Member Reviews
EDIT on Aug 18 -- Thank you for the opportunity to review The Plant-Based College Cookbook! Review has been posted on Goodreads, Barnes and Noble, Netgalley, and submitted to Amazon as a pending review. I will also make an Instagram post.
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I was excited to see this publication for review due to its 1) content, 2) cover design, and 3) target audience. In short, I rate this cookbook a 4 out of 5 stars. Personally, I found its strengths to be its modernity and awareness, ease of instructions + information (no excess), and appealing cover design + concept. Where I found critiques: the appeal of some of the food & the price / access of some of these items needed. However, on the whole, it would make a great gift to a freshman or someone moving out for the first time and cooking for themselves. Also, a good gift or book suggestion for an aspiring/beginner vegetarian.
Summary: The concept of this cookbook is plant-based, healthy and easy recipes for college students. It is separated by recipe type, including snacks, meals, drinks, desserts, and soups/salads. As the title suggests, the meals are plants-based, so there are not any meat options. Most of the recipes are simple - they require few instruments/utensils and ingredients. They also do not require many complicated or advanced techniques. Additionally, the recipes are varied in their types, while many have overlapping ingredients.
Review: This book would make a good gift or book suggestion for a freshman in college or someone who is 1) new to cooking, 2) a new or aspiring vegetarian (or someone wanting to include more plants-based food in their diet), 3) someone who is moving out and cooking for themselves for the first time. Why? The recipes are relatively simple. They include straight-forward instructions and ingredients, and do not require many complicated or advanced techniques or equipment. I noted that this book seems modern + aware of the unique circumstances of college students. If college students are on campuses, sometimes they are limited in their equipment, facilities, food access, space, and financial means. This book is aware of things like how sometimes students may not be able to have certain equipment, like rice cookers / slow cookers, in their dorms. One aspect I thought about while reading this book was the limited access to food I had while on campus. There was no transportation to grocery stores and you couldn't walk to them safely, so people were limited to on-campus options (fast-food and some fresh food that was overpriced). I think that this book actually does a good job of including a lot of recipes that require simple ingredients that can be accessed more easily than others. Additionally, they have overlapping ingredients (example: a carton of eggs can be used for several different recipes and can usually be accessed on-campus, and of course in a grocery store, affordably). There are some items, like tofu, that may be available in some areas but I know on my campus it is not. Of course, if there is a store nearby, that may be remedied.
All in all, I think this is a good book. One last thing that I thought was an excellent addition: there is a glossary of terms at the end of the book that describes terms. These terms can be anything from 'vitamin' to cooking techniques. I like that especially because this can be, for many, the first time they are tasked with cooking for oneself, so it's a ready-to-go primer for anyone who is self-learning. Great addition! I always wished more cookbooks had something like this because they can start going off about instructions without really explaining anything. Oh, side bar -- I'm glad this is a straight-forward book. No fluff, just instructional and helpful. Good job!
The Plant-Based College Cookbook is a nice tutorial cooking guide and recipe collection for plant based simple cooking on a budget. Due out 18th Aug 2020 from from Simon & Schuster on their Adams Media imprint, it's 240 pages and will be available in paperback and ebook formats.
This is a nice lacto-ovo-vegetarian cookbook for basic/beginning cooks with a busy schedule and a generally tight budget. The layout is very basic and unfussy - easy to understand and accessible. The recipes are arranged by category: breakfast, snacks, sandwiches & salads, soups, main dishes, desserts & drinks, and staple recipes (used in other recipes). Many of these are -hearty- dinner dishes that even my meat loving family really devoured (without complaining).
Ingredient measurements are supplied in American measurements only. There's a conversion chart for metric measures in the appendices along with an abbreviated glossary, and an index. Nutritional information includes calories, fat, sodium, fiber, carbs, sugar, and protein. Extra tips or recipe alternatives are listed in sidebars with the recipes. The recipes themselves are fairly straightforward and are made with easily sourced ingredients. Many are very simple, none of them are overly complex.
The photography is not abundant; most of the recipes are not illustrated, but the photographs which are included are clear and well done. I wish there had been more photographs and serving suggestions, but I do understand that extra photography increases the price of book projects very quickly.
This is a large collection of recipes and even allowing for the fact that some of them are very similar to others in the same category, this will keep vegetarian cooking fans going for ages. These are simple "everyday" recipes which are anything but boring. We tried several dishes and all of them were tasty and well written. (We didn't try any of the bread or dessert recipes, but I found no glaring errors with a quick read-through).
We're definitely going to try more of these recipes. Well written book, tasty recipes.
Four stars. This is a solid recipe book which will be used. It would make a superlative housewarming gift to a friend or family member living on their own - college student, new graduate, newlyweds, kids flying the nest, etc.
Disclosure: I received an ARC at no cost from the author/publisher for review purposes.
Another awesome cookbook! I'm so stoked to be able to find all these new ides that sound delicious and easy while also being somewhat healthy!
Thank you to netgalley and the publishers for providing me with an arc for an honest review.
This is fantastic for students of all levels: high school, undergraduate, graduate, etc. The recipes weren't too similar. There were some vegan and some vegetarian. There were some that were a little more difficult to prepare and some that were easier. And there was a wide range of flavor profiles which my taste buds appreciate. Obviously, some recipes just aren't going to be to everyone's liking, but this book has enough of a variety that I feel there is something for everyone, even non-plant based people.
As a college student hoping to eat more healthy this was a great book to understand how to adopt a vegan-diet. This book was great because it used a lot of accessible ingredients to students and the recipes were easy to follow. I loved how fun and diverse the recipes were, and I know I'll be spending a lot of time experimenting with the new cookbook!
This book is a great start to teach any how to eat a plant based diet. The beginning of the book discusses what a plant based diet is, why you might consider going plant based in college, and some tricks and tips for starting a plant based diet. The cookbook has a great selection of recipes that include breakfast, snacks, sandwiches and salads, soups, main dishes, desserts and drink, and staple recipes. Some recipes in each section are already well know such a zucchini bread and pumpkin muffins, while others were new creative recipes that I would never have known about. I am someone who likes to eat what I see, so I wish there were more photos of the recipes in the cookbook, but overall that does not take way from the experience.
I have a confession. Well, two. I am not a college student. I am not vegan. So, technically I am not the target audience for this cookbook; however, I do incorporate vegan meals into my planning and food prep each week, and if it’s targeted toward college students, odds are I can actually make it and pretty quickly at that. I work two jobs and am a grad student (mostly), so quick, easy, and healthy are my top three priorities when meal prepping. Bonus points if the meals are portable for transit and desk consumption.
This book was exactly what I needed it to be, and I am glad to have a few more solid recipes under my belt for the coming weeks of meal prep. Like many other cookbooks, this one contains helpful shopping, storage, and prep hints for your plant based cooking life, and though you see it in most all cookbooks, it’s never not a useful tool and it’s usually general and specific to what you’ll be making, so I appreciate it.
I’m truly glad they didn’t skip the dessert recipes, the most important part of any meal.
It’s out on August 18th, so as you or the college student (maybe) heads back to camps this fall, pick up a copy of this to help them save money and keep eating healthy while living that busy college life, whatever that may look like in a pandemic.
This is a helpful guide for adhering to a plant based diet while maintaining a busy lifestyle, such as the one led by college students. The recipes are easy to follow and there are some convenience items used to make them less time consuming.
I received a free copy of this book from Adams Media via Netgalley. My review is voluntary.
This is a book which does exactly what is says (or implies).
The recipes all plant-based and the college part implies they are relatively easy to make and not about making fancy dishes but rather about feeding yourself when you are hungry (and sometimes short of time and on a budget).
While some ideas are fairly basic and don’t necessarily require a recipe (especially in the breakfast section) it is a nice little help for people starting out with plant-based meals. This also includes Salsas, Pizza sauces and soups for those who haven’t done a lot of home cooking so far.
And for the heartier meals, the book includes a lot of classics or vegan twists on classic recipes from Pad Thai (I love a quickly made, good Pad Thai) to Risotto (another one of my favourites) and a Vegan Stroganoff.
One of the ones I haven’t been able to try yet (chickpea shortage and no way of going to a further shop due to current restrictions) is the chickpea cookie dough. But I am intrigued!
The Plant- Based College Cookbook is a good introduction to eating clean. The recipes are easy to follow and a wide variety are included.
I feel it would be an excellent book to give to a student off to University or College. However, I feel if a student is already plant-based before heading off to further their education then this book may not offer anything new to them. My "problem" with the book does not centre around the content, but rather the title. I feel this cookbook could be targeted to people exploring a plant-based lifestyle. The introduction incidentally is awesome, as are the recipes.
Thank you to Netgalley and Adams Media for my arc.
This book has a lot of good recipes for really anyody who wants to incoprate more plant-based recipes into their cooking. I also liked how a lot of the recipes were on the simper side, since the book is intended for a younger audience with fewer resources and less cooking space.
The Plant-Based College Cookbook has eight chapters and over 200 pages of recipes which was surprising to having seen cookbooks geared toward the younger crowd that had just a few recipes per chapter. The other pleasantly surprising part of this book is the focus on nutritious ingredients. The disappointing thing to me, a vegan, is the term "plant-based" in the title. The term plant-based is morphing somehow into the true meaning of vegetarian, when it should be vegan. Dairy and egg products are not made from plants, they are animal products.
There is a great number of vegan recipes throughout and others that can be easily made vegan although I do think that the options should be detailed at the end of each recipe to better justify the title of the book
The tips in the beginning of the book are great for first-time-away-from-home people with tips like finding a support system and cooking tips and tricks with guidance on appliances and tools to pantry staples.
This is a great beginner book for the young person interested in easy recipes that are vegetarian with a clear path (hopefully) to veganism.
I enjoyed this cookbook. I think it's a great tool for people moving out on their own for the first time and even for anyone looking to start eating a more plant-based diet. I found quite a few recipes that I'm interested in trying out.
The only downside for me was the lack of photos. I really like cookbooks with more frequent photographs of the recipes, so I felt that this one could have used more photos.
As a relatively new vegetarian, I am always on the look out for plant based cookbooks and this did not disappoint. Each recipe is well set out and the author provides a clear, easy alternative to common college foods.
I tried some of the recipes and discussed some with my friends. Although I enjoyed the food, I think this is just a nice cookbook for basic recipes if you just start cooking. Moreover, with "plant-based" in the title, it suggests vegan recipes but it's not a fully vegan cookbook. Some recipes include cheese or eggs. Lastly, the recipes are very basic but easily adjustable for those who like to experiment.
There is a lot really good Plant based eating information at the beginning of this book. Especially ways that you can eat plant based in college. There is also a handy tools section. However, since I got this version as a review copy, there could be errors. I found one receipt for zucchini bread without zucchini in the ingredients (although it appears in the directions). But the recipes are easy to understand and execute!
I love how oriented this book is. Keeping in mind that college kids (as well as a bunch of other people) have limited resources when it comes to buying food, a guide directing these people in maintaining a vegetarian diet is nothing short of handy. I will definitely be going back to this book a lot. The recipes were inventive, diverse, and mouthwatering. What I liked the most about them is that the author included the calorie value as well as nutrients like protein, fiber, carbohydrates et cetera. Thanks to the publisher and NetGalley for granting me an early digital copy.
The Plant-Based Cookbook contains plenty of recipes, and I do mean plenty, giving any cook a chance to try out a wide variety of recipes. The recipes range from pancakes to tacos and a bit of everything in between.
There are color photos scattered throughout the cookbook along with a glossary of cooking terms. I also liked how the recipes a nutritional analysis.
Recommend.
Review written after downloading a galley from NetGalley.
Oop! I have been vegan for many years, and I assumed that's what I was getting myself into with a "plant based" cookbook.
Just a heads up it's actually more of a vegetarian cookbook. Not for me thanks.
Some of the recipes in this cookbook are wonderful, and a great way to incorporate a healthier focus on food into life in university, which can certainly be a challenge to manage! Most of the food in here is reasonably cost-effective as well, which is another really vital element in writing a cookbook for students, who are frequently struggling financially. Time is another really vital aspect of student life to think about, and a lot of these are well worth the effort put in, taking about as long to make as it takes to order takeaway. The categories were all very strong and made a lot of sense too, and so there's a lot of vegetarian delights to be found within these pages.
However, I did have some issues with the book as a whole. The title itself suggests a plant-based approach, but realistically, a lot of this cookbook is simply vegetarian. A plant-based diet usually eliminates all animal products, aside from honey. This cookbook includes too many recipes that are heavily grounded in eggs, milk, cream, and cheese to be known as purely plant-based, so a change of title may need to be considered to be fully accurate. Another issue is how much this book hammers home the unhealthiness of dining hall options- if there's one way to get young adults living alone doing something, it's usually to tell them how unhealthy it is. Some of that could have been taken out and replaced with, say, tips about finding plant-based foods at speciality supermarkets, or bargain vegetable shopping.