Vegan Family Meals: Real Food for Everyone [Hardcover]

Ann Gentry (Author)

Book Description

Release date: June 14, 2011

An accessible way for families to tap into the vegan movement from chef to the stars, Ann Gentry, owner of Real Food Daily, the only restaurant in Los Angeles that serves a 100 percent vegan menu.

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. 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.

Editorial Reviews

Review

Ann Gentry "understands ... how to get finicky mini eaters to try new dishes." --People.com

"Gentry is a pioneer in the world of vegan cuisine." --She Knows/Miso Vegan

"Vegan Family Meals is filled with recipes that will appeal to all sorts of people." --The Oregonian

"Feeding an entire family healthy, vegan fare while juggling a demanding career takes superpowers...or a copy of Vegan Family Meals! ... Family Vegan Meals will educate and delight." --Foodista

"This food is so delicious, clean, and good for you." --NBC Style Goes Strong.com

"Gentry reminds us just how easy (and delicious) it is to build intriguing meals from plant-based ingredients." --ReadyMade Magazine

"Ambitious" --Buffalo News

"Vegan Family Meals [is] less about converting you through environmental and health reasons and more about tempting your taste buds." --Seattle Weekly

"A comprehensive resource on cooking healthy and delicious, family-style vegan food." --Love to Know.com

"This book is a terrific resource." --Cooking Nook

"Vegan Family Meals has the potential to be a fabulous cookbook for vegetarians, vegans, and even meat-eaters." --The Examiner

"Vegan chef Ann Gentry is a culinary powerhouse.... (Vegan Family Meals is) a beautiful cookbook filled with imaginative recipes perfect for the weeknight dinner table and dinner parties." --VegNews magazine

"A great book if you're looking for some new inspiration, but still want to keep things simple. It also never hurts to have a collection of great vegan recipes on hand." --Tablefare.com

"This book is filled with flavorful and satisfying recipes that support everyone's health, personal ethics, and the environment that we all share." --Portland Book Review

About the Author

Ann Gentry is the creator, founder, and operating owner of Real Food Daily, the only restaurant in the Los Angeles area that serves a 100% vegan menu using zero animal by-products and foods grown exclusively with organic farming methods. She is the author of The Real Food Daily Cookbook. She lives in Los Angeles with her family.

Online:

www.realfood.com

Product Details

• Hardcover: 272 pages
• Publisher: Andrews McMeel Publishing (June 14, 2011)
• Language: English
• ISBN-10: 1449402372
• ISBN-13: 978-1449402372
• Product Dimensions: 7.5 x 1 x 9.2 inches
• Shipping Weight: 2.2 pounds (View shipping rates and policies)
• Average Customer Review: 4.4 out of 5 stars  See all reviews (34 customer reviews)
• Amazon Best Sellers Rank: #139,583 in Books (See Top 100 in Books)

More About the Author

Ann Gentry is a visionary, pioneer and food educator who continues to raise the standard of vegan cuisine. For two decades her restaurants, Real Food Daily remain the premiere gourmet organic vegan eatery in Southern California, CA. Ann is the author of Vegan Family Meals, real food for everyone and The Real Food Daily Cookbook. Ann has also appeared on a multitude of television shows, including THE TALK, The Today Show, the Discovery Channel and the Food Network. Currently, she can be seen on The Dish Network on the Veria channel hosting her own cooking show, Naturally Delicious. Ann is the executive chef to Vegetarian Times magazine, where she contributes recipes and articles about healthy eating and lifestyle and her recipes have been published in The Los Angeles Times, Veg News, Junior: The World's Finest Parenting Magazine as well as other national magazines and food industry trade publications.
Ann blogs about everything green: from her culinary travels to her life as a restaurateur and supermom and she shares her invention of new recipes @ www.realfood.com.

Most Helpful Customer Reviews

26 of 26 people found the following review helpful

3.0 out of 5 stars If You're Up for a Challenge September 14, 2011

By K. A. Snyder

Format:Hardcover|Amazon Verified Purchase

I was looking for a good cookbook for my parents who are budding vegetarians and purchased this one based on the title alone, having no previous knowledge of Ann, her restaurant, or her other books. I mistakenly took this to be a book of recipes that could be realized in anyone's kitchen and enjoyed at anyone's table, regardless of their age or location.

I chose not to give this book to my parents. They live in rural Michigan where it is a serious trek to the nearest Whole Foods, and every grocery store attendant in a fifteen mile radius looks at you funny if you ask for something as normal as vital wheat gluten. To keep them from burning out on a diet of chick peas, I gave them "Supermarket Vegan: 225 Meat-Free, Egg-Free, Dairy-Free Recipes for Real People in the Real World" by Donna Klein, instead of "Vegan Family Meals".

I kept "Vegan Family Meals" for myself. I live in St. Louis and have plenty of ethnic groceries and much more "health" food at my disposal, however, I also live 20 minutes away from the nearest Whole Foods or Trader Joes (they only build those in the suburbs). My husband and I also live on $30,000 a year, which definitely makes smaller health food stores out of the question.

I have already tried a few recipes in this book and have been pleased by the outcome. My husband loves the melty cashew cheese. The recipes are a good challenge for my cooking skills and ingredient repertoire.

If I ever make it to California, perhaps I will better understand in that context how these recipes are "real food" and "for everyone".

24 of 24 people found the following review helpful

5.0 out of 5 stars A top-notch vegan nutrition and cookbook July 1, 2011

By librarygirl

Format:Hardcover|Amazon Verified Purchase

I eagerly waited to get my copy of VFM after pre-ordering and I wasn't disappointed. This cookbook is a feast for the eyes as well as the palate. Beautifully photographed and laid out, Ann Gentry presents vegan meals for everyone. Not only does she provide clear-cut instructions on each dish, she also provides suggestions on what could accompany the dish. Ann also talks about ingredients that may not be familiar to a new cook and how to incorporate them, shows how to do different cutting techniques and discusses the health benefits of olive oil, antioxidants, essential fatty acids and numerous healthy plant foods such as leafy greens, grains and nuts.

The recipes don't disappoint. So far I have made the Tofu Scramble with Caramelized Onion and Sun-Dried Tomatoes, Spicy-Sweet Roasted Almonds, Baked Kale Chips, Hemp-Crusted Tofu Wrap with Grilled Vegetables and Walnut-Basil Pesto Mayonnaise, Early Spring Salad with Tofu Chevre (how fun!) and Herb-Flaxseed Vinaigrette, Southwestern Salad with Chipotle Ranch Dressing (delicious) and Agave-Chili Tortilla Strips, Szechuan Noodles with Hot Spicy Peanut Sauce (so tasty, the perfect peanut noodle dish and quick to make) and Kung Pao Tofu and Vegetables. I still have quite a few recipes to try out but so far I have been very happy and impressed. I know some people will be daunted by the time and ingredients involved with some of these recipes, but you get what you put into it. If you plan ahead, these dishes don't take that long to make. I work full-time and it takes me over an hour to get home and we still eat dinner at a decent hour.

Ann concludes her cookbook with a nice listing of sources ranging from natural food companies to vegan education and organizations.... This cookbook is more than a mere cookbook as it provides invaluable information about nutrition and vegan health. Ann has done a wonderful job in writing this book and it is very obviously a labor of love. Read more ›

19 of 20 people found the following review helpful

2.0 out of 5 stars I wanted to love it...but will never use it September 9, 2011

By kimmyp

Format:Kindle Edition|Amazon Verified Purchase

After eating at Real Food Daily last weekend, I was excited to purchase this book. Sadly, after reading all of the recipes I doubt I will be cooking any of them unless I have a lot of spare time--which I do not. I actually found the long lists of ingredients in every recipe to be exhausting to read let alone put together as a meal. Even the quick meals section would take tons of work. If you have a lot of time to prep and cook your family meals, then by all means try this cookbook. I recommend looking at the book at a bookstore before buying to decide for yourself. If I had then I would have passed on purchasing it.

13 of 13 people found the following review helpful

3.0 out of 5 stars Lovely to look at, lofty to reach for in this family's kitchen September 21, 2011

By Kimberly Zimmerman

Format:Hardcover|Amazon Verified Purchase

This cookbook is undeniably a work of art--the binding, photography, recipe choices, tips and info on vegan cooking and overall layout are all lovely. However, for me, a busy wife and mother of two, these recipes are not what I would call "family meals" and "food for everyone". They are definitely for someone with lots of time to spend in the kitchen. During the summer, when I had a bit more time, I put together several of these recipes and they turned out well. But I had to spend 2-3 hours on preparation for each meal and quickly felt cooking burnout coming on. I will hold on to this cookbook because it's so pretty and maybe the day will come when I have time to do nothing but chop, dice, blend, saute, mix, and wash lots of dishes.
So, if you have lots of time, if cooking is your passion, maybe it's an everyday sort of book for you. For me, I need simpler, quicker recipes for my family everyday.

12 of 13 people found the following review helpful

5.0 out of 5 stars More culinary genius from Ann Gentry! June 27, 2011

By Barbietta

Format:Hardcover

I am a huge fan of the RFD restaurant in Santa Monica and have been cooking almost exclusively from the Real Food Daily cookbook for the past year. The flavors and textures in every recipe are amazingly sophistocated. Her instructions are extremely clear, and if you follow them exactly, your dishes will turn out perfectly every time. A novice cook would have no trouble. I am pleased to say that Vegan Family Meals is an equally impressive effort. I've tried seven of the recipes so far, and every one has been excellent. I recently made the Watercress and Butter Lettuce Salad with Israeli Couscous, Orange-Basil Tempeh, and Sweet Miso Dressing for a gathering with friends and it was a huge hit. We fought over second helpings! This is gourmet whole food cuisine at its finest.

Don't just buy Vegan Family Meals, buy the Real Food Daily Cookbook as well and throw all your other cookbooks away.