Books & Literature

Cookbook Review: Vegan Yack Attack’s Plant-Based Meal Prep, by Jackie Sobon

Take the guesswork out of meal planning with more than 100 simple, make-ahead recipes that keep your fridge full and your schedule free.

A comprehensive collection of practical vegan recipes for everyone to enjoy.
4

Has your doctor encouraged you to cut down your meat consumption? Do you know someone who has just turned vegan? Are you stuck for ideas, already a proficient vegan cook and in need of a little inspiration?

Vegan culinary expert and photographer Jackie Sobon showcases her skills in her latest recipe book Vegan Yack Attack’s Plant-Based Meal Prep. As a popular Vegan blogger since 2011, you can now enjoy her decadent and delicious recipes offline; vegan or not. Giving itself the unique Jackie Sobon touch, her visual photography skills also make this recipe book a delight to browse.

The Meal Prep cookbook caters for anyone’s lifestyle – be it time poor, planning poor and, well, literally poor. With the current pandemic you’ll also be pleased to know there are many useful recipes for lockdown as they can be prepared in advance and last in the fridge for several days, use hardier vegetables such as carrots and potatoes, or rely on dry goods such as cashews and coconut milk.

The best feature of this book is the near absence of needing unnatural processed meat and dairy alternatives. They are not completely absent from the ingredients list however, for most recipes it is optional. For example, there is the option of adding vegan cheese to your breakfast burritos (page 79) or the savoury pastry pockets (page 75) but they are not a core requirement. Even the DIY mini pizzas (page 137) do not require vegan cheese.

I tried three of the recipes – a main, a breakfast dish and a snack. My thoughts are as follows:

Lemon-Rosemary Chickpea Pasta Casserole (page 27)

Very enjoyable meal although I did add freshly grated parmesan just to give it a bit of zing. I was sceptical of blended cashews in place of cream but it was an excellent non-processed and natural alternative. My children didn’t even notice a difference!

Piňa Colada Chia Pudding (page 107)

This was a very refreshing pudding and extremely simple to make. The tofu is a fantastic way to add extra protein in the diet and a great way to reduce the sweetness of the dessert. I found the quality of the dessert lasted for the few days that we had leftovers in the fridge.

White Bean Garlic Spread (page 162)

I found this spread a little bit out of proportion in terms of both flavour and consistency when made exactly as described in the recipe.

It does say to thin out the recipe – there is a variation of 30 ml in the ingredients list in terms of volume of water to add – however, my spread was more like a paste and too garlicky. When I did add more water, the balance of flavours changed and it was a fraction bland.

Reviewed by Rebecca Wu

Distributed by: Murdoch Books
Released: January 2020
RRP: $32.99

More News

To Top