I received this bad boy in the mail a few weeks ago for review, and let me just say…I was just a wee bit excited about it! Pretty much any cookbook that is focused on easy vegan recipes excites me, but this one had me especially intrigued since it is a companion to The China Study.
This cookbook includes a background on the vegan diet, advice on how to choose plant-based foods, tips for raising plant-based children, meal planning tips, meal preparation and storage tips, advice on how to transition to a plant-based diet, and TONS of amazing bread/muffin, breakfast, appetizer, salad, soup, sandwich, entrée, side dish and dessert recipes. Yes, all of that is included in this one book.
But before we get to my review of the recipes I have cooked so far, I want to share a short description of the book that was provided to me by the publisher:
“The China Study, with 850,000 copies sold, has been hailed as one of the most important health and nutrition books ever published. It revealed that the traditional Western diet has led to our modern health crisis and the widespread growth of obesity, diabetes, heart disease, and cancer. Based on the most comprehensive nutrition study ever conducted, the book reveals that a plant-based diet leads to optimal health with the power to halt or reverse many diseases.
The China Study Cookbook takes these scientific findings and puts them to action. Written by LeAnne Campbell, daughter of The China Study author T. Colin Campbell, PhD, and mother of two hungry teenagers, The China Study Cookbook features delicious, easily prepared plant-based recipes with not added fat and minimal sugar and salt to promote optimal health.”
This description is absolutely true. The recipes within this cookbook are delicious and can be prepared quickly and easily.
As soon as I received the cookbook, I sat down on my couch and eagerly thumbed through it. I “bookmarked” an insane amount of recipes that had me intrigued, and I have already made a dent in my “to make” list. So far, I have cooked up the following recipes:
African Vegetables (pg. 163)
This was so delicious! It is packed full of a variety of veggies (green peppers, sweet potatoes, spinach, corn, tomatoes, zucchini, and onions), and packs protein with the peanut butter sauce and whole brown rice as an accompaniment. The flavors in this dish are spot-on, and it reheats beautifully as leftovers, too!
I also made the German Sauerkraut Soup (pg. 125)
The fact that this recipe instantly caught my attention makes me laugh since I used to hate sauerkraut. But it is safe to say that I definitely love it now, and I love it in this soup! The sauerkraut taste is beyond flavorful (you must like sauerkraut to like this one!) and the carrots, celery, mushrooms, and potatoes make this an extra hearty soup. One problem that I ran into with this recipe, though, is that I could not find vegan cream of mushroom soup. As an alternative, I subbed in Amy’s Rustin Italian Vegetable soup. It was definitely a tasty alternative, though I still would love to try the soup with the cream of mushroom soup.
The final recipe that I have tried out (so far!) were the Twice-Baked Southwestern Potatoes (pg. 238).
The cookbook also provides a homemade salsa recipe, but I just used a jarred variety.
These are so easy to make, creamy, perfectly seasoned, and absolutely delicious. I served my potato as a main meal instead of a side dish, and I paired it alongside a salad. These are definitely something that I will be making again.
Trust me, there is a WHOLE lot more where all of this goodness came from. Some of the other recipes that have caught my eye that I cannot wait to try include: Lemon Poppy Muffins, Fiesta Corn Bread, Breakfast Home-Fry Hash, Cucumber Dill Dip, Green Garden Mayonnaise, Tomato Tortilla Soup, Thai Wraps, Corn and Tomatillo Stew, Pumpkin Gnocchi, Vegetable Dumpling Stew, No-Baked Peanut Butter Bars, and Vegan Chocolate Cake…to name a few (or a lot! ;)).
The Giveaway
Are you hungry yet? Do you want to start cooking up some delicious plant-based recipes that are super simple to make? Well now is your chance because I have one copy of The China Study Cookbook to give away to one of you! To enter this giveaway, please do one (or all) of the following:
1. Leave a comment telling me why you would like to win this cookbook.
2. Tweet about the giveaway.
3. Follow @BenBellaBooks on Twitter.
Please leave a separate comment for each entry. The giveaway will be open until 11:59 p.m. on Sunday, October 13th. The giveaway is open to U.S. and Canada residents only.
Good luck!
Disclaimer: I was provided with this cookbook for free for review, but all opinions are my own.
