diet taking the world by storm.
256 pages, Hardcover
Published March 1, 2022
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Displaying 1 - 19 of 19 reviews
March 23, 2022
I received an ARC of this book from the publisher, and I have to say that for someone in the Caribbean, this would probably be a good recipe book. Otherwise, there are things that just don't work for an American audience. I know a lot of people who love to cook, myself included, but I don't know a single person who owns a kitchen scale. Absolutely nothing will get me to do conversions either. (Many ingredients are listed in grams). Some recipes just say to "cook the ingredients" while others actually provide temperatures, but those temperatures are sometimes in Fahrenheit and sometimes say "Gas 3" or "Gas 6" etc. and that doesn't translate to American stoves. Additionally, while many of these ingredients can be found in Houston, for those of us who don't live in Houston any longer and instead live in BFE in the Tx panhandle, I can guarantee you that none of the grocery stores even have half of the ingredients needed to make these recipes. This is going to be a very niche book.
November 20, 2021
The recipes contained within Natural Flava by Craig and Shaun McAnuff are mouthwateringly delicious and in keeping with the Jamaican tradition of plant based - ital cooking which we popularly call vegan cooking in the West.
There are recipes that are a spin on popular dishes which will have the keen meat eater licking their lips.
Definitely recommend for anyone looking to diversify their dinner plates.
***Thank you Netgalley and Bloomsbury Publishing for this ARC in exchange for an honest review.***
There are recipes that are a spin on popular dishes which will have the keen meat eater licking their lips.
Definitely recommend for anyone looking to diversify their dinner plates.
***Thank you Netgalley and Bloomsbury Publishing for this ARC in exchange for an honest review.***
January 26, 2022
This is an amazing introduction to plant- based Caribbean cooking and since I have never had authentic Caribbean food before - mainly because I have the chilli threshold of a toddler - I was SOOO excited to see this book.
There really is much to love here, especially if this is a cuisine you want to try as the recipes look both delicious and accessible and cover a range of scenarios and influences that will make you drool.
A couple of suggestions I would make for future editions would be to have a description of unfamiliar ingredients at the front of the book, rather than the back and a range of online stockists for things like sea moss would also be helpful. I don’t really understand why the ingredients are listed after the method, either, as it’s a bit weird tbh.
Also, it would be good to know what ‘hard bread’ is.
With thanks to NetGalley and the publisher, Bloomsbury Publishing plc for an arc of this book in exchange for an honest review.
There really is much to love here, especially if this is a cuisine you want to try as the recipes look both delicious and accessible and cover a range of scenarios and influences that will make you drool.
A couple of suggestions I would make for future editions would be to have a description of unfamiliar ingredients at the front of the book, rather than the back and a range of online stockists for things like sea moss would also be helpful. I don’t really understand why the ingredients are listed after the method, either, as it’s a bit weird tbh.
Also, it would be good to know what ‘hard bread’ is.
With thanks to NetGalley and the publisher, Bloomsbury Publishing plc for an arc of this book in exchange for an honest review.
December 7, 2021
This was really interesting and lead me to a different type of cuisine than I normally cook. The recipes were easy to follow and the pictures helpful.
I was given an advance copy by the publishers and netgalley but the review is entirely my own.
I was given an advance copy by the publishers and netgalley but the review is entirely my own.
January 18, 2022
I pre-ordered this book and then forgot about it and it was a super fun little Christmas treat that arrived for me.
This book is great - it has a perfect base recipe for red pea stew! and pepper pot stew (though I had to add some umami stuff for depth of flavour - I think they left that out either cos they're not vegan or they wanted to make the recipes as simple as possible) and my fav recipe for spinner dumplings and the use of plantain is so bloody fun! Plantains instead of pasta (which is awesome if you're GF).
Hard to find plantain if you're ordering online -so I substituted green banana (we were self-isolating- when they read this in 100 years they'll be like oh yeah the plague of that period, yep future people the plague of this period. it sucked and there was no plantain on any grocery delivery platform.), and it worked a treat.
Beyond the fact I love the base recipe for dumplings and pea stew but also in 3 days I cooked 3 dinners in a row. This is rare for many reasons that are maybe too related to neurodiversity/mental to go into but significant enough, reader, to get those 5 stars.
Anyhow if you have been looking for a very accessible plant-based Caribbean cookbook to complement your Bryant Terry collection, this is fab and doesn't go over the same territory (this is more like a pure UK Caribbean with way less cajun influence etc).
I don't normally review but seriously, the red pea stew is one of my all-time fav comfort foods and it's the best base recipe I've found and I'm so happy to have it in an actual book. I will keep my eye on these author dudes for more plant-based books. =)
This book is great - it has a perfect base recipe for red pea stew! and pepper pot stew (though I had to add some umami stuff for depth of flavour - I think they left that out either cos they're not vegan or they wanted to make the recipes as simple as possible) and my fav recipe for spinner dumplings and the use of plantain is so bloody fun! Plantains instead of pasta (which is awesome if you're GF).
Hard to find plantain if you're ordering online -so I substituted green banana (we were self-isolating- when they read this in 100 years they'll be like oh yeah the plague of that period, yep future people the plague of this period. it sucked and there was no plantain on any grocery delivery platform.), and it worked a treat.
Beyond the fact I love the base recipe for dumplings and pea stew but also in 3 days I cooked 3 dinners in a row. This is rare for many reasons that are maybe too related to neurodiversity/mental to go into but significant enough, reader, to get those 5 stars.
Anyhow if you have been looking for a very accessible plant-based Caribbean cookbook to complement your Bryant Terry collection, this is fab and doesn't go over the same territory (this is more like a pure UK Caribbean with way less cajun influence etc).
I don't normally review but seriously, the red pea stew is one of my all-time fav comfort foods and it's the best base recipe I've found and I'm so happy to have it in an actual book. I will keep my eye on these author dudes for more plant-based books. =)
November 7, 2021
Natural Flava is a lovely book full of plant-based Caribbean cookery.
This book is divided into seven main chapters:
- give thanks
- snacks & bites
- feel good
- curries & stews
- family and sharing
- fired up
- sides, salads & sauces
- desserts
Most of the recipes come with full colour photography, measurements are in metric terms, and the instructions are simple to follow. Each recipe also comes with an introduction and gives the number of portions it makes.
There are plenty of recipes to try: I'd certainly like to try cooking the Vegan shepherds pie, a giant patty and Rasta Pumpkin pasta to start with. I like that it's a great way to try Caribbean food alongside a plant-based diet.
I received this book from Netgalley in return for an honest review.
This book is divided into seven main chapters:
- give thanks
- snacks & bites
- feel good
- curries & stews
- family and sharing
- fired up
- sides, salads & sauces
- desserts
Most of the recipes come with full colour photography, measurements are in metric terms, and the instructions are simple to follow. Each recipe also comes with an introduction and gives the number of portions it makes.
There are plenty of recipes to try: I'd certainly like to try cooking the Vegan shepherds pie, a giant patty and Rasta Pumpkin pasta to start with. I like that it's a great way to try Caribbean food alongside a plant-based diet.
I received this book from Netgalley in return for an honest review.
December 26, 2021
This cookbook definitely delivers on what it promises in that every recipe is packed with spices, peppers, and other flavourful foods to guarantee meals that will leave your taste buds happy.
I was a little daunted by the book at the beginning when it kept asking for ingredients that I’ve either never heard of, or are very difficult to procure for the average Canadian. That one detail is what truly keeps this from being a favourite for me simply because I’m not sure how feasible some of these recipes would be. I think if you’re more familiar with Caribbean cooking this won’t be a problem for you, but if you aren’t, just be prepared for it.
New ingredients aside, the cookbook really isn’t too bad. I can’t say I would make everything from it, but there is still plenty that I would make. The recipes are often packed with amazing vegetables cooked in a lot of unique ways too. There are tons of stew recipes, but there are also unique pastas, burgers, curries, stuffed vegetables, and much more. A lot of the recipes call for scotch bonnet peppers, so I would say that this book is probably not for the faint of heart, but as a spice lover I can’t complain. I wish the recipes had some general cook-times listed, but while they don’t, the recipes also don’t seem like they would take all day.
All that having been said, if you can look past the new and surprising ingredients -the chapter in breakfast is especially stuffed with them- this is a great book. The recipes deliver exactly what the book promises, feel-good, flavourful food.
Special thanks to netgalley and the publishers for a arc of this book in exchange for an honest review.
I was a little daunted by the book at the beginning when it kept asking for ingredients that I’ve either never heard of, or are very difficult to procure for the average Canadian. That one detail is what truly keeps this from being a favourite for me simply because I’m not sure how feasible some of these recipes would be. I think if you’re more familiar with Caribbean cooking this won’t be a problem for you, but if you aren’t, just be prepared for it.
New ingredients aside, the cookbook really isn’t too bad. I can’t say I would make everything from it, but there is still plenty that I would make. The recipes are often packed with amazing vegetables cooked in a lot of unique ways too. There are tons of stew recipes, but there are also unique pastas, burgers, curries, stuffed vegetables, and much more. A lot of the recipes call for scotch bonnet peppers, so I would say that this book is probably not for the faint of heart, but as a spice lover I can’t complain. I wish the recipes had some general cook-times listed, but while they don’t, the recipes also don’t seem like they would take all day.
All that having been said, if you can look past the new and surprising ingredients -the chapter in breakfast is especially stuffed with them- this is a great book. The recipes deliver exactly what the book promises, feel-good, flavourful food.
Special thanks to netgalley and the publishers for a arc of this book in exchange for an honest review.
December 1, 2021
I received a copy of this book through NetGalley in exchange for an honest review.
This is an interesting cook book! I don't know a lot about Caribbean food, let alone vegan Caribbean recipes so I was excited to learn more.
There's a good variety of recipes in this book! From savory entrees and snacks to desserts there are a lot of options. I normally like recipe books that include pictures for every recipe and while this book doesn't have pictures for them all, the pictures that are included look delicious. There's lots of interesting recipes for plantains, a squash wellington that I've never seen before, some porridge bowls, and more!
The recipes are in metric and may need some converting for Americans. Overall a nice find!
This is an interesting cook book! I don't know a lot about Caribbean food, let alone vegan Caribbean recipes so I was excited to learn more.
There's a good variety of recipes in this book! From savory entrees and snacks to desserts there are a lot of options. I normally like recipe books that include pictures for every recipe and while this book doesn't have pictures for them all, the pictures that are included look delicious. There's lots of interesting recipes for plantains, a squash wellington that I've never seen before, some porridge bowls, and more!
The recipes are in metric and may need some converting for Americans. Overall a nice find!
January 4, 2022
Determined to find more interesting Vegan recipes with actual ingredients rather than 'fake meat' this book wonderfully fit my requirements. Containing a multitude of different types of meals from snacks to drinks and main courses. Presented with mouthwatering pictures and engaging text that makes you want to cook, the recipes are easy to follow and written in an engaging way that isn't gimmicky. I loved all the different curries, was delighted to find a Vegan Jamaican ginger cake recipe and the rum roasted potatoes were a wonder at Christmas. Thoroughly recommended for anyone wishing to enjoy Caribbean food that is also Vegan.
With thanks to Netgalley and the publisher for an ARC in exchange for an honest review.
With thanks to Netgalley and the publisher for an ARC in exchange for an honest review.
January 22, 2022
Oh my. Rasta Pumpkin Pasta was the first recipe we tried from this book, which I picked up because I'd seen it reviewed in the newspaper. There was a chorus of "Mmmmmmmm" around the table when when we dug in. No-one could believe there was no cheese in this super creamy dish. SO GOOD. Contains an entire roasted butternut squash and a whole roasted head of garlic. The recipe called for jerk paste and while the cookbook didn't include that, the author kindly pointed us to his jerk paste recipe from the previous book. We've been trying to eat less meat and and these recipes are going to be my new go-to.
December 31, 2021
Thank you to Bloomsbury and NetGalley for the advanced electronic copy of this wonderful book. I work with students from the Caribbean, so I was always curious about the foods they grew up eating. This delightful book provides many flavorful vegan recipes to highlight the local ingredients and foods. The photos of food are very appetizing as well. On multiple occasions I held myself back from licking the screen! I can’t wait to try making some of the recipes and see for myself what my students were talking about.
December 6, 2021
The neighborhood I grew up in I was surrounded by a melting pot of flavors. One was Caribbean. Such beautiful flavors, spicy but not necessarily hot (though it can be). This book brings all the flavors I remember only vegan. I’m so excited to try some of these.
Now all the ingredients aren’t all super convenient but you will be able to find them.
Now all the ingredients aren’t all super convenient but you will be able to find them.
April 10, 2024
Obsessed with the Guinness punch — visited my mom recently and tried to get her invested but I guess she doesn’t drink beer anymore?? Anyway, loved the vegan take on staples. Can’t wait to work more with plantains. Great photography and easy to read recipes. Only one ingredient looked difficult to get outside the Caribbean which is saying a lot for a vegan cookbook.
September 3, 2025
This is a good vegan cookbook with British-Jamaican recipes. I have not tested the recipes! I have a plan to keep the jerk seasoning and sauce recipes. There's also a plaintain boat with chickpea curry recipe that could be made with ingredients from my local bodega, so I should keep that one after I return the cookbook to the library.
February 7, 2022
Who said vegan fare was plain?! Packed with around 100 mouth-watering vegan recipes, Natural Flava will elevate your vegan cooking repertoire with finger-licking goodness. I can't wait until this gem comes out on sale!
January 31, 2026
Screwed up the first recipe I tried from this because our curry powder and chili's were at volcano level spice and we didn't realise (the chickpea and potato curry) but everything else has been delicious. Highly recommend for an easy to follow, easily adaptable recipe book.
March 18, 2022
4.5. I loved this cookbook. I really enjoyed all of the easy recipes which I hope in the summer.
June 11, 2022
lots of fun recipes i want to try right away!
April 26, 2025
I was the winner of a goodbook giveaway but my opinions are mine own.
Despite a rather informal manner, my husband and I have tried several recipes and enjoyed them very much. Recommended
Despite a rather informal manner, my husband and I have tried several recipes and enjoyed them very much. Recommended
Displaying 1 - 19 of 19 reviews