„Plant Based“

By:
Elena Carrière

8.2 / 10

Who wrote it?

In Germany Elena Carrière is mostly known through her time at Germany’s Next Top Model 2016. Thanks to the competition, from which she came runner-up, the model has built up a large following almost overnight, which serves her well as a content creator and influencer nowadays. You can find out more about the all-rounder, who has even 2 or 3 more professions, on her website.

And what is it about?

With the subtitle being “Meine veganen Lieblingsrezepte“ (“My Favorite Vegan Recipes”) the content is both clear and totally unpredictable. The knowledge of Elena’s preference for Italian cuisine, which shaped a large part of her childhood, however is gained right away on the first few pages. These influences can be felt in the recipes, but there are also many other motley favorite recipes by the author.

What does it look like?

The almost A4-sized (US letter) hardcover comes in a beautiful, high-quality linen cover, which is also printed and lovingly illustrated. Really an eye-catcher on the outside, but it doesn’t disappoint once you open it, because the beautiful photographs continue inside. The food photography and the food styling in the Dark & Moody style by Annamaria Zinnau totally correspond to my personal taste. Almost all the recipes have an opposing page filling photograph. The rest of the presentation and illustration is a little playful, but always remains clear and stylish.

What can I expect?

The book contains 54 recipes, divided into the following chapters: “Tapas and Appetizer”, “Breakfast”, “Family & Friends”, “Pasta & Italian Food”, “Salads & Soups”, “Sweets”.

The recipe section is preceded by a detailed insight into Elena’s personal and professional career, a chapter to help with becoming a vegan, Elena’s “daily morning routine”, nutritional knowledge, vegan storage tips and much more.

Can I do that?

The recipes are not marked with a level of difficulty, but thanks to the indication of the preparation time and the amount of ingredients, it can be estimated whether it is complex or easy to do. Special kitchen skills are definitely not a requirement.

What do I need?

With the colorful variety of favorite recipes that Elena gives us here, the ingredients needed are equally diverse. Nevertheless, it rarely becomes too exotic for a simple supermarket. You can however confidently stock up on her favorites garlic, ginger, cashews, nutritional yeast, tahini, cinnamon and coconut in all variations. Her recipes usually call for some of those ?

Substitute products?

Are used very sparsely: Here and there “plant-based yoghurt alternative”, tofu or plant-based drink is used. You won’t find any highly processed foods, if only because of Elena’s “grandma’s rule”, which says: “Don’t buy anything your grandma wouldn’t know.”

Who needs it?

This answer is not so easy for me this time. Of course, for fans of the model/actress/influencer/feminist, etc., the book is a must-have. I would also recommend it to anyone who struggles with prejudice against casting show participants or influencers. For vegan newcomers, there are a few tips for the transition in addition to the recipes. Otherwise, it’s just a colorful mixture of recipes that don’t follow a clear direction, but are still enriching for every (vegan) cookbook collection.

Oh yes, and does it taste good?

Yes Yes Yes! There are a few recipe treasures hidden here that also have what it takes to become some personal favorites of myself (see: Recipe tips to get cooking or baking)

You can find all the recipes tested and my recipe reviews on Instagram under the hashtag #VCRplantbased.

Recipe tips to get cooking or baking:

Asparagus quinoa salad with strawberries
Broccoli chickpea stirfry
Peanut butter cookie bars (find the recipe here)

Conclusion

I hope my readers are unbiased or at least willing to dismantle any prejudice towards models/influencers etc. and this book could be a first step towards that. Yes, Elena’s GNTM time is also discussed here, her job as a content creator is mentioned, etc., but with such a personal cookbook, that’s just a natural part of it. The most important thing, however, should be the recipes and obviously that they’re tasty! “Plant Based” fulfills this aspect and looks at least as beautiful as the author herself. The top model among cookbooks? Yes, somehow.