Customer Reviews

The PDQ (Pretty Darn Quick) Vegetarian Cookbook: 240 Healthy and Easy No-Prep Recipes for Busy Cooks

5 star:		(22)
4 star:		(4)
3 star:		(2)
2 star:		(0)
1 star:		(0)

 

 

I bought this book because I have a 7 month old baby, and don't have the time or interest in spending an hour in the kitchen making meals. I need to get lunch and dinner on the table fast, and get on with it! Problem was, I was grabbing unhealthy stuff in a hurry and packing on some pounds. So when this book came out, I thought it would be the perfect solution--I could make quick, healthy meals that are flavorful and satisfying.

I have tried several recipes--the Chunky Tomato Rice soup, Hearty Black Bean Soup (so good, so easy), Veggie-Hummus Wraps (try those on a sun-dried tomato tortilla--MMMM!!) the Spanish Rice, English Muffin Pizzas, and the Crunchy Granola Peach Gratin. My husband, who is what I call a "Tag-Along Vegetarian", (not an official vegetarian, but I'm the cook, so that's how he eats) has gobbled up all these meals and asked for seconds.

Look, this is not a "gourmet" vegetarian cookbook. If you turn up your nose at "resorting" to bagged salad greens or frozen vegetables or tomatoes or beans out of a can, then this isn't for you. I have the Millennium cookbooks sitting on my bookshelf, and Deborah Madison, and Peter Berley, and they're all beautiful cookbooks that make for some wonderful food. But right now I need simple, fast recipes, and if that means some help from pre-washed spinach, so be it! And if you feel it's easier to modify a recipe by using an appliance, well duh! Go ahead! This cookbook is all about making vegetarian cooking work for you in your busy life.

The only reason I don't give it five stars is because I wish it was longer and in hardcover!

By the way, since joining the gym and cooking from this book, I've lost 8 pounds. Thank you Donna Klein!!!

This is a really good cookbook for busy cooks and mothers. It has a simple list of ingredients that most people will have on hand in their pantry. It is full of quick, easy recipes that are no-frills. Granted, they are not fancy, but when you have a hungry family and a life, fancy is not necessary. Sometimes I altar the ingredients a bit and add fresh herbs and veggies.

What I love about this cookbook is that there is so many vegan recipes. Although my family and I are not strict vegans, we mostly are. The vegan recipes are fantastic and sure to please any family. I also like how recipes are noted to be dairy free, egg free, lacto-ovo with vegan option, etc. It leaves a lot of room to improvise or change a few things. The recipes are also extremely kid friendly. Kids do not like fancy recipes. They like burritos, dips, pastas, etc. with no frills. My daughter will eat about anything I make out of this cookbook.

Unlike some vegetarian cookbooks, this one has yummy desserts. My daughter loves sweets and its hard to find good desserts that taste sweet and are fairly healthy. The Rasberries with Amaretto Cream is really good. There are quite a few vegan desserts in this cookbook that are quite tasty.

This is a good cookbook that belongs in any busy families cookbook collection. Most of these can be thrown together and made in 30 minutes or less which is great when its late and the kids are screaming they are hungry. The only thing I do not like is that there are no pictures. I like to view pictures of the food I am making to see what it looks like. But, its just a personal preference. Great Cookbook. Hope you enjoy it as much as I have.

PDQ stands for "pretty darn quick" and vegetarian veteran Donna Klein's The PDQ Vegetarian Cookbook is specifically designed to showcase 240 nutritious, delicious, palate pleasing, "no-prep" recipes for today's time-stressed kitchen cooks seeking meatless menus for themselves and their families. Including more than 100 vegan dishes, the recipes comprising this "must have" addition to any vegetarian cookbook collection ranges from Easy Appetizer Burritos; Smoked Provolone and Roasted Red Pepper Panini; Asian-Style Coleslaw; and Mushroom Stroganoff Noodles; to Stir-Fried Cinnamon-Curried Rice with Peas, Dried Fruit, and Coconut; Creamy Polenta with Parmesan; Roasted Carrots with Chutney; and Blueberries in Cassis over Lemon Sorbet. No cutlery, graters, juicers, electric mixers, blenders, or food processors are required. Enhanced with tips on using convenience foods and with comprehensive nutritional analysis for each individual, "30-minutes or less" recipe, The PDQ Vegetarian Cookbook is a "must" for working spouses and parents with a vegetarian life style.

This cookbook is a nice change from vegetarian cookbooks that contain long lists of ingredients that can only be found in health food stores. I enjoy traditional vegetarian cookbooks, but it's good to have cookbooks like this one around, too. Most of these recipes can be prepared pretty quickly because they contain ingredients like canned tomatos, refrigerated pizza crust, bottled garlic, and bagged vegetables. If you're not a fan of packaged ingredients, you can always substitute fresh ingredints for many of the packaged ones the recipes call for. When it calls for frozen chopped onion, I use fresh. When it calls for refrigerated pizza dough, I substitute my own wheat pizza dough from scratch. If you're uncomfortable buying things like packaged hummus or pesto, you can always make your own, though this of course adds time to the recipes.

As with any cookbooks, some of the recipes I've tried were disappointing. Others are excellent. Some of the recipes I've enjoyed the most are Chunky Tomato-Rice Soup, Bulgar-Chili Bean Stew, Black Bean Burritos,Rigatoni Al Forno, and Cheese-Stuffed Shells.

This book is absolutely wonderful!!! Both my husband and I work full time, are in school, and have an 18 month old daughter to care for, so needless to say, things are a little hectic. Add to that that I am a vegetarian and he is a meat eater, and cooking dinner has pretty much been impossible.

However, with this book it is actually feasable for us to have homecooked meals. The recipies have a variety of inspirations, ranging from Italy to Mexico and Thailand to Japan. I love cooking, and we all love good food, so it is wonderful to be able to cook healthy, good tasting meals again. Also, the meals are so good, that my husband says that he does not mind being meatless at most of his meals! One of the things that we appreciate the most is that there are not any really hard to find ingrediants and the recipies do not rely on tofu or setien or other meat substitutes. They are just GOOD recipies without any meat.

For people who would like to have good home-cooked meals, but do not have time to spend all day (or even a couple of hours) in the kitchen, I wholly reccomend the book. I am finally cooking and enjoying dinner again!

The PDQ (Pretty Darn Quick) Vegetarian by Donna Klein offers over 240 no- or low-prep healthy veggie recipes perfect for busy moms (or dads!) or frazzled college students on those too-tired-to-cook weeknights.

Divided into a fairly standard arrangement of starters, soups, salads, sandwiches, noodles, vegetable, grain and legume combos, sides, brunch and egg dishes, and desserts, most of the recipes feature no prep since you use prepackaged convenience food from the supermarket such as presliced and chopped veggies, bagged salad greens, canned beans, and prepared hummus.

The recipes are also clearly labeled as lacto-ovo, dairy-free, egg-free, and vegan (many recipes contain a vegan option). Roughly half the recipes are vegan or can be prepared as such with minimal alteration. The recipes are easy to follow, and many feature variations. Detailed nutritional info is included for each recipe.

One of the things I especially liked was the inclusion of delicious international recipes from Asian (Toasted Potstickers with Wasabi Cream, Miso Soup with Pot Stickers, Asian Noodle and Broccoli Slaw Wrap, Japanese Vermicelli in Peanut Sauce, Coconut Sticky Rice Pudding), Mexican (Easy Appetizer Burritos, Mexican Bean and Tortilla Soup, Bean Enchiladas with Green Sauce, Spanish Tortilla, Mexican Rice Pudding), Italian (Fresh Mozzarella, Cherry Tomato, and Basil Spears, Hearty Minestrone Soup, Pesto Pizza with Fresh Mozzarella and Cherry Tomatoes, Penne with Red Pepper Cream and Pine Nuts, Baked Pears with Caramel and Amaretti), and Middle Eastern (Artichoke Bottoms with Hummus, Chickpeas with Curried Mayonnaise, Moroccan Vegetable Stew over Couscous).

Each recipe is introduced by a brief, helpful paragraph including the author's advice on preparation, presentation, and possible substitutions.

The recipes are quick and easy as promised, many with minimal prep and/or clean up, so this is a lifesaver for hectic weeknights, and vastly superior to bland, unhealthy frozen dinners or trans-fat-laden takeout. This is the perfect gift for your college-bound son or daughter!

This book is terrific. It is easy to use with clear instructions. The food produced is excellent - little prep is necessary, and the recipes almost always call for the amount of each ingredient that is actually sold in most stores. So, if the recipe calls for 6 oz of something, it is probably available in a 6 oz size. There is no waste that way. Also easy to double the recipes and the food is great as leftovers, as well. This cookbook has made a huge change - for the better - in my daughter's life. She has little time and even less kitchen space. Every recipe that she has tried has been easy and wonderful.

This book strikes a perfect balance. It is quick and easy, but at the same time it is creative and delicious. I enjoy the creative aspects of cooking, but I have limited time to cook many evenings, so this book is ideal. So many cookbooks go to one extreme or the other - either they have easy but boring and obvious recipes, or they have great tasting recipes that take all day and have 50 exotic ingredients. This book avoids both extremes, making it a great resource for everyday cooking for a family.

Additionally, it is full of vegan recipes and vegan options - although I am not strictly vegan, I prefer vegan recipes for health reasons.

Because of my happy experience with this book, I have added another of the author's books, "Vegan Italiano" to my wish list.

If you want to expand your repertoire of quick and easy recipes, and at the same time have more variety and flavour on the table, this book is a great choice!

I am very happy with this cookbook! I shopped around to find the perfect vegetarian cookbook and I think I did. The recipes are quick, easy, and inexpensive. This book is perfect for people who are completely vegetarian or people who just want to eat healthier and quicker. I specifically wanted to find a book that had practical dishes for picky people who don't like a lot of exotic foods. This book does have some exotic recipes for people who like them, but I was able to find a TON of more tame recipes that please my family. I have a very picky three year old who has loved every meal I've made so far, and a 'meat loving' husband who has gone two weeks without meat due to the great meals I've been making. This book is a MUST HAVE for busy, health conscious families!!!

I enjoyed Donna Klein's last book, "The Mediterranean Vegan Kitchen", so decided to give this book a try. The first thing that got my attention was this book claims to need no knifes, graters, mixers, blenders or food processors to prepare the recipes.

I was surprised, a book so determined on time, did not include estimated preparation times for the recipes. Everything I tried turned out OK, but they could have been much better. Some of the recipes could have even been easier. In the baked potato soup, Klein mashes the ingredients endlessly with a potato masher. I could have used my food processor or immersion blender more quickly, and with better results.

I will continue to make many of her dishes, but I will probably ditch her methods. I'd rather use a knife than resort to bagged or frozen vegetables.