Customer Reviews

The Kripalu Cookbook: Gourmet Vegetarian Recipes

5 star:		(5)
4 star:		(4)
3 star:		(3)
2 star:		(0)
1 star:		(0)

 

 

I recommend this book to anyone interested in cooking vegetarian. The tofu basil lasagna alone is worth the price of the book, and I've even pulled off making it for a Christmas dinner (the die-hard meat eaters had no idea, and even had seconds!).
The muesli recipe is excellent, and I've made the garlic green beans a staple in my house.
The only drawback is that there is no nutritional information provided, which is a drag for label-readers like myself.
It may be a silly point, but the book holds up pretty well in the kitchen, what with sauce and splotches mucking it up, and if it ever gets REALLY messed up, I would pay the money to replace it.
Hope this helps anyone with a decision.

I like reading cookbooks. I mean, I like reading cookbooks in the same way that I like reading novels. If that's true for you as well, this book is a good choice (only beware, there are no pictures). As far as utility purposes go, this isn't a book for the casual chef. Many of the ingredients are obscure and many of the recipes call for over 10 ingredients. I disagree that it holds up well in the kitchen - I've only actually made a few recipes from it (I agree wholeheartedly about the Tofu-Basil Lasagna - but you can use regular white vinegar instead of umeboshi vinegar) and already some pages threaten to fall out.

I also value a cookbook that can convince me that its recipes have been thoroughly tested. I hate feeling that the money I've spent on the book and on the ingredients (for this book, the ingredients can get costly) as well as my time and effort were all just to satisfy a whim some chef had - instead of concrete evidence that a meal will be tasty. The Kripalu cookbook includes little stories about each recipe that I really appreciate and trust.

If I had unlimited funds and didn't have to work full time, this would be a primary resource in my cookbook collection. As it is, it's definitely a major player in my casual "flipping through" collection.

Out of 12 recipies I made, my family only liked 3 of them. Spinach lasagna, rainforest bars, and whole wheat bread. There are several errors in the book, so pay attention and calculate amounts carefully. The prep and cooking times are low. Two hours usually means a little more than three. Everything looks delicious but it's not all that easy to prepare. Some of the ingredients are a little difficult to find, too.

whether you've been to Kripalu or not, their food is wonderful. If you have been there, this book will be treasured as it offers the chance to recreate some delicious and very healthy dining experiences. Try the Greek Tahini salad dressing and the tofu-basil lasagna!

I love this cookbook & have given it to many friends! The recipes are easy & very tasty. Who says that eating healthy needs to taste bland? This book is good for beginners & more advanced cooks. I would highly recommend it to people who want more variety in their already healthy diets.

This book came to me highly recommended from a great friend who owns a gourmet deli in Door County,Wisconsin, named "The Singing Bowl". Her clients love any of the recipes used from this book. I especially like the options for desserts that do not have sugar! If you remember 'Magic Cookie Bars' from your childhood, you will love 'Rainforest Bars'.Overall a great book for serious and amateur vegetarians.

This book is wonderful if you like 70's type vegetarian food. I worked in the kitchen at Kripalu for a fair few years recently and we never used this book.
The menus and complexity of the food has improved and matured over the years. So I would wait until the new book comes out in the next few years.

I have been vegetarian my entire life, and have often had limited meal options available (school lunches, restaurants, etc). Now as an adult, and now that pursing good health (and vegetarianism) are more desirable than 20-30 years ago, I have read many vegetarian cookbooks to create healthy and tasty meals. I currently own about 30 cookbooks based on a vegetarian diet. The Kripalu Cookbook is one of my top three favorite books in the collection.

The first challenge (for me) with vegetarian cooking, is that many cookbooks cater to diets for people have previously been meat eaters. As this is not the case with me, I do not need to go through any elaborate process to recreate the meat-eating experience. I simply need to put together a well-balanced vegetarian meal. I am a busy single parent, who is raising a vegetarian child, so I prefer cookbooks that are straightforward and without excessive steps. Recipes must accomplish: simplicity, be kid-friendly, and be sophisticated enough that I will enjoy the meal. I have found that this book contains all of these qualities.

There are some more labor intensive recipes, but I save those for the weekend. This book has been marked with so many notes and post-it's, that when I go to get a cookbook from the bookshelf, my daughter walks up to the Kripalu book and says, "I think you are looking for this one, Mommy".

Happy cooking. :)

This cookbook is wonderful, the recipes are easy to follow and they are really good. For vegetarian cooking it offers such a wonderful variety of creative dishes, sauces and salads. The flavors paired together in this cookbook are as interesting as they are delishous. Also, there is a wide variety of types of foods and cuisines which draw from all parts of the world, A+++++!

I love the earlier cookbook KRIPALU KITCHEN and use it all the time for simple, nutritious and tasty recipes that call for simple, basic ingredients. If you have fresh fruit and vegetables and good supply spices and dried herbs on hand, some butter, flour, soymilk, tamari sauce and perhaps some tofu, you've got all you need to create most of the wonderful recipes in KRIPALU KITCHEN.
THE KRIPALU COOKBOOK was written later on after Kripalu became corporate and changed its image from ashram to upscale health spa and the cookbook somehow reflects the change...recipes are seem just a bit more complicated and call for more ingredients...still very good but not as simple and versatile as KRIPALU KITCHEN.