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Vegan Cooking for Dummies
An authoritative resource on making delicious, healthy vegan-friendly meals Veganism is a lifestyle abstaining from the consumption of meat, poultry, dairy products, eggs, and all foods originating from animals. The perfect companion to Living Vegan For Dummies, Vegan Cooking For Dummies provides vegans, and those thinking about becoming vegan, with more than 100 healthy and hearty vegan recipes. Vegan Cooking For Dummies is a great way to maintain a healthy, balanced vegan diet!
364 pages, Paperback
First published October 26, 2010
19 people are currently reading
198 people want to read
About the author
Alexandra Jamieson
8 books33 followersAs the best-selling author of five books including Radical Alignment, Women, Food & Desire, and co-creator and co-star of the Oscar-nominated documentary Super Size Me, Alexandra Jamieson is an activist artist, veteran coach and mentor, and motivational guide for thousands.
Alex has made it her mission to empower people to slay their shame, and shine their creative unique souls to the world.
Her activist art includes the Abortion Trading Cards and book, and the Fascism Tarot Deck.
Her latest book Radical Alignment, co-authored with her husband Bob Gower, published August 11, 2020.
Alex has developed many interactive workshops, retreats, and private coaching programs.
Her work has been featured in O Magazine, Goop, Martha Stewart Living, the New York Times, CNN, Elle, Marie Claire, USA Today, People, and the American Heart Association amongst many others.
Alex is also an award-winning watercolor painter and loves leaving her laptop to get lost in creating commissioned works for clients around the world.
Alex has made it her mission to empower people to slay their shame, and shine their creative unique souls to the world.
Her activist art includes the Abortion Trading Cards and book, and the Fascism Tarot Deck.
Her latest book Radical Alignment, co-authored with her husband Bob Gower, published August 11, 2020.
Alex has developed many interactive workshops, retreats, and private coaching programs.
Her work has been featured in O Magazine, Goop, Martha Stewart Living, the New York Times, CNN, Elle, Marie Claire, USA Today, People, and the American Heart Association amongst many others.
Alex is also an award-winning watercolor painter and loves leaving her laptop to get lost in creating commissioned works for clients around the world.
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Displaying 1 - 12 of 12 reviews
November 29, 2018
I’m not a vegan yet. I may very well become one, but I’m now eating vegan food part time, making my hesitant steps towards veganism. I’m certainly not going to pretend I’ve tried all the recipes in this book, but it seems to me to be an excellent cookbook for someone like me. I felt it gave me the basic information I needed to get going. It has a certain amount of preachy stuff, but nothing that bothered me. Definitely going to read it again, and continue to try out the recipes.
March 9, 2011
A great starter book for the newbies (like me)
Full disclosure and please no one get all over excited and slam me, but while I am trying to get more meatless/vegetarian options into my diet I do not intend going all Vegan at this time. I'm cutting out red meats and a lot of poultry (except Turkey and that is getting sooooooooooo boring) and even in Seattle good seafood can be hard to find unless one wants to deal with fighting downtown traffic, the crowds and paying an arm and a leg for the privilege of parking. I'll pass.
I'm also not much for spending a lot of time in the kitchen so when this book showed up on Amazon Vine I was thrilled to get a chance and see what it could do for me. It starts with a really great intro outlining the basic vegan concept in simple to understand English, as well as how to stock your pantry (The Vegan Pantry Deconstructed) and purchase the utensils you'll need.
The book is then broken down into the usual sections you find in most cookbooks; breakfast, salads, soups, etc. There are plenty of tips, reminders and warnings sprinkled throughout the book plus how-to drawings when need to aid the *chef*. The book is mostly in black and white, so don't expect pics of every recipe, although there is a four page inset with a few examples (must try the Pumpkin pancakes). Some of the recipes are a bit more than I care to fuss with in the kitchen, but I've already tried the White Bean salad (very very easy) and one of the chili recipes (not bad, but I'm adding some extra heat and still simmering). I'm also eyeing the kale and white bean soup for next week's lunch and the red potatoe soup sounds rather tempting...
All in all a very handy book to have at hand whether you're just getting your toes wet like me or ready to take the full plunge into vegan eating. Enjoy.
Full disclosure and please no one get all over excited and slam me, but while I am trying to get more meatless/vegetarian options into my diet I do not intend going all Vegan at this time. I'm cutting out red meats and a lot of poultry (except Turkey and that is getting sooooooooooo boring) and even in Seattle good seafood can be hard to find unless one wants to deal with fighting downtown traffic, the crowds and paying an arm and a leg for the privilege of parking. I'll pass.
I'm also not much for spending a lot of time in the kitchen so when this book showed up on Amazon Vine I was thrilled to get a chance and see what it could do for me. It starts with a really great intro outlining the basic vegan concept in simple to understand English, as well as how to stock your pantry (The Vegan Pantry Deconstructed) and purchase the utensils you'll need.
The book is then broken down into the usual sections you find in most cookbooks; breakfast, salads, soups, etc. There are plenty of tips, reminders and warnings sprinkled throughout the book plus how-to drawings when need to aid the *chef*. The book is mostly in black and white, so don't expect pics of every recipe, although there is a four page inset with a few examples (must try the Pumpkin pancakes). Some of the recipes are a bit more than I care to fuss with in the kitchen, but I've already tried the White Bean salad (very very easy) and one of the chili recipes (not bad, but I'm adding some extra heat and still simmering). I'm also eyeing the kale and white bean soup for next week's lunch and the red potatoe soup sounds rather tempting...
All in all a very handy book to have at hand whether you're just getting your toes wet like me or ready to take the full plunge into vegan eating. Enjoy.
January 4, 2022
Kitap veganlığın ne olduğundan, besin eksikliğine maruz kalmadan vegan beslenmek için ne yapılması gerektiğine ve vegan mutfağın düzenine kadar pek çok bilgi içermekte.
Tek sorun tarifleri Türkiye koşullarında yapabilmenin imkansızlığı. Hic adını duymadığımız bitkiler, bilsek bile ulaşımın çok zor olacağı baharat, sos, sebze ve hatta ürün markaları kitabın asıl alıcı olan tarif kısmını kullanılmaz kılıyor. Yine de tariflere bakıp ilham alabilirsiniz, akla gelmeyen fikirler çıkabiliyor aralarından bazılarında.
Tek sorun tarifleri Türkiye koşullarında yapabilmenin imkansızlığı. Hic adını duymadığımız bitkiler, bilsek bile ulaşımın çok zor olacağı baharat, sos, sebze ve hatta ürün markaları kitabın asıl alıcı olan tarif kısmını kullanılmaz kılıyor. Yine de tariflere bakıp ilham alabilirsiniz, akla gelmeyen fikirler çıkabiliyor aralarından bazılarında.
March 17, 2011
Background:
Over the fourteen years I've been a (ovo-lacto) vegetarian, I've often thought of becoming a vegan, but usually discarded it because it seemed like it would be too difficult, and really, how could I give up cheese? Especially my favorite comfort food, macaroni and cheese. Sure, there's soy cheese but it has been harder to find, not to mention, more expensive. However, I've recently discovered what rennet is and cannot stomach ever eating cheese again. This comes years after I'd already stopped eating gelatin when I found out where that came from. So, slowly but surely, I've been taking one step at a time towards becoming vegan. Now, I don't know if I'll ever become fully vegan, but that's where books like this one can help.
The Book:
I can't tell you how awesome this book is. For the first one-hundred pages, it explains what veganism is, what certain foods are (tofu, which gets a bad rap, tempeh, soy, etc.) and how to properly prepare them, where to get nutrition, what to stock in the pantry, adapting non-vegan recipes to become vegan, and a heck of a lot more helpful information. The recipes make up the bulk of the book and have all the usual categories: breakfast, condiments, desserts, entrees, etc. The introduction page of each category includes what recipes are actually in that chapter, which is a nice feature. All the directions are clearly explained, most are easy to prepare, and don't contain too many 'odd' ingredients that are difficult to find (meaning most of the recipes aren't gourmet and are more on the simple side, which makes me happy). They also contain nutritional information per serving, how much prep time, and tips and variations. I've been very impressed with the page layout of the recipe section, which features a border that separates it from the information section, so even when closed you can clearly see where this portion starts and that makes it easier to find the recipes. In the last chapter, there's even is a list of emergency snacks for vegans on the road or otherwise stuck without their own pantry, which could be very helpful for newbies. From beginning to end, this is a well-organized book chockful of useful tidbits and interesting recipes that I'll be sure to go back to again and again. Highly recommended.
Over the fourteen years I've been a (ovo-lacto) vegetarian, I've often thought of becoming a vegan, but usually discarded it because it seemed like it would be too difficult, and really, how could I give up cheese? Especially my favorite comfort food, macaroni and cheese. Sure, there's soy cheese but it has been harder to find, not to mention, more expensive. However, I've recently discovered what rennet is and cannot stomach ever eating cheese again. This comes years after I'd already stopped eating gelatin when I found out where that came from. So, slowly but surely, I've been taking one step at a time towards becoming vegan. Now, I don't know if I'll ever become fully vegan, but that's where books like this one can help.
The Book:
I can't tell you how awesome this book is. For the first one-hundred pages, it explains what veganism is, what certain foods are (tofu, which gets a bad rap, tempeh, soy, etc.) and how to properly prepare them, where to get nutrition, what to stock in the pantry, adapting non-vegan recipes to become vegan, and a heck of a lot more helpful information. The recipes make up the bulk of the book and have all the usual categories: breakfast, condiments, desserts, entrees, etc. The introduction page of each category includes what recipes are actually in that chapter, which is a nice feature. All the directions are clearly explained, most are easy to prepare, and don't contain too many 'odd' ingredients that are difficult to find (meaning most of the recipes aren't gourmet and are more on the simple side, which makes me happy). They also contain nutritional information per serving, how much prep time, and tips and variations. I've been very impressed with the page layout of the recipe section, which features a border that separates it from the information section, so even when closed you can clearly see where this portion starts and that makes it easier to find the recipes. In the last chapter, there's even is a list of emergency snacks for vegans on the road or otherwise stuck without their own pantry, which could be very helpful for newbies. From beginning to end, this is a well-organized book chockful of useful tidbits and interesting recipes that I'll be sure to go back to again and again. Highly recommended.
September 27, 2018
There was a moment in the book that I didn't agree with, where Alex talks about transistioning from "Standard American Diet" to "whole-foods vegan diet" she talks about throwing away any lingering junk food so your kid doesn't crave the chips or whatever and quite frankly I don't agree with that, but, sure - other than that it's okay - Although being in 2018 and referring to things as "ethnic" bothered me, but that might just be me. Could tips for how to restock your kitchen, would recommend.
March 21, 2011
Alexandra Jamieson, Vegan Cooking for Dummies (Wiley, 2011)
Once—just once—I'd like to come across a vegan cookbook, especially a vegan cookbook that is specifically geared towards beginners, that isn't written like it's preaching to the choir. I keep looking for them, because I'm actually interested in vegan cooking. Not because I'm a vegan myself, but I like finding interesting alternatives for ingredients that don't often get used in American cooking (how many recipes featuring celeriac, for example, can you find in a more general all-purpose cookbook? But what a wonderful vegetable it is!), and I cook for vegans every once in a while and like to have ideas around. And I hasten to add, before I go dragging this book through the mud, that I will certainly be keeping it around; the recipes themselves are quite useful, if nothing too much out of the ordinary. (I kind of expected that, this being specifically geared towards beginners.) But I'll never read anything but the recipes again.
Vegan cookbook authors all seem to be writing with a specific set of beliefs about their audience, which is why all of them I've read seem to be preaching to the choir. These are:
1. You are a vegan, or are considering becoming a vegan, because you have an ethical problem with the harming of animals (and that you consider such things as the harvesting of milk or honey to be harming animals). Going vegan for health reasons is only ever considered as a minor side benefit, rather than a central conceit.
2. You interchange the terms “harm” and “cruelty” without any sense of the difference between them. (if I get started on the idiocy of that subset of vegans who now use “cruelty-free” interchangeably with “vegan”, we'll be here all day. Jamieson does this more than any other author I've read, and it drove me up the wall every. single. time.)
3. Because you are vegan, or are interested in becoming so, you also have a vested interest in buying organic products.
4. Because you are vegan, or are interested in becoming so, you are against any foods containing genetically modified organisms.
The idea that someone could be reading this book who doesn't fit into ANY of those categories seems inconceivable to any vegan cookbook author I have so far encountered. I'm here to tell you they exist. I know this because I'm one of them.
Now that we're here and I'm on my soapbox (which, of course, contained only organic, GMO-free soap), let me discourse on a rather interesting sleight-of-hand I've always sort of suspected, but never seen used quite as blatantly as I have here: the ideological coloring of the unproven. Have you ever noticed how, if something is unproven, whether you're willing to throw your weight behind it is directly related to how well it fits in with your beliefs? Jamieson provides me with a wonderfully explicit duality in this regard. If something requires more study, and it doesn't fit in with her way of thinking, then it's bad and you shouldn't do it (specifically, she calls out GMO, since they've only been tested for short-term results on humans, and talks about how Teflon “may” leach chemicals into your food when using it at high temperatures). But if something requires more study and it DOES fit in with her way of thinking, then suddenly it becomes “promising” and you should do as much of it as possible. (The use of certain unrefined sugars being “promising” despite them having been studied, basically, not at all as a food additive was the one that really got me thinking about this subject, especially in relation to this book.) If you're going to rant and rave about the unstudied, jeez, at least be consistent, will you?
Recommended for the recipes, but skip the proselytizing unless you're already a part of the church. But even then, it's nothing you haven't heard before. **
Once—just once—I'd like to come across a vegan cookbook, especially a vegan cookbook that is specifically geared towards beginners, that isn't written like it's preaching to the choir. I keep looking for them, because I'm actually interested in vegan cooking. Not because I'm a vegan myself, but I like finding interesting alternatives for ingredients that don't often get used in American cooking (how many recipes featuring celeriac, for example, can you find in a more general all-purpose cookbook? But what a wonderful vegetable it is!), and I cook for vegans every once in a while and like to have ideas around. And I hasten to add, before I go dragging this book through the mud, that I will certainly be keeping it around; the recipes themselves are quite useful, if nothing too much out of the ordinary. (I kind of expected that, this being specifically geared towards beginners.) But I'll never read anything but the recipes again.
Vegan cookbook authors all seem to be writing with a specific set of beliefs about their audience, which is why all of them I've read seem to be preaching to the choir. These are:
1. You are a vegan, or are considering becoming a vegan, because you have an ethical problem with the harming of animals (and that you consider such things as the harvesting of milk or honey to be harming animals). Going vegan for health reasons is only ever considered as a minor side benefit, rather than a central conceit.
2. You interchange the terms “harm” and “cruelty” without any sense of the difference between them. (if I get started on the idiocy of that subset of vegans who now use “cruelty-free” interchangeably with “vegan”, we'll be here all day. Jamieson does this more than any other author I've read, and it drove me up the wall every. single. time.)
3. Because you are vegan, or are interested in becoming so, you also have a vested interest in buying organic products.
4. Because you are vegan, or are interested in becoming so, you are against any foods containing genetically modified organisms.
The idea that someone could be reading this book who doesn't fit into ANY of those categories seems inconceivable to any vegan cookbook author I have so far encountered. I'm here to tell you they exist. I know this because I'm one of them.
Now that we're here and I'm on my soapbox (which, of course, contained only organic, GMO-free soap), let me discourse on a rather interesting sleight-of-hand I've always sort of suspected, but never seen used quite as blatantly as I have here: the ideological coloring of the unproven. Have you ever noticed how, if something is unproven, whether you're willing to throw your weight behind it is directly related to how well it fits in with your beliefs? Jamieson provides me with a wonderfully explicit duality in this regard. If something requires more study, and it doesn't fit in with her way of thinking, then it's bad and you shouldn't do it (specifically, she calls out GMO, since they've only been tested for short-term results on humans, and talks about how Teflon “may” leach chemicals into your food when using it at high temperatures). But if something requires more study and it DOES fit in with her way of thinking, then suddenly it becomes “promising” and you should do as much of it as possible. (The use of certain unrefined sugars being “promising” despite them having been studied, basically, not at all as a food additive was the one that really got me thinking about this subject, especially in relation to this book.) If you're going to rant and rave about the unstudied, jeez, at least be consistent, will you?
Recommended for the recipes, but skip the proselytizing unless you're already a part of the church. But even then, it's nothing you haven't heard before. **
July 31, 2014
So, I'm really starting to understand why the author couldn't handle being vegan after 13 years and decided she was going to eat animal product again; she deprives herself and puts herself high up on a pedestal.
I enjoyed the recipes in this book, I really did, and many of them I added to my new vegan repertoire and I'm really excited about trying them... but the author... oh... god... please no.
She's preachy(even though she swears she isn't), doesn't have her facts straight on the animal cruelty, and puts herself above anyone who is non-vegan (constantly reminding you that if you're a non vegan then, in her opinion, you just haven't found the light yet).
This was the same problem I had with the other book. It was informative, interesting, filled with recipes I would like to try, and good advice, and on the flip side she's looking down on others and hasn't got all her facts straight. It's infuriating!
I would say, that if you're looking for some new vegan recipes (especially if you're a new vegan, like me), then give this book a try. The recipes really do look intriguing, and if you can get past the author's smugness, it's a good starting point for anyone turning vegan.
I enjoyed the recipes in this book, I really did, and many of them I added to my new vegan repertoire and I'm really excited about trying them... but the author... oh... god... please no.
She's preachy(even though she swears she isn't), doesn't have her facts straight on the animal cruelty, and puts herself above anyone who is non-vegan (constantly reminding you that if you're a non vegan then, in her opinion, you just haven't found the light yet).
This was the same problem I had with the other book. It was informative, interesting, filled with recipes I would like to try, and good advice, and on the flip side she's looking down on others and hasn't got all her facts straight. It's infuriating!
I would say, that if you're looking for some new vegan recipes (especially if you're a new vegan, like me), then give this book a try. The recipes really do look intriguing, and if you can get past the author's smugness, it's a good starting point for anyone turning vegan.
May 1, 2011
Trying to orchestrate a complete change to my eating and put a positive twist on my lifestyle I ordered this book. Reading it made my mind click…eating vegan isn’t prohibitive its liberating. Know what goes in my mouth and how it will affect my body should be everything especially considering that my body is my temple. The definitions, menus, recipes, exchange ideas and seasonings should change how I eat. Great!
August 22, 2011
This book is a good resource for the beginner cook...whether new to cooking or new to the vegan lifestyle. I rate this at three stars more from the perspective of things I've learned from it could have been of higher practical value to me in my day-to-day life.
January 2, 2013
I'm not a vegan, but this book is great for anyone learning to cook with more fruits, vegetables, legumes, and other healthy foods. Very thorough and lots of great recipes.
June 5, 2014
I've especially eaten vegetarian meals and products besides meat and fish according to "Vegan Cooking For Dummies".
June 17, 2012
Good easy tips for a healthy vegan diet.
Displaying 1 - 12 of 12 reviews