So Vegan in 5, Roxy Pope and Ben Pook, Jonathan Ball Publishers, ISBN: 9781788701235
LAST month I started a 22-day vegan challenge as taking part in a healthier, plant-based and animal cruelty-free lifestyle is something I have been interested in following for a while.
The only question I asked myself was “what do I cook now?” In enters the So Vegan in 5 cookbook.
When perusing the recipes, it was honestly difficult to choose which one to try first as it covers all meal situations, from breakfast to baked goods and side dishes. They even have a staples section where you are shown how to make oat milk, chive sour cream and pesto.
Since I am a keen baker, I opted to try out the Zesty Lemon and Ginger biscuits first. What a hit! The lemon biscuits were delicious, but the ginger biscuits stole the show.
My two favourite savoury dishes are the Parsley and Mint Chickpea Salad and the Chipotle Tomato Rice. The Chickpea salad was very tasty, and the lemon dressing added a bit of zing. I was very impressed that my salad looked exactly like the picture. Vegan or not, this salad would make the perfect accompaniment to a bring-and-braai.
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The Chipotle Tomato Rice was such a hit that even my non-vegan parents are making it for supper now. In the first few pages, Pope and Pook debunk a few myths about veganism, which is very important as it helps you start your vegan journey on the right foot.
At the end of the book is a list of every single recipe with all the nutritional values you could ever need. This makes tracking your nutrients and calories very easy.
The wide range of recipes really appeals to me, from the Hummus and Harissa Scramble Tofu Eggs to Sweet Potato Brownies and Mushroom Wellington. You will find a recipe for any of your meal needs.
I was a bit disappointed that not every recipe had a picture of the finished product and there are a few dead space pages where they could have put those finished product photos.
Something to look out for is that they don’t put basic ingredients like olive oil and water in the ingredients list.
Be sure to read the method carefully to see if you need any of those before you start cooking.
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