Post Punk Kitchen Forum

my mom has recently become more and more interested in eating less meat and more plant based things.
her hang up is she has been cooking/eating a very specific way for 60 years. meat, starch, veggie, etc.
so she is having a hard time knowing what to do when breakign from that mold.

i was thinking of buying her a beginner's vegetarian cookbook.
any recommendations?

please no vegan cookbooks, i think it would be easier to ease her in with a diet that still has dairy in it.

thank you so much!

I don't think you'll get a ton of non-vegan cookbook recommendations here, FYI. The only thing I can think of is Robert Robertson's Vegetarian Meat and Potatoes, it's vegan but gives you the option of using dairy or vegan cheese.

How about a subscription Vegetarian Times?

You could always try some vegan cookbooks and add cheese as desired! And, being lacto-vegetarian doesn't mean you have to add cheese to EVERY meal, does it? I found that part of the joy of going vegetarian was learning not only how to properly prepare a variety of vegetables I'd never worked with or even tried before, but also discovering the unique flavors of each. To that point, I thought all vegetables tasted the same. Turns out, I was just eating poorly prepared, overly processed veggies all my life. It might benefit your palate to learn the flavors of a bigger variety of plant foods.

My first cookbook when I went veg (started out lacto-vegetarian for a year) was Isa's Vegan with a Vengeance. It's still near and dear to my heart!

Another helpful one is Mark Bittman's How to Cook Everything Vegetarian -
http://www.amazon.com/How-Cook-Everythi ... 0764524836

You might want to check your local library and borrow a few vegetarian and vegan cookbooks. See which ones you like before spending money on them.

Good luck!!

I think Vegetarian Times is an excellent idea. And so is How to Cook Everything Vegetarian, so long as the size won't intimidate her.

There's also a new Good Housekeeping vegan cookbook that's aimed at beginners and sticks to things that a meat-and-potatoes American would be pretty familiar with.

And Meatlover's Meatless Cookbook by Kim O'Donnel. The title is annoying to me, but might appeal to someone who's nervous about trying to go meatless for the first time.

I think that any cookbook covering a wide range of recipes is a good choice. Some of the ones I used when I first went vegetarian are:

Passionate Vegetarian

The Complete Vegetarian Cookbook (this is available as a "bargain book" at Borders and Barnes and Noble and probably other bookstores as well)

Joy of Cooking: All About Vegetarian

I got this one for my sister when she was in college and sort of transitioning to being vegan http://www.amazon.com/Vegetarian-Family ... 0767913965
It's vegetarian, but almost everything has an easy way to make things vegan. there's a really good tortilla soup recipe!

thank you for the suggestions!! :-)

if your mom is internet savvy I would definitely suggest http://www.101cookbooks.com/ the author also has a few cookbooks out. she uses local, in season ingredients and most of her recipes are not too difficult and really delicious! on top of that, i know that a ton of omni's read and use her blog, so it is definitely a good place for people who are transitioning and will still be cooking for omnis.

Another vote for the Bittman book!

A second good option especially if you like 'California' cuisine is Deborah Madison's Vegetarian Cooking for Everyone.

Books I consider 'founders' in modern vegetarian cooking - Laurel's Kitchen and The Vegetarian Epicure. Used copies of both are plentiful and cheap.

This. I've had and used this book for years.

I'm a big fan of Madhur Jaffrey's World Vegetarian, because it's got such a wide range of meals from different cultures. I think when you first go vegetarian, it can be hard to be making the "not quite" versions of foods that you used to make before, and that can be a bit off-putting. But if you start off making foods that always have been vegetarian, it can lead the way to being a bit more adventurous about your cooking repertoire.

Well done to your mum, though, for deciding to make some changes in her life.

Possibly a Moosewood cookbook? I just know my family's had them around for ages and they've got a ton of different recipes.

My mum just bought Appetite For Reduction. I think it's a good one because there are lots of things you already know, just with beans or mushrooms instead, plus everything is very flavourful.

a moosewood one might be good. i think that might appeal to my mom, the style and look of it. then hopefully the recipes will too ;-)

Another vote for Passionate Vegetarian! It's HUGE - truly a compendium of vegetarian food - and the recipes are really good. I've held onto my copy because although it is a vegetarian cookbook, many recipes are vegan, and she advises how to veganize everything that can be veganized (obviously not cream-based soups, etc.).