Customer Reviews

The Vegetarian Family Cookbook

5 star:		(29)
4 star:		(11)
3 star:		(4)
2 star:		(0)
1 star:		(1)

 

 

Nava Atlas' brand new cookbook has given me motivation to cook again!! With two picky vegetarian children and no time to cook, it has been difficult lately to even think of meal ideas. Atlas' newest cookbook gives great suggestions, is designed to be a great time saver, and is perfect for vegetarian and vegan families. It is a wonderful addition to my family's bookshelf.

This book is easy to read and easy to use. It is divided into a number of sections including: Easy Breakfast Treats, Soothing Soups & Salads, Pasta, Tofu & Seitan, Vegetables and Grains, Easy Side dishes, Sandwiches and School Lunches, Healthy Snacks and Baked Goods.

I really appreciate that most of the recipes have easy-to-find ingredients and are simple to make. Many of Atlas' ingredients are already in your kitchen. Each recipe is clearly marked whether it contains dairy or eggs and most of the recipes include variations. I also love how she makes it easier for readers to plan meals by noting accompanying side dishes and their page numbers. This makes it so easy to serve a complete and delicious meal without frantically having to think of accompaniments.

In addition to the recipes, Atlas discusses vegetarian eating and other topics including pesticides in our food, the vegetarian food pyramid, and websites dedicated to vegetarian and vegan lifestyles.--Denise Steele-Darnell

While I am not a vegetarian, I do incorporate vegetarian meals into my diet frequently. I have enjoyed all of Nava's other books, but was a bit leary of this book, since she adopted a veagan diet while writing it. I was wrong to doubt her.

She has several great recipes in there that I totally recommend: mushroom stroganoff, taco salad, and mashed sweet potatos with leeks, peas and walnuts. All are very easy and taste incredible.

I would recommend this book to anyone. I think the side-by-side nutritional analysis of the vegetarian vs. vegan versions of recipes are very eye-opening. It makes me want to try soy cheese one more time.

I am so happy to have discovered Nava Atlas's latest book, The Vegetarian Family Cookbook. The simple, healthy, and delicious dishes are exactly what my family and I like to eat. Atlas's recipes are so approachable - especially for a busy parent. She offers ideas for meals that fit into a busy family lifestyle - simple breakfast ideas, suggestions for school lunches, healthy snacks, and quick dinners. The recipes call for few, easy-to-find ingredients making this book perfect for even the novice cook or beginning vegetarian.

This comprehensive book includes recipes for breakfasts, soups, salads, casseroles, pasta, grains, beans, vegetables, snacks, and desserts. For those who don't know what to do with tofu, Atlas explains the different types and gives many recipes that will make even those who think they don't like tofu, realize that maybe they do. I made the tofu burgers for family and friends and everybody was begging for more (I now make double batches!) I also enjoyed the section on seitan - a meat-like product made from wheat gluten. The recipe for homemade seitan is so easy and the seitan tastes so much better than the store-bought product that my family didn't like.

In addition to all the yummy recipes, The Vegetarian Family Cookbook includes great information about vegetarianism, reasons to eat organic, substitutes for dairy products, nutrition information, and useful books and web sites. This book had already become the cookbook I turn to first when trying to decide what to make for dinner. Whether your family is vegetarian, vegan, or just trying to eat a more plant-based diet, the recipes in this cookbook are sure to please.

The best part about this cookbook is the baking section. Both the muffin recipes and the cookie recipes incorporate whole wheat flour, flax seeds, natural sweeteners, with just a tablespoon or two of oil (and are vegan) and they come out superb! This book is worth buying just for this section alone! As for the remaining recipes of the book, they are certainly family fare, so more sophisticated palates will be disappointed. But, if you have a family of picky eaters, or are cramped for time and need to whip up a speedy meal based upon pantry items, this is a perfect book to turn to. The more adventuresome cook can use the recipes as a base for more creative meals.

I recently made the decision to adopt a vegetarian lifestyle. In doing so, I new that I would need a reference guide to help me along my way. This book is a wonderful tool for anyone who may be new to the vegetarian life, or the experienced vegetarians out there. I have never eaten soy products before, and have never even seen tofu up close, so I was worried that all of the recipes that were in this book would be very complicated and difficult for a novice cook like myself to tackle. I couldn't have been further from the truth. Not only are the recipes in Nava's book easy to make, they all include ingredients that are easy for me to find in my local grocery store. I come from a smaller town in West Virginia and we don't have a health food store or vegan restaurant every 10 feet like they do elsewhere, but with this book, I am able to go to the same grocery store that I have always shopped at and get everything I need. The recipes are healthy and very tasty, and this book has made the transition from a meat eater to a vegetarian not only easy, but fun. I now look forward to making new dishes and trying new ingredients, and I plan to check out all of Nava Atlas's resources. She also includes great websites in the back of this book to check out. I can assure you that you will not be disappointed if you get this book.

Not every recipe in this book was great, as is true with just about any cookbook. I have tried some recipes that I was not impressed with, but I also came upon many recipes I liked quite a bit, such as her recipes for chickpea burgers and enchiladas. What I really enjoyed was learning how to make baked goods that are pretty healthy and pretty tasty! She has recipes for pancakes, muffins, cookies, etc. that are made with ingredients like whole wheat pastry flour, applesauce, yogurt, and flaxseed. Like the ingredients in her other recipes, these can all be found in most grocery stores. So many recipes in other vegetarian cookbooks are complicated and contain ingredients only found in health food stores. The recipes in this cookbook are for the most party pretty simple. This cookbook is particularly good for vegetarians with kids. The book contains many kid-friendly recipes (pizza, macaroni and cheese, chili mac, spaghetti, etc.) but also has general ideas on things you can give kids for breakfast or pack in their lunch. The biggest downside to this cookbook is that, if you're not into tofu and seitan, you'll have to skip over quite a few recipes.

This is a wonderful vegetarian cookbook, but I think that meat-eating families should have it on their bookshelves, too. In fact, you don't even need kids to benefit from this book.

This book provides recipes, but more importantly, it provides tons of ideas for nutritious meals, snacks, shakes, baked goods, etc. Although many of the recipes are written to use dairy products and eggs, you can make them vegan with a few simple substitutions.

Unlike many vegetarian cookbooks, which require the use of fancy-schmancy ingredients that are hard to find and that you probably don't have sitting around the house, these recipes give suggestions and variations so that you can use the ingredients you have handy or just like better. Many of the dishes are also not terribly labor-intensive, and some are not labor-intensive at all. The result is filling, nutritious, earth-conscious home-style cooking that even the pickiest eaters will love.

Recipes include everything, from full dinners, to soups, to breakfast foods, to smoothies, to quick, no-cook snacks. Ideas on how to serve and pair foods are also provided, as well as some nutritional information.

To sum up, I love this book, and I don't even have kids!

I have a lot of vegetarian cookbooks and I like a lot of them, but this one is my FAVORITE! The recipes turn out great (sometimes I add more spices) and I usually have most of the ingredients in my kitchen which is probably the best part of this cookbook. I highly recommend this cookbook if you're looking for recipes that are simple, family-friendly, and frankly, delicious!

I bought this book as a Christmas gift for my 'tweenage' nieces to encourage their vegetarianism and interest in cooking. I read some of it before I wrapped it and decided I had to have one for myself. I avoid buying cookbooks especially ones without pictures (honestly that became completely unimportant with this book). I wisely decided I couldn't live without this one and have been reading it and cooking from it non-stop.

The recipies are simple to make with easily obtained ingredients and multiple suggestions for substitutes. Very helpfully, the nutritional information is listed, too. The recipies are grouped in sensible and helpful chapters, not 'menu style'. Great suggestions are included with each recipie for further embellishments, complimentary dishes and ways to simplify the dish for children.

Overall it is a great resource in so many ways. There are tips for shopping, menu planning, packing lunches and handling leftovers (if there are any!). The books is also full of helpful information to encourage the vegetarian/vegan lifestyle and to promote the use of organically grown foods.

A "must have" book for any health conscious cook, parent or not.

I've been a vegetarian for 25 years, but having a 2 year-old child who won't eat vegetables has made me look at food in a whole new way. I borrowed Nava's book from the library to get some ideas, but intend to buy it soon because I don't think I can live without it.

I love that the recipes are simple, the directions are easy to follow, the ingredients aren't hard to find (plus she often lists substitute options) and she has vegan alternatives for almost every recipe. The simplicity is key for a mother of 2 small children - minimal prep time and the least amount of dirty dishes possible is what we moms strive for. I like her recipe tips, for example the "make it a meal" section of each recipe where she suggests a couple of things you can add to the plate to make a well rounded, satisfying meal. The food tastes great, the stir fry even had my small fry trying some new veggies. The vegan options are so useful for anyone wanting to expand into the world of soy products. I've recently been told by the allergist to give up dairy products which had been a major part of my diet and I think I would have starved without this book.