The Wicked Healthy Cookbook: Free. From. Animals.

by Chad Sarno, Derek Sarno, Woody Harrelson (Foreword)

THE WICKED HEALTHY COOKBOOK presents a simple game plan endorsed by every doctor and health organization in the world: eat more plants. Chefs Chad and Derek Sarno are among the world's foremost authorities on plant-based cooking and THE WICKED HEALTHY COOKBOOK shares their secrets for making killer meals.
THE WICKED HEALTHY COOKBOOK is unlike any other book on the market, and takes the badass vegan moniker to a whole new level, with sumptuous recipes and equally gorgeous photographs. The chefs include must-have tips on everything from cooking oil-free (if you're into that) to organizing an efficient kitchen. Featured throughout are informational sidebars and innovative cooking techniques such as pressing and searing mushrooms until they reach a rich and delicious meat-like consistency. It's all of the flavor and texture without any of the guilt!
Celebrating the central role of beautiful, crave-able food for our health and vitality, Chad and Derek give readers 129 recipes for everyday meals and fancy dinner parties alike and also show us how to kick back and indulge now and then, with drool-inducing recipes like Sloppy BBQ Jackfruit Sliders with Slaw, New England Style "Lobstah" Pie, and Grilled peaches with Vanilla Spiced Gelato and Mango Sriracha Caramel. That's all part of the plan: Shoot for 80% healthy and 20% wicked, and you'll be 100% sexy: That's the Wicked Healthy way.

Genres: Cookbooks, Food, Cooking, Vegan, Nonfiction, Vegetarian, Reference

320 pages, Hardcover

Published May 8, 2018

Reviews

[Debbi · Rating 3 out of 5]

Aside from the cover, which gives me the creeps, this is a beautiful cookbook. The format is great and there are so many creative ideas my head is spinning. This is a cookbook for the confident cook with access to speciality ingredients. I wish they had used more testers. I made the hot chocolate lentil and grilled asparagus tacos. It calls for black lentils which I love. The recipe calls for very little liquid and a short cooking time. The lentils need almost twice the amount of time they recommend and about double the liquid that said, the dish with a little tinkering was delicious. The brownies had the same issue, they needed more almond milk or water, and again the finished product was good with some adjustment. The other issue is the ingredients. I live in Eugene OR so I didn't have trouble finding what I needed, but many of the ingredients were expensive. This is a great idea book for special occasions. I'm sure I'll have fun with the filled pasta and the drinks look great too.

[Daisy · Rating 5 out of 5]

This cookbook is next level awesome. The information in the first 50 pages is game changing!

[Ashley Chew · Rating 3 out of 5]

I was SO excited for this cookbook. I have tried and loved recipes from the Wicked Healthy blog so I was really anticipating this cookbook, I thought for sure it would be the cookbook of the year for me. Sadly that is not the case. I got this book on the day it was released and have since tried several recipes. None of them were anything to write home about. They were either really bland or very garlicky (and I even reduced the garlic amount). While the recipes don’t lack for imagination they have definitely lacked in flavor.
Another thing to note is that there are a LOT of harder to find ingredients in this book. I knew going in that there would be a lot of mushroom recipes since that is what they favor. So I knew some of those recipes, the ones that call for Lobster mushrooms and such, would be ones I would skip. Although I did order some Dried Black Fungus mushrooms online for one of the pasta recipes. That was probably one of the least flavorful recipes I tried.
Here are just a few of the ingredients I think are hard to find or very expensive (at least in upstate ny): Black Garlic, wood ear mushrooms, lobster mushrooms, white balsamic vinegar, lions main mushrooms, Pok Pok Som Chinese celery drinking vinegar, maitake mushrooms, Banana Blossoms, fermented black beans.
I am a pretty seasoned cook and these are just a few that I found hard to come by. For someone with less cooking knowledge or time there were a bunch of other things that would probably be hard to get.
It is a very beautiful book and it has lots of good info in the front. I just wish that for a book that requires lots of the more obscure ingredients and quite a bit more work in the kitchen that the recipes would taste a little better.

[JSter · Rating 5 out of 5]

This book was a game-changer for me! It's written in a fun, personable, relatable manner, and packs in a ton of tips for setting up a kitchen, eating in a life-affirming way, and making it simple and easy to create good meals on the daily. It's also gorgeous--lots of great, quality pics of the food and the authors.

The message: eat plants, pack in the flavor (they show you how w/o adding a bunch of fat/calories/crap), and cook in batches. That way, you're not slaving away in the kitchen day after day, but rather creating a bunch of healthy, ready-t0-go options that'll be at your fingertips throughout the week. You'll become a healthier, more-conscious eater by following this approach!

This book has taught me how to organize my kitchen space and is teaching me (hey, I've got a lot to learn) how to think so that I can create my own meals w/o being a slave to the recipe. I've also noticed that my fridge stays stocked and my kitchen stays clean since starting down this path. And I'm definitely cooking and preparing a lot more food at home these days.

One negative... all the dinero I'm spending at Sur la Table on new kitchen toys. And it's not because I need anything special for these recipes... just very enthusiastic about possibilities!

[Erin · Rating 4 out of 5]

I received this book through a giveaway, which I'm very grateful for. I've been vegan for 9 years, so plant based recipes aren't new to me. The recipes in this book, however, are a completely new arena to any vegan recipes I've seen before. These recipes are something you would find in a 5 star restaurant, but the authors make them accessible to anyone who has a kitchen and is willing to put the time in to learn them. I look forward to trying them out and branching out from the easier meals I've been making. I recommend this book to anyone else who is looking for a challenge when it comes to plant-based cooking and doesn't mind going on a hunt for ingredients.

[Sydney Martin · Rating 4 out of 5]

This is a more sophisticated look at vegetarianism. I really liked the unique recipes that Chad & Derek presented. I also wholeheartedly agree with their outlook on "healthy" eating. Eat real foods, mostly plant-based. Don't feel bad when you eat a cookie! :)

"80/20: shoot for 80% healthy, 20% wicked and you’ll be 100% awesome"

[Rebecca · Rating 5 out of 5]

The absolute best cookbook I have ever purchased (vegan or otherwise). This is everything a cookbook should be. Not a single recipe in here is boring or space filler, yet not too many of them are so complex they can’t easily be made or require unattainable ingredients.

I highly recommend this.

Thank you Chad, Derek, and David.

[Jodi · Rating 3 out of 5]

Beautiful book. Recipes are too complicated and ingredients too hard to find for what I want to cook at home daily.

[Ruth · Rating 3 out of 5]

Two chefs from New England (they are oddly reluctant to say from which state) have made a successful career out of macho vegan food. The cover of their cookbook shows the torso of a man in an red splattered apron, holding a bunch of beets in one hand and a cleaver in the other. Perhaps a photo from their recipe called "beet blood"? Yes. They serve grilled eggplant with it. Smoked with applewood chips and served with store-bought non-dairy yogurt. Meh.

I believe I found this cookbook because I was looking for recipes for King Oyster mushroom scallops. They have a lot of intriguing looking recipes for mushrooms. I'd really love to make them all, especially the king oyster mushroom satay with peanut-ginger sauce.

Yet I found it difficult to pick a recipe to try. Many of the ingredients here are difficult to acquire, expensive, or high in fat. I guess I wouldn't mind the latter if I could digest cashews without getting sick. What is up with vegan chefs and cashews? What is up with all chefs and beets?

I don't think even in Boston, where we have markets selling everything, that it's going to be easy to find banana blossoms, lobster mushrooms, Lion's Mane mushrooms, sorrel, or shiso leaves. (Some of the other mushrooms, like Maitakes, I can definitely source, but that's because I am always on the hunt! I've been looking for sorrel in farmer's markets since Molly Katzen included a recipe for schav in The Enchanted Broccoli Forest, even though my parents said that they remembered schav from their childhoods and wished they could forget.) It's really obvious that this comes from being a celebrity chef--one of the Sarno bros. cooked for Woody Harrelson.

There were a lot of nested recipes, where you had to make a whole recipe in order to have a basic ingredient for another one, as I mentioned above. Yet there were no recipes for vegan pantry items, like faux-sage. Instead the Sarno bros recommend the most expensive brand I know of, Field Roast. This is probably because one of them has a contract with Whole Foods. The other has a line of foods at Tesco.

Anyway, great photos and some great sounding recipes that I hope to try someday when I am rich or lucky.

[Robin Tobin (On the back porch reading) · Rating 4 out of 5]

Who knew you could do so much with plant based foods... This is quite the cookbook!!!!

[Mystical Enchantress · Rating 4 out of 5]

So many great recipes. I love the pages they created that had variation ideas such as the stuffed avocado or mac & cheese layout.

[Sylvia Munoz · Rating 5 out of 5]

Wickedly Awesome Book

Enjoyed the cookbook this is not your typical plant based cookbook the taste and textures also how it looks matter like the book said healthy food does not need to taste bad. Now time to start cooking

[Susannah · Rating 4 out of 5]

Everything in this book looks badass and delicious. The few recipes I've tried have been easy to follow and deliver maximum flavor. Minus one star because recipes include garnish ingredients and I never have time to read the instructions before I head to the store.

[Julie · Rating 5 out of 5]

If you are vegan, cook for vegans, or are just interested in learning how to incorporate more plants into your diet, you must read this book. The recipes are flat-out delicious and if you like to cook, you will enjoy all of the fun techniques and flavors used by these very innovative chefs.

[Sarah · Rating 3 out of 5]

A little disappointing actually, a lot of the recipes did not appeal to me at all- really weird flavors combinations on some of them, but I did get a few recipes out of it.

[Zack · Rating 4 out of 5]

Goodreads Giveaway - There are sooooo many cool things to make in this cookbook. The photos are excellent and recipes cover a wide range of things to eat. I've got a fair number of vegetarian/vegan cookbooks, and if you were to browse through this one quickly without knowing the title, you probably wouldn't realize that there's no meat; this looks like food everyone would want to eat. My only major complaint about this book is that it does rely on some products which can be hard to find - an example is the mushrooms they use; they include mushrooms which I've never even heard of let alone seen in any store. But, if you think creatively many solutions abound. Great recipes for both meatless Mondays or for parties with friends who happen to be vegetarian. Recommended.

[Molly · Rating 2 out of 5]

Mine had a different cover and was the reason I checked it out. There are some recipes I hope to try, but many of these were a bit too involved for my level of need. Example- a really good-looking recipe seemed straightforward, but involved using a "cheese" sauce that required overnight cashew soaking, and a homemade gravy that also required overnight cashew soaking. Basically, looks great but involves more work than I generally want to commit to a meal. There is a kimchi mayo that looks easy and kind of amazing, though, so we'll see what happens there.

[Book Grocer · Rating 5 out of 5]

Purchase The Wicked Healthy Cookbook here for just $15!

If you're looking for plant based meals that are restaurant quality, this is your book. Great recipes and cooking techniques for the modern vegan, with a touch of humour, this is definitely one for the collection.

Alicia, The Book Grocer

[Cherie · Rating 4 out of 5]

This book is not what I needed, but might be great for a lot of others - so many great basics, esp for beginner vegans. Some of these recipes were way more work than I am interested in, but some sound quite yummy.A lot of personal stories and touches, and I can see people really connecting with this book. Amazing photography.

[Cherise · Rating 3 out of 5]

The recipes aren't very simple and some of the ingredients are difficult to find.

[Alicia Brosseau · Rating 1 out of 5]

Most of the recipes in this book are so expensive to make! Definitely some good ideas, just way too expensive making it not worth the effort.

[Aja Marsh · Rating 3 out of 5]

if you're looking for fancy, upscale vegan recipes with a sense of humor, check this one out!

[Diane · Rating 3 out of 5]

It’s got good recipes...for a chef. 🤷🏼‍♀️ Most of the recipes are pretty complex and time consuming. If that’s your thing then you’ll love this cookbook, if not, then you won’t!

[Brianna Sowinski · Rating 2 out of 5]

If I had personal chefs and was rich af I would eat like this too. High end vegan is too much for this pleb.

[Dmytro Safonov · Rating 5 out of 5]

Great vegan cookbook

Exciting recipes, sauces that I want to try and delicious pickle ideas. Can’t wait to execute it all. Highly recommend

[Gaby · Rating 3 out of 5]

This looks really good. Some questionable things but overall good.

[Jeanne · Rating 5 out of 5]

Copied a few recipes

[l · Rating 5 out of 5]

so good we love

[Jenn · Rating 5 out of 5]

Amazing plant based recipes that make you feel better being human. 💙

[Deb Yates Bunnell · Rating 4 out of 5]

mushrooms and more

A great vegetarian cookbook with many recipes and sauces. Great variety of mushroom recipes. I am looking forward to exploring the variety of food.