The Single Vegan: Simple, Convenient and Appetizing Meals for One

by Leah Leneman

An array of delicious, simple, and convenient recipes, all suitable for one person.

Genres: Cookbooks, Vegan, Nonfiction, Vegetarian, Food

127 pages, Paperback

First published January 1, 1989

About the author

Her first career was as a stage actress in New York. Leah then wrote Vegan cookery books, before studying at the University of Edinburgh, obtaining a degree in history followed by doctoral research on social life on the Atholl estate in the eighteenth century

Her focus was on women’s history and Scottish history.

Reviews

[Bernadette · Rating 5 out of 5]

Very well-thought out, well arranged guide for vegans cooking just for themselves, or for small family group with tasty recipes easily doubled to feed more. Seems easier to upside recipes than down size, & this book is helpful in doing so. The author is European, recipes are metric, and American measurements are included with each recipe, along with the American names of ingredients where they differ.
Extensive introduction explains adapting recipes for suffering meals of the day, breakfasts, lunches, dinners; grocery shopping: quantities to buy, substitutions, storage, staples.
Makes it easy to eat vegan on a budget, even more so than some of the newer books being published on budget conscious veganism.
Recipes are arranged seasonally, spring/summer, fall/winter. And by week, with shopping lists provided for what to buy for that week's meals, & what's likely to be already in hand in staples or from previous week. The more time consuming recipes are for weekend meals, or whenever there is more time to cook. References are given for subsequent usage when all of an ingredient won't be used in a one recipe, like use half a head of cauliflower now & the rest in this other recipe later in the week.
Yet, each recipe can stand on its own, if you choose to use it as regular cookbook, instead of planning week of meals.
Small book, only 125 pages, No Pictures, good index.
Older book, published in 1989. Found it in a used bookshop. Worth seeking out. Highly recommend.

[Kim Browers · Rating 1 out of 5]

I was thinking I'd get some healthy, small-portioned, easy winners from this book. However, while it's vegan, most of the recipes had some kind of gluten, and I'm attempting to go gluten-free. I did try one recipe, and it was fairly bland. I'm going to let this one go.

[Caitlin · Rating 5 out of 5]

This cookbook has been one of my staples since I was in my early 20s. The meals are laid out in weekly plans, so you use up produce before it goes bad. The portions are big enough that if you've skipped a meal, you'll be satisfied and if you eat light, you'll have left overs. Lacto-ovo veg heads can substitute foods easily so you can use cow or goat cheese in place of soy, etc. Love, love, love this book!

[Courtney · Rating 4 out of 5]

I used this book all the time when I lived alone. I actually made it all the way through the book by doing the weekly menus, and the shopping list kept my food budget low. I doubled the recipes so I had leftovers for lunches at work. It's a little heavy on the mushrooms, so I haven't used it much when cooking for my husband since he hates mushrooms. Some of the recipes were rather bland, so I added herbs and spices and they were fine.

[Susan · Rating 3 out of 5]

Most of these recipes seemed to make a LOT of food for one person, unless a main dish was all you were eating for that meal. Many sounded quite good, though it drives me nuts when recipes call for 1 T tomato paste. What on earth to do with the rest of the container?!?

[Mari · Rating 4 out of 5]

I have had a couple different editions of this book. A third edition, updated, would be welcome.

The author gives helpful weekly meal plans, which are great for those who want to cook from scratch (or nearly from scratch) but don't want to waste food.

[J F · Rating 4 out of 5]

This, we find very helpful in encouraging portion regulation ... and the recipes as sized perfectly for on-the-go lunches!