"While offering a cornucopia of outstanding recipes, YumUniverse offers a great deal more with an informed and informative commentary on why and how to live a plant-based dietary lifestyle. Exceptional and 'kitchen cook friendly', YumUniverse is very highly recommended for personal, family, and community library cookbook collections."
—Midwest Book Review
"Heather takes an often intimidating topic, and shows us that this lifestyle is absolutely possible. And her recipes are some of the most creative and delicious out there. The idea here isn't deprivation or drastic measures. It's about cumulative change—making incremental, deliberate health-boosting decisions until they stick, because true wellness is a life-long journey."
—Brendan Brazier, former Professional Ironman Triathlete and author of the Thrive book series
"Heather's enthusiasm for healthy living will inspire you to get busy in the kitchen! It's hard not to fall in love with her fresh, vibrant, and accessible plant-based recipes."
—Angela Liddon, author of the New York Times bestseller The Oh She Glows Cookbook and creator of OhSheGlows.com
"In YumUniverse, Heather shares recipes that will give you the very best of health without sacrificing any flavor or fun, proving just how delicious plants can be. If you're interested in test-driving a plant-based diet, let Heather be your guide, and enjoy the journey!"
—Neal Barnard, M.D., author, clinical researcher, health advocate and founder of the Physician's Committee for Responsible Medicine
"YumUniverse is a gorgeous cookbook filled with tasty, creative recipes that is perfect to kickstart a plant-powerful diet. Heather Crosby's spirited and encouraging approach to ‘simply eating more plant-powerful foods' leaves you feeling confident that you can make healthful changes, and keeps you excited about every step ahead."
—Julieanna Hever, MS, RD, CPT, author of The Complete Idiot's Guide to Plant-Based Nutrition and host of Veria's wellness talk show What Would Julieanna Do?
"Heather Crosby is as glowing, beautiful and health-inspired as the plantiful, UnDiet-friendly decadence she creates in the kitchen. Her creativity using fresh, real-food ingredients makes this way of living effortless. I love having her join me as a crusader for the great life—and this book makes the great life so easy and delicious!"
—Meghan Telpner, director of the Academy of Culinary Nutrition, Author of UnDiet
"Heather is a creative recipe goddess…her recipes provide that 'yum factor' to inspire you to skip right into the kitchen and get cooking more whole, plant foods. I appreciate that her approach is nonjudgmental and embraces all types of plant eaters- even those who eat some meat."
—Dawn Jackson Blatner, RD, author of The Flexitarian Diet
"Heather Crosby's YumUniverse is a bold and beautiful tribute to plant-based, whole foods. These recipes will prove to you that there is no need to choose between food that will nourish your body and food that will delight your taste buds. Heather is a passionate and knowledgeable guide, and her culinary talent is only rivaled by the intelligence and common sense that she brings to healthy living."
—Gena Hamshaw, C.C.N. and author of Choosing Raw
"Think plant-based, gluten-free food can't be exciting? Think again—with her inspired recipes, beautiful photography, and infectious enthusiasm for healthy living and cooking, Heather Crosby shows that fueling your body with whole, high-energy foods can be anything but boring."
—Matt Frazier, creator of NoMeatAthlete.com and author of No Meat Athlete: Run on Plants and Discover Your Fittest, Fastest, Happiest Self
"So much more than just a cookbook, YumUniverse provides all the tools you need to thrive, beginning with ‘why' you'll benefit from eating more plant-based foods, to ‘how' to implement baby steps toward change, and ending in a drool-worthy collection of what to ‘eat.' If you've ever thought about moving toward a plant-inspired diet—or even if you're already a long-term vegan—you'll find something to love in this enticing, engaging, and educational culinary universe."
—Ricki Heller, RHN, PhD, author of Naturally Sweet & Gluten-Free and Living Candida-Free
02/01/2015
Motivated by health issues, Crosby started on a journey from the standard American diet to one based on whole fruits, vegetables, grains, nuts, and seeds. The author's website, yumuniverse.com, followed with information, encouragement, and recipes to aid others. Her first book uses a similar formula, starting with reasons to adopt a whole-foods, plant-based diet and information to help readers succeed in embracing this new lifestyle. The second half of the book contains easy recipes for breakfast, lunch, dinner, snacks, desserts, and such basics as non-dairy milks, cashew cheese, and smoothies. Throughout, Crosby urges readers to swap ingredients based on taste or what they have on hand, and to have fun in the kitchen. Peppered with vibrant illustrations and photos of most recipes, the book is a visual treat, although some fonts are small. VERDICT Anyone interested in a whole-foods approach to a vegan diet has many recent books to choose from, such as titles in Lindsay Nixon's "Happy Herbivore" series and tie-ins to the documentary Forks Over Knives—all solid choices. Here the strengths are in the chummy, supportive tone, appealing design, encouragement to be creative, and focus on being both gluten- and soy-free.—Jude Baldwin, Coll. of the Siskiyous, Weed, CA
