Quick and Easy Low-Cal Vegan Comfort Food: 150 Down-Home Recipes Packed with Flavor, Not Calories
Author: Alicia C. Simpson
Publisher: The Experiment (2012)
Meat eater or meat-freer? Die hard carnivore, fish-head, veggie belly or
flexitarian? There are so many diets out there that we all fit into at least
one “category” when we eat! So, even if you’re
not vegan, chances are you know someone who is. Celebrities all over the globe
tout this way of eating – which eschews any and all animal-derived items
including eggs, dairy and even honey – as the best way to eat for mind, body
and planet. Ethical issues are often cited as reasons many eaters switch over,
but increasingly the crusade has been led by people searching for a healthier
lifestyle or a way to lose weight.
Unfortunately, just because something is “vegan” doesn’t mean it
automatically becomes a beacon of health. Like with many gluten free foods,
there are many “vegan friendly” recipes and processed foods that involve
copious quantities of oil, sugar, salt and refined carbohydrates (potato chips
and cotton candy are both gluten free and vegan, but are in no way good for
you!). The balance of delicious, soul-nourishing fare and healthy, vegan eating
is the focus of blogger Alicia C. Simpson’s latest book: Quick and Easy
Low-Cal Vegan Comfort Food: 150 Down-Home Recipes Packed with Flavor, Not
Calories. Simpson is the author of the blogs Vegan Guinea Pig and
The Lady and Seitan, both filled
with delicious food, reviews and discussion.
There is no denying the nutrition factor in this book. The first 30 odd
pages detail “low calorie” eating, the importance of exercise,
definitions of “low-fat / low-calorie”, “serving size” “nutrient density” and
the like, and finally calorie-controlled menus for 1400, 1600, 1800 and 2000
calorie diets. A mini “glossary” of common vegan ingredients (i.e. nutritional
yeast) is also included, and for true vegan neophytes this is a good read to
have under your belt. I also appreciated the visually-appealing lists of
serving sizes, covering common items in the “grains”, “vegetables”, “fruits”
and “proteins”. The only issue I took with this part was the categorization of
potato as a vegetable and not a “grain” like corn. Perhaps the phrase “starches”
would have been better suited. As a nutritionist, I also appreciated the RDI
tables for calcium and iron. However, I feel that the page of algebraic-like
calculations to figure out caloric needs was excessive for a cookbook touted as
“Quick and Easy”. There are many websites that are publicly accessible which
calculate individual needs and eliminate the possibility of human mathematical
error. The nutritional information is provided on each recipe, however the serving
size isn’t – meaning that you would have to make the whole dish separately,
weigh the components and portion out each element between serving bowls (not
quick and/or easy) in order to get a proper calorie count and serving size.
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| Banana Nut Bread (p. 82) |
In terms of the recipes,
Low-Cal Vegan Comfort Food
includes breakfasts, breads, snacks, sides, salads, soups, mains, desserts, beverages
and condiments. Simpson also incorporates a section of “basics” – from simple
roasted tofu to five types of seitan (including my favourite sausage – chorizo!).
Many of the recipes use the same ingredients, or are themselves used in other
recipes (aka “recipes within recipes”). This can be a boon or a hindrance to
those looking for “quick and easy” – if you are willing to spend a weekend
preparing all the basic elements of a meal for later in the week, then when it
comes time to put it all together it is more than acceptable to expect a 30-minute
turnaround time. However, this is not a book that caters to impulse cooking. For
instance,
Wet Burritos (p. 176) could
very well be a weeknight meal – but not if you haven’t made the
Taco Seasoning Mix (p. 234),
Enchilada Sauce (p. 236) and
Refried Beans (p. 112) first. Granted,
you can (and should) make batch-ups of these components once you find a few recipes
you love, and keep them on hand in either fridge or freezer. Would-be cooks
from
Low-Cal Vegan Comfort Food should also be familiar with the
flavours, textures and preparation methods for things like quinoa, amaranth and
millet and be prepared to spend the extra money (if not vegan normally) to buy liquid
aminos, soy yogurt, non-dairy cream, “butter” and “cheese” and TVP. Unlike most
nutritionist-vegans, Simpson is unabashedly a fan of both soy and gluten for
protein, which is refreshing to see, but I do with there were more whole legume-based
meals (the majority of the book’s legumes are in soup).
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| Banana Nut Bread (p. 82) |
I had the experience of both resounding success and
dismal failure while cooking from
Low-Cal Vegan Comfort Food. Both the
Crispy Chile Peas (p. 94) and
the South Carolina Peach Jam (p. 240)
were tasty and perfectly spiced and interesting twists on a crunchy snack and
toast spread. However, the
Buttermilk
Biscuits (p. 68) had a very strange flavour – nothing reminiscent of
buttermilk – and did not become the flaky puffs I know biscuits to be. The
Banana Nut Bread (p. 82) never baked through, despite extra oven
time and every trick in the book I knew of. The loaf was also woefully lacking
in flavour, being devoid of vanilla or spices. I don’t expect a “spice cake”
with my banana breads, but one without
cinnamon?
My batter-tasters agreed: it was definitely missing something, and both those
recipes felt to me like a waste of fairly expensive soy yogurt and almond milk.
Thinking that it could simply be that Simpson’s forte is not baking, I tried
the
Yellow Split Pea Soup (p. 148),
and was overwhelmed by sweet and smoky flavour. There is no salt in the recipe
(thankfully there are bay leaves, but too many for my taste), and I found that I
needed at least a good teaspoon to bring it back over to the “savoury” side,
and added lashings of black pepper and a pinch of basil to try and liven up the
flavour. With the modifications I made, it was serviceable, and if I was to
make it again I’d leave out at least two of the bay leaves. I did have some
success with the
Spiced Cranberry Sauce
(p. 123), since it’s not as sweet as most (a quality I like), but then
again it’s hard to mess up cranberry sauce! I would love to make the
Chorizo (p.45) and the
Moon Dusted Donuts (p. 214) but at this
point I’m hesitant to try.
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| South Carolina Peach Jam (p. 240) |
Vegan fare does not have to be boring, difficult,
unhealthy or outlandish. Everyone needs to feel comforted by a meal every so
often, and if they can do that while adhering to their dietary needs so much
the better. There are many aspects to Alicia C. Simpson’s writing I like, some
even love, but the inconsistent success I had with the recipes in
Quick and
Easy Low-Cal Vegan Comfort Food: 150 Down-Home Recipes Packed with Flavor, Not
Calories indicates it will probably be a
very occasional resource in my kitchen.
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