Customer Reviews

Vegetarian 5-Ingredient Gourmet

5 star:		(43)
4 star:		(15)
3 star:		(7)
2 star:		(5)
1 star:		(4)

 

 

Hooray! This is the cookbook for which I have been waiting. In fact, if you are vegetarian or vegan, you have very likely been waiting for it, too. It truly has wide appeal. Whether you are a veggie teen, an active and over-committed adult, or a senior citizen wanting to keep it simple (as in easy), you will enjoy and value Nava Atlas' book as much as I do. There is so much I love about it, and only two things I would change; but they are teensy-weensy criticisms. First, about the recipes: true to her word, Ms. Atlas has somehow managed to create 250 recipes, each with five or less ingredients. You will find familiar stand-bys, as well as new and imaginative dishes. Looking for a hummus recipe? It's in there. How about veggie pizza? It's in there, too (twelve pages of pizza recipes-delicioso!) Do you enjoy a comforting, nourishing soup? Yep; you will find that, too, in "Chapter 1: Simplicity in a Soup Pot." What about tofu? I have been eating tofu regularly for nearly ten years now. You can imagine that my favorite tofu recipes no longer create much excitement at the dining table. Therefore, I am always on the lookout for an addition to my tofu repertoire. Was I ever excited to find an entire chapter ("Chapter 5: Essential Soy") devoted solely to tofu recipes! That's where I headed first.
There is so much more to The Vegetarian 5-Ingredient Gourmet than recipes. If your mantra is, "I don't have [pick one or more] a) the time, b) the inclination, c) the know-how to successfully prepare a vegetarian or vegan meal," have no fear. Ms. Atlas has done all the thinking and the work (except the cooking, of course), including a complete shopping list for stocking your cupboards, menu suggestions for each and every recipe, a menu-planning guide, and nutritional statistics. There are even shopping list and planning forms that you may reproduce over and over again. My absolutely favorite thing about this book is that every chapter-indeed, nearly every page-includes interesting and fascinating information about the various recipe ingredients. Ms. Atlas has also provided numerous helpful hints regarding preparation. Remember the two teensy-weensy criticisms I had about The Vegetarian 5-Ingredient Gourmet? One is that it has no color inside. I think it deserves more pizzazz than shades of gray. The other is that it is not in hardcover, and I fear this treasure of a cookbook will wear out long before I am ready. ...

I bought this book because as a busy Mum and new vegetarian I needed some pointers on easy healthy cooking. However, I just didn't find many of the recipes appealing. I was also put off by the fact that, though each recipe has five ingredients or less, in order to make a balanced meal, you need to use three or four of the recipes. That's probably fine for a lot of people, but I find that overwhelming to co-ordinate. However, I do think that, for what it is, it lives up to it's promise. It is a book of uncomplicated healthy recipes for busy people. I find it best as a jumping off point - a place to get ideas that I can jazz up with my own touches. However I think it is most likely to star as my husbands favourite cookbook. He is a fairly inexperienced cook who is striving to become more self-reliant in the kitchen. He finds the long lists of ingredients and detailed instructions in most of my cookbooks overwhelming (as would I if I didn't know how to cut corners) and finds the idea of cooking from this book more acceptable. I hope he starts soon! ;)

I have been vegetarian(ovo-lacto) for over 10 years and I have plenty of vegetarian cookbooks, but this one will be a big workhorse in my kitchen. I am a mom and I work outside the home as well, and this book has given me hope and inspiration to get out of the "sandwich-pizza-frozen dinner" slump that I've been in. All the recipes in this book call for only 5 ingredients, but there are endless ways that you can change or add to the recipes. I made two of the recipes tonight and both came out really well (Cabbage, Carrot & Apricot Slaw and Red Pepper and Corn Quesadillas). Also, the prep didn't take that much time or require a lot of clean up. Many recipes can be made using fresh convienience foods like pre-shredded or chopped veggies and canned broth and tomatoes. There are a few recipes for kids and also menu suggestions for dinner, parties and potlucks. I think that this is a very well thought out addition to anyone's kitchen library.

I don't think I was quite the right audience for this cookbook-for me, it rated a 3; but for the right person, it's a 4.

The right person for this book is seeking a way to make regular, balanced vegetarian (ovo-lacto) weeknight meals on the fly, who wants tried and true fare. Much is made of canned goods, dried herb blends, bottled salsa and salad dressings, frozen corn, and like ingredients that are easily found in supermarkets. This is strictly family food, not party impressive, with an eye on the fact that kids may be in the mix. There is little to chop, mostly there is throwing together in one pot or bowl. Menu suggestions are offered here and there, as well as basic helpful hints.

I need more originality and flavor than this book offers. The helpful hints are very basic. I appreciate the menu suggestions--I'm still learning about what goes with what in a vegetarian meal--but they were not consistently available. A different editor might have caught some inconsistencies in the text. An example: for the Split Pea and Barley Soup, there is a helpful hint on the same page on which it appears that reads something like, "Sometimes I like to add rice or barley to the Split Pea and Barley Soup (page 'x')." Well, yes, you might like to add barley since it is called for and yes, it is on page 'x', the same page you are reading at the moment. If you choose to do rice, do you substitute it for the barley? It does not elaborate.

I disagree with the previous reviewer. Everything I've made from this book is simple but tasty. That's the point of it. I stocked my pantry according to the author's suggestions and so there is always something easy and healthy I can make for my family, even if it is 6:30 and I am already brain-dead. Because the recipes are so clear and simple, if I am in the mood and time allows, I improvise on them. That makes it fun, too. I have a lot of cookbooks but this is the only one I use during the week. Not everyone in my family is vegetarian, but they are always happy with these meals.

I bought this book years ago when I first started cooking and it served me well. I was a college student without a lot of time or money to cook, but this book had simple and tasty enough recipes that it kept me from resorting to the frozen pizza or Taco Bell for dinner routine. This book uses a lot of convenience type foods like bottled dressings and salsas, canned or frozen veggies, and even has a few recipes that call for veggie hot dogs. This is definitely not the book for a "foodie" or anyone looking for gourmet food that you can serve at your next dinner party, but if you are a college student short on time and cash, a vegetarian teenager that needs to fend for yourself at dinner time, someone who has no idea how to cook, or someone who just doesn't like to spend 30-60 minutes in the kitchen preparing meals this book will give you some great ideas of what you can make on the cheap, quick and easy and then it even gives you the nutritional break-down of the recipe.

Now that I have more time to spend in the kitchen and have found that I love to cook, I never use this book anymore, but it definitely had it's time and place.

My well-worn, dog-eared copy of this book still sits in its place of honor atop the microwave whenever I need something quick and simple to prepare. Of course, the recipes are basic (some so much so that they can hardly be construed as recipes at all) but most are perfect for those many nights when you're hungry and out of ideas. It's also a great reference for simple side dishes that are easy substitutions for the same old boring steamed broccoli or boxed rice pilaf.

As much as I love this book, I do think that "gourmet" is a bit of a stretch. My biggest complaint is that several of the recipes are simply recycled into new ones; for example, a recipe for "Black Bean Burritos" calls for 6 flour tortillas and "1 recipe Green Chili Black Beans." This seems a bit unneccessary to me; why not just put a note in the recipe for Green Chili Black Beans that they are also mighty tasty in a tortilla? I also think the "Fundamental Fruits" section is a bit lacking, as all it really contains are a few fruit salad combos, a couple of smoothies, and some uber-basic baked apple and pear recipes.

Despite its flaws, there are several recipes here that have become staples in my house and several others that I refer back to when I want something a bit different. Among my favorites: Sweet Potato Quesadillas; Spinach Rice; Split Pea & Barley Soup; Chickpea Salad with Roasted Peppers; Egg-Dipped Cauliflower; Quinoa, Broccoli and Cheese Casserole; and Spanish Potato Fritatta, among others. Even if you, like me, are an accomplished cook, you can probably find plenty of ideas in here that hadn't occurred to you before. I recommend this to anyone who is pressed for time and tired of takeout.

I bought this cookbook for my mom, a vegetarian who seems to subsist on peanut butter and crackers and vitamins. The problem is that she doesn't seem to ever have the ingredients or the time to make good vegetarian dishes. And it doesn't help that my dad, an extreme carnivoire, insists on doing all the grocery shopping. This book is genius in it's ability to provide tasty recipes with very common and very few ingredients. In fact, the author gives a sample list of things to keep your pantry and refrigerator stocked with. The recipes are so appealing that I'm tempted to become a vegetarian myself. This is a recipe book that you will actually use on a regular basis rather than letting it look pretty on your shelf. And, it's fairly inexpensive.

I have been an on-and-off-again vegetarian for 15 years. I am currently "off", and yet, I LOVE this cookbook! I still like to eat vegetarian meals, especially at lunch, and this is great for that. The recipes are fast and easy. You can use canned beans, or slow-cook some. The recipes only use five ingredients (salt, pepper, and a couple other items don't count), but if you are feeling creative, you can add numerous other things to any of the recipes to make them a little different (canned chipotles, salsa, extra herbs, etc.). Using this cookbook, I have dicovered "new" grains, such as pearl barley, polenta, bulgur, etc. You can only eat so much rice, you know!

In my part of the world, "vegetarian fast food" means a greasy grilled-cheese sandwich, nasty iceberg lettuce salads, or a hamburger without the meat. This is the perfect antidote to that. I find a few dishes every week that I want to eat, and that's what I eat for lunch all week. Much better than Sonic!

My favorite recipes so far have been: cold curried cucumber soup, barley and corn salad, ravioli with sweet potato sauce, ricotta and green chili rice, chili cheese grits, garlicky black beans, beer-stewed pinto beans, tomato and green chili soft tacos, and avacado and ricotta soft tacos. Can't wait to try everything else!

I have two teenagers: one vegetarian, one omnivore. I refuse to cook two separate meals, so I need recipes the whole family can enjoy. This cookbook is easy to use. The ingredients are readily available at any mainstream grocery store. I can get home from work and have dinner on the table in 30 minutes. Really.