Plant-Based on a Budget Quick & Easy: 100 Fast, Healthy, Meal-Prep, Freezer-Friendly, and One-Pot Vegan Recipes

As with all cookbooks, a lot of the recipes required some tweaks for me, but not as many as in most cookbooks.

Vegan: Check. Quick & easy. Check. On a budget. Check.

The thing about this cookbook though is that it is designed for beginning cooks and especially for novice or potential vegans. Yes, even experienced cooks might like it and even long time vegans might like it. I did. A lot of the recipes though are the kinds of things I might make without using recipes and I’m not a particularly experienced cook. She does list ingredients that come from bottles, jars and cans. Not everything is suggested to be made from scratch though most of the recipes are or could be made without convenience foods.

I was touched by how she thanked her show more single father.

Some of her recipes call for kitchen appliances but not as many as in most of the cookbooks I’ve read and they don’t usually seem absolutely necessary. Tweaks again.

I liked that for some recipes she included her testers’ tips and for some she included her own tips. I like that she had testers!

In the breakfast section, with the exception of the few smoothie recipes (I don’t make them often and I don’t need recipes for them but appreciate her time saving preparation) I was actually interested in most of the recipes, both savory and sweet. Usually I’m all about savory at breakfast time.

In the one pot meal section I would need more tweaks but even there I was pleaanstly surprised how many recipes looked good to me. Yes, a few called for “no chicken” broth and one called for vegan chicken but most of the recipes were naturally vegan and that’s the kind of food I enjoy. For those few recipes it would be easy to use vegetable flavored broth and to add tofu or just leave out the vegan chicken. The Turmeric Veggies and Yellow Split Peas looked really good to me as is.

In the 30 minute meals sections I was surprised by how good the hummus pizza looked to me. I like her taster’s tip about using extra vegetables. Yes, more tweaking with leaving out vinegar in a few recipes but once again most recipes looked good. No tweaking required and the Sesame Ginger Noodles looked delicious.

In the sheet pan dishes and casseroles section I have to say what most drew me is the Scalloped Potatoes recipe. I actually remember having Scalloped Potatoes only once in the over 35 years I’ve been vegan. I like the tester’s idea of adding onions to the recipe. If I borrow this book again this recipe would be one of the reasons.

In the mix and match bowls section the Avocado Cream would be something I’d like to try with bowls. Included are recipes for dressings and sauces but as far as the other ingredients go, these bowls are one example of when I don’t need recipes to make them.

The Snacks section is the same though does profile some interesting ideas and it’s always fun to see various ways to make kale chips, date bars, etc.

Many of the recipes in the Simple Desserts section did look good to me. There is some good variety too even though not that many recipes are included. I love that the author included a recipe from this book’s food photographer. It’s a dessert he enjoyed when young in his native Peru. He veganized his mother’s recipe and contributed it. It’s for Arroz con Leche.

Contents:

Foreword by Dr. Michael Greger

Introduction

Make-Ahead Breakfasts

One-Pot Meals

30-Minute Meals

Sheet Pan Dishes and Casseroles

Mix-and-Match Bowls
(Proteins, Vegetables, Basic Grains and Bases, Condiments)

Make-and-Take Snacks

Simple Desserts

Meal Plan
Acknowledgments
Metric Conversions (there are from U.S. Standard to UK)
Index

I spent a lot of time reading this cookbook but I haven’t made anything from it, yet. (I also unfortunately didn’t take notes so I was able to put in just what I remembered from reading it over about a month.) I wouldn’t mind having this cookbook at home and there are quite a few recipes I might make, either with tweaks or as is. I don’t think this is the ideal book for experienced cooks though, not that they couldn’t get some great ideas for it. I think this book would be most appreciated by new vegans and the vegan interested and by people who haven’t already read a lot of vegan cookbooks. I did like it though and appreciate the quick and (mostly) budget friendly recipes, tips, and other information. I would not hesitate to give this book as a housewarming gift to a young adult moving into a new home, as long as they were vegan friendly at least and maybe to other people too. It’s a good addition to the vegan cookbooks genre. If I was buying cookbooks I might get a copy. I think I’ll borrow it from the library again at some point. 3-1/2 stars and this is another time when it was hard to decide whether to round up or round down. show less

She'd save even more if she used a slow cooker for beans and a toaster oven (instead of an air fryer and/or the big oven), yes, even for sheet pan dinners for smaller families. And cashews, avocados, and some other ingredients are not inexpensive.

And what is the flaxseed meal for? Is it a substitute for eggs?

I didn't find much. I know all this stuff. Pretty basic traditionally thrifty recipes, really, just substitute hummus for cheese sometimes, and tofu for shredded chicken or for scrambled eggs. Don't vegans already know this stuff? I do, and I am not even a strict vegetarian.

I do want to try her sheet pan fajitas and her pinto dip (picture makes it look like a Tex-Mex hummus). Of course I'll be inspired by her recipes, not at all show more slavish to them.

For others, I like the idea of making your own salad dressing. It's not that hard, and she's got some good looking ideas.

Jan. 2024 show less