Gluten-free vegan recipes might sound restrictive, but Allyson Kramer (of ManifestVegan.com) has written a gorgeous cookbook – Great Gluten-Free Vegan Eats – showing you how fun and inventive it can actually be.
I think it’s a great resource – especially for those of you on a gluten-free healthy eating plan
This cookbook is one that I’ve been waiting a long time to see, because she’s had it in the works for quite a while now.
So I was really happy to finally get it, and be able to check it out and tell you guys about it.
As the title suggests, the book is for people who want to make gluten-free vegan recipes.
What Allyson really loves to show people is how you can make comfort foods – like mac and cheese or chocolate chip cookies or chocolate peanut butter cups – with vegan and gluten-free ingredients.
They’re much healthier options than the traditional versions of those comfort foods, so for those of you who are looking for that, this book will be perfect for you.
Although that kind of food is the stuff she loves to show off on her blog, she doesn’t eat like that all the time.
So there are also lots of salads, soups and other healthier, lighter kinds of recipes.
That’s not to say that comfort foods aren’t healthy, it’s just that they’re heavier and richer, and probably not what you want to eat for every single meal.
They’re what I’d call healthy indulgences, but the book also has lots of regular, super-healthy stuff that I would happily eat for every single meal – like the drenched pad thai salad I’m going to film for you later this week.
So it’s a good well-rounded look at how you can eat vegan and gluten-free and be healthy, but also have those really nice treats that you crave…
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It’s always good to have gluten-free vegan recipes on hand to really show off how awesome these foods can be, or if you have a friend who can’t eat gluten and want to learn to make something really special.
Allyson has a full description of all the different gluten-free flours, which is perfect for someone who’s trying to get rid of gluten, but still wants to make things like bread, bagels and pizza crust.
This book was just so much fun to go through. There are pictures of every recipe, and they’re gorgeous.
Allyson is a wonderful food photographer, so everything in the book looks phenomenal and makes you want to eat it.
She’s even got at the top of some of the recipes photos showing the step-by-step process of making certain components, like how to roll, stuff and cut homemade ravioli.
Another thing a lot of you will appreciate is that there are nutritional facts at the bottom of each recipe, showing calories, carbohydrates, protein, fat, fiber and cholesterol in each serving.
I don’t know if everyone realizes how much time it takes to do those nutritional breakdowns, but I do! So Allyson, I really appreciate that. It’ll be really useful for following a healthy balanced diet.
The book goes through the basics, like how to make almond milk, vegetable broth, homemade pasta, bread, mashed potatoes, pie crust, ice cream…
There are breakfasts, salads, main courses, soups, desserts, and even some drinks (like raspberry lemonade and orange julia).
Recipes I’ve Tried:
- Mushroom Asparagus Tacos: This was one of my favorite recipes in the book. They were messy, like a good taco should be, and the asparagus gave a really unique twist. The mushrooms were awesome – perfectly taco-flavored, moist and great texture.
- Cucumber Peanut Chutney: I had this with toasted pita chips, and it was lovely and fresh with loads of flavor.
- Cinnamon Roasted Cauliflower: So simple, and yet so delicious…
- Wendy’s Zesty Black-Eyed Pea Salad: Really yummy, bursting with lots of great flavors.
- Fajita Soup: I made this and topped it with the blueberry avocado salsa – both amazing, and even better together.
- Banana Bread Scones: We had these for Sunday brunch with a big plate of fruit, and they were amazing.
- Peanut Butter Cookies: I filmed these ones for you – if you haven’t tried them yet, do it. They’re the peanut-butteriest peanut butter cookie I’ve ever had.
- Double Chocolate Muffins: These were incredibly moist, despite the recipe being very low in oil, with a bit of a cripy top, almost brownie-like. Considering they’re made with brown rice and teff flour, they were so soft. And they were also a perfect sweetness level – not too sugary, but just sweet enough. Phil and his dad ate them up in no time.
- Pina Colada Cupcakes: These tasted AMAZING, and I didn’t even make the frosting to top them with…
- Chocolate Marzipan Tart: I made this for a special occasion, and it didn’t disappoint – rich and chocolatey, and surprisingly easy to make!
On My To-Make list:
- Mediterranean Croquettes: These sound awesome, and I’m waiting for Phil’s potatoes to mature so I have garden-fresh ones as the base…
- Stuffed Cherry Tomatoes: Really simple, but some really fantastic flavors going on, so I have to try this some time soon.
- Chickpea Salad: I’m dying to try this… it has grapes in it! How awesome is that idea??
- Pizza Firenze: Phil and I have also been to Florence, and it would be great to reminisce over a really fantastic pizza…
- Strawberry Shortcake Muffins: When I was little, I had a Strawberry Shortcake stroller for my dolls… plus I LOVE strawberries.
- Avocado Gelato: I love this idea, and keep meaning to try it.
- Banana Berry Cobbler: This sounds like a perfect Sunday brunch.
Do It Now
So for those of you who are looking for some good gluten-free vegan recipes, this cookbook is awesome.
It goes through all the gluten-free flours, gives you comfort foods, and also shows you some really healthy things that you can make on a regular basis for yourself and for your family.
I’ll be posting a recipe from the book this week, so stay tuned for that… I already posted a recipe for her peanut butter cookies from this book, and a long time ago I posted a recipe from her site that is amazing – chocolate squash baked custard.
You can buy the book on Amazon, but if you head over to Allyson’s site – ManifestVegan.com – to buy the book, you’ll get an autographed copy, plus a portion of the proceeds is donated to help the homeless – both humans and non-human animals.
