The VB6 Cookbook: More than 350 Recipes for Healthy Vegan Meals All Day and Delicious Flexitarian Dinners at Night

This book adds a number of recipes to Bittman's 2013 book that argued we should basically be vegans during the day, eating high quality (i.e., not a lot of processing) plant based food, and then consider adding moderate amounts of meat, poultry, fish and dairy to our meals at dinner (dessert included). This approach derive's from Bittman's own experience (told here and in his earlier books) of being a rather unhealthy middle age man who was given the choice of eating better or going on a lifetime drug regime.The approach of eating more of a plant-based diet makes good sense, both for health reasons and also the environmental/animal welfare issues presented well in Bittman's "Food Matters" book. This book recaps the VB6 book and then presents a good set of recipes to help implement this way of eating (I prefer not to use the word "diet," given its connotation of short-run approaches to weight loss). Like all of Bittman's cookbooks, the recipes are very clearly written, with lists of (usually not hard to find) ingredients and then necessary steps to prepare a dish, along with estimates of preparation time. There are perhaps 100 basic recipes here (organized around breakfast, lunch, snacks, dinner, and dessert) with 2 or 3 variations presented for each one. Bittman is a wonderful writer, and each recipe is introduced with a short paragraph that usually makes it quite appealing.Bittman here and elsewhere (including pages of the New York Times) argues for (mostly) plant-based eating with minimally processed food. I suppose my only issue with this book is that it puts a particular structure on when you are vegan and when you are not. Someone might, for example, like to have eggs at breakfast and not wait until 6 to have some cheese. I would think you could still eat this mix of foods throughout the day and meet the goal of less meat and better quality food if you are watchful.This is a very good cookbook for vegan dishes before 6 and good dishes for dinner that don't use too much meat. It is a great cookbook for what it is (and can be enjoyed by most people, whatever their eating) but for me is a bit narrow. I prefer the approach in Bittman's Food Matters book (and cookbook), which really is pretty much the same but without the element of being vegan and then possibly switching at dinner.Whether or not you go for this specific approach to eating or prefer something a bit more flexible, it is a great resource of good recipes that can only help improve the quality of your eating.

I have always been sort of a hybrid between health-obsessed eater and foodie so when Bittman, one of my favorite NYT food writers penned a nutrition program and cookbook, the book was destined to appear on my shelf. Bittman was searching for a way to follow his physician's recommendation of a plant-based diet with his Manhattan foodie lifestyle when test results indicated he was prediabetic with high LDL and low HDL blood cholesterol panel. While I don't have any medical issues nor a weight issue, I decided to give The VB6 program a spin. As a writer who blogs about nutrition issues while reviewing restaurants for a magazine, I was looking for a way to limit my intake of animal products with "wiggle" room for an occasional filet mignon or some other delicacy prepared by a top chef. The rules are simple. No meat/chicken/fish/dairy before 6; no sugar/white flour/white rice, etc. And after 6 pm, the rules are off. I have lost a few pounds in the week since starting the pretty effortless program. I find I don't always want to indulge in the evening. Sometimes, I eat a large salad or grilled vegetables but it's nice to know nothing is off limits should I be at a party, on a date, or a restaurant review. I have tried and enjoyed Bittman's recipes and am excited to try more. For anyone looking to decrease their carbon footprint, eat a primarily plant-based diet, but still enjoy a foodie lifestyle, VB6 is the solution.

This is an excellent cookbook with many nutritious and delicious recipes. I'm taking off one star only for the reason that -- as a Kindle download -- it lacks the functionality I've come to expect from a collection of recipes. I get most of my recipes from America's Test Kitchen, and my point is not based on the relative quality of the recipes but the fact that ATK's website offer the ability to print and bookmark recipes, where a Kindle book does not. My recipes go from selection to printing to the kitchen, and every sheet of paper has oil or soy sauce or a rip in it after I'm done. What can I say -- I'm a little passionate when I cook.I'm not putting my iPad through a grease bath or worse, so the process of using the recipes from this fine collection is not as much fun or functional. I'd pay a little more for a recipe book download if I could print and make a custom index so I could review at leisure and select those that I want to make.

If you've already read the book (or been on the diet hamster wheel for ages), this is a good companion. It explains his VB6 theory then goes into recipes. There's something for everyone I imagine.

Mark Bittman makes eating a plant-based diet accessible and delicious. The basic structure of his recipes is elegant--not a one too many ingredient, not one less. The recipes also allow for one's own food preferences and creativity with his lists of variations on the basic recipe as a guide. For example, Green Apple Stir Fry with Cashews notes the variations: Plum Stir fry with Pecans; Apricot Stir Fry with Almonds (yum!); Cantaloupe Stir Fry with Pistachios; Grapefruit Stir Fry with Coconut; and Pineapple Stir Fry with Hazelnuts. For anyone venturing on a plant-based diet, this book is essential and provides a 4 week Vegan Before 6 eating plan. For me, who already eats vegan, this cookbook is an exciting addition to my collection--and the 4 week plan gives me an abundance of recipes, ideas and inspiration. Mark Bittman is a major player in changing the way we eat for the health of ourselves and our planet.

So many interesting and tasty recipes to try, can't wait to get cooking and start healthy eating

Means I don’t have to cook two different meals because my husband is not committed to a plant based way of eating. Easy to adjust to when I am going out to dinner.I feel better already. Lots of great ideas for healthy eating!

This book is missing pages 160-175. Where they should be, pages 177-192 are instead printed twice.

What a great collection of great eating!! I loved the ease of the recipe preparation and the tips as to substitutions, freezing or storing in general of each. Just a wonderful book and I know it will be a favorite of mine for many years.

Easy to prepare and very satisfying recipes.