Monday, September 8, 2014

Vegan Mofo - The China Study

Next up for review is The China Study Cookbook.
I have previously reviewed The China Study book itself here
For those who haven't read it, I definitely recommend it. As far as I'm concerned it's a MUST read for everyone! 
I am yet to get myself a copy of the follow up called Whole, but I hear that it is equally impressive. 



Today I'm here to show you some recipes from The China Study cookbook.

When I heard this cookbook was coming out I was so excited to get it. 
A lot of the recipes are quite basic, which I like & dislike at the same time.
Whilst it's great for people who want basic recipes and are in the transition stage, or who aren't confident cooks, for me personally I felt that the recipes were nothing flash that I would not of thought to cook myself. 
I love the pictures throughout & I must admit that I enjoyed seeing pictures that were clearly not professionally taken as it made me feel a bit better about my own picture-taking ability, or lack thereof! 
The introduction section filled with information is fantastic. 
I reallllllllllly like the way the appendix is set out as well. It might sound silly, but when a cookbook just lists the 'name' of the recipe, I find it a little frustrating. This book has the ingredients listed too, which means if you are looking for a particular ingredient you have, then it makes it super easy to find something suitable to cook.
I found the tips on the bottom of the recipes really handy. 
There are several recipes that call for nuts/avocados/coconut, and so we find that a little challenging as we are largely fat-free in our home, however most of the recipes I've tried so far, work equally as well when omitted. 

Below I show you "Hearty Stew" (however I did cook it in the slow cooker instead of the stove top as the recipe says). It was really delicious. Definitely hearty!

Other favourites in our home that I haven't photographed are the "Zesty Bulgar Stew" and "Lentil Soup" - I can't explain what it is about the lentil soup from this cookbook that I love so much but it is honestly the most delicious lentil soup I've ever had! 

Here is the "Fresh Strawberry Pie". With strawberries being so inexpensive lately I had to try this while it wouldn't cost a fortune to make!
I used my own healthy pastry crust instead of the one given. 
This filling was delicious. I would definitely serve this to dinner guests. It can look quite fancy too, if you topped it with a dollop of cream or other fruits to decorate.
 

My daughter is LOVING looking through cookbooks with me and deciding what to make! When she saw the slice on the cover of this book she knew it HAD to go on her own to-try list!
So below you see "No-Bake Peanut Butter Bars". OH MY!!!!!!!! They smelt amazing as I was helping her put this together. Apparently they are the BEST vegan food she's ever eaten. I skipped test-tasting due to being nut-free at the moment!
I was surprised at how well the chocolate coating worked & will definitely be using this for my kitchen experiments more regularly. It was much more soft and 'gentle' than just melting chocolate and allowing it to set. 

There is also The China Study - All Star Collection, which has recipes from several well-known Chefs in the plant-based world.


I must admit that this cookbook is one that I just LOVE to sit and read & flick through. There is something so comforting about knowing that it really is easy to be vegan & eat healthy. This book shows you how.
I LOVE the pages that have information snippets speckled throughout the recipes. And I love the shiny pages (as opposed to paper ones) that means if you accidently spill a bit of dinner on them, then it will wipe off easily!!!!! ;-)


If you'd like to see some of the great yet easy recipes in this book I believe you can view some sample recipes at this link.


If you'd like to hear T. Colin Campbell give a talk about "The China Study" and it's findings then click here.

Have you read the China Study, or Whole?
Do you own both cookbooks? Am I missing out by not owning the All-Star Collections?

17 comments:

  1. Oh my! That fresh strawberry pie - found a link here http://www.vegan-magazine.com/2013/08/21/vegan-dessert-recipe-fresh-strawberry-pie/ Its a must! Not sure what 'sucanat' is - dont live in the US. Great inspiration and still plenty of strawbs around.

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    1. Yes that's the recipe!!! :-)
      Sucanat is a whole cane sugar, less refined that other sugars.

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  2. I've only read The China Study, though I plan to read Whole as well. The strawberry pie and peanut butter bars look great!

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    1. Let me know what you think of Whole when you get to it!

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  3. Awesome books and awesome recipes from those books! Everything looks and sounds terrific! I love Vegan Mofo but I don't like to see it end! I know we still have WEEKS but I wish bloggers would do it year round :)

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    1. It sure would be fun to do it year round - though I would have no family life if that was the case lol

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  4. While I admit your food looks wonderful. I don't own these cookbooks & do not plan to go out & buy them. I love your blog & have looked forward to the Vegan MOFO all year. Last year was wonderful, as several of the bloggers I follow were participating. This year it seems most of them decided not to. With that said, I'm not finding the benefit from this year's Vegan MOFO since all I'm seeing are pictures of the food & cookbooks you are cooking from & not the recipes. I understand that you cannot share them due to copyrights, etc., but it seems those of us who don't own a ton of cookbooks & rely on blogs & the internet are left out. Just a thought.... Still love your blog & look forward to your posts, love. :)

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    1. Oh I can completely understand where you're coming from!
      Yes, we can't just publish recipes from other books. Did you click the link in the post to see some of the recipes from this book?
      Often when I have been considering purchasing a cookbook I have always wanted to read reviews first to find out if I would get use from it so that was my aim with these reviews - to hopefully help people decide which ones they would get the most use from :-)
      Thanks for your feedback.

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    2. Don't get me wrong.... the food looks wonderful & I'm glad you are reviewing the recipes. My kitchen is tiny, so I generally use my iphone for a cookbook. hehehe I look up a recipe & cook from that rather than print it out or buy a book for it. I appreciate the work you do though. It is a great help, even if I did sound a bit Debbie Downer. :-)

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    3. No worries at all :-)
      I'm hearing of more and more people who use their iphone/pad to cook from. I'm still a paperback person at this stage ;-) lol

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  5. Thanks for this review - the cookbook is very much on my 'I want' list! I really love the original China Study book and the focus on science rather than opinion. My kind of book, and approach :)

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    1. Perhaps you can move it to the top of your list then..... or put it on the Christmas one ;-)

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  6. My son has read this from cover to cover and carrying it around with him!! Today I bought the Skinny Bitch Baking cookbook (after looking at it from the library) and the French cookbook for my son. He is moving home next month to live and i am sure I will be cooking vegan along with non-vegan.

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    1. Let me know how you find the SB baking book :-) And the French one!
      I hope the move in with you does your son well :-)
      Let me know if you need any help sourcing anything else.

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  7. I'm so pleased to hear how much you like The China Study cookbook. It's been on my Amazon wishlist ever since it launched. Fingers crossed someone buys it for me this Christmas ;)
    Those peanut butter bars look totally scrumptious!

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    1. Sounds like your Christmas wishlist is growing with each post ;-)

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  8. I agree with you about a good index in a book - hate it when I can't find a recipe but I know it is in my book - now not only do I want to read the china study one day but I also now want to check out their recipes - wonder if there is a china study with recipes interspersed in the planning - that would be great

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