Bosh! on a Budget. Its promise is affordable plant-based recipes at roughly £1-£2 per person. Convenience isn’t cheap and neither is eating animals. We all know that by now, right?
My first Bosh! book was given to me about four years ago by my friend Sharon, who is also a highly sought after plant-based retreat-caterer, and I still use nearly all the recipes every week. She also suggested that my family and I watch the documentary What the Health? on Netflix. I won’t go into it here, but let’s just say we were sold on the ‘why?’ and, thankfully, giving us the book gave us the ‘how?’.
I have been happily oblivious to the Bosh! phenomenon on social media, content in what the book alone has managed to achieve in our house. It was more than a recipe book. It was a guide to making meat-free food that the kids would eat, showing us how to bolster and layer flavours using everyday ingredients in recipes that you could have any day of the week and with stuff you have in the cupboards.
Our family eat delicious meals from that book three to four days a week. Our original Bosh! book has helped us to make our regular dinners from plant alternatives without having to rely too much on meat-free sausages from the shops.
During the pandemic, Henry Firth and Ian Theasby, the YouTube-ing duo behind Bosh!, became enthused by the possibility of creating change in the way that we eat. This new book, Bosh! on a Budget, optimistically features next level recipes for more weekend time and batch quantity cooking alongside some quick weekday staples.
Ultimately, Bosh! wins at creativity. Whichever way you consume your cookery content, whether it’s through the screen or in a greasy-fingered book, Bosh! is the light touch ‘how to’ of modern plant-based cooking
So far, my picks have been the quick recipes which didn’t feel too much of a stretch such as Jane’s Spanish stew, which is a delicious easy one-pot dish. I’m already a fan of the Thai green and red curries. Bosh! gets its curries spot on and there are plenty to feast on here. While using hummus as a pesto didn’t get my vote, the kids are in. I’m also dying to try out the bread-meat doner kebab and the Indian-style Shepherd’s Pie when I have more time on my hands.
I think it’s down to Bosh! that we’ve stuck to our veggie guns. It’s easy and it’s tasty and has set us up with the basics that we adapt and make our own. If we can do it, anyone can.
Bosh! on a Budget is published by HarperCollins and available to buy now.
Nancy also made a delicious meat-free Ultimate Moussaka from Bosh! on a Budget.
