Eating consciously has become a much bigger concern for quite a lot of people, and this cookbook is a step in the right direction to a more holistic approach to eating climate friendly.

The cookbook starts out with a summary of the current state of the climate and how proposed solutions are working, like the UN Paris Climate Agreement. It then delves into how food contributes to GHG emissions, including agriculture pesticides, etc.

The recipes can be quite daunting for someone who is not very experienced in the kitchen. There is a really nice introduction about how to source the ingredients, which can seem like an overwhelming task for anyone not in a major city with access to many of the ingredients. It does list the type of specialty stores where the ingredients can be found, highlighting local Asian, middle east, and African groceries.

Each recipe also has a little piece of trivia about the climate footprint of different ingredients included in each recipe, which gives the reader a more profound understanding of what all went into each meal. This is why the recipes are vegan and oil free.

Most of the ingredients used are easy to find at any grocery store, but there are a few things that I wasn't familiar with, so learning how arrowroot can help with sauce viscosity was brilliant.

There are a few recipes that really stick out, like the Corny Crostini with Mushrooms, which was the first recipe we tried. The step by step instructions are very detailed and easy to follow. The sides section of the cookbook is what really shines.

Once the reader can get over the overwhelming nature of the cookbook, I think anyone would have no problem enjoying the recipes and the knowledge in the book. It would be better suited for someone in a metropolitan area that has access to the different groceries, so I do think some will have an easier time with this cookbook than others.

Thank you Netgalley for the eARC in exchange for an honest review

As someone who has only recently understood the gravity of the climate change issue, this title piqued my interest. This topic, I am saddened to say is not something I spend a lot of time thinking about in depth, and learning how to be conscious of what we do. "Love The Foods That Love The Planet" opens up with Cathy's view of climate change, and study-supported section of how significant the climate change is in 2024, and why the individual, us, matter to this whole movement in order to keep the Earth we live in habitable. She included helpful and friendly guides to be able to find the ingredients and make the meals and lower our carbon footprints. Unlike the typical tools of the trade, she does not give you a specific link to any brand, but encourages conscious and mindful usage of what we have.

I value that she places climate footprint information with each recipe. Informative, delicious recipes that utilize different cultural foods that give off less carbon footprints when we try to cook with it, from Eastern Asian to Mediterranean meals, this cookbook is well-thought out. No-nonsense images, and forward cooking. All of the meals are vegan, as the meat industry is a large contributor to this carbon footprint. However, I do think that it can be and is difficult for people that cannot access or purchase these meals due to certain conditions. I would've loved to have a section dedicated to growing plants from the leftovers or cut out seeds from the meals that we make, which can definitely contribute to that lesser carbon footprint as well.

I did enjoy the premise of this book but living in the UK perhaps made me look at it differently. The use of a dehydrator is new to me but using it for 40 hours to dry out some orange slices seems a little excessive (power wise) and the alternative of putting them in the oven for 10 hours made me blanch. Perhaps not the best book for me as we eat locally grown seasonal produce and this being an American book, obviously the produce is different and therefore not available (without air miles / transport miles costs) so not sustainable. Some nice recipes though.

This is a novel cookbook and I really like the concept— recipes that use ingredients that are the most sustainable, with lots of information about each ingredient and lots of flavors. There is a wealth of information in every recipe, and photos for most of them. The dishes are very international. It shouldn’t come as a surprise that the recipes are all vegan. They sound fairly tasty and rather gourmet.

I was not expecting the level of effort involved in most of the recipes. Spices are freshly ground (which makes sense for sustainability, frugality and flavor). Lots of things are dehydrated. All of the elements are made from scratch, often with multiple tools like food processors that add to the clean up time as well.

I was also surprised not to see the use of foraged ingredients, which can be the most sustainable of all. You can even forage invasive plants that are ubiquitous and healthy, such as garlic mustard, dandelions, lambs quarters, mulberries and even kudzu. And sometimes the most sustainable meal is the simplest. A common meal for our family in spring is sautéed wild asparagus and morels (other wild mushrooms work too) over rice. You could do a foraging trifecta by serving it over wild rice. We don’t forage our own wild rice but we buy it from tribal members in northern Minnesota who do, which is about as sustainable as food can get (wild rice is hand harvested into a canoe and then dried and broken into small pieces).

There is also no nutritional information for the recipes, which always docks a star for me. Many of us need to track protein, fat, salt, carbohydrates, calories and/or fiber, and I generally will not buy a modern mass produced cookbook that doesn’t have that information.

That said, there are many pluses for the book. It will work well for folks who are gluten or dairy free. The dishes are diverse and healthy. They are very low in fat and salt if that fits your diet, and they tend to be high in fiber and flavor. It will be the best fit for cooks who are vegan or lean vegan, and who have the time and money to invest in these ingredients and dishes.

I read a digital copy of this book via NetGalley.

This book contains lots of interesting recipes for people trying to stick to a plant-based diet that will be good for the planet also. I would be very tempted to try a lot of these recipes out, but unfortunately I live in a small town where many of the ingredients are impossible to get without spending a small fortune having them shipped to me - making my carbon footprint much greater and defeating the purpose of the book. For people in larger cities, I think this book would be great for making a variety of plant-based meals. I give the book 4.5 stars based on good looking recipes - I had to hold back half a star for difficulty in finding ingredients for a lot of people.

Thank you to the publisher and NetGalley for this digital ARC in exchange for my honest review.

Thank you HCI Books and NetGalley for the advanced electronic review copy of this book. This is a beautifully illustrated book of healthy food recipes that is mindful of the environmental impact. There are sections on the global warming and environmental damage in the beginning of the book. The recipes call for unprocessed ingredients and the process of making each dish is clearly explained. I’m looking forward to trying some of the recipes.

This title called to me because I’ve been interested in trying to make healthier decisions for my family. These unprocessed ingredients and healthy meals will be perfect for our family of 4. We have been trying to go to the farmers market more often for ingredients. This cookbook is easy to read. The colors pop in the photos and are really beautiful. I can’t wait to make some soup and sloppy joes when the weather cools off.