The Complete Idiot's Guide to Vegan Cooking [Paperback]

Beverly Lynn Bennett (Author), Ray Sammartano (Author)

Book Description

Release date: August 5, 2008 | Series: The Complete Idiot's Guide

Delicious recipes for the growing vegan lifestyle.

There are so many reasons to go vegan—health and nutrition, weight loss, green and sustainable living, and prevention of cruelty to animals. With over 200 mouth-watering recipes and tips for converting meat- and dairybased dishes into vegan ones, The Complete Idiot’s Guide® to Vegan Cooking will help readers enjoy a healthy vegan diet without sacrificing taste.

Editorial Reviews

About the Author

Beverly Lynn Bennett is an acclaimed vegan chef, baker, cooking instructor, and author. A vegan for over two decades, Beverly has written an assortment of books on various aspects of vegan cooking and living, including several in the Complete Idiot's Guide series. She has also been a regular columnist for VegNews Magazine since 2002.

Product Details

• Paperback: 352 pages
• Publisher: ALPHA (August 5, 2008)
• Language: English
• ISBN-10: 1592577709
• ISBN-13: 978-1592577705
• Product Dimensions: 9.2 x 7.4 x 0.8 inches
• Shipping Weight: 1.1 pounds (View shipping rates and policies)
• Average Customer Review: 4.2 out of 5 stars  See all reviews (23 customer reviews)
• Amazon Best Sellers Rank: #423,229 in Books (See Top 100 in Books)

More About the Author

Beverly Lynn Bennett is an experienced vegan chef and baker, writer, and animal advocate who is passionate about showing the world how easy, delicious, and healthful it is to live and eat as a vegan. A certified foodservice operations manager, she earned her culinary arts degree in 1988 from the University of Akron, Ohio, and in the years that followed, gained much practical experience working in and managing vegan and vegetarian restaurants and natural foods stores.

Vegan since the early 1990s, Beverly is the author of The Complete Idiot's Guide to Vegan Living, The Complete Idiot's Guide to Vegan Cooking, The Complete Idiot's Guide to Gluten-Free Vegan Cooking, The Complete Idiot's Guide to Vegan Slow Cooking, and Vegan Bites: Recipes for Singles. Her work has appeared in many national and international print publications, on public television and DVD, and all over the Internet. She has hosted "The Vegan Chef" website at veganchef.com since 1999 and has been a regular columnist for VegNews Magazine since 2002.

Beverly currently lives and works in the vegan-friendly city of Eugene, Oregon, where her love of organic, healthy, and exciting foods fuels a passion for developing innovative vegan recipes. Her work appeals to a wide assortment of tastes and offers enticing alternatives to those with dietary restrictions of all sorts. In her spare time, she can often be found advising others on all things vegan, developing new culinary creations (an increasing number of which are raw and/or gluten -free), and helping to educate on issues including animal rights, environment, and health, through cooking demos and speaking engagements.

Most Helpful Customer Reviews

89 of 89 people found the following review helpful

5.0 out of 5 stars Fool Proof November 15, 2008

By Alisa Marie Fleming

Format:Paperback

I love the style of cooking in this book: relatively simple recipes, most often with everyday ingredients; well written instructions; and a focus on whole foods (including the use of whole grain flours and unrefined sweeteners whenever possible). It is packed with recipes, 240 to be exact, so there options for new vegans (how to use tofu and seitan, for example), and vegan veterans who want wheat and soy-free recipes that creatively incorporate fruits, vegetables, nuts, and whole grains. That said those who are coming from fast food territory will still be welcomed by the author with some shortcut recipes for things like Tofu Dog Bites.

I have reviewed The Complete Idiot's Guide to Juicing (thumbs up) and The Complete Idiot's Guide to Total Nutrition (a disappointment), so I am well aware of the cutesy "Idiot's" format that some may love, some may feel neutral about, and some may be irritated by. At this point, I am pretty neutral, and able to look into the actual substance of the book.

The book starts with an informational section that is about 25 pages long, but it feels fairly complete for its purpose. Beverly touches on health needs and then dives into explaining milk and meat alternatives. Later in the cookbook is a chapter that is dedicated to making your own cheese and dairy alternatives.

Since I am already dairy-free, I chose to sample a recipe that also had a meat substitute vibe, the Savory Mushroom Sausages. The only changes I made were to cut the maple syrup in half (down to 1 ˝ teaspoons) and increase the salt by Ľ teaspoon, as we aren't fans of the sweet flavor that many breakfast sausages have. They were awesome! I actually preferred the leftovers, after chilling overnight, as it really gave the various flavors time to meld.... This was a soy-free and optional gluten-free recipe too!

I bake my own granola, so I was excited to trial the Vanilla Nut Granola recipe. It used a very different mix of spices, extracts, nuts, and seeds from my standard recipe. I really enjoyed the subtle sweetness and the very nutty tasting blend. All of Beverly's recipes are very easy to customize, so on the next go there are a few personal touches I will introduce. I think swapping the maple syrup for agave (which is half the price in my neck of the woods), and leaving out the pecans (which tended to burn easily) would make it an ideal blend for my household, adding just a slight touch of additional sweetness. Also, she ingeniously uses a blend of oil and water to keep the granola low fat, but we aren't calorie counters around here, so I will probably use all oil next time for a firmer crunch.

I loved the Carrot-Cashew Butter, a simple and thick spread with a light natural sweetness from the two main ingredients. I was also smitten by the Low Fat Miso Ginger Dressing. It was only my second time using miso, and the experience prior left me with a bad taste in my mouth, literally, but Beverly nailed it in the sweet, ginger-rich condiment.

This is definitely a cookbook that will get some mileage in my kitchen. Recipes that are next up on my list include the Maple Pecan Oatmeal Scones (made with rolled oats!), the Thai Peanut Sauce (I can never get enough of that stuff), the Raw Cheddar Cheese Spread (soy-free), the Raw ABC Nut Milk, the Red Lentil Bologneses (I am on a lentil kick), and the Blueberry Corncakes (a twist on traditional pancakes). But don't stop with my selections, there really are tons of different recipes to pick from in this one, from "Decadent Desserts" to "Marvelous Main Dishes." Read more ›

80 of 80 people found the following review helpful

5.0 out of 5 stars The best one yet October 16, 2008

By gypsymom

Format:Paperback|Amazon Verified Purchase

I have ordered several vegan cookbooks in the last month. This is the best one yet and I wish I had only ordered this one, I got a few good recipies out of the others but for the most part they are too exotic and time consuming , This one has practical simple and afordable food. I believe that I might make every one of theese. I have already made the no fat raspberry-poppyseed dressing , the breaded egplant sandwhiches, and red beans with soyrizo . It has a chapter of basic vegan cooking guidelines , and it is a good price
If you are a new vegan as I am , this is a good starter cook book that will not disapoint , like some of the pricer ones did for me .

52 of 52 people found the following review helpful

5.0 out of 5 stars Buy this first November 29, 2008

By J. C. Knox

Format:Paperback

Buy this book first. I have been working on being vegan for several months and during this time I have purchased four cook books...all have been worth their price. However, I wish I would have had this book initially because it has nutritional informations and other important facts that have helped me to reach my goal.

29 of 29 people found the following review helpful

5.0 out of 5 stars They've covered everything and almost every dish September 14, 2009

By Marquita Dorsey

Format:Paperback|Amazon Verified Purchase

If you're vegetarian, not matter what kind, or just want a incorporate more veggies or use less eggs and milk-Buy This Book. After you buy it, you won't want any other cookbook. It covers everything from condiments to "meat and potato" meals. However, go easy on the seitan recipes, because you can form a gluten intolerance (shame on me...I know, but it's soooo good). All your baked goods recipes are in here as well as great tofu, TVP, and seitan recipes. It's essential to the vegetarian library. Sometimes you have to tweak things to your own tastes, but that happens. There is a good mac and cheese recipe-yummy!!! Cheesecake, cookies, tofu, I mean every thing-condiments-everything. It's a great book with a wealth of info.

17 of 17 people found the following review helpful

5.0 out of 5 stars Great cookbook April 12, 2010

By C. Coburn

Format:Paperback|Amazon Verified Purchase

I have been vegan over 7 years, this is a great cookbook for beginners AND long-time vegans!

15 of 15 people found the following review helpful

5.0 out of 5 stars great buy August 30, 2010

By M. Fleener

Format:Paperback

my first Vegan cook book... and that is exactly what this seems to be perfect for... great entry level book....have already made 8 dinners from this book...

12 of 12 people found the following review helpful

5.0 out of 5 stars Great beginner book January 19, 2011

By nhwife

Format:Paperback

If you're wondering about vegans and what they eat, this book's for you.
If you're wondering what to cook for vegans, this book's for you.
If you're thinking of becoming a vegan, this book's for you.
Some great recipes, great substitution ideas, etc.
Love it!

9 of 9 people found the following review helpful

5.0 out of 5 stars Superior all the way! June 13, 2011

By Paula's Place

Format:Paperback|Amazon Verified Purchase

I wanted to explore vegan cooking to improve my health. I love to cook, and was looking for a how-to as much as a recipe book. I requested several books from my library to see what was out there, and this was one of many books I looked at. I am so glad I did, this book is incredible! I find myself lucky to be able to use 3-5 recipes in a typical cookbook, and well over half the recipes in this guide are ones I have tried or want to try. There are few exotic ingredients, many general cooking tips, and most recipes are quite economical. The recipes are delicious, which is of course the truest test. Do yourself a favor and invest in this book!