But My Family Would Never Eat Vegan!

I received Kristy’s first book a few years back as a gift and simply loved it – not only was in packed full of creative, attainable recipes, but it was also interesting enough to sit down and read which is not the case with many cookbooks. As a cheese lover (I am vegetarian not Vegan) I loved her perspective as a former fromagier who turned vegan and found a way to fulfill those dairy cravings! So with the new book coming out I knew I had to purchase it as I am in need of fun, delicious, plant based recipes that I can serve to my kids, and friends who are sometimes reluctant to eat solely plant based meals -and even better, this book is not organized in the traditional fashion of breakfast, lunch and dinner – but rather by excuse, with meal options to overcome every single one of them! The book begins with the authors’ story of how this book came to be: Her journey to becoming vegan and how family gatherings presented with difficulty as she would have to bring her own food, endure countless comments, strange looks and having to explain over and over they why behind her decision – which on that note, I love her simple answer “the first thing you need to realize is that this is YOUR life. If you want to be vegan…you can do it”. It’s a really funny and entertaining read. But this began the foundation to the book so you can share some vegan dishes with your friends and family that taste good and are met with approval! The book begins with a chapter on some staples that are useful to make, as they will feature is several of the dishes in this book – vegan bacon crumbles, avocado ranch dressing (amazing) and lemon tahini sauce as examples. Then we go into the excuses you may come across and the dishes to make in response, such as: • My family demands bacon and eggs for breakfast • I don’t have time to cook elaborate family dinners • My kids think vegan food is weird • My teenagers just want to fit in with their friends • If forced to choose between chicken wings and me, my spouse would choose the wings • My partner doesn’t think veganism is part of a well balance diet (funny thing is I had this response from my parents many years ago when I began being a vegetarian and my mum, a nurse, insisted I ate liver once a week for the iron - a weird British thing and liver is enough to turn any child vegetarian -yuck!! • The in-laws will just add this to their list of my faults These are funny, tongue in cheek, yet also quite real, and there are 20 different “excuses” that are addressed with a range 125 of delicious recipes. I love the fact that this book does not require a trip to the expensive hip grocer to procure wild and wonderful aka expensive, ingredients, nor are the recipes overly complicated. As a busy working mom and a self professed terror in the kitchen, I do not have the time, skill or patience to spend many hours cooking which is fine, as this book does not have such expectations! I made the jackfruit carnitas burrito bowl last night and not only was it delicious , the family enjoyed it , no questions asked, and jackfruit is easily found canned right here on Amazon; the cauliflower alfredo baked ziti is also divine and comforting , there are salads, soups and desserts for those that have a sweet tooth. Even wings with blue cheese dip made with cauliflower which I have made many times in the past (from other similar recipes) and they really are a hit, just try them! It’s a great book, fun read and loaded with so many creative recipes, you will have something to overcome any excuse about trying vegan food!

I have Kristy’s first book as well and really like it, but so far think this one is better (fewer “weird” ingredients, better flavors, in my opinion at least, and probably quicker recipes). I’m not someone who needs pictures, but hers (/her husband’s) are really nice. I think my favorite thing about her book is the creativity and the lack of processed foods. I like how she uses veggies in all sorts of interesting ways and doesn’t call for vegan cheese, meat substitutes, etc. She also doesn’t use seitan, which makes me happy, because seitan makes me want to barf. For those with a nut issue, you should be warned that she does use them a good deal. She does not use very much oil, but occasionally calls for Earth Balance. I think some people will complain about the chapters not having the traditional starter-main-sides-dessert layout, but I kind of like it for a change. You never know what you’re going to find where, so it’s like Christmas when you come across a different recipe. This is what I’ve made so far (in order of appearance in the book) and my commentary on each recipe: Basic Cashew Cheese Sauce (Regular and Pepper Jack) Both good, quick. Cheese-like, though wouldn’t fool anyone, at least not when it’s served on its own. Pickled Red Cabbage and Onions Yummy condiment, very easy. Avocado Ranch Dressing Not my fav. Nothing like ranch, not that great overall. Maple-Peanut Butter Pancakes Yummy and hearty. Reduced the maple somewhat and used the all-purpose flour option. Everyone’s Favorite Oatmeal Needs a lot more liquid, but good, nothing special if you already know how to make oatmeal. I still prefer steel cut to rolled I guess. BBQ Chickpea Salad Very hearty, very pretty colors… bit on the sweet side. Would probably ½ the BBQ sauce next time, since that’s really sweet and the pickled cabbage is really sweet. Jackfruit Crabless Cakes with Lemon Dill Aioli Probably my fav so far - cakes and sauce both delish. Hidden Veggie Mac ‘n’ Cheese Wouldn’t fool anyone for being “real”, but is a healthy and good dish on its own (if you don’t mind nooch). Lazy Vegan Chile Relleno Casserole Pretty good; definitely recommend the optional salsa on top and serving with tortillas, which you will have leftover anyway since this recipe only uses 1. Herbed Macadamia Ricotta Delish, though quite tangy so more reminiscent of feta than ricotta to me. Filet O Chickpea Sandwich with Tartar Sauce Slaw Made these two separately, which was probably a mistake, because the patties on their own are just ok, but the tartar sauce and slaw are delish, quick and easy. I think all together on a nice bun it’d be really good. Sweet Potato Shepherd’s Pie Making tonight, will update. Lasagna Soup Hearty and really good. Don’t skimp on the ricotta though. Chickpea and Avocado Taquitos Quick and delish. Made 11 (instead of 8), wohoo! Used yogurt option (versus mayo or nothing). One of my favs so far. Chickpea Croquettes with Dill Yogurt Sauce Another fav. Both the patties and sauce (made with unsweetened soy yogurt) were great. Made for (meat-eating) dinner guests and everyone really liked. Unsweetened vegan yogurt was a bit of a pain to find, but in the end I found it at the local organic shop. Spiced Nuts Really addicting. (Meat-eating) family loved. Can make ahead freeze. PS- I have over 120 cookbooks and cook only vegetarian (mostly vegan) food.

Awesome cookbook, looking for different recipes to remain consistent on a vegan diet and it does the job with most of the recipes.

I am vegan though most of my family members are not and my relatives do not support or understand my vegan lifestyle. So this book was right up my alley – I was looking for more vegan recipes especially ones that would win my family over and when I read the hilarious intro (that I could totally relate to), I knew that this book was perfect for me. It has everything that I look for in a great recipe book. Besides easy to make, mouth-watering recipes, it caters for fussy teens as well as little ones, has plan ahead meals as well as ones to go, explains how to veganise your favourite recipes, options for gluten free, nut free and soy free, and home-made edible gifts. I also loved the layout – plenty of photos, ingredients at a glance as well as a motivational intro for each recipe with helpful tips. I have been trying out many of the recipes and my favourite so far are Sun-dried Tomato Linguine, Shitake Stroganoff and Chickpea Caesar Pasta Salad. Highly recommended for vegans and those aspiring to be.

This book is helping my family understand how to cook for me when I come over to family functions. Which means, no more having to stop somewhere for something to eat before I come over, because face it, vegans don't eat fast food, fast food just doesn't cut it anymore. A vegan would rather starve than eat fast food ever again. And believe me, at the end of the day, a vegan is gonna eat. I just want to thank the author for helping me bring my family closer together, because without this book, it's been really tough breaking through at all with my family. But, this book makes it so much easier to have the dreaded "but, I'm vegan" conversation. When your family understand how easy the recipes are, they won't mind making you your food on the side of their own meals, and it will open their minds to how to eat good. I promise you.

When this cookbook was delivered, I gave it to my 8yo with some post-it flags to mark recipes he wanted me to make. He ran out of flags! This is a wonderful cookbook that has something for everyone, is uncomplicated, humorous, and uses whole unprocessed ingredients. And for those that need it, almost every recipe has directions for how to make it GF if it isn't already. So far we have tried (and will make all again in the future): Blueberry-Banana Muffins: These were a huge hit with the kids and easily the best muffin recipe I've made in a very long time. Lasagna Soup: I made this for omni guests and they LOVED it. It was so good and flavorful. They asked for the recipe! Chinese Chickpea Salad: So amazingly good! The whole family loved it. All those were in one delicious week! We can wait to try the rest of our flagged recipes, like Maple Peanut Butter Pancakes, Spicy Sesame Soba Noodle Bowl, Jackfruit Carnitas Burrito Bowl, Ultimate Twice-Baked Potatoes, Fillet O' Chickpea Sandwich, Pumpkin Chai Scones, Deviled Potato Salad, Maple-Miso Tempeh Cutlets, Deconstructed Sushi Bowl and so many more. Do your family a favor and try this cookbook!

This cookbook is used on a regular basis in my house. Most recipes are kid-friendly, super fast, and definitely tasty. I've been using in on a weekly basis for a few months now and I still have recipes tabbed to try. Some favorites include: Deviled Potato Salad (the black salt was new to me and worth finding), Chickpea-Avocado Taquitos, Cauliflower Alfredo Baked Ziti, BLT Summer Rolls, Roasted Carrot & Wild Mushroom Ragout, Lemongrass Tofu Bahn Mi (wow!), Kung Pao Cauliflower, and No-Bake Zucchini Manicotti (a VERY surprising favorite). We've been eating vegan meals for several years now, but I still found some new and really creative flavor/ingredient combos in this book that made cooking feel a little more exciting again. I mentioned black salt, which may not be at your local supermarket, but there was an easy substitution noted (i.e., regular salt!) and the vast majority of recipes included easy to find, common ingredients. The recipes are organized in playful themes and not by typical meal categories so when you want to find something you've already made you will likely need the index to find it quickly. But the themes made the book fun to read and different from the standard cookbook so this is a good thing!

I preordered this book the moment I heard about it having owned her previous title. Design is gorgeous. I love all the photography and font used. This is jam packed with tons of mouthwatering recipes that have turned into family favorites. Every recipe is well tested and written and you know you will get a great results. All recipes use easy to find ingredients and aren’t too complicated or time consuming. The Quick Bacon Crumbles are a great go to when you need a “bacon” fix as they do not require marinating time. The Pepita Parmesan is a staple in my refrigerator, as is the Pickled Red Cabbage and Onion Relish and Lemon Tahini Sauce. The Jackfruit Crabless Cakes are one of my favorite uses for jackfruit. Other favorites are the Hot Fudge Ice Cream Sundaes, Ultimate Twice Baked Potatoes, Double Double Cheeseburgers, Jackfruit Carnitas Burrito Bowl, Buddha Bowl, Sweet Potato Shepherd’s Pie, and Cauliflower Parmigiana,