3 1/2 stars

I feel like I am forever in search of a tasty, protein-rich vegetarian breakfast sans eggs that will keep me sated until lunch without taking a lot of time to prepare. I know, not asking much, right? And this is the reason why I frequently look for vegan recipes because I know they won't include eggs.

The Ultimate Vegan Breakfast Book offers a variety of breakfast recipes including smoothies, "breakfast to go," bowl breakfasts, "hot off the stove," as well as brunch recipes and a section of coffee and tea recipes. 

Personally, I never find smoothie recipes intriguing mainly because they're typically highly caloric and don't fill me up. Since the authors have opted not to include nutritional information, I really can't tell you if their smoothie recipes follow tradition or not. I can tell you that the ingredients for some of them don't fit my idea of breakfast. But that's me. I know a lot of folks love drinking their greens and avocado for breakfast. It is definitely healthy.

The porridge recipes to me don't offer much new, perhaps that's because I've been trying out new "bowl" recipes for weeks now trying to find something that will fill me up, have protein, and not be silly sweet. I am, however, intrigued by the use of buckwheat and will probably try out some of the buckwheat bowl recipes since buckwheat is high in protein.

The authors proclaim that kala namak, a black salt from South Asia, is their secret weapon for imparting an egg-like flavor to savory breakfast dishes. I have seen it used to make vegan egg salad and added to tofu scrambles so I'll probably track it down to add to some of my creations.

The savory lentil-leberwurst spread is definitely one recipe I'll try, as lentils are also high in protein. The beets on bagel, however, don't sound intriguing.

A lot of the recipes struck me as being on the sweet side, which is something I find I'm not interested in for breakfast. I suspect I may be in the minority on that one.

My digital copy of The Ultimate Vegan Breakfast Book doesn't include pictures, but from the blank spaces, I am led to believe that there are a lot of photographs accompanying the recipes, which is always welcome.
All in all, I suspect this cookbook would be desired by a lot of new vegans who are trying to find a load of healthy recipes in one place and perhaps not so much for those of us who have been constantly looking for different, filling and protein-rich breakfasts.

I received an ARC in exchange for an honest review.

It's okay.

Let me start out by saying that I feel like their reasoning for not including nutritional information is crap. So the method we have of calculating the calories in food right now is not 100% perfect. Fine. But it is the system we have and it does a roughly okay job for most people's needs. Their replacement scale of "light, "balanced", and "comfort food" is next to useless. What the hell does light mean? Is it low in calories? Fat? Sugar? Does it have a decent amount of iron or protein in it? Either use the system we have and give the nutritional information or leave it off entirely. And if they're going for scientific accuracy, then why mention the debatable merits of vitamin c in warding off colds. Most studies I've seen say that the prevention benefits are really only for those who are doing high endurance activities like soldiers or marathon runners. Their vaguely made up system just really bugged me in its uselessness.

Okay, on to the food. There were a lot of drinks. There's a whole section on smoothies to start out with and then later on there's a whole section on teas and coffees. When I think of a breakfast cookbook, I think of food, so the amount of drinks was kind of disappointing for me. As for the food, I bookmarked a couple recipes to try out but I didn't really see anything that stood out much in terms of being really interesting or creative.

Overall it's a pretty basic vegan breakfast cookbook with some flaws that really drove me nuts.

As a relatively new vegan convert, I'm always on the lookout for good, easy vegan recipes. Breakfast happens to have some of my favorite dishes so I was excited to get an ARC of The Ultimate Vegan Breakfast Book. My roommates and I tried out a few of the recipes and each were easy to follow and delicious! A great recipe book for any breakfast lover, regardless if you're vegan or not.

A while ago, I thought I might just try and fit back into my pre-baby pants. First, I decided NO MORE SUGAR. (spoiler alert: I still eat sugar). Then, I bought spandex jogging pants. I huffed and puffed around the block every day and I did the whole "clean eating" thing too. I do not fit into my pre-baby pants. (They went out of style, anyway). But you know what? I did kind of feel a bit...glowy. 

Full disclosure: I still can't wrap my head around vegan "sausage" or "eggs" or "cheese." I am a cheese-loving, too-much-bacon-loving, sugar-consuming lady. BUT The Ultimate Vegan Breakfast Book has a lot of good recipes that are delicious even for someone who isn't ready to jump into the full vegan movement. 

Smoothie Heaven

My favourite recipes in this book were the smoothies. While the milks are traditional nut milks, the smoothies turn out looking beautiful with the added bonus of being healthy too! In particular, I liked the blueberry almond milk smoothie, because it was flavourful and (if I'm being honest) not all that bogged down in "greens." (I do realize that "green smoothies" are healthy, but so often they end up looking like disgusting swamp water, which let's face it--it just isn't appetizing! In contrast, all of the smoothies in this book are lovely and worth slurping down. 

Breakfast Doughnuts Anyone? 

I'll admit it. I eat doughnuts for breakfast. Probably more than I should. If you're like me and you'd take doughnuts over kale-whatever-whatever smoothies any day of the week, then Horn & Mayer's "breakfast doughnuts" recipe might just be the answer to your sugar-coated prayers. They actually taste like doughnuts. Trust me--I wouldn't lie to you, fellow doughnut lovers. These baked doughnuts are delicious and well worth the time it takes to mix up the ingredients (which, for the record, aren't super hard to find). 

The Ultimate Vegan Breakfast Book feels like a win for vegans and non-vegans alike. It is most definitely a DIY DO if you have an interest in trying out some vegan recipes.

Absolutely beautiful photography. Book is laid out in a practical manner. While I am not a vegetarian I did enjoy the recipes as well as the tips scattered throughout. Contains several nice tutorials, including one on tea and one on coffee. Worth the read.

Each morning, I eat and enjoy breakfast, but I have a limited stable of alternatives--cereal, toast, maybe pancakes on a special day. To expand my repertoire, I was excited to read The Ultimate Vegan Breakfast Book, although I was a little skeptical. How could breakfasts fill an entire book? Wouldn’t there be a lot of repetition? I was delightfully surprised to have my expectations falsified.

Nadine Horn and Jörg Mayer, authors of The Ultimate Vegan Breakfast Book write Eat This!, the leading vegan food blog in Germany. Overall, the book is beautifully designed with lovely photographs, many of them taken from above the dishes which is something I don’t remember seeing in many cookbooks but which offered an enticing view of the dishes. The recipes themselves are easy to follow with clear instructions, and it’s surprising that this is a translation from German, the English is so seamless. Most of the ingredients are straightforward and easily accessible, though I was also introduced to maca powder and kala namak (black salt). Interestingly, the authors have opted not to include nutritional information due to problems in the methodology of calculating calories. Instead, the recipes are labeled as “light,” “balanced,” or “comfort food.” If relevant, the dishes are tagged as sugar, oil, and/or soy free, and tips provide helpful alternative ingredients or serving options.

Like most cookbooks, this one has introductory pages with pantry staples and equipment suggestions. Personally, I don’t drink tea or coffee, so those sections weren’t relevant to me, but the authors also had information on nuts, berries, and seeds, focusing on those with high nutritional value. I learned that raspberries are one of the oldest cultivated fruits in Europe. The authors explain that their recipes utilize quinoa, spelt and rye, oats, millet, and black rice. In the Tips and Tricks section, they include interesting information about breakfast traditions around the world.

I found so many recipes in this book I wanted to try! The smoothies look so colorful and delicious, they are all appealing. The “Buttermilk” Shake with Orange and Almonds look especially good to me and uses only three ingredients! In the Breakfast to Go section, I want to make nearly every dish. I am eager to try the “Egg Salad” Sandwich and the Stuffed Parthas, a traditional breakfast in North India. One-Bowl-Wonders includes porridges, yes, even a chocolate-based one! There are also smoothie bowls which are interesting if not to my taste. Of course the Sweeter Side of Mornings appeals to me, with the Glazed Donuts taking center stage. The Weekend Brunch section offers the intriguing dishes Breakfast Frittata, Hash Brown BLTs, and Pesto Bread. A final section on Pantry staples provides instructions for rolls and bread, both sweet (e.g. hazelnut) and savory (e.g. Cashew Cheese) spreads, and “meat.”

With this book, I can rescue myself from my breakfast doldrums! I think it’s a great addition to any kitchen cookbook shelf but definitely something vegans should check out, especially if you are like me an in a rut with breakfast food.

Thank you to the author, publisher, and Netgalley for allowing me to preview this book. This is a yummy cookbook for those who are eating with the vegan lifestyle. I am not vegan, but I loved these recipes. Even the pickiest eater like me could find something they would like. Sounds delicious!

Yikes does this book have to start with photos of moldy lemons and dried out rhubarb? Guys, this is not appetizing. I am holding the ARC though, and maybe this will get fixed in the final edition.

This cookbook by Nadine Horn and Jörg Mayer is the second in their "The Ultimate Vegan" series. I very much enjoyed the earlier one and the recipes in this one is just as good, although the text is flawed. I wonder if they changed editors.

I am a meat lover but I enjoy learning new ways to approach food, and these two books are excellent. I applaud the authors work to avoid boring meals.

That being said, the text in front of me is flawed. Don't believe the nutrition information, much of which is not thoroughly researched. I noticed it first with hemp seed, which are said to be super nutritious with all essential amino acids. While not exactly false, hemp does not contain enough lysine and leucine to be significant. The caffeine content of green tea is not mentioned.

There is also some strange notion that black rice is unhulled. I am not sure what they could possibly mean by that. Black rice is a kind of glutinous (sticky) rice that is beautiful on the plate when you want a sticky rice but is not a direct substitute for non-glutinous rice. The hulls are removed by milling as in every other rice, else we could not eat it. The black surface of the grain is not polished off, if that is what they are talking about.

I wish that the recipes were not burdened with badges and "tips". Each recipe is labeled whether it contains gluten, sugar or soy. This could have been accomplished more beautifully in an index. Rather than list calories, the recipes are rated "light", "balanced" or "comfort" to help readers balance their energy intake. A couple of recipes high in hemp seeds and bananas that seem too hearty to fit into "balanced". Hemp seeds are full of fat and should be used knowledgably. Then on top of these badges, each recipe has a "tip", many of which are unneeded and many of which could have been added to the recipe intro or deleted altogether.

There are other annoyances. The discussion of a "Nordic" bagel (It's the addition of dill seems to make it "Nordic" but that's crazy.) ends with "Bye bye lox and schmear" which, of course, is yiddish.

So anyway, the thing to do is to use the recipes which are really really good, and ignore the text. Again, I am working from an ARC and maybe the editors will have fixed all this messiness by the time you buy the book.

https://www.amazon.com/gp/customer-reviews/R1R249J20ZSWG3/ref=cm_cr_getr_d_rvw_ttl?ie=UTF8&ASIN=1615194568

If you've been looking to add more plant-based dishes into your rotation I think this book will inspire you to cook. It has recipes for every type of breakfast eater, from the basic (think smoothies, muffins, and oatmeal) to the more adventurous (like the onion tart, and hash brown BLT).

I could not load all of this book, however I have been looking for something with these kind of recipes. What I can see is easier to follow than other similar books for those of us who are new.

I was surprised by how easy a lot of the ingredients are to get, and by how simple the recipes (I was able to view), were.

A great reference to add to a collection, or if you are just looking to replace a few breakfast options with healthier alternatives.

This is a well presented cookbook with some recipes for every taste. I used to operate a bed and breakfast so I'm probably a pretty tough critic when it comes to interesting dishes. I found nothing that blew my mind but plenty to keep the non-vegan members of my family from complaining when I am the one who gets to make breakfast. Definitely worth having in your collection.

That amazing cover sold me on THE ULTIMATE VEGAN BREAKFAST BOOK before I even turned to page one. What’s not to love about a stack of pancakes with a generous berry spread on top? And I found more to love inside, with 80 scrumptious plant-based recipes for the most important meal of the day. Hey, I NEVER skip breakfast, unless I’ve gotten up late and decide to have left-over pizza from our fave trattoria. But back to real breakfast, this super delicious guide will happily plant-ify your wake-ups with yummy healthful and diverse vegan recipes for drinks and meals ... from dairy-free pancakes and crepes, tofu-based omelets and breakfast burritos to innovative Miso Oatmeal, Chococcinos, Hearty Lentil Muffins, Oatmeal Popsicles, and more. Decided I’m eating breakfast for every meal today, thanks to THE ULTIMATE VEGAN BREAKFAST BOOK! 5/5

Pub Date 30 Oct 2018   

Thanks to the The Experiment and NetGalley for the review copy. Opinions are fully mine.

#TheUltimateVeganBreakfastBook #NetGalley

I am so so so bored with vegan breakfast recipes. They have been the same for years and nobody has done anything significantly different. I see the same smoothies, juices, smoothie bowls, grain bowls, overnight oat recipes, pancakes, waffles, faux-egg recipes, muffins, breads, over and over and OVER (all gluten-free, of course, so you need multiple flours for each recipe and you need to prepare for disappointment at the never-good-enough-as-wheat version of whatever flour-based food you are making). It's wild that there is a ton of variety in breakfast cuisine, and yet with vegan breakfast recipes...it's always the same. Yaaaaaaawn.

The only variation to vegan breakfast recipes this cookbook offers is that they use kala namak, aka black salt, in nearly every savory recipe in the book and call it their "secret weapon". Unfortunately, a quarter teaspoon of naturally smoked salt is not going to radically change a dish to make it new and different.

I'm a little surprised that the authors of the AMAZING cookbook, VBQ: The Ultimate Vegan BBQ Cookbook, wrote a dud like this. I would've expected them to provide a new and better take on vegan breakfast foods, but there are maybe three (3) entire recipes in this book that sound interesting enough for me to try. Womp womp.

I am not living the Vegan lifestyle, nor do I think about it. I really love dairy products and some meats too much. I do, however, have friends that follow, as closely as they are able, the Vegan food parameters. I have also been interested in what options there are for Vegans for breakfast foods. This title, when presented through NetGalley, seemed like something that touched on a few ideas that would interest me... and I am glad that I read through it.

I really appreciated the tea latte section. I love to drink and make different kinds of teas and experiment with flavor so, even a non-Vegan could appreciate that portion. The different kinds of foods looked beautiful in the photos they provided--a few of the ingredients were not familiar to me but the end result, at least the beauty of it, was spectacular.

Love eating vegan!! I’m not a vegan yet but I plan on getting there very soon!! These recipes are easy to follow and not hard to do at all. Picture quality is also amazing which is a great reason to buy a cookbook. I’ll definitely be adding this to my collection when it comes out!

I gotta admit Horn and Mayer have impressed me. It is really hard to put a new spin on cookbooks these days without getting so crazy you scare away your audience or staying too basic that readers become bored of the same old, same old.

The breakfast collection that Horn and Mayer compiled is a comprehensive guide to a plant-based diet that any omnivore will even be able to appreciate some mornings. The recipes are simple, but elevated to get you out of that breakfast time runt many vegan's find themselves stuck in.

NOW, can we all just take a minute to talk about the Lentil Muffins? I mean, I have read hundreds of cookbooks through the years, and never, not once, have I ever heard or had a lentil muffin. I was so thrown by this that I had to make it that same evening. And WHOA. Lentil Muffins are a real thing and you need them in your life.

I love that the authors took risks with their recipes and didn't stick to just smoothies, porridge, and muffins. Included are fresh baked breads, parathas, and homemade spreads. These recipes can seem intimating or alienating to some but not shying away from a challenge is what makes this book the ULTIMATE resource for vegans.

Variety is the spice of life.

Which brings me to today’s book, which, as the title reveals, is a cookbook with recipes for vegan breakfasts. Astute readers will have noticed that the authors are German; in fact, Nadine Horn and Jörg Mayer run an enormously successful food blog, Eat This! and have co-authored several books, two of which (including this one) have been translated into English.

I love breakfast. I am also notoriously unawake in the morning, so I greatly appreciate people writing down instructions to make tasty dishes with, so that I don’t have to crank up the still woozy brain cells too early just to come up with new smoothie ideas myself. Apart from the fact that any cover photo featuring a huge stack of syrup-drizzled pancakes is extremely appealing to me, I also quickly discovered several intriguing recipe ideas inside the book. Of course, that is not how things begin, because it never is, is it.

There is a lovely table of contents all the way up front to help you get your snoozy self geared up for your first meal of the day. Also helpful is the plethora of gorgeous photographs, and there are plenty. ‘A Perfect Start to the Day’ offers some ideas how to make the best of your morning, followed by some foods that will help you with that (no recipes yet). Next up are two excursions into everyone’s favorite brekkie drinks, coffee and tea. You’ll learn how to choose great tea (or coffee), how to store it, prepare it, and generally get the most bang for your buck. Personally, I disagree with Jörg on cold brew; I find it overrated and overpriced, be it store-bought or home-made. But I used the term ‘personally’ on purpose; you may love your cold brew for a variety of reasons. It is said to be easier on the stomach. The coffee and tea sections are the only ones that mention kitchen tools, and that’s a bit sad, because it requires me to place the usual caveat here: be sure to read all recipes and instructions before beginning. Some require a blender and/or a juicer, and unfortunately, no allowance is made for those who do not own either (but fear not, I do have a couple of tips for you… read on). Before moving on to the recipe section, you’ll find a page on Tips and Tricks, which is not particularly abundant, but does explain in a side bar why Nadine and Jörg have opted to leave out nutritional information.

The recipe section starts with easy smoothies, juices, and other refreshing drinks. We have tried the ‘Tropical Energy with Grapefruit and Coconut’, the ‘Super Antioxidant Shake with Blueberries and Goji Berries”, the ‘Pear Oat Shake’, and the ‘Strawberry Chia Smoothie’. The juice was a tad on that tart side for my better half, be sure to adjust the sweetener to your personal taste and to not use a very large lemon. I don’t have a juicer, so I used a simple hand juicer/fruit squeezer and mixed everything together afterwards. If you like pulp, leave it in! For the blueberry shake, I tossed all the ingredients in the blender because I find the taste of goji berries somewhat unfortunate otherwise. I did the same for chia smoothie since I hate waiting for breakfast. The method worked well for both. The pear oat shake was sadly overpowered by the ground cardamom. One entire teaspoon is a bit much, so tone it down a bit, unless you’re a cardamom freak. If like me you enjoy beets, the ‘Beets and Berries’ smoothie is tasty and easy.

Next up are ideas for breakfast to go, containing mostly sandwiches, muffins, and similar handhelds, but also an interesting recipe for two varieties of ‘Wake-Up Popsicles’ which I might test before the review copy goes bye-bye. We did try the ‘Overnight Buckwheat Porridge’ and enjoyed it. You’ll also find an ‘”Egg-Salad” Sandwich’ and a ‘Swedish Bagel’ among the wonderfully unusual ideas, most of which would also make great additions to a lunchbox.

From here, we wander into bowl territory. Whether you prefer a sweet or a savory breakfast, you are sure to find something here. The ‘Quinoa Porridge’ was delicious, even if it didn’t exactly look like the photo. The ‘Miso Oatmeal’ sounds intriguing, but I usually lean towards the fruitier side early in the morning, so I dig the variations of porridge and smoothie bowls, especially. There is even a chocolate porridge for those soul food emergencies.

Following this, we finally arrive at the delicious ‘Poppy Seed Pancakes’ from the cover. You prefer omelets? Waffles? Crepes? A good scramble? This section has you covered! If your morning doesn’t get off the ground without a lot of coffee and something sticky-sweet, you’ll enjoy the treats from ‘The Sweeter Side of Mornings’, like donuts, cupcakes, or carrot cake (yes, please!). For those leisurely weekend brunches, check out ‘Weekend Brunch’ where you can find delicacies like ‘Earl Gray’s Poached Pears’ next to brunch staples like frittata and a full English breakfast.

Closing this merry collection of recipes are hot drinks. I am especially intrigued by the Kamilli Vanilli, which is based on chamomile tea. This will have to make an appearance of a morning soon, I think! For you cold brew fans, there are instructions on how to get your cold brew base on, as well.

My special appreciation, however, must go to the very last section, pantry staples. Many German ex-pats bemoan the fact that our American brethren are hopelessly lost when it comes to good (or even decent) bread. If you’ve ever wondered what all the moaning is about, you get the chance to make German-style bread and rolls at home now! Rounding out the pantry section are some sweet and savory spreads, a quick granola, a couple of plant-based milks, and some ideas for plant-based breakfast ‘meats.’

Most recipes make two servings, unless otherwise indicated. These servings are smaller (read: more reasonable) than some other cookbooks’ offerings, so either plan in a snack for later in the morning or opt not to share. Every single recipe comes with a glorious, mouthwatering photograph. I must strongly reiterate the fact that you should read the recipe you’re planning to make ahead of time, because a few require more time than others. Obviously, it will take longer to make a cake than a scramble or be quicker to fix a smoothie bowl than a full English brekkie.

Would I get this? Erm, yes! In yesterday’s review, the author advised us to personalize as needed, and even in my extensive collection there are only a tiny handful of cookbooks I trust to deliver 100% every time, no matter what I opt to make. I love the variety offered in the “Ultimate Vegan Breakfast Book” and can see myself going back to it frequently.

“The Ultimate Vegan Breakfast Book” is published by The Experiment, which is funny because I did not realize that until I had posted yesterday’s post. I received a free copy from the publisher via Netgalley in exchange for a review. All opinions are my own, unless otherwise stated.

The Ultimate Vegan Breakfast Book is JAM-PACKED with a TON of recipes.  There is everything from your smoothies and juices to superb lattes and specialty tea recipes to muffins and breakfast burgers to different porridge and muesli recipes to tofu scrambles and vegan pancakes and donuts.  There are even recipes for making your own nut milks and breakfast "meats".

There is a page in the beginning that explains which nuts, seeds and berries contain which nutrients.  I am not sure if all vegan/vegetarians do this, but I think I actually think more about food and what I put in my body and what kinds of nourishment I need, so I found it really helpful to have all of this in one place.

So far, I have tried the Banana Coffee and OMG!  It was sooo good and rich and thick and delicious - my carnivorous husband said to make him a gallon of that!  I made the Cardamom Latte but it was my first time frothing nut milk (I actually borrowed a frother just to try it and I think I am going to buy a frother so I can make more lattes!) and I don't think I frothed it enough, because it didn't separate like in the photo in the book, but it did taste really good.  

I've also made the Pear-Oat Smoothie, which they subtitle Liquid Muesli and it was BOMB!  So delicious and filling!  My daughter made the Raw Cheesecake Tartlets and they were delicious, too!  We are in the process of choosing some recipes to make for Sunday brunch and I will let you all know how that goes on my Instagram!!

What a fun cookbook! From little tips like adding sugar to the moka pot for a caramelized espresso, to grinding millet and quinoa in the coffee mill for a smooth porridge, to DIY veggie sausages, and adding frozen bananas to cold brew coffee I really enjoyed this book. I definitely can't wait to try out the spelt flour and buckwheat flour crepe recipes. And as someone who doesn't like eggs the quiche and frittata dishes are going to feature in an upcoming weekend brunch.

If you've been looking to add more plant-based dishes into your rotation I think this book will inspire some yummy selections.

Thanks to the publisher and Net Galley for an advanced review copy.

Since breakfast is my favorite meal of the day, I was looking forward to examining this book. It did not disappoint. There are many easy to follow recipes that will satisfy even the fussiest eater. I especially liked the meals that can be prepared ahead of time and the coffee combinations. I am always looking for healthy alternatives, and this book just provided the means to that end.