Cookbook Review: Appetite for Reduction

This cookbook review has been two months in the making, having cooked with it through the months of February and March. To sum it up, I really like this book!

Appetite for Reduction is Isa Chandra's book that focuses on low fat vegan recipes. I discovered it a while ago and ordered it but was initially unimpressed by the looks of it. Call me superficial but we do judge books by their covers! The cover and paper were a bit cheap feeling and there aren't a lot of pictures to go around. Looks alone made me put it aside and not give it much of a second look. When I started to meal plan I figured that this would be a good place to start as I'm on a low fat diet. Not only did I use this for my weekly meal plans but I used it whenever I could for my Shabbat cooking as well.
I didn't have an issue with the font type or the layout but more pictures would have been nice. There are plenty of recipes for sides, mains, pastas, tofu/tempeh/seitan, veggies. The only thing missing here are desserts but I think that's in line with the point of the book.

I made quite a lot of recipes from this book and if I weren't in need of a change, I would keep cooking from it! I've written about many of the recipes that I've made in previous posts but I'll sum them up here. There were some really great ones and some just okay ones. There was nothing that turned out inedible or nasty. Everything I made- I ate it all. Being low fat- no oil, I left out the oil in all the recipes (except where I needed a bit of sesame oil) with no detriment.

Lentil and Eggplant Chili Mole- This was great, I served it with the cornbread which stole the show to me.
Fresh Corn and Scallion Cornbread- Yum- gotta make this more often!
Baked Falafel- Yum!!!! One of my favorite recipes from the cook through. Made a double batch.
Eggplant Chickpea Curry- My first real introduction to Indian flavors and I really liked it!
Butternut Apple Soup- My first IP recipe. This was really delicious, if a tad bit sweet.
Mushroom Tibs- Crazy, spicy good. I didn't think my friends would like this, but we all did. Needs to go over rice.
Yam and Black Bean Soup with Orange- The orange made this sweet but another winner from the soup section.
Hoisin Mustard Tofu- Holy grail tofu! No lie. Simply delicious served with the Unfried Fried Rice.
Unfried Fried Rice- Another winner.
Kidney Bean and Butternut Jamba Stew- This was good-- I need to further tweak it for my IP.
Red Thai Tofu- This tofu recipe was okay, didn't blow me away.
(Bhutanse) Pineapple Rice- An okay rice recipe- the Unfried Fried Rice is better.
Miso Apple Tofu- Another holy grail tofu recipe. Mmm.
Masala Baked Tofu- This tofu was just okay compared to the other two winners I made. My friends really liked it.
Second Avenue Vegetable Korma- This was pretty good, recipe needs to be adjusted for my IP.
Moroccan Chickpeas and Zucchini- Simple and no frills comfort food.
Wild Rice Salad with Oranges and Roasted Beets- This salad was really good if not a hassle to make with all the components. I would lessen or omit the sesame oil as I feel like it overpowered everything. Definitely a good salad.
Update 5/28/15- Scarlet Barley- Good, easy and simple side dish. Beautiful to look at.
Red Wine and Kalamata Tempeh- Must be the red wine that was way too strong for my taste. I didn't care for it. Edible, but not for me and wouldn't make again.

Two months- seventeen recipes. What a yummy two months. This book will definitely be referenced in the future because as I said there are some delicious recipes and many more that I haven't tried yet. I've fast become a huge fan of Isa's and I encourage you to check this book out. You won't be disappointed.