Try Recipes from Mark Bittman’s ‘VB6 Cookbook’

Mark Bittman’s new VB6 Cookbook is the perfect representation of his VB6 philosophy: eat healthy vegan meals all day, then enjoy all your favorite foods in delicious dinner meals. It contains hundreds of creative, completely vegan dishes for breakfast, lunch, and snacks, plus a selection of “flexitarian” dinners, in which plants are still the stars but Parmesan cheese and small portions of meat may make appearances, too. Here’s a sneak peek of some of the recipes in the book — try them yourself, and find more inspiration for eating well in our exclusive Q&A with Mark.

 

“Chorizo” Tacos Soft corn tortillas make a perfect vehicle for this tofu “chorizo,” which is so good you’ll find a lot of other uses for it too, says Mark. Since it’s easy to double the batch well ahead of time, you might think about making this dish the next time you have a brunch.

Tofu Ceviche Tofu is made a lot like cheese, so it doesn’t require cooking. It does, however, benefit from marinating and—within limits—the longer the better. There are so many ways to eat this refreshing dish: over greens, brown rice or grains; with Boston lettuce leaves for wrapping; tossed with whole wheat angel hair pasta; tucked into warm corn tortillas; or of course, all on its own.

Eggplant Meatballs Mark says that the more he plays around with vegetable-based meatballs, the more he likes them; the different textures and flavors are terrific. To round out the meal for lunch, serve these over pasta, rice, salad or steamed greens with a squeeze of lemon.

Tofu Jerky, the Sequel One of Mark’s favorite snacks is now an ongoing project, as he continues to play with jerky variations. It’s a portable, chewy snack that’s the next best thing—flavor, not healthwise!—to a Slim Jim. And it’s easy to make, too.

Tropical Fruit Pudding Everyone will be shocked to find there’s no dairy involved in this pudding. Creamy and sweet with fresh mango, crunchy with toasted coconut and bright with pineapple, this dish is a great way to make tofu converts of your friends and family.