The Wicked Healthy Cookbook - Review

This week I delved into a more shocking looking cookbook than I usually have laying around. The Wicked Healthy Cookbook by chefs and brothers Chad and Derek Sarno and author and collaborator David Joachim is Free. From. Animals. but that didn't keep these edgy chefs from splattering "beet blood" on the cover with a meat cleaver. Their approach to food could also be considered shocking because these chefs created robust, seared, smoky, savory, saucy and delicious looking recipes with the simplest most basic foods.

I'm not sure if they did this on purpose, but one of the first pages that both my husband and turned to in this book was their plant based bacon page. It is a two page spread of savory looking slices of foods like carrots, tofu, eggplant and other plants that had been "bacon-ized".

With the title like Wicked Healthy, you may have guessed that these guys are from the New England area so there are foods like Lobastah Mushroom Chowdah and New England Lobster Roll. They are also co-founders of the famed Wicked Kitchen line of foods at Tesco. Derek was also Senior Global Executive Chef at Whole Foods and their recipes pretty much take you around the world with noodles, egg rolls, poutine, and as well as familiar American like pizzas and burgers. With their impressive resumes as chefs, entrepreneurs, restaurateurs, it is not surprising that they pretty much wrote the plant based bible.

There is a long list of recipes we want to try from this book. Grilled Eggplant Tenderloins with Beet Blood and Ninja Nuts is one. Sweet Potato Gratin with Crispy Onions and Rosemary is another. We also love their shareable plates like King Statay with Spicy Peanut Ginger Sauce and sandwiches like Kickass Plant Based Reuben on Dark Rye. There are sumptuous looking desserts and they also have a handful of great ideas for food bars for family meals or entertaining.

Beyond the eye catching cover art, this book is part textbook with everything from their pantry staples to what types of kitchen gadgets you will need to get by. The other part of this book is the recipes which use their cutting edge cooking techniques like how to give mushrooms a meat-like texture, and sauces, spices, and marinades that add that rich and flavorful quality to the beautiful, healthy, flavorful foods and spices they use. It is all tied together with pro tips, family recipes, stories, and gorgeous photography. The coolest thing is that most of their recipes are made with just a few simple ingredients.

I would highly recommend this book for a vegetarian, a new vegan, especially for those that consider themselves vegan foodies, or someone who is following a plant-based diet as well as someone who is looking to simply switch to more healthier habits or slim down.

Also, if you are trying to get your man to go vegan and I think this book is perfect with its kick-ass comfort foods, sandwiches, and grilling ideas.

Get your copy of The Wicked Healthy Cookbook on Amazon

(affiliate link)

We were provided a copy of this book in order to write this review. All thoughts are our own.