Veggie Blog

Gluten-free cooking and vegetarian cooking can work beautifully together, and Donna Klein’s The Gluten-Free Vegetarian Kitchen is devoted to that combination. Instead of treating missing ingredients as a limitation, this cookbook looks to vegetables, beans, eggs, dairy foods, tofu, rice and naturally gluten-free grains for practical meal ideas. It is a book about enjoyable food first, even though it was written for people with particular dietary restrictions.

What will readers find inside?

The publisher describes more than 225 recipes covering appetisers, main courses and desserts. There are also explanations of gluten-free ingredients, advice for baking, nutritional analyses and some vegan and lower-carbohydrate options. Klein, who also wrote The Mediterranean Vegan Kitchen, approaches this as a home cook’s challenge: how do you make satisfying meals without relying on ordinary wheat-based pasta, bread and pastry?

Who is the book for?

This is a relevant starting point for vegetarians with coeliac disease, people who need to avoid gluten for another clinically established reason, or households cooking for different dietary preferences. It may also interest adventurous cooks who want to try rice, quinoa, corn, potatoes and gluten-free baking flours in different ways. Not every recipe is vegan because the book includes eggs and dairy products.

What has changed since the book appeared?

Gluten-free groceries and labelling have become easier to find, but it remains important to distinguish gluten-free from automatically nutritious. A gluten-free biscuit can still be low in fibre or high in added sugar. The US National Institute of Diabetes and Digestive and Kidney Diseases explains both the dietary treatment for coeliac disease and the importance of avoiding cross-contact.

If you suspect coeliac disease but have not been tested, ask a clinician about diagnosis before removing gluten from your diet. Starting gluten-free eating too early can affect the tests. For diagnosed coeliac disease, separate preparation equipment and ingredient checks are essential; a recipe labelled vegetarian does not guarantee gluten safety.

Should you choose this cookbook today?

Yes, if you enjoy an older, ingredient-focused cookbook and need vegetarian ideas that avoid gluten. The original print edition is older, but the publisher still lists an e-book. Readers looking for fully vegan recipes should pay attention to the ingredient lists or choose a vegan-specific book.

Related on Veggie-Blog: The Gluten-Free Vegan and The Mediterranean Vegan Kitchen.

Book: The Gluten-Free Vegetarian Kitchen by Donna Klein
Find this book on Amazon (affiliate link; we may earn a commission at no extra cost to you).

See the publisher’s e-book listing for a separately documented edition.

Vegetarian cooking does not require a professional kitchen, a complicated shopping list or a degree in nutrition. That is the cheerful premise behind Vegetarian Cooking For Dummies by Suzanne Havala Hobbs, a practical guide for people who want to turn everyday ingredients into satisfying meat-free meals.

What does the book teach?

The publisher’s description covers vegetarian eating styles, shopping and pantry staples, basic cooking techniques and ways to adapt familiar dishes without meat. Readers are introduced to ingredients such as tofu, tempeh, beans, grains, nuts, seeds and vegetables that may be unfamiliar at first. Sample dishes include vegetarian lasagna, pasta primavera, bean burritos and soups.

This is not a book for people who want restaurant-level presentation on every page. Its real value is that it explains the small decisions that make vegetarian cooking practical: what to buy, how to prepare it and what to cook when you have limited time.

Why does a beginner’s guide help?

Moving away from meat can make ordinary dinner planning feel unfamiliar. Once you learn a few reliable patterns — a bean-based chilli, a vegetable pasta, a lentil soup or a tofu stir-fry — meals become much simpler. Frozen vegetables, canned tomatoes and dried or canned pulses make particularly useful pantry backups.

How do you build a balanced vegetarian meal?

A flexible starting point is to include vegetables and fruit, a whole-grain or starchy food and a source of protein. The Harvard Healthy Eating Plate offers a useful visual model. If you are fully vegan, reliable vitamin B12 sources need special attention; the NIH B12 fact sheet explains why.

Is the book still available?

Wiley continues to list an e-book edition, although the original print ISBN in this blog post is older. You may see the author credited as Suzanne Havala in Wiley’s more recent listing; the historic blog title uses Suzanne Havala Hobbs. Both refer to the same author.

For curious beginners and experienced cooks who want a concise refresher, this remains a welcoming guide to everyday vegetarian meals.

One useful first-week goal is to learn a basic tomato sauce, cook a pot of beans or lentils, and make a favourite vegetable dish. With those three skills, several different dinners become possible without a rigid meal plan.

Related on Veggie-Blog: The Complete Italian Vegetarian Cookbook and The Everything Vegetarian Cookbook.

Book: Vegetarian Cooking For Dummies by Suzanne Havala Hobbs
Find the original book on Amazon (affiliate link; we may earn a commission at no extra cost to you).

See also the Wiley e-book listing for edition details.

Book Description
Hollywood’s go-to vegan chef, mom, and founder of Los Angeles’ most popular and chic vegan restaurant Real Food Daily, Ann Gentry shares her secret recipes in Vegan Family Meals: Real Food for Everyone. The book has been honored with a Mom’s Choice Award (Gold) in the category Adult Books / Cooking, Food, and Wine, proving that as a mom herself, Ann knows how to feed a hungry family on an affordable budget.

You don’t have to be a vegan to enjoy Vegan Family Meals. Moms, chefs, foodies, and families can all enjoy expanding their cooking repertoire with this book filled with easy to prepare, scrumptious, healthy recipes and tips for the real food pantry.

Whether you’re a time-strapped cook or a seasoned pro in the kitchen, Vegan Family Meals demystifies vegetarian and vegan cooking by offering more than 100 deliciously fresh and simple to prepare recipes, many of which are gluten free, and all of which are satisfying and healthy dishes for everyone to enjoy.

Book: Vegan Family Meals by Ann Gentry
View this book on Amazon (affiliate link: we may earn a commission at no cost to you)

Book Description
The world’s leading authorities on the glycemic index offer even more delicious diet solutions in this companion cookbook volume to the New York Times bestselling The New Glucose Revolution series. Low GI eating is widely acknowledged by health experts as a healthier, better balanced, and more flexible alternative to every other diet regimen. Now, based on their groundbreaking research discoveries on the benefits of eating low glycemic foods, Dr. Jennie Brand-Miller and Kaye Foster Powell, along with Joanna McMillan-Price, present a complete low-GI cookbook on vegetarian and vegan meals. Featuring 100 simple, satisfying recipes, The New Glucose Revolution Low GI Vegetarian Cookbook makes it easy for vegetarians and vegans to switch to a low-GI lifestyle — and for low-GI fans to adopt a vegetarian diet. The book includes essential information on the basics of vegetarian and vegan cooking, food shopping the low-GI way, preparing kids meals, and menu ideas for a busy lifestyle. With beautiful color photos throughout, The New Glucose Low GI Vegetarian Cookbook offers vegetarian and vegans the key to achieving weight loss goals and lifelong vitality.

Book: The New Glucose Revolution Low GI Vegetarian Cookbook by Kate Marsh
View this book on Amazon (affiliate link: we may earn a commission at no cost to you)