This past week I got a new review cookbook in the mail. It is the "Betty Crocker Vegetarian Cooking"
cookbook. So I checked it out, and here is my review...
This is a nice looking book that features some beautiful photos of some of the recipes. There are several things I would like to try, including the Mexican Tofu-Rice Skillet, Burrito Pot Pies, and the Lasagna Cupcakes. Being a vegetarian cookbook, rather than a vegan one, there is a lot of dairy and/or eggs used throughout the recipes. However, I am confident that I can veganize them on my own and will do so when trying out some of the recipes.
I vowed several years ago that I would never purchase a vegetarian or vegan cookbook that wasn't written by a vegetarian or vegan (you can always tell!). While there is no "author" listed on this book, I am confident that it is not a vegetarian. I can just tell by some of the things that are written. For example, on page 276 there is a page about soy and one of the lines says "Soy, unlike most plant foods, is a good source of high-quality protein." Apparently whoever wrote this book isn't familiar with things like nuts, nut butters, quinoa (which is a complete protein), lentils, beans, etc. That comment is one that would generally only come from a non-vegetarian, who has been lead to believe that they need animal protein in order to get good sources of protein.
Another line that lets me know a vegetarian or vegan didn't author this book is on page 6, where they describe what a vegan is. After saying what they eat/don't eat, they go on to say that a "Vegan may not use animal produts or animal by-products..." Um no, by definition a vegan does not use those things. Someone following just a plant-based diet may or may not avoid other things like leather, fur, and wool, but a vegan always does. Additionally, they say a vegetarian "May not eat animal-broths like beef, chicken, fish, or seafood." Sorry, but a vegetarian would never eat those. If they did, they wouldn't be a vegetarian.
The bottom line on this book is that it is one I may check out of the library to peruse and try a few recipes from, but I would not purchase it.
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