If you are hostile to vegetarian philosophy, don't bother. Don't bother with the book, and you can save your ranting time for something more pleasant. Maybe get a massage? Shop for shoes? Help out in a soup kitchen? The list is endless.
I was working in a bookstore shelving the nutrition section when I came across Skinny Bitches. I thought it was another martini diet/how the rich stay emaciated gimmick book. I was pleasantly surprised to find instead that it is a vegan primer, with attitude.
That tickled me, because most vegan books either speak to the converted, or adopt a peacenik/I-spend-all-my-time-in-yoga-class-or-mediating persona. That's not bad in itself. I just like seeing something different, something that will speak to a new audience.
As for me, I've been a vegetarian for more than twenty years, a vegan for a third of that. I'm middle aged but often mistaken for a college student. My doctor is all smiles at my check-up, and I have the vitals of a twenty-five year old. I have good genes, yes, but I give my diet great credit for my excellent health. My siblings who are not vegetarians have not fared so well. I really doubt someone eating a low-carb/high protein diet after twenty years would be in such good shape. Most of the low-carb people I know have dull, aging skin. Why is that? But that's another topic.
As for this book as a cookbook, it has become my daily workhorse cookbook. That's pretty amazing, since I have over 200 vegetarian cookbooks in my house. No, Skinny Bitch in the Kitch isn't that innovative. But I have innovative cookbooks I use twice a year because I'm too busy to make big productions of meals. I'm a single mom with two kids, and food has to be fast, healthy, delicious and not too weird. These are comfortingly familiar kinds of meals, which appeal to me, even after years of experimenting with some very strange ingredients. The use of meat substitutes makes these recipes less strange to my kids, and presumably, to a new audience of vegan cooks.
Moreover, the quality of the recipes are excellent. The seasoning and preparation make them special. For example, I've made mashed potatoes a zillion times, but my kids liked the mashed potatoes even better than my other recipes.
The inclusion of coconut oil is a question mark for me. Even if you see coconut oil touted everywhere on the net as a 'miracle oil', and often promoted by the arch-enemies of vegetarianism who believe you need a lot of animal fat to be healthy, i.e. Nourishing Traditions, as a skeptic I will withhold opinion until the data is conclusive. If you "buy" the coconut oil sales pitch, we vegans needn't worry so much about the amount of saturated fat there, which is considerable, because we're not eating meat and dairy and getting it other places. Nonetheless, it did make the cooked greens taste fabulous--the sweetness of the coconut oil cuts down on the bitterness of the greens, and I'm sure I'll make them this way forever. Coconut oil is also a very satisfactory shortening for vegan cooking. So regardless if it is a 'miracle oil' or not, I tend to think it will have its uses in the vegan kitchen.
Bottom line: I liked this book, liked its unpretentiousness toward food, and liked its message about veganism. But again, if you are hostile towards vegetarian philosophy, don't bother. |
Skinny Bitch in the Kitch: Kick-Ass Recipes for Hungry Girls Who Want to Stop Cooking Crap (and Start Looking Hot!) Used Books New.