Meatless Mondays: Isa Does It

Say it Rah-shay By Rachee Feb 17, 2014 1 Comment

A while back I was sent a copy of a vegan cookbook, Isa Does It: Amazingly Easy, Wildly Delicious Vegan Recipes for Every Day of the Week by Isa Chandra Moskowitz. Thumbing through the book I started making plans for a new diet for myself and The Bee but then I froze. “Going vegan” seemed to be a thing that sounded like a good idea but felt like a restriction and almost punitive so we put Isa on the shelf for a while and forgot all about her. A few weeks ago I decided to revisit the idea of meatless meals. A friend invited me to lunch and served the most delicious root veggie soup and my cousin decided that she would try a vegan lifestyle for 30 days.

Isa presents a vegan lifestyle in an easy, non-judgmental fashion. The recipes are easy to follow, clear and possible. Other cookbooks I have read seem to have ingredients that are so foreign to me that I am intimidated. Isa takes familiar ingredients and created recipes that will be easy to follow.

Browsing through the book is fun. The book has fun text popping off of the page, beautiful pictures and clear instructions for making your meals. Isa doesn’t use a lot of cooking jargon instead opting to make the book feel professional but familiar.

There are tips and tricks to building your pantry, a very comprehensive reference for tofu with clear instructions on how to prepare it and plentiful meal idea which are very appealing.

My cousin has since given up her vegan challenge but I decided to take on a challenge of my own. Each Monday I will work through Isa Does it and create meatless meals.In the past when I declared that I would lead a meatless lifestyle I was ill prepared, substituting lots of beans and bread for meals. Eventually I would find myself drawn back to meat because I really didn’t know any other way. Now I feel as if I have a clear plan and direction.