Cooking the Whole Foods Way: Your Complete, Everyday Guide to Healthy, Delicious Eating with 500 VeganRecipes , Menus, Techniques, Meal Planning, Buying Tips, Wit, and Wisdom

The first copy I have of this book is in paperback which I bought around 10 years ago and has been used so much it is now in tatters. Not long after buying a kindle last year, I was really pleased to discover there is a kindle version (until then I'd even thought about buying another paperback copy) and I decided to get it as a back-up to the book in case any of the loose pages went missing. When I went to download it, I read that this is the updated version (done by the author, Christina Pirello) - added bonus!As someone who is very familiar with the paperback version, I know exactly what I need to type in to do a recipe search and can easily find what I'm looking for - I do wonder if it would be so easy to use if someone didn't have that familiarity and this was their first venture into whole foods.About the book: Christina Pirello has done an excellent job in explaining the whole foods diet, how to organize menus, how to shop, what types of foods to use, cooking methods... there is a mix of simple recipes to more complex ones to suit every occasion and different skills... I really appreciate the way she shares her enthusiasm for food and have used so many of her recipes, either as they are or making adjustments to suit my taste and availability of ingredients; some ingredients I have never been able to find here and I have loved the challenge of coming up with something more locally available to produce a wonderful meal.Over the years, I have recommended this book and Christina's site to so many people - now my sister has just bought a copy and I can't wait to see what she thinks!

I really enjoy watching the show to get ideas for new recipes. But when I got the book, I was really disappointed. Obviously, Mrs. Pirello doesn't have a bunch of children running around to have to cook for (THE QUANTITIES HER RECIPES YIELD ARE NOT SUFFICIENT FOR MORE THAN A COUPLE OF PEOPLE). In order to make enough of anything for a family, you will need to take out a second mortgage on your house. As many others have already commented, MANY of the recipes call for items that you WILL NOT find in just any old store. Of course that means they will be VERY expensive, especially when you have to double or triple recipes.Also as others have commented, the recipes usually take a lot of prep time and/or cooking time. The few recipes that we actually have tried are very good. I just don't have time for them! It's very frustrating and almost enough to put me off trying to eat vegan. Perhaps when my children are grown we will be able to get our money's worth out of this book.

I became vegan a few months ago after reading "The Kind Diet" I tried many of the recipes in that book and found most of them bland. I am so glad I found "Cooking the Whole Foods Way"! I've made many of the recipes and they have all been fantastic! I love the upbeat and honest approach that Christina Pirello takes! It's a fun read with a ton of helpful information about Macrobiotics as well. It was getting tough for me to support my vegan lifestyle when I was making dinners that were bland for my fiance and I. Now, he always likes what I make and seems surprised that my meals are free of animal products. If you are considering going vegan or just need some inspiring/easy recipes, I would definitely recommend this book!

Always researching healing with foods. Saw Christine on a PBS show, and loved her bubbly personality. Originally ordered on my iPad, then bought the book. Wow, what a story. Anyway, love the details & menu plans. No not a complete advocate, as trying to get hubby (with RA) to follow is next to impossible, however do try & incorporate where I can. Reading this book, brought on additional research on pH, so also have "The Ultimate pH Soltion". Some of the receipts have ingredients that are not easy to find.

I love Christina's programs, and recipes. This cookbook is re-energizing my vegetarian diet of many years, which had become rather boring. I noticed some readers were upset about certain ingredients not sold in their cities. For those readers that live in remote areas where some items aren't available, it's perfectly okay to substitute something you prefer, OR, you can check out [...] for a long list of companies which sell organic vegetarian foods online. I have no connection with that site, other than using it, and I don't know Christina Pirello personally, though I'd love to meet her.l

Christina has been a vegetarian and then a vegan for a long time. When she says "this recipe will fool even the most finicky meat eaters", she's out of touch with reality.There were only a few recipes that I could bring myself to try. My husband is pretty picky, and a meat eater. I was looking for some ways to reduce meat consumption. These will NOT fool him...ever.The other problem with the book is that it assumes higher income, AND access to more rare foods than one will find in small, rural areas. The recipes have long, exotic ingredient lists. Each one is pretty expensive.I've enjoyed her PBS show but don't try more of the recipes for the same reason. I can't find or afford what she's cooking. And recently, she's starting having an odd musical interlude in her program that's totally annoying...but that's a different story...I like her, I like the concepts, I would probably eat it if she bought everything and cooked it...but hubby...no way. I need simpler, more accessible/affordable ingredients and recipes that stick to very few ingredients.

Everything I have cooked from this book so far I have been pleasantly surprised. I didn't know beans really aren't so bad! Took awhile to restock my pantry with all the good ingrediants. True many of the ingrediants she has are hard to find in a regular grocery store. However if you can find the store called "Whole Foods Market", you are all set! This store has about 95% of the ingrediants you need. Another great place to shop online is iherb, you will also find most ingrediants. I have for a long time desired to cook with whole grains and non processed foods, she is helping me to accomplish that. I look forward to the many more recipes I will make soon!

I had been looking to change my diet and vegan seems the way to go. The only problem I had was ideas to get a satisfying meal. This book has it all. I highly recommend this book if you want to venture into the vegan world!