Any book that opens with anything to do with Climate, I am 100% Invest in the book! I loved the layout of this cookbook and I also loved the length of the forward messages. Sometimes I find that Forwarded messages can either be WAY to long or not enough. You can actually classify this book not only as a cookbook but a work of research (In my opinion). You can not only feel the research within this book but all the visual antics within the book says a lot bout the author's study on the environment

An different approach to cooking, and a great way to take small steps in trying to prevent global warming from an level that one person can do individually. This had a nice wide range of vegetables in these recipes- though some of these ingredients would be hard to find if you do not live close by to an international market.

I was not able to put too much to test but the ones I tried were decent.

Thank you #NetGalley and Alpha for giving me the opportunity to read this.

#TheLowCarbonCookbook

This is pretty much a vegan cookbook. I appreciated the seasonal guide on which foods to look for. Other than that, I didn't find much.

Thank you to NetGalley and the publisher for an advanced copy of this book for an honest review.

Do get a lot of information introduced at the beginning to get into a few topics. Basic recipe setup and quick tips for a lot of recipes.

The Low-Carbon Cookbook is a philosophical look at climate change and reducing readers' carbon footprint by incorporating more local foods and adopting a plant based diet. Released 8th June 2021 by Penguin Random House on their DK imprint, it's 260 pages and is available in hardcover and ebook formats.

This is an expository monograph on climate change with recipes. The emphasis is on local food, reducing food waste, and choosing plant based foods over animal based. About 25% of the content includes information on climate change, what a low-carbon diet and lifestyle encompass, and an action plan for making changes. The following chapters include the recipes arranged thematically: breakfast, small bites, salads, sides, soups & stews, main dishes, beverages, desserts, sauces dips pickles & more, and some info on meal planning and make-ahead dishes.

Recipes include a description, ingredients in a bullet list sidebar (measurements are given in US standard with metric in parentheses (yay!)), followed by step-by-step prep instructions. Tips and alternative presentations are provided in footers at the end of each recipe. Nutritional info is not provided. Ingredients will be mostly easy to source locally for most of North America. Many of the recipes are quite appealing and are inspired by a wide variety of world cuisines. Roughly 25% of the recipes have photos. Serving suggestions and food styling are appealing and appropriate. I wish there were more photos since many of the recipes are somewhat complex (for me) and I like seeing what recipes "should" look like before I get overwhelmed.

Four stars.

Disclosure: I received an ARC at no cost from the author/publisher for review purposes.

The first chapter focuses on describing the climate change crisis and the problems with modern agriculture. Many statistics are quoted, with the sources listed at the end of the book. The author discusses issues with industrialized food production, highlighting the greenhouse gas emissions from livestock farms and the problems with food waste. Chapter Two dives deeper into carbon footprints, and how changing to a plant based diet can help reduce your carbon footprint. There are several colorful charts and graphs that illustrate how the differences in dietary choices affect emission levels.

Chapter Three introduces the Low Carbon Diet. My only issue with this section was the discussion about whether you can consume a sufficient amount of protein from plant based sources. The example the author uses is that according to USDA recommendations, for a 144 lb man, you only need 56 g of protein. She then provides a chart, where cooked lentils for example, are the second highest protein source with about 18g per cup. So, even when using the second best source of plant protein, a 144 lb man would need to eat more than 3 cups of lentils per day. Not only does that seem like a daunting task, but in the U.S., recent polls indicate that the average man weighs over 190 lbs. This calculation using her numbers would mean that the AVERAGE man in the US would need closer to 70g of protein, or closer to 4 cups of cooked lentils a day. When using the foods listed on her chart, it actually seems rather difficult to reach that daily 70g, though admittedly not impossible. I felt like choosing a 144 lb man as an example though, seemed a bit unreasonable.

There is a nice list of seasonal foods, and which foods to look for during each season on page 47; and this can be very helpful in planning your overall diet. There are a few more shopping tips in Chapter Four, and then starting with Chapter Five the book focuses on different recipes. The recipes are divided into the following categories: Breakfast, Small Bites, Salads, Sides, Soups and Stews, Main Dishes, Beverages, Desserts, Sauces/Dips/Pickles & More, and Make Ahead. We have tried a few of these recipes, and have liked everything we've made so far!

Overall, this is a nice collection of recipes, and also contains some decent information; but make sure to read carefully and double check the sources because some of the data can be somewhat misleading. If you only care about the recipes though, there are certainly some tasty ones here that are pretty healthy also.

*I did not read this book through the lens of an educator, but through the lens of an avid cook.

The Low Carbon Cookbook & Action Plan by Alejandra Schrader included some interesting information in the front matter and some new recipes that I hadn't thought to try. The front portion of the book did include some basic information that people new to sustainability would need to read. Schrader's book included some wonderful photography and easy to use recipes.

*Side note - this book was extremely difficult to read on Adobe Digital Editions and continually crashed the program for me. I will definitely check out the book from the library to get a better feel for the contents & dive in more.

Everyone knows a plant based diet will help lower your carbon footprint and give you a healthier life. That being said the author opens with how to reduce food waste and combatting climate change for the front half of the book. The last half has some pretty intense vegetable based recipes.

What did I like? Everybody wants to have climate change go away. The first part of the book gives you an insight on what the world needs to see reduced to help out. Plant based diet easily helps your health and has a lower impact than meat eating. The author gives you a bunch of plant based recipes and hopes you will enjoy them enough to turn to plant eating. Me, I’m not sure what I believe. The way the climate has changed now, not even crops are surviving.

Would I recommend or buy? People tend to ignore climate change because it’s too frightful to believe in a change. Realistically reducing meat eating is healthy for you, so I’m at a loss why you wouldn’t want to eat healthier. If meatless Monday’s is your thing... then kudos. Anything is better than doing nothing.

I received a complimentary copy to read and voluntarily left a review! I did want more pictures as well, seemed like a few more couldn’t have hurt.

Environmentalist cookbook & action plan will make waves

Posted on May 9, 2021 by michellelovatosbookreviews, world's first book color commentator, book reviews with a twist

This cookbook is truly one-of-a-kind when it comes to the subject matter. I’ve never seen a cookbook dedicated to protecting the environment. Introducing the Low Carbon Cookbook & Action Plan: Reduce Food Waste and Combat Climate Change With 140 Sustainable Plant-Based Recipes.
Wow. I’m not sure how to react to this idea.
First, this is an excellent effort from author Alejandra Schrader. She took the problem of climate change and provided an action plan for an answer.
Second, I never thought that what I ate was a problem with how hot I would be next summer or how hot my great grandchildren’s summers would become in the future.
Third, I’m confused by the entire climate-change idea, to begin with, and I’m on the fence about the subject and about someone else telling me what I can and cannot eat. Of course, isn’t that the definition of a diet?
The Low Carbon Cookbook & Action Plan begins with an introduction to its author. It then moves into the definition of climate change and how its negative aspects are affecting our climate.
Basically, Schrader writes that we humans are misbehaving so badly that we are destroying the atmosphere for future generations. On one side, Holy Crap! We better all hold hands in a big circle and decide to do better for each other. On the other hand, Holy Crap! These climate people think we humans are so important that we could actually change the weather! Only God changes the weather, and we are not God. At least those are the two polar ends I’ve heard.
Once again, I sit on the fence. Maybe I’ve been a reporter too long. You know, unbiased middle party reporting both sides without opinion. But I could go either way, though never to the extreme.
To me, taking care of the environment is critical because I care about the earth God created for me and my fellow living beings on which to thrive. I like plants in the first place, so this will be a straightforward message to swallow. But I don’t believe for a split second the world’s population, which in my opinion is generally rotten to the core, will jump on this Ferris wheel and circle around to a new lifestyle.
Bottom line: If you like plant-based menus, the Low Carbon Cookbook is a great resource. If you are a climate-aware individual, you will like these plant-based menus. If you are a person who just rolled your eyes at this column, you might want to pass on this book.
I applaud these authors for their effort in this book. Their explanations are clear, understandable, and concise enough that I didn’t feel like I was listening to a lecture in a foreign language. Those explanations were, however, plentiful. If you want a complete picture of why folks are dedicated to this idea, the Low Carbon Cookbook & Action Plan provides a well-rounded summary.
As for the recipes? Yum. Fava Bean and Avacado Soup, Spiced Pumpkin Soup, Spicy Chayote & Tomato Casserole; I’m up for these recipes.
Low Carbon Cookbook & Action Plan: Reduce Food Waste and Combat Climate Change With 140 Sustainable Plant-Based Recipes will make waves in our society. I’m pretty certain about that. But, then again, isn’t that what climate change is about?

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Happy are those who respect the Lord and obey him. You will enjoy what you work for, and you will be blessed with good things. Psalm 128: 1-2

Let’s call this what it actually is, another vegan cookbook. Making the title to sound more eco-focused is a nice trick, but this is about changing to a vegan lifestyle and should be labeled and advertised that way. I feel manipulated into thinking that there was actually something else that could be helpful in cooking and lowering my carbon footprint while doing it, to just find another vegan cookbook.
I’m not against the lifestyle at all. I find myself adding more vegan items into my diet regularly in place of animal products. I just don’t like that the book isn’t advertised that was as it comes across as deceptive titling.

I'm glad I got to read The Low-Carbon Cookbook & Action Plan; that said, it wasn't what I had expected. I thought it would be more cookbook based, and it was for the second half of the book. The first half of the book was important information about climate, agriculture, the need to be thinking about these things, etc. Though it was good information and I very important to understand and learn, it was very thick mentally. Perhaps if the book title had been worded more like, "The Need for a Low-Carbon Lifestyle & an Action Plan Cookbook" (Too wordy, I know, but hopefully you get my drift,) I would have been more eager to dive into statistics and research before getting to the recipes.

We made a few of the recipes (plantain chips, pineapple frozen yogurt, and berry and banana sorbet) and they were awesome! Granted, we stuck to the fruit/dessert section of the cookbook, and I'll explain why-quite a lot of the recipes require ingredients that are either hard to find or very pricey. Now, they do make this stipulation at the beginning of the book. Low-carbon eating requires a lot of sacrifice. But, many of the recipes are inaccessible to the general population, which gives me pause to give too high praise for the recipes. There are still quite a few I intend to try out, but with various substitutions that may end up negating the low-carbon intention. Progress over perfection, I guess.

If you are in a town well-stocked in less common groceries and have few dietary restrictions and an open palette, and are wanting to make a good environmental impact, you may consider this book. If you are tight on money, are a somewhat picky eater or have dietary restrictions, you may want to give it a once-over before purchasing.

Thank you Netgalley for the e-ARC in exchange for an honest review.

I found several recipes in this cookbook that I would try. I am already vegan and Plantbased. Many of the recipes to me personally were odd combinations that didn't sound particularly appealing, but I guess I wouldn't know for sure until I tried them. I did save several to try and am looking forward to making them. The book itself was very wordy and took several chapters to even get to the recipes.

Great insight on your carbon footprint, and a very helpful book to start making changes in your life. Some recipes might be a litter further out there; however, there are plenty of easy recipes to get your started before taking a look at some of the more unique recipes. Would recommend.

I was pretty surprised to see some of the other reviews of this book as too "text book" for them. As someone who is passionate about the earth, and climate change, I was SO EXCITED to see how much information was packed at the beginning of this cookbook. It covers everything from food waste, to sustainable farming, shopping in season, and many other things. Without this knowledge you can't simply cook a recipe and say "bam, its low-carbon" because that's where knowing what's in season and where it comes from comes into play. BUT I agree that it should be labeled more like: an informational guide to low carbon cooking, with 140 recipes to try. Because are simply a "cookbook" it is slightly misleading, and really underselling its value.

Thank you for the chance to review this book. I think that this book would be best rearranged as removing "cookbook" from the title and portraying it as a low-carbon guide WITH recipes and not the other way around. It has a loooooot of information that is not related to recipes or cookbook-typical expectations. If it's going to be marketed as a cookbook, probably need to restructure or edit a bit more. Also, more pictures. Going to be honest with you... if you want a cookbook to sell nowadays, you definitely need some good pictures. Going up against the hundreds of other similar options on the shelves, people are going to pick it up and flip through.... and go with the most visually appealing one. Cookbooks need pictures and they need to be clear, laid out well, and (imo) straightforward. Kinda relates to the whole joke about cooking blogs being full of fluff before they get to the point. It's like.... we get it, but come on.

It’s a no from me. The first 60 pages is like a boring textbook from a class I didn’t want to sign up for. That really put me off the cookbook. I’m sure some of the recipes are good, however the author definitely could have incorporated her thoughts in a different, less direct way to make the book readable. Also, I want to see photos of the recipes I’m reading about and there were way too few in this one.

Unfortunately, I did not care for this cookbook. I wish the author had chosen a gentler and less formal approach to this topic. However, the first 60 pages felt like reading a stiff textbook. I wanted to feel like I was being invited to someone's kitchen and explained how they choose to make a difference via food and cooking. All I got was a lecture. I understand climate change is a very serious topic, but it really felt like there was no soul to the introduction or the recipes.

With that being said, the recipes are really the only thing that has me rating this 3 stars. There are sooooo many that I am eager to make. Most of which, I probably won't get around to just due to the excessive amount of time they will take to prepare. It is unfortunate that this cookbook isn't very accessible. Unless you live in a very populated city with a plethora of grocery stores to visit, you will have a hard time finding some of these ingredients. Even if you go the route of shopping online, I'm almost positive it will leave a dent in your wallet.

I received a copy of this book through NetGalley in exchange for an honest review.

This is an interesting book!

There's a lot of information on how our diets impact climate. The book highlights the carbon footprint that goes into raising meat and other information. The book has tips for lowering your carbon footprint from bringing your own bag to the grocery store, shopping in season, and growing your own food.

The recipes themselves are pretty straightforward. There are some pictures of some of the recipes but not as many as I was hoping for. There's a nice focus on reducing food waste. Some recipes are a bit complicated but generally seem good.

I was not a fan of the first 59 pages being information and advice/opinions. I also like cookbooks that have pictures for every recipe, and this only has a picture for every third or fourth recipe.