Veggie Blog

Book Description
With three bustling restaurants located throughout the Los Angeles area, Real Food Daily boasts a loyal clientele of ravenous vegetarian diners and health-conscious celebrities, trendsetting young hipsters and members of Southern California’s culinary community at large. After 10 successful years as a cherished destination for lovers of delicious and naturally wholesome cuisine, this eclectic hot spot continues to thrive under the stewardship of its pioneering founder, Ann Gentry, who raises the standards and expectations of nutritious, meat-free cooking through her unique brand of California cuisine. In THE REAL FOOD DAILY COOKBOOK, you’ll find recipes for 150 of the restaurants’ most popular dishes, such as Lentil-Walnut P?¢t?©; Country-Style Miso Soup; Tuscan Bean Salad with Herb Vinaigrette; Southern-Style Skillet Cornbread; Tofu Quiche with Leeks and Asparagus; Acorn Squash Stuffed with Sweet Rice, Currants, and Vegetables; and Coconut Cream Pie with Chocolate Sauce. After years of getting floods of recipe requests from her loyal customers, Ann is delivering in full force, not only to her patient fans, but to everyone who yearns for delicious, healthful, real food in their daily lives.

Book: The Real Food Daily Cookbook by Ann Gentry
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Nobu’s Vegetarian Cookbook brings the precision of a celebrated Japanese restaurant kitchen to vegetables. Rather than treating vegetables as side dishes, Nobu Matsuhisa builds refined preparations around their flavour, texture, colour, and presentation. It is a book for readers who enjoy Japanese cooking and want to make plant ingredients the centre of attention.

What will you find inside?

According to its publisher, PIE International, the book contains around 60 vegetable-focused recipes and moves through techniques such as marinating, pickling, steaming, roasting, frying, and grating. Tofu and yuba—the delicate skin formed on heated soy milk—receive special attention. The publisher also describes desserts and cocktail recipes, so this is more than a collection of main courses.

What makes Nobu’s approach distinctive?

The emphasis is on careful handling. The same vegetable can seem entirely different when it is sliced thinly, lightly blanched, deeply roasted, or dressed in an assertive sauce. That makes the book useful even to home cooks who do not plan to recreate restaurant-level presentation.

Japanese ingredients such as miso, rice vinegar, sesame, seaweed, tofu, and soba can introduce new possibilities. A simple bowl of noodles with vegetables may be familiar, but changing the dressing, temperature, or garnish can transform it.

Is every recipe vegan?

A title that says “vegetarian” does not automatically guarantee vegan ingredients. Japanese sauces and broths sometimes contain fish-based dashi, and individual recipes can include eggs, dairy, or honey. Anyone cooking strictly vegetarian or vegan should check the actual ingredient list and use a suitable vegetable or kombu-based stock when needed. This is a practical shopping consideration rather than a criticism of the book.

Salt is another ingredient worth paying attention to. Soy sauce, miso, and pickles can be high in sodium; the WHO guidance offers useful background when seasoning everyday meals.

Who is this book best suited to?

Enthusiastic cooks, Japanese-food lovers, and anyone seeking elegant ways to cook vegetables will probably get the most from it. Beginners may prefer to start with a few straightforward techniques rather than attempting every elaborate plate. The book’s real pleasure is learning to look at ordinary vegetables differently.

Related reading: The Complete Italian Vegetarian Cookbook and The Indian Vegan Kitchen.

Book: Nobu’s Vegetarian Cookbook by Nobu Matsuhisa
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Raising a vegetarian child involves more than deciding what to cook for dinner. Grandparents may worry about protein, a child may be the only vegetarian at a birthday party, and parents may want reassurance about growth. Raising Vegetarian Children: A Guide to Good Health and Family Harmony, by Joanne Stepaniak and registered dietitian Vesanto Melina, takes on the nutritional and social sides of these questions together.

What does the book cover?

As its original description explains, the book discusses family disagreements about vegetarian eating and ways to meet a child’s nutritional and emotional needs. It introduces a vegetarian food pyramid and includes recipes for different stages from infancy through the teenage years. Both authors are listed in current bookseller records; older Veggie-Blog text names only Stepaniak.

What is still useful today?

The strongest idea is that vegetarian meals can be ordinary family meals. A bean chilli, pasta with lentil sauce, tofu stir-fry, or vegetable-and-cheese quesadilla can be enjoyed by everyone, whatever label they put on their diet. Giving children age-appropriate choices and making food a shared experience can be easier than setting up two completely different menus.

What nutrition advice needs updating?

This book was published in 2002. Food pyramids and nutrition advice have changed since then, so treat its diagrams as historical guidance rather than your family’s only reference. Current American Academy of Pediatrics guidance says a carefully planned plant-based diet can support children, while emphasising vitamin B12, iron, zinc, calcium, and vitamin D, particularly in vegan diets. The AAP also recommends discussing dietary concerns with a paediatrician.

For example, lentils and beans offer protein and iron, while fortified foods or supplements may be necessary for vitamin B12 if a child eats no animal products. The right plan depends on the child’s age, medical history, and eating pattern. This is not an area where an old cookbook should replace individual professional advice.

Who is the book for?

Parents navigating a new vegetarian household, relatives with questions, and teenagers who want their food choices taken seriously may all appreciate its emphasis on family harmony. Read it for perspective, recipes, and conversation starters; use current paediatric nutrition guidance for decisions about a growing child.

Related reading: New Vegetarian Baby and The New Becoming Vegetarian.

Book: Raising Vegetarian Children by Joanne Stepaniak and Vesanto Melina
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Some people imagine vegetarian food as a plate of salad rather than a satisfying dinner. Robin Robertson’s The Vegetarian Meat & Potatoes Cookbook is written for the person who wants the opposite: hearty stews, substantial burgers, casseroles, pies, and the kind of food that brings everyone to the table.

What is this cookbook about?

The book reframes classic comfort dishes without meat. Robertson’s own description of the cookbook highlights mushroom bruschetta, barbecued tempeh, shepherd’s pie, vegetarian pot roast, and spaghetti with meat-free “meatballs.” Its subtitle promises 275 recipes, so this is a substantial collection rather than a short introduction.

What makes the idea appealing?

It is often the flavour, texture, and sense of familiarity that people miss when they change the way they eat. Mushrooms bring savoury depth, lentils work beautifully in a cottage-pie filling, and potatoes can make a plant-based meal feel every bit as comforting as a traditional Sunday supper. The book’s strength is that it starts with food people already know.

The recipes described range from familiar American favourites to internationally inspired dishes. That variety makes the collection useful for mixed households, where one person may be vegetarian and another simply wants a few meat-free meals each week.

Does vegetarian comfort food automatically mean healthy?

No. Meat-free food can still contain generous amounts of salt, saturated fat, or highly processed ingredients. Those are recipe choices, not a reason to avoid comfort food. The World Health Organization’s guidance on salt offers useful context if you are trying to moderate sodium intake.

A practical approach is to serve a rich main dish with vegetables, use beans and lentils frequently, and adjust seasoning to your own taste. Think of this as a cookbook for pleasurable, everyday eating, not as a medically prescribed diet.

Who should read it?

Anyone who has ever said “I could never give up meat and potatoes” may find this an encouraging place to start. It also suits experienced vegetarian cooks looking for more substantial family meals. Robertson makes a simple point: giving up meat does not have to mean giving up the foods you find comforting.

Related reading: The Modern Vegetarian and Fresh from the Vegetarian Slow Cooker.

Book: The Vegetarian Meat & Potatoes Cookbook by Robin Robertson
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Indian vegetarian cuisine is famous for its variety, but many familiar dishes rely on yoghurt, ghee or paneer. Madhu Gadia’s The Indian Vegan Kitchen: More Than 150 Quick and Healthy Homestyle Recipes takes on that specific challenge: Indian-inspired home cooking without meat, eggs or dairy. The publisher catalogues this cookbook as a 2009 title, and its paperback edition remains listed by major booksellers.

What does the book offer?

The original description presents more than 150 recipes together with nutritional analyses, historical notes, serving suggestions and variations. Gadia, a registered dietitian with Indian roots, approaches familiar flavours through vegetables, pulses and straightforward substitutions. Rather than relying on vegan products alone, the book emphasises techniques and ingredients suited to everyday home kitchens.

What makes Indian food so compatible with vegan cooking?

Many Indian dishes start with lentils, chickpeas, vegetables, rice, herbs and toasted spices. Think of a comforting pot of dal, chickpeas simmered in a tomato-spice sauce or cumin-scented potatoes and cauliflower. These examples illustrate the style of cooking; they are not a verified table of contents for Gadia’s book. What matters most is the depth of flavour produced by spices, aromatics and thoughtful cooking, not a reliance on dairy.

How is this different from a vegetarian Indian cookbook?

The distinction is important. Vegetarian food can still contain milk, butter, ghee and cheese; vegan food excludes them. The cookbook’s emphasis on avoiding dairy and eggs makes it a useful companion for people who want Indian flavours while eating entirely plant-based. It may also give experienced cooks ideas for adapting household favourites without treating the result as an identical replica of the traditional recipe.

What about nutrition?

Lentils and beans can contribute protein and fibre, and a varied plant-based menu offers many useful nutrients. A fully vegan eating pattern nonetheless needs reliable vitamin B12, and calcium intake deserves attention too. The NIH vitamin B12 and calcium fact sheets are useful references. No single cookbook can guarantee nutritional adequacy for every person.

Is it still available?

Yes, the book is documented by Penguin Random House and listed for paperback purchase by booksellers, including Waterstones. The original Amazon link uses the matching ISBN 0399535306; its final Amazon.com stock status remains to be checked.

Related reading: Eating to Lower Cholesterol: Oats, Fruit, Beans and Healthy Fats.

Book: The Indian Vegan Kitchen by Madhu Gadia

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