Book Review: Feeding the Soul (because it’s my business): Finding Our Way to Joy, Love, and Freedom by Tabitha Brown

Book Review: Feeding the Soul (because it’s my business): Finding Our Way to Joy, Love, and Freedom by Tabitha Brown

New York: William Morrow, 2021. 274 pp. Here’s how you know your kid loves you: Tabitha Brown gives a lecture at her college, she goes and not only gets a signed copy of Tabitha Brown’s new book, Feeding the Soul (because it’s my business): Finding Our Way to Joy, Love, and Freedom, she gets a (weird, socially-distanced) selfie with her, and tells you that Tabitha Brown said to say “hi.” To YOU! By which I mean, to ME!! Thus, I…

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Cookbook Review: Fuss-Free Vegan: 101 Every Day Comfort Food Favorites Veganized

Cookbook Review: Fuss-Free Vegan: 101 Every Day Comfort Food Favorites Veganized

Canada: Appetite by Random House, 2017. 222pp. First, my apologies for not having more photos in this review. I just failed to take them. And the ones I did take aren’t that great. Goals. But I don’t want my recalcitrance to keep you from considering this nifty volume! Fuss-Free Vegan, like the cover photo, just has a nice disposition. The graphics are fun and easy to read. The photos are realistic and not over-styled. It’s a large paperback, stays open…

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Cookbook Review: Eat Feel Fresh: A Contemporary Plant-Based Ayurvedic Cookbook by Sahara Rose Ketabi

Cookbook Review: Eat Feel Fresh: A Contemporary Plant-Based Ayurvedic Cookbook by Sahara Rose Ketabi

Indianapolis: Penguin Random House, 2018 (245pp) This colorful hardcover jumped out at me as it promised not only plant-based food, but Ayurvedic food, about which I knew very little. Eating AND learning. Bonus! The first quarter of this colorful hardcover is an explanation of the Ayurvedic philosophy with a modern twist developed by the author after considerable study. I found the enthusiasm with which she shares the principles of the Ayurvedic approach to health and food to be quite engaging….

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Ingredient Tip: Nutritional Yeast

Ingredient Tip: Nutritional Yeast

Vegan novices perusing a recipe often encounter nutritional yeast in the ingredient list and slam on the brakes. I know I did — mostly because I didn’t know what it was and, well, mystery yeast kinda sounds gross. But be not afraid. This nifty ingredient, referred to by many vegans as “nooch,” is your friend in two ways: 1) it’s chock-full of B vitamins and other nutritional yummies, and 2) it adds a nice cheesy umami to a variety of…

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Cookbook Review: Mississippi Vegan: Recipes & Stories from a Southern Boy’s Heart by Timothy Pakron

Cookbook Review: Mississippi Vegan: Recipes & Stories from a Southern Boy’s Heart by Timothy Pakron

New York: Avery (2018), 288 pp. Booksmarters, I am so excited to tell you about this gem of a cookbook. I first stumbled upon it at the public library – which is, by the way, a great way to “check out” a new cookbook and see if you like it before you buy. (See what I did there? I’m here all week). After I returned it, I found that I kept thinking about it and ordered one for myself. This…

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Product Review: Schwartz Brothers Bakery Organic Everything Bagel Chips

Product Review: Schwartz Brothers Bakery Organic Everything Bagel Chips

Right now you are reading this, and you are thinking about what you are going to do next. And I am concerned the thing you are thinking about is something other than going to Costco and getting these bagel chips immediately, and that would be the wrong decision. I cannot emphasize enough how good these are: crispy, exceptionally flavorful, oily, salty, outrageous, crazy-making, and completely, utterly vegan. They do leave you with the teeniest bit of garlic breath, but, hey,…

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Cookbook Review: The High Protein Vegan Cookbook: 125+ Hearty Plant-Based Recipes by Ginny Kay McMeans

Cookbook Review: The High Protein Vegan Cookbook: 125+ Hearty Plant-Based Recipes by Ginny Kay McMeans

New York: Countryman Press, 2019. 304pp.  Welcome to another cookbook review, Booksmarters! My primary motivation in bringing this book to your attention is the chapter on Portable Snacks. My go-to protein snack is a handful of peanuts or pistachios, which can get a little boring. It is a nice change to make up a batch of one of the many little protein ball recipes included in High Protein Vegan. They rely on various combinations of oats, nut butter, seeds, dried fruit,…

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Ingredient Tip: Tofu

Ingredient Tip: Tofu

A few words on tofu. It’s not meat. It doesn’t taste like meat. Nothing you do will make it taste like meat. It’s tofu. 🙂 Now that we’ve gotten that out of the way, let’s move on. To enjoy it, you must do two things: alter its texture – either by freezing it or pressing it – and marinate it. Freezing tofu makes it quite dense and a little chewy. Try it. Either you’ll like it or you won’t, and…

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Beginner tools tip: Chopping

Beginner tools tip: Chopping

I often hear people say that they resist making vegan or vegetarian meals because of the amount of chopping. But hear me out: chopping itself is not the problem. You are. 🤣 Okay, kidding. But, really, how you are doing it is. If you want to eat more plant-based meals, the single best thing you can do is invest in a good knife and a large cutting board. I have actually witnessed a person trying to cut up a red…

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Cookbook Review: Salad Samurai by Terry Hope Romero

Cookbook Review: Salad Samurai by Terry Hope Romero

Published by Da Capo Press (2014). 180pp. Welcome, Booksmarters! Today we are taking a look at one of my ol’ standbys, Salad Samurai by Terry Hope Romero. This slim volume has a lot going for it. First, I love a cookbook that is arranged seasonally. That way, I can just turn to the section that will include the ingredients I am likeliest to have, rather than having to pick through the index or start salivating over a recipe that includes…

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