Bests & Worsts Reviews from Amazon

Unlike other reviewers, I wasn't a tester for this cookbook and I hadn't even heard of the author Jackie Sobon before pre-ordering this book about five months ago. I just love bowls and new cookbooks, and this one looked like it would be interesting. So far, I have made two recipes -- the Cashew-Crusted Tofu Stir Fry and the Buffalo Chickpea Mac 'n Cheeze. My husband (who isn't vegan) thought that that the Mac n' Cheeze, which is served on a bed of Romaine lettuce and celery bits, was a bit "unusual," as he phrased it, but I thought that both were delicious! One of the things I really love about this book is it is whole-foods based, so you won't be using any artificial ingredients in the recipes. Not only does Sobon include breakfast and entree bowls, but she also includes smaller-sized snack bowls, soup and salad bowls, dessert bowls, and a whole chapter on sauces, creams, and dressings. The bowls come together fairly easily, but do take some time to prepare. Both of the ones I've made have taken about 45 minutes. Also, as mentioned in my review title, many of them are a bit more time-consuming in that about a third of the recipes contain other recipes within them for sauces or dressings, meaning that you have to be sure to plan ahead to have time to make the other recipes, too. For instance, with the Buffalo Chickpea Bowl I made, you have to make the cheese sauce and the ranch dressing (both of which require soaking cashews for about two hours), in addition to cooking the pasta and baking the buffalo chickpeas. The result of having so many sub-recipes is that it it makes things really flavorful, but do be aware that it requires some extra planning. Overall, I like this book a lot and know that I'll get good use out of it. A couple of months ago, I purchased another vegan bowl book, but the recipes in that one haven't looked as appealing to me as the ones in this one. It's also nice to have so many full-color photos of the recipes since that always inspires me to make them. Bon apetit!