Ebook – Vegetarian Quick & Easy in Under 15 Minutes by Jonathan Vine


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Even though I am no longer a strict Vegetarian, I still enjoy vegetarian meals quite often.  I have previously reviewed another book by Jonathan Vine called Vegetarian Weightloss. I loved that book for it’s low-calorie, healthy veggie dishes. This new book focuses much less on calorie count and more on speed of preparation. While I would love to spend less time on food prep, I found far fewer appealing recipes in this book than in the last. Most recipes involved lots of dairy and/or carbs. Many things were fried.

While I can substitute gluten free or dairy-free alternatives for most of the ingredients that I cannot eat, I find I do not want to. When I decided to eat more vegetables, it was because I wanted to be healthier. The sad part is that Vine gives the same “vegetarianism is good for you” diatribe that he did in his previous one, including arguments that it reduces the risk of heart disease, obesity, and skin conditions. However he goes on to provide you with artery and pore clogging recipes that do the exact opposite. Bread and cheese are not healthy and frying your food is most definitely not. Preparing foods this way also removes many of the nutrients. The few appealing recipes I found in this book were:

Coconut and Date Bites – a fairly healthy dessert

Colorful Quinoa – a quinoa and veggie salad that would be good cold or hot

Lentil and Cucumber Salad – a nutrient-dense side dish

That being said, if you are vegetarian for reasons other than health (such as to combat animal cruelty), than this book would be great for you. You can also use them sparingly as “comfort foods.” I do not recommend you making these recipes on a frequent basis.

Disclaimer: I received this product through Tomoson for free in exchange for an honest and unbiased review. I was not compensated for my review and all my opinions are my own. One may or may not have the same results as myself when using this product.

Refreshing Bean and Corn Salad

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I know I have been a pretty absent lately and that is because I got too complacent in my cooking! I got in a semi-unhealthy rut and only just recently pulled myself out of it. What better way to get back into clean, healthy eating than to make a delicious refreshing cold bean and corn salad? It is plant-based, protein-packed, fiber-rich, and easy to make! I am seriously considering making this my new pot-luck go to item.

I used all organic or home grown (yay for vegetable and herb gardens!) ingredients to really up the nutrient value and reduce my sugary/processed food intake. When purchasing canned beans, this is very important. Most regular canned beans come packed in corn syrup! Ew! Organic beans come packed in salt water instead. If you want to use dry beans for this recipe, each can equals 1 1/2 cups of soaked, prepared beans. I also used fresh Italian parsley (flat leaf similar to cilantro, not curly) from my garden because parsley is great for detoxifying your digestive system! You can easily use  as a substitute for an equally refreshing, but slightly different tasting dish.