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76 reviews for:
VB6: Eat Vegan Before 6:00 to Lose Weight and Restore Your Health . . . for Good
Mark Bittman
3.65 AVERAGE
76 reviews for:
VB6: Eat Vegan Before 6:00 to Lose Weight and Restore Your Health . . . for Good
Mark Bittman
3.65 AVERAGE
The point of this book isn't too turn anyone Vegan but to increase the amount of plant-based meals in people diet.
Loved it! It makes so much sense for your body and the planet, because I could never (at least as of now) go completely vegan. I'm on my second day and it's been relatively painless so far.
This book was such a disappointment to me that I debated only giving it one star; however, I can see the value for someone else (well, a little). My biggest disappointment is that this book was nothing new: as Mark Bittman tried to regale us with all his amazing research (possibly re-summarizing his articles), all he did was state the same information as every other vegan-inspired book. If you've read one, you've read this - save the one idea that you've gathered from the book jacket: he proposes that you only eat vegan for breakfast lunch and snacks, but can eat animal products for dinner. Yes, he has a little more guidance, but not much else of consequence.
The worst part for me was I had (what were apparently) completely unrealistic expectations from an erroneous review: I was under the impression that (a) that his book would be more of a memoir, reflecting on the experience of being a food writer having to deal with this significant life change; and (b) that the recipes would be better as he was trying to contend with the idea that he likes good and/or gourmet food, so he created stellar vegan dishes. These would have put something of himself into the book. Instead, he is writing like yet another reporter who thinks that, because he can read, he is another expert. A terrible trend that Bittman is perpetuating, but more how boring he has made his writing because of it. This isn't news; there should have been more of himself in there (if only to set him apart from every other book that has come to market regarding veganism and/or flexitarianism - and so many of them have more heart).
I am not saying you won't walk away with something. I did try to mental deconstruct his new "food groups" (despite that people who do new food groups/pyramids actually don't get science behind them - it's not all industry influence) so I tried to consider his ways of thinking and motivation for his choices. If you are a complete newbie, this book can be a good place to start. I thought most of his recipes are boring; that being said, they are incredibly flexible, unlike most cookbooks and I wrote out 11 of them for the future (the recipes may not be stellar but I am sadly lacking in the breakfast department; as well, I thought the Spiced Apple Jam might be a good recipe to make for the holidays).
However, I was so excited about this book due to my unrealistic expectations that I bought it in hardcover, expecting it to take a haloed place amongst the books I keep. I am now disappointed that I spent that much money (and time) just to donate or abandon it somewhere. I suggest borrowing it from your local library: you can always purchase it after if it strikes a cord.
The worst part for me was I had (what were apparently) completely unrealistic expectations from an erroneous review: I was under the impression that (a) that his book would be more of a memoir, reflecting on the experience of being a food writer having to deal with this significant life change; and (b) that the recipes would be better as he was trying to contend with the idea that he likes good and/or gourmet food, so he created stellar vegan dishes. These would have put something of himself into the book. Instead, he is writing like yet another reporter who thinks that, because he can read, he is another expert. A terrible trend that Bittman is perpetuating, but more how boring he has made his writing because of it. This isn't news; there should have been more of himself in there (if only to set him apart from every other book that has come to market regarding veganism and/or flexitarianism - and so many of them have more heart).
I am not saying you won't walk away with something. I did try to mental deconstruct his new "food groups" (despite that people who do new food groups/pyramids actually don't get science behind them - it's not all industry influence) so I tried to consider his ways of thinking and motivation for his choices. If you are a complete newbie, this book can be a good place to start. I thought most of his recipes are boring; that being said, they are incredibly flexible, unlike most cookbooks and I wrote out 11 of them for the future (the recipes may not be stellar but I am sadly lacking in the breakfast department; as well, I thought the Spiced Apple Jam might be a good recipe to make for the holidays).
However, I was so excited about this book due to my unrealistic expectations that I bought it in hardcover, expecting it to take a haloed place amongst the books I keep. I am now disappointed that I spent that much money (and time) just to donate or abandon it somewhere. I suggest borrowing it from your local library: you can always purchase it after if it strikes a cord.
There's certainly a lot to like in this book. It's a reasonable approach to eating less meat and animal product, and more veggies. It's well-written to convince anyone that they can make some progress on that goal and see benefits for themselves and the planet. I think the general principles about diet flexibility, making simple substitutions, cooking in big batches, and using leftovers creatively, are useful, and it's good that they're framed as "principles" not "rules".
That said, there's a lot I can't get behind. The recipes strike me as very basic. I think they've been written for an audience which doesn't cook and needs to be told how easy it will be, and given permission to experiment. That's probably fine, but as a more experienced cook I didn't find much of it inspiring or even interesting, and the side bars of "other things you could put in this recipe" struck me as lacking detail. (I should admit here I've only used one of the recipes so far, and my opinion might change.) While I think there's a good argument about over-processed food, there's also the woo-woo fear of "chemicals" which always puts my teeth on edge.
That said, there's a lot I can't get behind. The recipes strike me as very basic. I think they've been written for an audience which doesn't cook and needs to be told how easy it will be, and given permission to experiment. That's probably fine, but as a more experienced cook I didn't find much of it inspiring or even interesting, and the side bars of "other things you could put in this recipe" struck me as lacking detail. (I should admit here I've only used one of the recipes so far, and my opinion might change.) While I think there's a good argument about over-processed food, there's also the woo-woo fear of "chemicals" which always puts my teeth on edge.
As a vegan 24/7 this book did not convince me to change my diet by much, but it has a lot of good tips and practical advice, some of which will be incorporated into our daily habits. This is a book that I would want to give to all of my non-vegan friends, if I knew they would actually read it. It makes a good case for eating a more plant-based diet and that doing so can be painless and even tasty! I think this book would appeal to those looking to improve their diet - they know they have to do SOMETHING - but "going vegan" is too drastic or too hippy or not manly enough.... whatever. This book will at least nudge them to a healthier way of eating.