Cookbook Review + Lunch

I know I’m a little late on this review train, but I wanted to get mine out there anyway! You may have seen other reviews on this cookbook from Heather, Caitlin, and maybe some others that I missed, too.

Although I’m not vegetarian or vegan, I thought it would be neat to see what recipes they came up with for college kids who live off little more than a microwave, so I gladly took a copy from the publisher’s hands when offered.

ckbk

Oops! I can’t get it to flip – oh well.

From the publisher:

Chock-full of vegan recipes that don’t require mad cooking skills, much less a stove, PETA’s Vegan College Cookbook: 275 Easy, Cheap, and Delicious Recipes to Keep You Vegan at School is guaranteed to help even the most culinary-impaired students whip up delicious breakfast, lunch, and dinner dishes, desserts, dips, sauces, drinks, dressings, sandwiches, salads, soups, and snacks. Written in a clever, upbeat style, recipes include Butt Ugly Sticky Buns, Hangover Helper, Tofu or Not Tofu-That Is the Sandwich, Frozen Frat Balls, Late Night at the Liberry Soy Smoothie, and many more. And the best part is that the most complicated kitchenware you’ll ever need is a microwave!

I haven’t made anything yet – what did you expect? I’m just now reviewing it!  :)

I’ve just been busy and keep forgetting, but I have marked a bunch of pages!

pages

Pros:

  • I love the funny recipe names, and they all are relatively easy.
  • I do like the fact that all of these can be made with a microwave, or simply by mixing stuff together or spreading pb on some bread.
  • The majority of the recipes do include ingredients that I can easily buy, even where I live without a Whole Foods or Trader Joe’s. Sad, I know.
  • There’s a whole chapter on PB!
  • I like that they have info at the beginning on products that are veggie/vegan – I think that would definitely be helpful for someone who is just starting out and needing recommendations on products without having to read through ingredients at the store.

Cons:

  • Some of the servings sizes seem way off – I mean, I can eat a lot, but this recipe just seems like SO much for one serving, even though it sounds good:

muesrecipe

That serves 1 – 1? 1 cup of dry oats, plus a cup of milk AND yogurt? That just seems like an insane amount of food at once.

  • Some of the recipes seem a little too easy: pb and j sandwich? Micro baked potato? Typing that out just seems like a waste of paper to me. It could easily have been suggested elsewhere without actually calling it a recipe.
  • NO PICTURES! The pictures in cookbooks are my favorite thing! That was what I missed the most going through this.
  • Maybe it is because I’m not vegan, but I didn’t like/agree with some of the comments in the book, like “eggs are horrible for your health”. There is plenty of research that shows eggs have oodles of health benefits, so I don’t agree with that. But again, I’m not a vegan. Are they the absolute healthiest food in the world? Probably not, but they’re not “horrible” for you, either.
  • Not that I didn’t know this, but not all vegan recipes are super healthy. I’m not sure how 1 full jar of pb, 3 cups of powdered sugar, and 1 bag of chocolate chips split into only 4 servings is healthy, but that’s just me. Tasty? Probably. That quantity per serving just seems like a lot to me.

I have picked out a bunch of recipes I want to try, though! The ones I’ve marked so far all have fun names, like most of them in the book:

Bunny Butter Spread
Lip Smackin’ Thai Veggies
Steamy Risotto-y Goodness
Instant Enlighten-mint Chocolate Latte
Nutty Professor Almond Latte
Sucky Day Strawberry Shake
Grandma’s Homemade Applesauce
The Sweetness Tater Salad
Fake Blondes
Plus tons more!

Overall, I think it’s a pretty good cookbook and it has some great quick and easy recipes. I’ll let you know when I’ve tried some of the recipes!

———-

Interestingly enough, and by accident, my lunch was veggie and almost vegan if you could take the egg whites out of my black bean burger.

salad

I had 3-4 cups of romaine, topped with the last black bean burger, some corn, tomato, and avocado: my official obsession of the week.

This was a huge salad! This is a 7 cup container and it was almost full – mostly lettuce, though  :)

salad2

I also had some melon I got from a cow0rker yesterday

melon

I had to take it after she asked “So…do you want my melons?” and gave the best TWSS moment of yesterday.

Nick and I have fun plans to “carb up” tonight before the race tomorrow! I can’t wait!

What’s your favorite way to “fuel up” before  a big race or activity you love?

7 comments

  1. Your lunch looks so tasty! Do you make your black bean burgers? Or do you buy them premade? I’ve never tried one, but need something besides the Boca Burgers I think I OD-d on a few months! :-P

    My favorite way to fuel up for a race is to rock out my old reliable pre-race meal:

    1 chicken breast, sauteed in a little olive oil
    1 cup whole wheat penne
    1 handful fresh grape tomatoes
    3 or 4 sundried tomatoes, chopped
    fresh basil
    salt and pepper to taste

    Simple, no dairy (causes me GI trouble on long runs), tasty and I can double the recipe and top it with grated cheese for my husband!!

    Good luck on your race!

    • Hi PrettyLady! :) Yes, I made the black bean burgers on Wednesday night, I think. The recipe should be in that post. Your pasta dish sounds great!

  2. Our reviews are pretty much the same! Hah! The serving sizes are whack but the names are indeed humorous!

    Love the huge salad for lunch :)

  3. I love a giant bowl of wheat pasta and homemade marinara!!

    PS My mom said, tell Brandi thanks for her comment on the blog! :-D You made her day!!

  4. Man, I love salads that big! I always feel like I’m getting to eat soooo much:). Beautiful meals!

  5. haha that is a hysterical “that’s what she said” moment.
    my mom said something at the dinner table the other night (think it had something to do with balls…) and it was a perfect TWSS moment but then i reconsidered, thinking a family dinner may be inappropriate ;)

  6. I love HUGE salads! They’re sooo yummy, and I like that I can spend forever eating them. Yours looks delicious!

    Hahaha I love the TWSS moment! That’s perfect :D

    Have a great night!

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