Customer Reviews

The Gluten-Free Vegan: 150 Delicious Gluten-Free, Animal-Free Recipes

5 star:		(39)
4 star:		(13)
3 star:		(5)
2 star:		(5)
1 star:		(0)

 

 

If you have celiac and you have ever tried to go vegan, you have probably woken up several days later, laughing hysterically: "There's nothing to eat!"

Not so: mayonnaise, meatloaf, brownies--it's all here.

The author also limits recipes that use corn, soy, and sugar, resulting in food that is low glycemic index, allergy-free, vegan and gluten-free. Perfect, perfect, perfect.

Well, almost: many of the recipes have long ingredient lists, but they won't take forever, and they include recipes that can be cooked a month in advance and then frozen. (Your mother should have taught you not to freeze tomatoes.)

My only real complaint is the book's discussion of oats: the author says that oats don't have gluten, and so they are safe. Actually, oats contain avenin, which is just a different form of gluten; in a test tube, intestinal samples have an immune reaction to avenin; but, in live people, there are many fewer anti-gliadin antibodies (the bad stuff) in diagnosed celiacs who eat oats.

The problem is, some celiacs do fine on oats--and some don't. It's difficult to tell until the person in question starts to get sick again.

However, with that one caveat, this cookbook is way cool, and very, very useful. If you are willing to spend any time in the kitchen at all, this is well worth picking up.

If you are looking for recipes that are packed with flavor and nutritional value, you need not go any further than this book. The Yam & Black Bean Burritos quickly became a family favorite as did the Mushroom Nut Loaf. The Carrot Cake could go head to head with one made in the traditional manner and still come out the winner. The Quinoa Coffee Cake is delicious, dense, moist and flavorful.

The main course recipes use familiar, whole foods that you don't have to travel to a health food store to purchase. If you are accustomed to stocking a gluten free baking pantry, you will find the desserts do not need any special ingredients. The typical flours are used: sorghum, brown rice, tapioca, quinoa, and arrowroot.

Best of all, these recipes are EASY. Many are one dish meals (yea!) that go beautifully with a simple salad on the side. The deserts are sweetened with just the right amount of agave nectar (perhaps the only ingredient you won't have at your local grocer. However, it is available via Amazon.com). I'll wager friends and family members that are not Vegan or gluten intolerant will love these recipes.

Please note, if you are sensitive to nuts you need to look elsewhere. The vast majority of the recipes here use tree nuts. However, if gluten and animal products are your only foes, this book is a must have.

Highly recommended for everyone who loves flavorful and healthy whole foods.

Ok, so you're a vegan who suddenly finds yourself diagnosed with Celiac Disease or gluten intolerance. You're thinking "Help!" right? This new book is a good start toward feeling like you're: A) Not alone, and B) Perfectly able to feed yourself for the rest of your life. O'Brien's 150 delicious, animal-free, gluten-free recipes make a great basic cookbook, containing easy direction and advice, as well as resources for the suddenly-wheatless vegan.

Or perhaps you've been gluten-free for years, but are trying to feel even better, the kind of better that sometimes comes from trying a vegan diet. It happens. Then you turn to Susan O'Brien's The Gluten-Free Vegan and make the Corn Chowder on page 31, or the Pumpkin Scones on page 131, and say "I love you, world! I think I want to live."

Which recipes shall you try first? I fell in love with the incredible Thai Vegetable Soup, then had to follow it up with something Mom might have made--the Carrot Salad on page 43. Now I'm planning a feast with Yam Enchiladas with Pomegranate Sauce, accompanied by the Antioxidant Chili, concluding with Apple Pie Bars. Seriously, you can go wild with this healthy food, and never regret a thing. This is a great title to have in your VGF kitchen.

You meat-and-wheat-eating foodies out there need this book, too. Be broad-minded enough to consider that a delicious dish containing no gluten or animal parts still might really make you lick your chops. Besides, understanding your friends' food needs and preferences makes you a very wonderful, sympathetic and sexy host/hostess.

If you are looking for a lesson on veganism and some basic recipes.... this is the book. There are some good ones in here, but alot of recipes seemed like "fillers", just to take up space in the book. For example, there is a recipe for Roasted Vegetables and Salads. Very generic. For a long time vegan, and/or someone looking for recipes that are not common sense, I suggest looking elsewhere. I would personally rather have a Vegan cook book written by a Vegan, not someone who looked into Veganism just to write a cook book (which is clearly stated)

I'm not a vegan, but I have food intolerances to a number of foods that vegans would not eat as well as to gluten, and I have a family history of diabetes. This author makes use of brown rice syrup and agave nectar as the primary sweeteners. She uses bean flours and sorghum rather than the usual potato starch and corn meal that so many gluten-free recipes use, which is great for me since I can't ingest corn or potato either. She has great recipes for everything from quinoa salad to chocolate chip cookies, and the HOLY GRAIL of gluten-free recipes, a yeast-free pizza crust recipe that is very, very good. Anyone who struggles with gluten intolerance in addition to other food restrictions should take a look at this book. It might be just the ticket you've been looking for.

This is one of my most favorite cookbooks! The recipes are just delicious. The ingredients used are all natural, whole food type ingredients.

Though we are not vegan, I feel that feeding my family vegan meals is part of a healthy diet. Both of my sons were diagnosed with ADHD about 2 years ago so I put our family on a (healthy) GF /CF diet. The Gluten-Free Vegan is a perfect book for anyone wanting to eat a healthy GF / CF diet.

Our family's favorite recipes are: the Antioxidant Chili, Kale with Peanut Sauce, Mexican Quinoa Salad, Curried Apple and Cauliflower Soup, Super Antioxidant Salad, Zippity Do Da Coleslaw, No-Meat Meatballs, Pumpkin Scones, and the Apple Pie Bars! The author also gives a short ingredient guide in the beginning. Very Helpful.

Great Book! Great Buy!

This is the first cookbook that is gluten-free that I have loved every recipe I have made. The other cookbooks I have tried my family has only enjoyed about half of the recipes. If you have food intolerances or not I would highly recommend this cookbook. I have been searching and cooking ever since my kids and I found out we should not be eating gluten, eggs and dairy. I have felt like I was spending so much time cooking with just so so results. I am pleased to have a cookbook that the when I take the time to cook will result in a fabulous meal.

Wow! I received this book about two weeks ago and have tried maybe 10 or so recipes. All of them were great! And I don't mean, "yeah, this is Ok considering it is vegan and gluten free". I mean, "Wow! This is really, really good!" I had a friend over for a few of the meals as a "guinea pig" and she couldn't get enough and told me she's be a guinea pig any day! I'm a vegetarian and have all of the cookbooks you can imagine. I've never had one that I've tried multiple recipes and all of them are amazing. Can't recommend this enough!

So, just to satisfy cravings and as a good judge of character, I always check a cookbook to see how the biscuits turn out. Excellent biscuits (though I used less baking powder--didn't get very puffy but still tasted awesome, and what I remembered of the real thing), and a good mix of recipes that covers some basics and some exotic treats all in a small package. The book calls for a lot of "normal" ingredients, so for a college kid it's not to difficult to enjoy. My only issue is the oats thing, so just skip that paragraph and substitute when you get to the (2 or 3) recipes that call for oats.

When my partner found out she had Celiac disease, I was both relieved and anxious. As anyone who has been in this position can tell you, finally knowing what is making a loved one appear to be starving to death is good news. Even though it means there is no real cure, no surgery or pill to take to make it all better. What we did know is that certain foods made her sick and we weren't going to be eating those foods anymore.

So our journey began to find recipes for the new diet she (and I) were going to have in order that she begin healing and regaining her health. And that's where this book came in handy. I'm vegetarian, she eats turkey and fish. She can't do dairy or anything with gluten. So when I saw the title of this book I thought maybe we could alter the recipes so she could also have turkey and fish occasionally.

What a delight! These recipes are fairly simple, cover a range of options outside of wheat, meat and dairy, and are absolutely delicious. The two of us have been trying out the different recipes for breakfasts, lunches and dinners. She's been feeling better and I've been losing weight (which I needed to do). We often make dishes based on these recipes to take over to friends' homes so they get to experience these tasty recipes.

The informational section in the front of the book was very helpful in understanding some of the hidden sources of glutenous foods. For example, texturized vegetable protein (TVP) is listed as containing gluten. Neither of us knew this so we can stay away from making something with TVP (until we find a source of gluten-free TVP).

I highly recommend this cookbook for anyone who has a special needs diet such as Celiac Disease. It is certainly a gem for those of us who also aspire to a vegan diet.