A Recipe For Conscious Cuisine

Despite his love of steak, renowned chef Tal Ronnen switched to a plant-based diet. But he quickly realized he craved the meat-like consistencies he enjoyed as a carnivore. Ronnen uses this tension as the inspiration for his new cookbook, The Conscious Cook: Delicious Meatless Recipes That Will Change The Way You Eat.

Ronnen has gained national notoriety in recent years as an innovative chef who deals only in plant-based cuisine. He is probably most famous for his involvement in Oprah Winfrey’s "21 Day Cleanse.’ He also prepared the first meatless dinner served at the U.S. Senate. Kathy Freston, best-selling author and long time supporter of Meatless Monday, had nothing but praise for Ronnen in the forward of his new book. She believes, "creative geniuses like Tal Ronnen are leading the way towards conscious and compassionate cooking.’

The Conscious Cook
by Tal Ronnen
William Morrow Cookbooks
240 pgs, Oct. 2009

The Conscious Cook is full of robust recipes that will leave everyone satisfied. Tal claims "there are no sprouts in this book,’ only full-flavored, filling meals. "I like rich, hearty meals, and I love cooking’if you like hollandaise sauce, rich wine reductions and meat-like textures, you’ll like these recipes.’

The meals highlighted in The Conscious Cook vary from classic comfort foods to adventurous explorations of new flavors. Ronnen truly sets the standard for plant-based cuisine. The seventy-five recipes include inspired selections like Grilled Artichokes with Caesar Dressing and Vietnamese-Style Tofu Heroes with Asian Slaw.

Further, Ronnen devotes a chapter of The Conscious Cook to explaining the many benefits of a plant-based diet. He states that meatless meals can have a variety of positive health affects. This goes along with the Meatless Monday philosophy: foregoing meat on occasion greatly reduces your risk for preventable diseases like stroke, heart disease, diabetes and cancer.

We at Meatless Monday love Ronnen’s innovative culinary style and use of plant-based ingredients. We encourage you to try his recipes to fully experience the possibilities of meatless meals. Plan your next Meatless Monday with help from The Conscious Cook! The book will be available nationwide on October 6th.