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Summary: You don't have to be Vegan!
Review: This is my first Vegan cookbook. I currently eat a mostly vegetarian diet, however I do eat seafood occasionally. I would love to drastically reduce the amount of dariy and eggs in my diet. That is the reason for buying a vegan cookbook. I really was at a loss on how to subsitute for these items. I am really happy with the list of substitutions for not only dairy and eggs, but also for refined sugar and salt. They even list alternatives to regular peanut butter, white flour and mention different types of oils, beans, tofu and their uses. I remember trying to make something out of a block of tofu in the past and it tasted awful. I recently made the tofu turkey recipe and it tasted really good. The miso gravy was wonderful, something I think anyone would like. The recipes are easy to make and the ingredients can be found in almost any grocery store. Try the Ban-ini recipe, a soy milk, banana, and tahini smoothie. I'm addicted! This book will definately help me to cut way back on the dairy and eggs. Can't wait to try more recipes!!
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Summary: Essential for those on the go...
Review: I am a college student and have 2 part time jobs...obviously on the go quite a bit. I found it difficult to find a vegan cookbook with delicious nutrient rich meals that were also creative and time sensitive. Most of the recipes are simple and contain few ingredients that I don't already keep on hand. Now I don't have to worry if I have enough time to cook a decent lunch or dinner without skimping on essential nutrients vitamins and minerals. This book got my creative impromptu juices flowing in discovering that there is more to a vegan diet than steamed veggies over rice!
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Summary: Good, yummy, fun.
Review: As a teenage-vegan, I've had a really tough time finding cookbooks that are as easy and fun to use as this one. The whole thing is compiled with a punk-attitude and a lot of tips and tricks for vegans/vegetarians. I've made about half of the recipies in here, and all but two have turned out less than perfect. Most of the ingredients used are common and cheap(and the ones that aren't have listed substituations.) Most foods are easy to make, too. There's also a pet-treat recipie section as well as recipies for cleaning-products and personal-care products(shampoo, toothpaste, massage-oil, etc). Also, check the appendix for a complete lisitng of animal-ingredients to avoid, where they're found, and how to substitute them. The authors of 'How It All Vegan' did a great job in writing, compiling, and researching this book. Being vegan is really easy, I use this book for cooking, referance, and as an additional sourcebook of veganism. No matter who you are(or what you eat) 'How It All Vegan' will be a much-used addition to your bookshelf. Buy it.
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Summary: A fun vegan recipe book!
Review: this book is great because it is simple and it makes a lot of food!
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Summary: THE ONLY BOOK THAT DOES IT ALL
Review: I have about 20 or so Vegan (or veggie) cookbooks and this one really covers it all. It has recipes that that you will ACTUALLY eat. Most vegan or veggie cookbooks have recipes that you stare blankly at and make a mental note to some day be open minded enough to try and then you flip through looking for more familiar ground to start off on...only there isn't any. This book gives you old time faves with a vegan twist that can help you make the transition into Vegan a lot easier. I would always find a way to cheat and slip in animal ingredients just to compensate for taste. But this cookbook has helped me kick the door off the hinges and come out Vegan and stay that way. It's like a 12 step program for meat eaters. Master this book one day at a time and you will be able to handle the more complex and scarier looking vegan recipes out there. But believe me, How it All Vegan will be the first one you reach for and the most used. You won't regret it, these girls really know their way around a kitchen.
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Summary: This is how I vegan!
Review: As a newbie vegan, I had no idea where to begin. But luckily, "How It All Vegan" was just the right place! This cookbook is an excellent choice, as it educates as well as offers healthy and tasty vegan meals to its reader. For those of us who had never entered the world of tofu and legumes before, helpful hints for preparation of new food items and substitutes for non-vegan items are a welcome sight! The most joyous aspect of this cookbook is the fact that it offers recipes for every meal of the day as well as desserts and condiments. Very helpful to those of us who are surprised to learn that even white sugar is non-vegan! Best of all, I've been using the recipes from this book for a week now and each one I've tried has turned out to be a great success for both my husband and I, both of us brand-new to the vegan lifestyle. I recommend this book to those of you searching for a great vegan cookbook to add to your kitchen.
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Summary: Ignorance?
Review: Ignore the comments made by the Booklist reviewer; problems do NOT arise from a vegan diet because of a lack of "necessary protein components." Protein is NOT in short supply on a vegan diet. Vegans and Vegetarians do NOT suffer because of the lack of flesh foods in their diets. Think about it: where does an elephant get its protein? What about a Clydesdale? Some of the most powerful animals on the planet eat nothing but vegetables and grains, yet we're supposed to believe that humans will be protein and calcium deficient if they don't eat meat or milk? What about that cow, chomping away on grass all day, where does she get her protein and calcium? Why the cautionary comments on "this diet" were necessary to review a vegan cookbook is beyond me. This is a wonderful collection of tasty, healthful recipes that definitely has a place in the vegan kitchen. Also, for solid medical advice on the merits of a vegan diet, consult THE MACDOUGALL PROGRAM by Dr. John A. MacDougall.
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Summary: A five star book
Review: but I have to take points off. As other reviewers have noted, this book is not vegan. As of the fourth printing, I've seen at least one recipe that contains honey (on pg. 93). The index of animal ingredients claims that "some vegans choose to eat honey," and this is obviously wrong. Vegans do not eat honey. A vegetarian might, but vegans do not. Vegans do not consume any animal products and contrary to popular belief, bees are animals. This is like saying some vegans drink milk. We don't. Other than that, this is a really cute book and I like it. I don't recommend you give it to anyone without mentioning the honey though. I know I wouldn't want someone accidently giving me something with honey in it thinking it was vegan.
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Summary: amazing! I can't believe it's not carnivore!!
Review: great recipes, great ideas on living a vegan lifestyle. LOVE those tattoos!
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Summary: Good Cookbook, Not So Great as a Nutrition Guide
Review: The Recipes in this book make it more than worth the money: they're simple and yummy, they don't require any kitchen equipment more exotic than a food processor, and they're based on ingredients the average person can easily obtain, even without a trip to the healthfood store. This is a great cookbook for the new vegan or vegetarian. Unfortunately, when the authors try to go beyond being a cookboook, "How It All Vegan!" becomes a lot less valuable. Much of the nutrition info in this book is simply out of date. The authors seem to hold to the idea of "protein combining", and offer lots of tips on how to do it. Several references to famous veggie cookbooks of the 1970's give the reader a good idea of where this fixation comes from...but the authors should have purchased newer books before writing their own. It is now generally understood that no one but nursing mothers and small children needs to worry about combining amino acids in a healthy veggie diet. One section on sugars even informs us that "natural sweetners" are healthier than white sugar. While lots of vegans avoid white sugar (which is sometimes processed with animal bones), there is no nutritional difference between it and the substitutes the authors recommend. Again, 70's vintage nutrition info... and this happens again and again throughout the book. There are also some serious omissions from the nutrition section: there's no discussion of fats in the vegan diet, for example. "How It All Vegan!" is a great cookbook, but its an awful nutrition guide. Get "The Vegetarian Way" or "Becoming Vegan" for better info. On a more subjective note, its sad that the authors (who seem to be independent feminists themselves) had to resort to 1950's imagery of housewives cooking throughout the book. It was supposed to look funky and retro, I guess, but it makes these fun recipes look like dreary toil. A cookbook is probably not the place for prefeminist nostalgia graphics!
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