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Engine 2 Diet (2009)

by Rip Esselstyn(Favorite Author)

4.02 of 5 Votes: 4

ISBN

0446543683 (ISBN13: 9780446543682)

languge

English

genre

Food & Cookbooks

publisher

Grand Central Publishing

review 1: This book wasn't necessary. So many other books have covered the same topic(s) and have done a far, far better job. If Rip weren't the son of the famous Dr. Esselstyn, this book likely never would have been published. I will attempt to list the more obvious problems and deficiencies.A dearth of information. Only the first 60-odd pages discuss the eating plan, which, by the way, is simply VEGAN. Vegan. Vegan vegan vegan. Rip uses this word only a couple of times in the entire book, as if trying to elide the fact that there is nothing original about his eating plan. Anyway, those first 60+ pages could have been distilled down to just a few pages. The only interesting part- the results from those people who went on the "diet", showing that their cholesterol greatly diminished... more when eating...you know it... vegan.The exercise portion. Nearly cringeworthy. Arm circles? Sit-ups? Really? Rip presents the most obvious little exercises that we all learned in elementary school.The recipes. When people learn that I maintain a vegan diet, the response often is: but what do you eat? If you take out all animal products, what is left? That is a common (mis)perception. Let me tell you, there is a nearly endless variety of ingredients and flavors and recipes out there. When I started cooking vegan food for my carnivorous husband, it took him a couple of weeks to notice that anything was different because he was consuming such tasty meals. But the recipes in this book, they are mostly confined to the soups and salads and wraps that non-vegans believe to be the sum total of vegan cooking. No range, no representation of various flavors from various cultures, no good sense that vegan food can be both varied and delicious. If I were a person thinking about transitioning to a vegan diet, I would believe, from Rip's recipes, that I would be faced with a dearth of possibilities, with none of them being particularly appealing.The tone. You are (were) a fireman, Rip. Supercool. Super super super cool. We get it. (My father was a fireman in Washington, D.C. for 35 years. Now that's admirable.)Rip's aversion to oils. He goes on at length, in multiple parts of the book, about how bad oils are. Olive oils, nut oils, any kind at all, even the cold expeller-pressed oils. He says that if you want oils, you should eat the source of those oils- eat the olives and nuts and avocados, etc. That's fine. I love all three of those things and consume them regularly. But I am at a loss as to why adding a little oil to a saute pan or to a salad dressing is a bad thing. I can't always eat a cup of olives. To eat enough nuts to get a good amount of nut oil would knock me back five hundred calories. And, this is so important, the nutrients from vegetables, fruits, grains, etc, are much more efficiently absorbed in the body when a little good oil is present. I suppose this quirk of his wouldn't annoy me so much if he were consistent. But, while he says that oils are bad in part because they are processed, he turns right around and recommends all sorts of highly-processed vegan food: "meat" crumbles, vegan hot dogs, tofu, canned chili, etc., most of which, by the way, have some sort of fat added to them, fat that is worse for you than a little organic olive oil.I initially thought that the one good aspect of the book might be its ability to convince macho men that veganism is a manly eating alternative. I gave the book to my police officer/SWAT commander husband to read. He started it quite willingly, but was quickly turned off by rah-rah, I am so supercool tone, that he soon put it aside. So even that potentially good aspect turned out to be a dud.
review 2: This book wasn't necessary. So many other books have covered the same topic(s) and have done a far, far better job. If Rip weren't the son of the famous Dr. Esselstyn, this book likely never would have been published. I will attempt to list the more obvious problems and deficiencies.A dearth of information. Only the first 60-odd pages discuss the eating plan, which, by the way, is simply VEGAN. Vegan. Vegan vegan vegan. Rip uses this word only a couple of times in the entire book, as if trying to elide the fact that there is nothing original about his eating plan. Anyway, those first 60+ pages could have been distilled down to just a few pages. The only interesting part- the results from those people who went on the "diet", showing that their cholesterol greatly diminished when eating...you know it... vegan.The exercise portion. Nearly cringeworthy. Arm circles? Sit-ups? Really? Rip presents the most obvious little exercises that we all learned in elementary school.The recipes. When people learn that I maintain a vegan diet, the response often is: but what do you eat? If you take out all animal products, what is left? That is a common (mis)perception. Let me tell you, there is a nearly endless variety of ingredients and flavors and recipes out there. When I started cooking vegan food for my carnivorous husband, it took him a couple of weeks to notice that anything was different because he was consuming such tasty meals. But the recipes in this book, they are mostly confined to the soups and salads and wraps that non-vegans believe to be the sum total of vegan cooking. No range, no representation of various flavors from various cultures, no good sense that vegan food can be both varied and delicious. If I were a person thinking about transitioning to a vegan diet, I would believe, from Rip's recipes, that I would be faced with a dearth of possibilities, with none of them being particularly appealing.The tone. You are (were) a fireman, Rip. Supercool. Super super super cool. We get it. (My father was a fireman in Washington, D.C. for 35 years. Now that's admirable.)Rip's aversion to oils. He goes on at length, in multiple parts of the book, about how bad oils are. Olive oils, nut oils, any kind at all, even the cold expeller-pressed oils. He says that if you want oils, you should eat the source of those oils- eat the olives and nuts and avocados, etc. That's fine. I love all three of those things and consume them regularly. But I am at a loss as to why adding a little oil to a saute pan or to a salad dressing is a bad thing. I can't always eat a cup of olives. To eat enough nuts to get a good amount of nut oil would knock me back five hundred calories. And, this is so important, the nutrients from vegetables, fruits, grains, etc, are much more efficiently absorbed in the body when a little good oil is present. I suppose this quirk of his wouldn't annoy me so much if he were consistent. But, while he says that oils are bad in part because they are processed, he turns right around and recommends all sorts of highly-processed vegan food: "meat" crumbles, vegan hot dogs, tofu, canned chili, etc., most of which, by the way, have some sort of fat added to them, fat that is worse for you than a little organic olive oil.I initially thought that the one good aspect of the book might be its ability to convince macho men that veganism is a manly eating alternative. I gave the book to my police officer/SWAT commander husband to read. He started it quite willingly, but was quickly turned off by rah-rah, I am so supercool tone, that he soon put it aside. So even that potentially good aspect turned out to be a dud. less

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Reviews (see all)

SarahNicoleJudy

When I first decided I wanted to be a vegan for ethical reasons I didn't really know the best way to begin. After the first few weeks I had learned a lot from other books and websites, but wanted to really lock it down. I looked through a few book lists, watched a couple docs and then landed on this book. Esselstyn is an incredible human being. A triathlete, Firefighter, and Vegan and not to mention (from what I can gather) a nice guy. As someone who is interested in becoming a firefighter, having this written with a lot firefighting anecdotes made it a fun read for me. This is not really useful for vegetarians as it mainly focuses on a strict no animal product lifestyle. Overall, it was a good read and the recipes are very much appreciated since I am no chef!

anniecukelj210

Erin

I had already read his dad's book but this was interesting and had some new recipes to try.

jeremykim13

Brilliant brilliant brilliant! My beliefs!

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