4.5
Customers say
Customers find the recipes delicious and satisfying. They appreciate the informative content and useful meal plans. The book provides them with healthy, low-fat options that look and feel good. It’s easy for them to follow the recipes and customize them to their preferences. Readers appreciate the variety of options and the author’s personal story.
AI-generated from the text of customer reviews
Eating healthy just got a whole lot easier.
The science is very clear. A whole-foods, plant-based diet is the healthiest possible way to eat—but veganism itself doesn’t mean health, as Chef Del Sroufe, author of the New York Times bestseller Forks Over Knives—The Cookbook, knows better than anyone. Sroufe managed to reach 475 pounds while eating a vegan diet rich in pastries, peanut butter, and potato chips. After converting to a vegan diet with minimal processed foods, sugars and added oils, he lost more than 240 pounds without giving up great food.
In Better than Vegan, Sroufe provides more than a hundred recipes that prove that the healthiest diet can also be the most delicious. Included in Better than Vegan are dishes such as:
Portobello Wraps with Spicy Asian Slaw
Gnocchi
Three Sisters Enchiladas
Lemon Berry Sorbet
In Better Than Vegan, Sroufe tells his remarkable personal journey of how he went on to lose hundreds of pounds on a healthy vegan diet and then shares the kinds of meals (with no oil and low in fat and sugar) that restored him to health.
With photographs by Robert Metzger and coauthored by Mad Cowboy coauthor Glen Merzer, Better Than Vegan offers healthy and professional cooking tips with nutritional advice to help you achieve the optimal vegan diet.
ASIN : 1939529425
Publisher : BenBella Books; 1st edition (December 3, 2013)
Language : English
Paperback : 304 pages
ISBN-10 : 9781939529428
ISBN-13 : 978-1939529428
Item Weight : 1.6 pounds
Dimensions : 7 x 0.63 x 9 inches
Nutrition Scientist –
A Tasty Way to Save Your Life
It’s hard to eat healthy if the food doesn’t taste good. Chef Del Sroufe saves us by giving us delicious recipes based on food that is good for us. Del is one of the new breed of chefs that understand what nutrition science tells us: to live a long and healthy life we need to eat whole plants and avoid not only animal products (vegan) but also avoid added oils and go light on the sugar and salt (better than vegan). Experts have found that 70% to 80% of Americans die of preventable diseases caused by their diet that includes meat, dairy and oil. Sadly most old-school chefs seem to be stuck on their training that incorporates flesh, butter, cheese, and oil into everything. Not Del.With the superb story-telling of Glen Merzer, we learn of Del’s battle with obesity, even while on a vegan diet. Only when switching off the oils and high-sugar content foods was Del able to lose weight. And to the critics who complain that there are no calorie counts with the recipes, they are missing the point. With Del’s better-than-vegan diet, you don’t have to count anything. Good bye to the Jenny Craig or Weight Watchers style of counting and portion control which has a poor success rate. With a whole food plant-based diet, you can eat until you are comfortably full every meal and still reach your optimal weight.I liked Chapter 2 that clearly spells out what should and shouldn’t be eaten and touches on the motivations of restaurants and the misleading nature of the FDA Daily Values. I especially appreciated Chapter 3 where Del shares his chef’s training advice on how to set up your kitchen with tools and basic food stocks.And then there are the recipes. Wow. From basics like burgers, tacos, and pasta to more exotic dishes like curry, mushroom bourguignon, and bibimbap, this cookbook has it all. Del focuses on flavors and textures individually and in combination throughout these recipes. Outstanding. Congratulations Del and Glen for making life- and health-promoting food such a joy to eat.
Buddy’s mom –
Best WFPB Cookbook this fall!
Several vegan cookbooks have been published this fall, and this one is the best of the group in my opinion. It arrived today and I read the entire book, from Del’s honest description of his history with food, to the wonderful recipes. So many sound great (and I’m a pretty picky eater): Ranch Dressing (no tofu!), Creole Corn Chowder, Southwestern Corn and Potato Soup, Creamy Pasta and Broccoli, and many more. It made me want to go to my local grocery and stock up on produce.There is no nutritional information and serving sizes are general, but if you’re familiar with the work of the Esselstyns, John McDougall, Neal Barnard, and especially Jeff Novick, this should not be a problem. If you’re eating whole-foods plant-strong and eating til comfortably full, you’re getting what you need without the excess calories. Del has a great chapter at the beginning of the book explaining this. His ten “what to avoid” and five “rules” make sense. His flair for cooking certainly makes sure that his first rule for Nutrition will hold (see the book).In sum, best whole-food plant-based cookbook in a long time.
walking girl –
Relatable Story; Good Recipies
The first part of the book is Chef Del’s story which is highly relatable to anyone who has tried losing weight. The recipes I have tried so far have turned out well. I wish that he included nutritional information with the recipes. I know that another reviewer noted that this is a book about living a healthier lifestyle and not simply counting calories, or carbs or fat grams, but I would like that information. Lots of good looking recipes to try. Nothing looks too terribly complicated, and I did not have any trouble finding any exotic/obscure ingredients. I would recommend to anyone who wants a healthier diet without
GinnyLee –
Whole foods, plant based, and DELICIOUS!
At various points in my life, I’ve wavered back and forth between vegetarian and vegan (only to fall off the wagon because cheese!), but in the last few months after realizing I get a little sick at my stomach every time I eat meat, I made the switch to a whole foods plant-based diet, with little to no added fats. I have been astounded to realize how incredibly delicious these incredible meals have been. Del Sroufe is one of the authors of the Forks Over Knives Cookbook, which is where I started when I began changing my diet. It was eye opening to discover that one needn’t saute onions and garlic in olive oil, and every recipe I made from that cookbook was a big hit. This book is just as good, and I’m looking forward to cooking my way through it. I’m one of those cooks who finds a cookbook/recipe as just a starting point-I may make it the way it’s written the first time, but it will never be the same again. I get that sense of encouragement in that method from Sroufe. if you’re interested in a plant based diet, this would be a great book to start with.
Sherri –
Okay read
Typical “come to vegan” story. However it is a good depiction of how simply avoiding eating animal products does guarantee a healthy lifestyle. I have not tried any of the recipes. I may use a few of the soup recipes as a starter to make different soups. As I typically make soup weekly I need a few new ideas.
Brigitte –
Already a favorite, even with non-vegan with family and friends
I got Chef Del’s new book literally one hour before getting on a plane to Germany, so I am still trying recipes. But some of them were clear winners even before making them myself – my son got the Spinach-Artichoke Dip recipe from me while we were waiting to board and made it for a family that is generally eating traditional American fare and not familiar with many veggies – and it was a hit. My family in Germany (also not used to vegan food) loved several of the bean dips, the red, white and green pizza and flat bread recipes settled the question of “what do you put on your pizza?”, and the flavors are such that nobody misses the fats and oils.The recipes are well explained, easy to follow, and just my style of mix of different cultural origins – a true treasure for anybody who likes the flavors of the world without the usual quantities of oil. Can’t wait to try them all.
Isabelle B. –
Rien à redire, de bonnes idées, des recettes faciles à mettre en oeuvre… Comme tous les livres en anglais de la bande hclf américaine.Je recommande
Bulldog –
I like the ideas for keeping fat consumption low, but some are a little too austere. However, it is on the right track. Too much oil and fat transforms a healthy vegan diet into a mainstream hyper calorific path to overweight and bad health. Good to have, and follows the Forks over Knives principles.
Amazon Customer –
Really good book. Use it all the time
Wendy Cotterell –
Love the real ness and enthusiasm of the author. Makes you want to try all recipes. Recommend as a startup vegan recipe go to.
Shelley Featherstone –
Awesome find. I love the easy recipes. Good choice of dishes that are low fat!Bought two more as holiday presents!