I have a stack of beautiful cookbooks to review; some are glorious examples of vegan cookery, with gorgeous photos and thick, luxurious pages.  When I first opened The Get Healthy, Go Vegan Cookbook, it seemed rather lackluster in comparison. The pages are not high quality and the photos are just a few, thrown into the center of the book — not my favorite style of cookbook. I prefer the photos to be right next to the recipes and I really appreciate a good thick page.  But I dove in anyway, and tried a few of the recipes to see what this book would offer.

First of all, each recipe includes nutritional information, which is very helpful. There is also a “Did You Know” section on many pages, filled with interesting facts of use to the vegan cook.  The recipes are clearly presented and very easy to follow.  Best of all, I was pleasantly surprised by the recipes I tried – I loved them!  The first one I tried was the pizza crust; I had just tried one with regular flour and feared this one, which has whole wheat flour in it, might be a bit tough. It was anything but – pleasantly crispy and very tasty, and simple to make as well. First happy surprise.

The second dish I tried was the Toasty Tortilla Soup.  With onions, garlic, diced tomatoes, squash, corn and kidney beans, it is a delicious mixture. I added a dose of hot sauce to spice things up, but the suggested topping of toasted tortillas was wonderful.  I made enough for leftovers and never got tired of it, it was that good. Surprise number two.

Next to try was the Stuffed Cabbage recipe.  This is much quicker to prepare than I would have thought. It includes onions, tomato paste, crushed walnuts, lentils, rice and wonderful spices all rolled into a steamed cabbage leaf and rolled up.  This is a great recipe for parties or potlucks because it may be prepared beforehand and reheats very well. To boost the nutritional punch, the recipe suggests using red cabbage and gives the nutritional differences (increased vitamins A and C and pigments called anthocyanins, which protect against cancer).

The beginning of the book has information about tailoring your diet to your health goals, whether that is slimming down, avoiding high glycemic food,or lowering cholesterol. There is information about fiber, digestion, and chronic diseases. There is also basic information about the ingredients and types of food that are included in the recipes, and supportive information for making a change to a healthier, vegan diet. There is even a three day menu plan in the last chapter of the book. The appendix includes an easy shopping list, convenience foods, and a metric conversion chart – all very useful.

I checked online and, while the list price is about the same as most paperback cookbooks ($18.95), Amazon had it listed for only $11.99. If you have reason to watch your nutritional intake, this just might be a good cookbook to add to your collection.  I would have overlooked this cookbook had it not been sent to me; and I still have another half dozen recipes bookmarked to try later this month. I guess it is the old saying, “You can’t judge a book by its cover,” or in this case, its pages.  While it is not the most lovely book in my collection, I have a feeling it will be well-used.