I have to admit, I started out with good intentions for MoFo this year! But as much as I want to be creative with some of the subjects, a good functional meal for three hungry kids is all that I have time for.
But for today's theme, I wanted to spend a little time and effort because it is a subject that is important to me!
I went vegan ages ago. This is when you had to buy your TVP from a dusty shelf at the back of a natural food store that only serious tree huggers frequented. Cookbooks? There was the Single Vegan (because no one else was!) and a few macrobiotic cookbooks that just seemed a little *too* weird at the time. But eventually more and more books were published, and I snatched them up with eager anticipation.
One of those early books in my collection was The Everyday Vegan by Canadian cookbook author Dreena Burton. The recipes were great, the food was relatively normal for being vegan food. While some ingredients were not readily on hand, I was intrigued. Hemp seeds?, I thought. If I could have only known then that this cookbook would introduce me to an ingredient that I would consume at least a pound of each week. The As-You-Like Muffins were a staple, as were the Sweet and Sour Neat Balls.
As the books kept coming, you could see a maturity in the progression through the vegan diet. Fewer and fewer processed foods were being used, and her last book, Let Them Eat Vegan, really seemed to be focused much more on whole foods. While I couldn't make everything from Dreena's most recently published book since Kyson was diagnosed with 11 food allergies, I was able to make substitutes quite readily. I was so appreciative for Dreena's healthy recipes as I could still find a way feed a family healthy vegan food without legumes, nuts or soy. Thank goodness for those hemp seed recipes!
I have no idea how it happened, but somehow Dreena asked me to be a tester for her newest cookbook, Plant-Powered Families. I said yes, and warned her of the allergy situation I had that would prevent me from testing her recipes the way that she had written them. I also had a newborn, one that never slept and needed me constantly. But I was excited about having a new slew of recipes.
When the testing pages starting to roll in, I was hooked. Every recipe was so easy, kid-friendly and made from whole foods. And finally - it was vegan food that wasn't reliant on legumes, nuts and soy. There were allergy subs everywhere! This sounds really pathetic, but I had tears in my eyes and the sight of a cookbook that seemed to be made for us and our situation. I felt like I needed to jump up on the rooftops and tell everyone about this book. I thought that every parent needed this book - they could send their kids to school with super easy, nutrient-dense food with nut-free options abound!
But for today's theme, I wanted to spend a little time and effort because it is a subject that is important to me!
I went vegan ages ago. This is when you had to buy your TVP from a dusty shelf at the back of a natural food store that only serious tree huggers frequented. Cookbooks? There was the Single Vegan (because no one else was!) and a few macrobiotic cookbooks that just seemed a little *too* weird at the time. But eventually more and more books were published, and I snatched them up with eager anticipation.
One of those early books in my collection was The Everyday Vegan by Canadian cookbook author Dreena Burton. The recipes were great, the food was relatively normal for being vegan food. While some ingredients were not readily on hand, I was intrigued. Hemp seeds?, I thought. If I could have only known then that this cookbook would introduce me to an ingredient that I would consume at least a pound of each week. The As-You-Like Muffins were a staple, as were the Sweet and Sour Neat Balls.
As the books kept coming, you could see a maturity in the progression through the vegan diet. Fewer and fewer processed foods were being used, and her last book, Let Them Eat Vegan, really seemed to be focused much more on whole foods. While I couldn't make everything from Dreena's most recently published book since Kyson was diagnosed with 11 food allergies, I was able to make substitutes quite readily. I was so appreciative for Dreena's healthy recipes as I could still find a way feed a family healthy vegan food without legumes, nuts or soy. Thank goodness for those hemp seed recipes!
I have no idea how it happened, but somehow Dreena asked me to be a tester for her newest cookbook, Plant-Powered Families. I said yes, and warned her of the allergy situation I had that would prevent me from testing her recipes the way that she had written them. I also had a newborn, one that never slept and needed me constantly. But I was excited about having a new slew of recipes.
When the testing pages starting to roll in, I was hooked. Every recipe was so easy, kid-friendly and made from whole foods. And finally - it was vegan food that wasn't reliant on legumes, nuts and soy. There were allergy subs everywhere! This sounds really pathetic, but I had tears in my eyes and the sight of a cookbook that seemed to be made for us and our situation. I felt like I needed to jump up on the rooftops and tell everyone about this book. I thought that every parent needed this book - they could send their kids to school with super easy, nutrient-dense food with nut-free options abound!
I can't even tell you all of the recipes I've made from this book. And I make them again and again. OK, here is a list, some of which I subbed allergy-friendly ingredients, either suggested by the author or from my own will:
Pumpkin Chia Pudding
Lemon-Kissed Blondie Bites
Chickpea 'n Rice Soup
Chunky Monkey Smoothie
Apple Pie Smoothie
Best Banana Bread
Blueberry Lassy Muffins
Double Chocolate Orange Banana Muffins
Artichoke Spinach Dip
All the burgers
Sweetballs
Ta-Quinos
Vanilla Bean Chocolate Chip Cookies
Nicer Krispie Squares
No-Bake Granola Bars
Protein Power Balls
Fudgesicles
Chocolate Sweet Potato Cake with frosting
A+ Caramel Apples
Plus it has a section to inspire you when dealing with picky eaters and back to school lunch menus and ideas and a meal plan when you are in a rut and tired of meal planning all of the time.
So even if you aren't dealing with kids, or even food allergies, but are a busy person looking for nice and easy healthy food to prepare, this book is ideal! I'm so grateful for this book and hope that it finds itself in everyone's cookbook collection.
Note: I will post up pictures of my creations of these recipes once I have a way to get them in here, other than sending my pics from my computer to my phone, then logging into Blogger and putting them in. It just doesn't seem so 2015. Why, oh, why, does Apple not like Google products and crash every time I try to upload?
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