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Forks Over Knives—The Cookbook: Over 300 Simple and Delicious Plant-Based Recipes to Help You Lose Weight, Be Healthier, and Feel Better Every Day
Goodreads Choice Award
Nominee for Best Food & Cookbooks (2012)"Forks Over Knives," both the documentary and companion book, appeared on the scene in 2011 with an astonishing but simple claim: Following a fully plant-based diet can save your life. By avoiding meat, fish, eggs, dairy, and emphasizing whole, unrefined plant foods, millions of people have begun to notice staggering improvements to their physical fitness, weight, blood sugar and cholesterol levels, lifestyle, and overall health--including preventing, managing, or recovering from illnesses like diabetes, heart disease, and even cancer. Yes, the bestselling book "Forks Over Knives: The Plant-Based Way to Health" includes a solid foundation of recipes for anyone newly aware of the benefits to be gained from a plant-based diet. But home cooks are hungry for even more delicious, satisfying, from-scratch recipes full of whole plant foods like grains, legumes, fruits, and vegetables. That's what this cookbook provides: A full year's worth of meals for anyone hoping to cut out animal products, refined oils, and processed foods for the sake of their health. The recipes are eclectic, global, low fat, often gluten free, and simple to prepare, relying on common ingredients that anyone can find in their local grocery store. These recipes will take readers through an entire year with recipes that rely often on seasonal produce and always on the fundamental building blocks of a plant-based diet. Covering breakfast, lunch, dinner, and even desserts and ranging from everyday classics like Mac and Cheese and Baked Ziti to festive, holiday-ready dishes like Chard and Bean Stuffed Delicata Squash, these recipes will prepare readers to cook the plant-based way every day--starting this year and continuing through a long and healthy life.
319 pages, Paperback
First published July 17, 2012
About the author
Del Sroufe
13 books33 followersChef Del Sroufe is co-owner and executive chef of Wellness Forum Foods, a whole-food, plant-based meal delivery and catering service in Columbus, Ohio. He is the author of Forks Over Knives – The Cookbook and Better Than Vegan. Del teaches cooking classes and helps people transition to a healthy plant-based diet.
—from https://www.forksoverknives.com/contr...
—from https://www.forksoverknives.com/contr...
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Displaying 1 - 30 of 193 reviews
May 25, 2018
HANG ON, FOLKS. THIS ONE COULD CHANGE YOUR LIFE--SAVE YOUR LIFE.
It's Ultra-Vegan and it's not as bad as it sounds.
There's still tons of wonderful food you can eat: burritos, pasta, cakes, pies, burgers, sweet potato fries, sorbet and pizza, too.
It's NOT like eating dirt. Really it's not.
What you don't eat is quite simple: NOTHING with a FACE or a MOTHER and no more dairy, eggs, or oil.
Badda-Bing! and you're on your way to a healthy, svelte body. Yup. Become a hottie again, instead of a poor slob.
I dropped 25 pounds in four weeks. Next I'll be checking my cholesterol numbers.
Otherwise, the crew will be waiting to check you out when the drag you into the E.R.
Jim in Missoula
It's Ultra-Vegan and it's not as bad as it sounds.
There's still tons of wonderful food you can eat: burritos, pasta, cakes, pies, burgers, sweet potato fries, sorbet and pizza, too.
It's NOT like eating dirt. Really it's not.
What you don't eat is quite simple: NOTHING with a FACE or a MOTHER and no more dairy, eggs, or oil.
Badda-Bing! and you're on your way to a healthy, svelte body. Yup. Become a hottie again, instead of a poor slob.
I dropped 25 pounds in four weeks. Next I'll be checking my cholesterol numbers.
Otherwise, the crew will be waiting to check you out when the drag you into the E.R.
Jim in Missoula
August 22, 2012
Wow!! I have made at least 10 of the recipes in this book and have not come up with a fail yet! Moreover my entire family enjoys these recipes, including a very picky 5yo.
While I agree with author's point of view that a plant based lifestyle is healthy, I would still appreciate the addition of the nutritional information with the recipes (i.e. calories, fat, protein, etc.) I do not struggle with weight or health issues, but still like to have a general idea of my daily calorie/fat/protein intake.
This is definitely my go-to cookbook!!! =)
While I agree with author's point of view that a plant based lifestyle is healthy, I would still appreciate the addition of the nutritional information with the recipes (i.e. calories, fat, protein, etc.) I do not struggle with weight or health issues, but still like to have a general idea of my daily calorie/fat/protein intake.
This is definitely my go-to cookbook!!! =)
November 8, 2020
This was just okay for me.
The recipes I tried out were fine.
Nothing inspired, and with so many cookbooks out there crushing it, this fell flat.
Most disappointing part: only a handful of pictures ☹️
The recipes I tried out were fine.
Nothing inspired, and with so many cookbooks out there crushing it, this fell flat.
Most disappointing part: only a handful of pictures ☹️
May 12, 2023
Serviceable but skippable. I'd only recommend this to the most devoted "Forks Over Knives" converts looking for a vast and varied compilation of whole-foods, plant-based recipes created with the explicit aim of avoiding processed ingredients and refined flours, sugars, or oils. I appreciated the many helpful pointers for cooking a variety of tasty-sounding dishes without using any oil.
But if you're an average vegetarian or vegan, or even just a veg-curious omnivore, seeking to explore plant-based cooking more broadly, there are better resources out there than this.
And even if you're like me and sincerely trying to give the "Forks Over Knives" approach a fair shot, the 100 recipes included in The Forks Over Knives Plan: How to Transition to the Life-Saving, Whole-Food, Plant-Based Diet were much more accessible and appealing for novice chefs and/or those new to this lifestyle adjustment.
With a couple dozen enticing exceptions, the recipes included here seemed better suited for more ambitious home chefs with at least an intermediate level of culinary expertise.
That being said, this did open up my eyes to the infinitely varied and exciting possibilities for WFPB cooking, far from the limited stereotypes I’ve always had in my head, and at least a third or more of these recipes I'll be eager to try once I have a little more confidence and experience under my (slowly but steadily shrinking) belt.
But if you're an average vegetarian or vegan, or even just a veg-curious omnivore, seeking to explore plant-based cooking more broadly, there are better resources out there than this.
And even if you're like me and sincerely trying to give the "Forks Over Knives" approach a fair shot, the 100 recipes included in The Forks Over Knives Plan: How to Transition to the Life-Saving, Whole-Food, Plant-Based Diet were much more accessible and appealing for novice chefs and/or those new to this lifestyle adjustment.
With a couple dozen enticing exceptions, the recipes included here seemed better suited for more ambitious home chefs with at least an intermediate level of culinary expertise.
That being said, this did open up my eyes to the infinitely varied and exciting possibilities for WFPB cooking, far from the limited stereotypes I’ve always had in my head, and at least a third or more of these recipes I'll be eager to try once I have a little more confidence and experience under my (slowly but steadily shrinking) belt.
December 13, 2012
I've read this through from cover to cover and I've now had a chance to try out a dozen or so dishes. I've had way more hits than misses and I'm quite pleased with this book. I was worried the recipes would taste bland but that's not the case at all.
November 11, 2014
Delicious recipes guaranteed to please even the pickiest eater!
Forks Over Knives - The Cookbook had exactly what I was looking for: a diverse selection of whole-food, plant-based recipes. The book was organized by type of dish and included a section on "Basics" that covered all the sauces, stocks, broth, etc. used in some of its recipes. I loved the separate sections for Soups, and Stews and Chilies, which are my fave especially this time of year (fall/winter).
My biggest complaint was the lack of color photos. I would've liked to see a photo for every recipe.
Singles' Soup
"Cheesy" Potato Soup
Creamy Sweet Potato and Vegetable Stew
Forks Over Knives - The Cookbook had exactly what I was looking for: a diverse selection of whole-food, plant-based recipes. The book was organized by type of dish and included a section on "Basics" that covered all the sauces, stocks, broth, etc. used in some of its recipes. I loved the separate sections for Soups, and Stews and Chilies, which are my fave especially this time of year (fall/winter).
My biggest complaint was the lack of color photos. I would've liked to see a photo for every recipe.
Singles' Soup
"Cheesy" Potato Soup
Creamy Sweet Potato and Vegetable Stew
June 2, 2020
Dismal, awful, flavorless, unsatisfying 'food'. I don't care what your ethical stance or weight loss goal is, you need fat in SOMETHING for your food to be nutritionally complete and to actually make you feel satisfied.
A depressed person with a box of pasta, can of beans, and bag of frozen vegetables could make dinner while crying and the result would be identical to some recipe in this book. It is that bad.
There is so little seasoning - herbs, spices, anything with flavor. Most recipes start with onions, carrots, and garlic, and then add one other vegetable and one pinch of some spice blend that is too small to actually flavor the dish.
Most of the pasta recipes call for whole grain spaghetti, the worlds worst representative of whole grain foods AND pasta.
A depressed person with a box of pasta, can of beans, and bag of frozen vegetables could make dinner while crying and the result would be identical to some recipe in this book. It is that bad.
There is so little seasoning - herbs, spices, anything with flavor. Most recipes start with onions, carrots, and garlic, and then add one other vegetable and one pinch of some spice blend that is too small to actually flavor the dish.
Most of the pasta recipes call for whole grain spaghetti, the worlds worst representative of whole grain foods AND pasta.
June 12, 2014
I've found many vegan cookbooks to be inaccessible to someone who isn't committed to the lifestyle, and in that regard Forks Over Knives is a breath of fresh air. Rather than a collection of side dishes flying in loose formation, many of the meals are familiar mainstays with non-traditional ingredients - wraps and stir fries and casseroles figure prominently.
Recommended if you enjoy cooking and own a good set of knives - as usual with vegetarian recipes, there's a lot of chopping and mincing and dicing. Most of the recipes I've tried have been flavorful enough to satisfy my non-vegan spouse (although the polenta pizza with tomatoes and basil and no shred of cheese in sight was *not* a hit). Many of them seem like they could be tweaked with a bit of dairy or eggs if you want a "gradual vegetarian" approach.
Recommended if you enjoy cooking and own a good set of knives - as usual with vegetarian recipes, there's a lot of chopping and mincing and dicing. Most of the recipes I've tried have been flavorful enough to satisfy my non-vegan spouse (although the polenta pizza with tomatoes and basil and no shred of cheese in sight was *not* a hit). Many of them seem like they could be tweaked with a bit of dairy or eggs if you want a "gradual vegetarian" approach.
July 23, 2018
I was hesitant about this one at first, because there are not nearly enough pictures, and the pictures that are there don't really look all that appealing to me. But there are actually quite a lot of recipes that sound really good, and that look pretty easy, and that don't involve a bunch of weird ingredients. I'm excited about trying some out soon!
--Update: I've now made several things from this book and they were all extremely...bland. Easy, but bland. I may have just tried all the wrong ones, but considering I've only been tempted to pull this out three times or so in more than three years, I think it's just time to retire this one. Cool if it works for you, but...not my style.
--Update: I've now made several things from this book and they were all extremely...bland. Easy, but bland. I may have just tried all the wrong ones, but considering I've only been tempted to pull this out three times or so in more than three years, I think it's just time to retire this one. Cool if it works for you, but...not my style.
August 2, 2020
A lot of good recipes in here! I borrowed this cookbook from the library via OverDrive, maybe I’ll purchase a copy.
July 11, 2017
I made the Taco salad, Guacamole, and breakfast scramble.
Very simple to make, but none had much flavor.
They just didn't have any soul for my palette. Nothing resonated with my taste buds.
There are so many amazing, healthy vegan cookbooks, I'm afraid this one doesn't seem to groove with my cooking style. BUMMER!
But we don't usually eat traditional american vegan food. We are definitely influenced by our lives around the Mediterranean. I also know people are wild for this book... I had to wait quite a while for it to come in Interlibrary Loan. So don't use me as your needle.
To sum up: If you use a bulb of garlic every couple of days, love jalapenos, and eat dijon mustard from the jar, this may not be the cookbook for you. If you are more of the Greens, moosewood palette- you will probably dig it quite a lot!
As always, check it out from the library first. Try it before you buy it.
Very simple to make, but none had much flavor.
They just didn't have any soul for my palette. Nothing resonated with my taste buds.
There are so many amazing, healthy vegan cookbooks, I'm afraid this one doesn't seem to groove with my cooking style. BUMMER!
But we don't usually eat traditional american vegan food. We are definitely influenced by our lives around the Mediterranean. I also know people are wild for this book... I had to wait quite a while for it to come in Interlibrary Loan. So don't use me as your needle.
To sum up: If you use a bulb of garlic every couple of days, love jalapenos, and eat dijon mustard from the jar, this may not be the cookbook for you. If you are more of the Greens, moosewood palette- you will probably dig it quite a lot!
As always, check it out from the library first. Try it before you buy it.
January 26, 2013
Another excellent plant-based cookbook. Recipes I've tried so far have all been very good and well received -- 1. Lotsa Vegetable Chowder, pg. 94..subbed frozen corn and mistakenly put the dill in with the other spices instead of at the end; still tasted great. 2. Grilled Portobello Mushrooms, pg. 173 and 3. Portobello Mushroom Tacos, pg. 137, yummy alternative to bean tacos. 4. Penne with Spicy Eggplant..a nice chunky sauce...I have extra that I will pair with farro or quinoa in place of pasta. 5. Minestrone, pg. 87..subbed Fire-Roasted tomatoes instead of regular and farro instead of basmati rice; very good - ate leftovers for lunch all week.
I make a lot of soups and stir-frys, and I like the fact that every recipe in this book doesn't start with sauteing everything in oil. Much less fat and calories using water, veggie broth and other liquids that are part of the recipe. Well done!
I make a lot of soups and stir-frys, and I like the fact that every recipe in this book doesn't start with sauteing everything in oil. Much less fat and calories using water, veggie broth and other liquids that are part of the recipe. Well done!
February 23, 2014
I love the movie and had to buy the book based on that alone, but am not regretting it! This book is particularly good for people who want recipes that are not oily, soy-based or full of store bought cheeses and things. The recipes use simple ingredients and support a healthy diet- whereas some cookbooks go for tasty, but not always healthy, options, the recipes here are all going to help those with weight or health issues because they avoid oils, sugars, and artificial ingredients whenever possible BUT still appeal to the taste buds and are desirable, if you want a healthy cookbook this is definitely the one to choose! I do wish, however, it had more photos and they weren't in the middle of the book- I prefer the recipe and photo go together to draw me into wanting to make it.
March 28, 2020
I return to this book from time to time, reiterating this important message for myself; plant food is superior to the standard American diet.
I use quite a few of the recipes for both myself, as a diabetic, and for my family. Thankfully the recipes included are generally quick, flavourful, and require no specialty ingredients. I do tweak the vast majority of recipes to suit a low carb diet (again, I’m diabetic), so those wanting low carb plant based recipes should be confident in the kitchen, or willing to play around with the ingredient lists.
It should be noted that this is a plant-based diet recipe book, not an ethical vegan book. The main focus is on better health, tho all recipes are suitable for all vegans.
I use quite a few of the recipes for both myself, as a diabetic, and for my family. Thankfully the recipes included are generally quick, flavourful, and require no specialty ingredients. I do tweak the vast majority of recipes to suit a low carb diet (again, I’m diabetic), so those wanting low carb plant based recipes should be confident in the kitchen, or willing to play around with the ingredient lists.
It should be noted that this is a plant-based diet recipe book, not an ethical vegan book. The main focus is on better health, tho all recipes are suitable for all vegans.
October 4, 2012
o far everything I have made has been really good! Baby & Hubby approved!!!
1) Hearty Dal Soup (pg.100) very mild but totally satisfying.
2) Mushrooms, Kale, & Potatoes (pg. 142) Rocking good!!! This one helped my clean out my veggie drawer :) Must add Siracha! I doubled the recipe and the next day we ate it for breakfast with an egg, sunny side up as a topper. De-lish!
This is a great book if you want to learn how to start cooking vegetarian meals!!!!
1) Hearty Dal Soup (pg.100) very mild but totally satisfying.
2) Mushrooms, Kale, & Potatoes (pg. 142) Rocking good!!! This one helped my clean out my veggie drawer :) Must add Siracha! I doubled the recipe and the next day we ate it for breakfast with an egg, sunny side up as a topper. De-lish!
This is a great book if you want to learn how to start cooking vegetarian meals!!!!
May 3, 2020
Wholesome recipes for beginners in the kitchen who want to lose weight - it does what it says on the tin. The breadth of dishes and styles covered is unusually large to cater for all tastes, but the recipes are a quite basic and lacking in decadence. It provides a lot of starting points but if I wanted to make a really good "X" I would not take the recipe from this cookbook - the lack of pictures doesn't help. There are a few nice recipes by the guest chefs.
December 27, 2014
Super healthy vegan and oil free
The recipes look easy enough, but many are still unattractive. I don't think I will ever be hardcore enough to want to eat most of these. Still, some, occasionally, may be good.
The recipes look easy enough, but many are still unattractive. I don't think I will ever be hardcore enough to want to eat most of these. Still, some, occasionally, may be good.
July 29, 2016
Good book. Some of the recipes could use some more spices to improve the taste as they are somewhat bland.
May 31, 2017
There are some good recipes in this! I hate cooking so that might be a struggle but at least I've found some now breakfast and lunch ideas.
June 8, 2022
Some of the recipes were fun to make. My problem.. some of the ingredients I've never ever heard of.
May 18, 2013
Best, easiest cook book to follow and plenty of energy to clean up the messes afterwards. Wish there were more pictures But then I guess it would spoil the fun of the surprise of creating it your self. All these recipes are fresh, healthy, healing foods that are and has been bringing more energy and balance to my life! Thank you for writing this helpful price of art! I use these recipes everyday.
September 26, 2012
This one definitely rivals Veganomicon: The Ultimate Vegan Cookbook. Isa's desserts look phenomenal, per usual. I copied several recipes. I'm excited about a new option for vegan mac n cheese.
February 3, 2015
Plant strong! Almost uniformly excellent recipes. Highly recommended for all. Great for people considering going vegan or vegetarian.
October 14, 2012
lots of good ideas here
February 24, 2013
Not impressed with the recipes in this book. I'm very interested in healthier eating, but the recipes we tried just didn't taste good.
June 30, 2013
Loads of healthy, delicious recipes.
January 29, 2015
Excellent cookbook! I even found recipes for the grandkids! If you're going to improve your health or just eating more healthy, this is the cookbook for you. I suggest watching the movie too!
April 4, 2017
Excellent cookbook for a plant-based diet. Wish there were some more pictures.
November 16, 2020
Great book if you’re interested in starving, blandly, I might add.
March 23, 2024
This is far too healthy of food to be enjoyed.
Displaying 1 - 30 of 193 reviews