Customer Reviews

The Quick & Easy Ayurvedic Cookbook

5 star:		(8)
4 star:		(3)
3 star:		(0)
2 star:		(2)
1 star:		(1)

 

 

The author has taken the principles of Ayurveda and applied them to the American palate, food supply, and lifestyle. For example, if you suffer from constipation, heartburn, or sinus congestion, you will be gently steered to the food choices that help alleviate those problems, without having to become a vegetarian or go out of your way for exotic ingredients. Well organized, with lots of simple menu ideas enjoyed by everyone. Thank you, Eileen!

This book has easy to follow/easy to cook recipes. I've already made two of the recipes, neither of which required obscure or expensive foods, and both of which were very easy to make. Both recipes took 20 minutes TOTAL - preparation & cooking time - to make, which is an added bonus since I find many veggie/health recipes to be very consuming. To top it off, the results are tasty. One word of caution - some of these recipes are a little ayurvedic suspicious - there are some foods which one may consider to be unfriendly to certain doshas but are listed underneath the dosha recipe anyway.

The reason I bought this book was that it had "quick and easy" in the title. The title should read, "quick and easy, and heavily Americanized 'claims to be' Ayurvedic cooking."

I have read several books on Ayurveda and Ayurvedic cooking. This cookbook deviates from the others. The recipes are more Americanized. Cheese, meat and pasta are used in a large percentage of the recipes. In this cookbook, the spices and herbs used in the recipes are typical of French, American or Italian cuisine: basil, marjoram, thyme, parsley, dill and spearmint leaves. In addition, the author combines cottage cheese and fresh fruit; in other Ayurvedic cookbooks, fresh fruit is recommended to be eaten alone. Mayonnaise, "a shocker", is also used in several of the recipes in this cookbook. How can this author claim that it is Ayurvedic cooking? I do not even consider this a cookbook for healthy eaters.

The benefits of Ayurvedic cooking are food combining and the more typically Indian spices: turmeric power, cumin seeds, and hing. Better Ayurvedic cookbooks are: The Ayurvedic Cookbook by Amadea Morningstar with Urmila Desai; The Chopra Center Cookbook by Deepak Chopra, MD; Eat, Taste, Heal by Thomas Yarema, MD, Daniel Rhoda, and Chef Johnny Brannigan; and Ayurvedic Cooking for Westerners by Amadea Morningstar.

The recipes are easy to follow and not expensive to make. Trying to eat healthy gets to be so expensive, this book offers many tasty economical alternatives to fast food.

This book has been a wonderful way to introduce Ayurvedic cooking into my kitchen. I love the fact that these recipes are not "indian" dishes, for variety. I've tried the Salmon Loaf, Seafood cakes, beans & rice, and some very simple side dishes to go with these....all are great. I can also serve these to others who don't care to have indian food 7 days a week ;) As a beginner, I find most recipes in other, traditional Ayurvedic cooking sources a bit too much for my full-time work week, yet as an added benefit from using this cookbook I found that I've built up the courage to try those challenging ones as well... maybe on the weekend, initially. I base this review on comparison with the more complex "Eat - Taste - Heal", "The New Whole Foods Encyclopedia" (good reference on Ayurvedic properties of single foods, but not on "mixing"), and "The Path of Practice" (although this one is not really a cookbook). Hope my experience encourages you to try the Ayurvedic diet!

This cookbook is excellent because the recipes are simple and easy to understand. Also, you can find all the ingredients! I've made 6 recipes so far, and all have turned out excellent. (Try the herb baked fish--mmmm)

If you're interested in Ayurvedic Cooking and an easy explanation of the Ayurvedic principles, you need this book. Ms. Smith provides a beautiful explanation of Ayurvedic theory and her recipes are delicious and easy. This book is the way to start!!!!

I found the recipes in this book really basic, or odd. One of the recipes is for steamed broccoli, and another for steamed squash. I was hoping for some more interesting and innovative recipes than this. There is also a fairly limited selection of recipes for each body type - Im sure there are many more out there that could have been included.

This is one of the best cookbooks I have ever bought! Eileen Smith notes in the preface that her main objective is to keep meal planning and cooking as simple as possible, and she has managed to do that.

This cookbook includes recipes with easy-to-find ingredients, short prep and cooking times, the inclusion of chicken and seafood (most Ayurvedic cookbooks are completely vegetarian), and recipes that taste great!

I also liked that she included some introductory information on Ayurveda, including a test to determine your dosha. I already knew I was Vata, and was very pleasantly surprised to see that almost every recipe listed to balance Vata sounded good to me, like Baked Fish with Herbs, Scallops in Wine Sauce, Chicken with Mustard Marinade and more.

I would highly recommend this cookbook to anyone looking for good, healthy food that's easy to make and tastes great!

This book really puts the harmony in eating. I'm not a vegetarian but I combine the pinciples of doshas to create everyday and seasonal meal plans. This book has makes eating part of a whole life experience.