The Plantpower Way: Whole Food Plant-Based Recipes and Guidance for The Whole Family: A Cookbook

This is THE BEST cook book ever! And it's not just a cook book. It's much more than that. Like the authors promised, it is a guidance to healthy living for the whole family. My two kids and I had been a pescatarian for over three years, but we didn't go vegan because I didn't know how. I didn't know what we could eat that also tasted good, and quick to make, if we gave up seafood and eggs. I had other vegan cook books, but the recipes all took too much effort to make. Being a full time artist, running my art business, and a mother of two little toddlers, I simply could not spend hours in the kitchen. I wanted every meal to be done in 30 minutes or less. "The Plantpower Way" showed us the way! We've become completely plant-based since getting the book. And our meals have never been more delicious! Most of the recipes take less than 20 minutes to make, and taste so good! Perhaps you'll find this hard to believe? Well, then you have to get the book to try it for yourself. Since getting the book, I've fallen in love with cooking! The kids and I have the plant-based Lattes and Milks in the morning. I put a few of the chocolate balls and bars in their lunch boxes. After school, we drink a mug of the blends with veggies, seeds and fruits. We eat pastas and rice a lot for dinner, and now we have many more sauces to choose from, and they're all easy to make. Julie shows me the way to saute different vegetables that I never imagined. She even changed my mind about salads, I hated them and now I love making and eating them. Another aspect of the book I love is that it tells you what nutrients the recipes or the ingredients in the recipes provide. So you're not worried that you're missing something important, for yourself, or your kids or teenagers. We've never dined out, or ordered take-aways or deliveries since getting the book! This is a full-colored book, with beautiful photographs. And you can tell, from the pictures, and words between the lines, that Rich and Julie have put all their heart into the book. Thank you, Rich and Julie, for showing me the way to nurture my family and me. And for helping me to live more authentically by leaving the least harmful mark on the planet. Thank you!

I was hesitant to purchase yet another cookbook. But I love anything that Rich Roll and Julie Piatt produce, so I bought it anyway. I LOVE this book! It was worth every penny. It was a great price for a such a beautiful book, and I love leaving it out on the counter. I have used the book every day since its purchase. As a mother, I appreciate that Rich and Julie are also cooking plant based for their children, and I enjoy reading about which recipes their own kids love. My kids LOVE "Abuela' Glazed Banana's" and I have enjoyed "Monk's Blend" Smoothie every day since purchasing the book. What makes this book different from other cookbooks out there is the way they created different "paths" folks can take on a plant powered diet. We often hear that as long as its whole food plant based, you can eat as much as you want, but I have found this advice to be unhelpful. Every body needs a different set of requirements, and it all CAN be done on a plant based diet. Julie and Rich offer 3 different eating paths (which remind me of the Ayurvedic Dosha's, and understanding Julie's background in yoga and ayurveda, it makes sense to see it divided this way). These are as ways to organize your eating and offer more insight into the recipes. The Three paths: Vitality is a simple, almost spiritual way of eating, recipes not as dense but still nourishing. Performance is created for the person, like Rich, who needs to maximize their physical capacity with dense nutritious foods. The Transformation path is form someone coming off of a high fat and meat diet, someone who needs to loose weight and change their health, and have some serious transformation on the plant powered path. These paths are only recommendations. You can just use the scrumptious recipes without the paths, but if you are looking for transformation and a powerful way of eating that works specifically for your needs, each recipe has a "key" to help you understand how it fits within these models. I like the paths because it ends up being more than just another collection of recipes, it really is a whole way of life and a lifestyle. I highly recommend this book and think it should be on everyone's kitchen counter.

We've had this book for over a year when I preordered it last year. My husband and I just recently are trying again to get back into the whole-food, plant-based lifestyle. We always feel our best when we eat that way and we always beat ourselves up when we slip back into our old ways. My husband decided to try one of the recipes the other night, almond pesto with gluten-free pasta, and it was fantastic! So, since then, we've been cooking several other dishes. I made the beet soup because my husband had a cold, and it immediately cleared his sinuses, and it was super easy to make. Then I made the raspberry risotto with walnut Parmesan sprinkled on top, and that was excellent! The latest recipe we made was the lasagna that uses thinly sliced zucchini in place of lasagna noodles and it was SO GOOD! Everything we've had has been fairly simple to make and full of flavor. I also like that they don't use much soy. So many other plant-based cookbooks use a lot of soy in their recipes. Also, the recipes feed six, which is perfect for our family of six. We don't have to scale up any of the recipes. I could, however, see someone who doesn't own a lot of the kitchen tools, like a mandolin or food processor, finding some of the recipes to be a bit more difficult. They use a Vitamix every day, but we still don't own one yet. We've managed without one. They also use a lot of nuts, which can get expensive. I buy them in bulk at Costco and Wegman's. I also try to stick with the recipes that utilize what's in season to help reduce cost. Other than that, it's also an enjoyable book to read! The photography is great, as well! I find their approach incredibly inspiring. This is definitely going to be a regular go-to book for us. I highly recommend it!!!

todas las recetas que he hechos hasta el momento , buenísimas y sobre todo saludables y libres de productos animales

It makes sense for humans to switch to a plant based eating in most cases. Research those reasons for yourself if you are not sure why it's a good idea. These guys do a great service by putting out good podcast content for free and this is a cook book to show how they eat. I like their message which is balanced, humble, intelligent and overwhelmingly positive. Keep and open mind and give this a try. Updated 5th September - I have been having a thorough read through this book and it's a very good introduction to plant based eating. I'm really impressed with the production values. It's a big hard back book full of quality pictures and solid recipes. I can now see why Rich and Julie were so excited about it. Well done to all involved!

Full of delicious nutritious recipes. I look forward to making and tasting all of them! Not just recipes also filled with motivational reasons to live and sustain our bodies and the planet by choosing a whole plant food diet. The benefits for mind body and soul and the planet are truly worth it. I wish I started sooner. Get it and change your life and live by example.

I just read a 3 star review about how these are not tasty recipes. Nothing could be further from the truth. This cookbook is fantastic! I love every recipe I've used to date. The recipes are simple, and easy. For the people that have purchased this book or are thinking of purchasing this book and currently do not have a healthy diet – this book probably won’t be the quick fix you are looking for. I'm not trying to be harsh but I think you’ll be setting yourself up for a huge let down to expect a major shift in diet to be successful and if it’s not it’ll somehow, undoubtedly be the fault of this book. You can’t jump into a cookbook like this if you haven't seen a vegetable on your plate in a year and expect to love it (and I'm not talking KD made with cauliflower noodles). If you've been living off of a completely different food palette you have to adjust your palette first. Give yourself time to ween off of the diet you have probably maintained your whole life (like most of us) and slowly make healthier choices. Then dive into this book...I promise you, you will view it WAY differently and so will your kids. It's fantastic, it's delicious and if at first you don't like the recipes, it's just an affirming sign you are probably eating a poor diet. Think about it, why would our bodies and minds NOT like the purest foods on earth? I think people on the path to a healthier diet may want to consider a few things if they are looking to this book for some guidance (which by the way is a great book for guidance…good choice!!) First off, kudos to you. It takes work to make dietary changes and conscious decisions that at first may not come easily but with time, become second nature. It doesn't usually happen overnight so don’t put so much expectation on yourself or a cookbook. I have been shifting my diet for about 1 year now. Slow and steady. I did a few deliberate shifts along the way to transition into better eating. These steps helped me stay realistic, so as not to get discouraged and find myself at the bottom of a family sized bag of chips. They helped me stay focused on the whole point, which was to eat healthier than I was. Be realistic. If you don't like veggies, you can't jump into an all vegan recipe book and expect success. Baby steps friend. Baby Step One: If you are used to stuffing your face full of animal flesh, animal fats and heavy oils, your body craves that. That is what your taste buds are conditioned to enjoy and that is what they tell your brain that you enjoy. If you suddenly switch from a poor diet of processed, chemically enhanced, over cooked, fried, animal flesh filled meals, to a very clean, almost raw, vegan diet, you probably won't enjoy it. Your body is clogged full of chemicals and will not recognize how wonderful raw fruit tastes, or a fresh plate of veggies. It doesn't recognize the taste of any food, never mind real foods. That's why the longer we stay on the standard American diet, the worse our diets get the worse our bodies look. We need MORE salt and sugar so we can TASTE our food because we have been dulling our senses with all the chemicals we have been ingesting for years. Same goes for the kids. If you've been providing them with meals drowning in ketchup and Tang at every serving, they aren't going to want chia pudding and a green juice...that's not rocket science, that's human nature. Start slow, be realistic and take it easy man. Baby Step Two: You need to gradually bring your body and your mind into awareness around what you are putting in your body. Consciously begin to understand that food is fuel. Does a coffee laden in heavy cream and refined sugar alongside a greasy animal fat filled pastry sound like fuel your body can thrive on? (It did to me). How about a pineapple, banana, coconut water smoothie and some raw fruit goodness on the side? You can't switch your car from diesel to solar powered overnight and you can't do that with your body either. Baby Step Three: Start introducing healthier options (organic mac and cheese with a high protein content brand of Greek yogurt is better than blue box KD with loads of milk and ‘margareen’ – shudder, shudder). Work your way to shopping the outer sections of the grocery store (think produce) and skip the boxed, packaged, shelved 'fake' food. Your palette will start to change and you will naturally start dropping certain foods that may have been one-time faves on your shopping list. I for one have almost reduced all dairy which is something I never imagined would happen. I couldn't imagine living without cheese. Now it's just kind of happening. As my palette is changing I am getting 'grossed out' by animal mucus that is then put in plastic containers into my fridge...think about it, yogurt and cheese are actually really disgusting. We are the only animal ingesting another animal’s milk, bile and mucus. It goes against nature...anyways I digress. Baby Step Four: THEN get into this amazing cookbook chock full of interesting words of wisdom, bright, energizing photography and fabulous, tasty, mouthwatering recipes your body can understand and your mind will crave. I‘m not suggesting you can’t get this book and enjoy it without doing what I’ve written above, it’s more of a cautionary tale. North Americans have gotten so out of touch with what we eat that it isn’t obvious until we look at a vegan recipe and think…ewww…. We are literally rejecting nature in favor of hotdogs and big gulps. That’s ewww. That’s sad. That’s the Standard American Diet.

A beautiful book aesthetically and also so many ideas which I need as I try to improve my lifestyle and do my bit for our planet . Thank you Rich Roll for your inspiration!