Let Them Eat Vegan!
Wednesday, April 11, 2012
I have not always been able to cook well. When I first moved out on my own I was completely lost in the kitchen. I would frequently wrap white rice and cheese in a tortilla and microwave it for dinner. Sometimes my roommate and I would make tater tots. Sometimes we would make a weird noodle and lettuce combo that we called "pasta salad". Eek.
A few years later, my mom sent me a gift subscription to Cooking Light Magazine. The magazine was exactly what I needed to get me on the road to cooking real food. I was a little intimidated by the recipes at first, but I followed them exactly and started to have some success with things that seemed fancy to tortilla-microwaving me. The first time that I made an actual meal with more than one thing on the plate, I felt like a culinary rockstar!
These days I cook a huge variety of foods and, even though I rarely follow recipes exactly as they are written, I adore cookbooks. I am also very comfortable with creating meals on the fly with whatever I have in the kitchen (and that happens a lot because I hate grocery shopping and try to put it off as long as I can)!
Among my favorite cookbooks are those written by Dreena Burton
. Dreena's recipes stand out to me not only because they are delicious but also because they tend to be much lower in fat and sugar than others. Being a mother of three small kids, she understands the constant pursuit for healthy things that our kids will eat. I can tell that she has given careful thought to adding protein, iron, and other healthy elements to her foods and that fits exactly with how I approach building a meal for my family. Many of Dreena's recipes have become staples in our house and her cookies and brownies are my go-to recipes for times when nothing but a cookie (or three...) will fix whatever is wrong!
Given my love of Dreena's first three books, I was honored and very excited to be given the chance to review her brand new book, Let Them Eat Vegan!: 200 Deliciously Satisfying Plant-Powered Recipes for the Whole Family!
As expected, this book is full of yummy and healthy recipes! We don't have a need to follow a gluten-free diet in our house, but this book does offer many naturally gluten-free recipes as well as alternative ingredient suggestions for others. I love how each recipe has a few thoughts or comments from Dreena and suggestions and tips for serving or slightly changing the ingredients for a different result. It is like she is in my kitchen with me and helping me to decide what to make for dinner!A few years later, my mom sent me a gift subscription to Cooking Light Magazine. The magazine was exactly what I needed to get me on the road to cooking real food. I was a little intimidated by the recipes at first, but I followed them exactly and started to have some success with things that seemed fancy to tortilla-microwaving me. The first time that I made an actual meal with more than one thing on the plate, I felt like a culinary rockstar!
These days I cook a huge variety of foods and, even though I rarely follow recipes exactly as they are written, I adore cookbooks. I am also very comfortable with creating meals on the fly with whatever I have in the kitchen (and that happens a lot because I hate grocery shopping and try to put it off as long as I can)!
Among my favorite cookbooks are those written by Dreena Burton
Given my love of Dreena's first three books, I was honored and very excited to be given the chance to review her brand new book, Let Them Eat Vegan!: 200 Deliciously Satisfying Plant-Powered Recipes for the Whole Family!
So far we have tried the Krispie Chip Cookies (of course I started with cookies- ha!)- they are great for all the reasons that I love chocolate chip cookies (who doesn't?!) and the rice cereal adds a really nice crunch.
I also made the French Lentil Soup with Smoked Paprika, which was the best soup that I have had in a long time! So, so good!
I know that I will be making many more of the recipes in this book and I will share more as I do. I can already say, though, that the book gets two thumbs up from me!
What are you thoughts on cookbooks? Do you have a favorite?
*Legal stuff: I received a free copy of this cookbook to review here. I was not compensated in any other way.
1 comments