I’ve had to majorly overhaul my cookbook collection. Things like “Meat,” “Bacon,” “Pork,” and most of my BBQ, Tex-Mex, and Italian books had very little (if any) vegaquarian options, much less GF. And very little modifiability, either, at least for me being new to all this. So I figured I needed to find a selection of new books from which to start. I’ll continue to update this link with cookbooks I like (or don’t like) as I figure them out.

Books & Recipe Links

– Great Gluten-Free Vegan Eats : Awesome! Just got this one, and tried two of the recipes so far; both were winners! Fantastic pictures of every recipe, and a nice intro with substitutions and gf living. Highly recommend this one! She also has a blog.

– Artisan Vegan Cheeses : this one is amazing! I never thought I’d ever have cheese again… But now I can! The author has spent a lot of time experimenting with nut and alternate-dairy cheeses, and so far, has done a great job. The buffalo mozz was AMAZING (though we used the updated recipe that can be found here). After that was in the fridge a couple weeks (it makes a lot) and got too tangy to eat straight, I used Miyoko’s suggestion in the book to make a sundried tomato and chive cream cheese spread. OMG that was one of the best tasting spreads ever, even when I ate real cream cheese! The meltable cheddar was OK… I think I didn’t cook it right, and also I think the kind of nutritional yeast may make a difference (I have no idea, this is a tbd thing). So I’ll try it again using a non-bulk-aisle nooch (apparently that’s the nickname for nutritional yeast) and cook it proper. I also made the pub cheddar, which turned out a bit better, but since I used the same nooch, it still had “that” flavor. Anyway, still awesome, and I’m happy to even have semi-cheese again!!

– GF Vegan Buttah – This is an awesome recipe. It has the same mouth-feel as butter, a very similar taste, melts nicely… We’ve tried it on corn-on-the-cob and on bread, and it passes both with flying colors. It’s said that this is great in baking, and even in frostings! The best part? It’s LOW in saturated fat! Like 2g per T. That’s way better than any other butter substitute out there, AND it doesn’t use palm oil whose harvesting kills poor orangutangs. So it’s a win all around.

– Here’s a link to the above vegan buttah blogger’s GF vegan recipes. Haven’t tried any yet, but they are on the list! Will update this as I go through them.

– Complete Idiot’s Guide to Plant-Based Nutrition – I’m not big on the idiot’s guides, but this one is actually great for anyone new to the lifestyle. It’s very educational, easy to read, and very positive.

– Superfood Smoothies – Since I’m having to up my fruits and veggies, this is a good way to get a lot in at once, a bit easier to get down sometimes. The ingredients can be pricey, but as she mentions, they last a while. So far, the majority of the smoothies we’ve tried have been great! And a good way to switch things up. Mostly we make a smoothie for a mid-afternoon snack, but every now and then, we use the mega-ones in the back to be meal-replacements.

– Chloe’s Kitchen – her cupcakes won that cupcake war thingy, and they’re vegan! Many of her recipes have come out pretty tasty, so it’s a great book to get started with. And you can make a lot of gluten-free substitutions.