I was very excited to receive this cookbook. For months I've been making my vegan recipes from blogs and was ready to have my very first vegan cookbook. After browsing it and rereading it many times and after trying quite a few recipes in the book, I'd have to say that I'm a bit disappointed. I definitely don't hate it and I haven't had any total disasters, but overall I just haven't found it inspiring or any of the recipes particularly phenomenal. That said, I really liked the soup section, my whole family enjoyed the homemade chocolate date balls, the oil-free chocolate zucchini muffins were delicious and I'm hoping to make many more of her recipes in the future. However, the apple crumble was okay but I wouldn't serve it to guests; the orange-miso dressing for the soba noodle bowls was gross (and I'm a huge fan of miso); the tofu scramble was not particularly great and I think I'll stick to my own recipe for that one.
As for the healthiness of the book, I would consider most of the recipes pretty indulgent. Almost every recipe has oil and added sugar. I wish there were more salad recipes and fewer cashew-based creamy dishes. I also wish some sections were more varied. For example, the breakfast section has multiple different oatmeal recipes (all of which I've created my own variations of on my own in the past) but no simple/healthy pancake or waffle recipes. The dessert section has two chocolate tart recipes but not enough fruit tarts (or fruit-based recipes for that matter). The savory sections have a gross-looking nacho dip, tex-mex casserole and "fiesta bites" (all of which are heavy on the oil and processed ingredients) but few simple vegetable-rich dishes.
Overall, I am not unhappy that I bought the book, but I expected more from it. I love her blog and I've gained so many fantastic recipes from her blog. I'm sorry to write such a critical review, but I hope it can help others who are considering what they want from a vegan cookbook.
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