Minutemeals Vegetarian: Inventive, Satisfying Everyday Meals

Minutemeals has created a winner in Minutemeals Vegetarian. It has compiled 80 vegetarian (NOT vegan) menus that can be put together in 20 minutes, perfect for the hectic weeknight cook. You prepare the entree with the help of store-bought convenience foods such as hard-boiled eggs from the salad bar, pre-sliced veggies, and pre-washed salad greens, and round out the meal with other convenience foods -- store-bought bread, cookies, etc. The book is divided into five chapters: sandwich and pizza menus, soup and stew menus, main-dish salad menus, egg and vegetable menus, and pasta and grain menus. A sample menu is Warm pita pockets with mushroom and zucchini frittata, tomato, feta, and basil salad, and chocolate pudding with pecans. You assemble the frittata, and while it is cooking, you make the salad. For dessert, you simply spoon the refrigerated chocolate pudding into bowls and top with pecans. What could be easier? (Healthier, definitely. Easier? Not by much.) I loved the inclusion of ethnic vegetarian menus such as white gazpacho from Spain, avoglemono stew from Greece, and Indian-inspired curried rice and vegetables. There are also numerous Middle Eastern-inspired recipes such as Lentil salad with goat cheese, olives, and oranges, and Bulghur with currants, chickpeas, and zucchini. The ingredients are clearly listed and divided into two categories: "shopping list," and "from your pantry." "From your pantry" includes staples like butter, eggs, salt and pepper, herbs, and olive oil. If an item is to be pre-sliced, it tells you what area of the store to find it in ("Presliced button mushrooms from the produce department"). At the top of each recipe (each is conveniently spread across two pages) is a hint or tip from one of the Minutemeals chefs. Also included is a "Lucky for You" blurb at the bottom of the left-hand page that gives pointers on how to prepare meals quickly. Step-by-step instructions are highlighted in the middle of the page, so you always know what you should be working on at a given moment in order to have all the components ready at the same time. There is also a nutritional analysis for each menu, but it only covers the entree, not the store-bought sides, which can be confusing at first glance. Also, most of the recipes are loaded with butter and fat, often 25 g or more a serving, so if you're looking for an easy-to-prepare, low-fat vegetarian cookbook, check out Donna Klein's excellent The PDQ (Pretty Darn Quick) Vegetarian Cookbook: 240 Healthy and Easy No-Prep Recipes for Busy Cooks.

I love this book. I use it several times a week. People frown on using storebought prepackaged items, but if you have a job where you work 16 hours a day, cooking a nutritious meal from scratch is almost impossible. I use fresh and/or organic ingredients whereever I can. I highly recommend this book to anyone who has little time to cook, is on a budget, or is starting out as a vegetarian.

If you're vegetarian and tired of your meals always being centered around tofu, beans, pasta, or cheese and you don't have the time to cook or imagination left to combine dishes to make a well rounded meal, this cookbook may be the answer! Not only are the meals found in this cookbook interesting and a cinch to prepare, the come with a tasty side dish and dessert! Now, I look forward to the 20 minutes I spend making dinner instead of the 2+ hours it usually takes--slaving away in the kitchen under the direction of other vegetarian cookbooks (like Moosewood, etc.). A word of caution: the ingredient combinations lean toward the adventurous. If you have kids, I recommend one of my other favorite quick vegetarian cookbooks: Better Than Peanut Butter and Jelly by Wendy Muldawer and Marty Mattare. It doesn't have the same cool total menu format that Minutemeals does, but there is a section in the back with menu ideas, including one for a slumber party. Bon Appetit!

Minutemeals' 20-Minute Gourmet Menus provides a game plan for organizing and creating entire gourmet meals - in minutes. Menus have shopping lists, pantry ingredient lists - everything needed to prevent last-minute surprises. Complete meals include main dishes, sides and desserts as well as vegetables and have everything timed perfectly to finish simultaneously.

So...I just found out that I am allergic to meat (beef, chicken, and pork) only two months ago. The doctor flat out said..."No More Meat". So...I went to the book store and started my search for the right vegetarian cookbook. Well I found it! This book has delicious, unique recipes. Not only that, but the recipes are easy, quick, and inexpensive. And the setup of book is fabulous - each main dish also includes recipes for side dishes, desserts, a shopping list, and step by step instructions. This is a good one!