Book Reviews

Up until now, it was difficult to find a book that addressed the needs of vegetarians with food allergies. Certainly vegan cookbooks could be used for those with dairy and egg allergies, but what if you were also allergic to soy or wheat? Food Allergy Survival Guide provides extensive information and an excellent recipe collection for those with allergies or sensitivities to dairy products, eggs, gluten, nuts and peanuts, soy, yeast, fish and shellfish, and wheat.

The book begins with basic information on food sensitivities—what they are, what can trigger them, and how they are tested for. Subsequent chapters include practical cooking and shopping information, nutrition planning, and a discussion of coping emotionally with food sensitivities.

The last half of the book features more than 100 recipes for everything from gluten-free baked goods to soy-free entrées and spreads. All recipes are devoid of common allergens, such as dairy products, eggs, soy, peanuts, and gluten. I’m looking forward to baking for a friend’s daughter who can’t tolerate gluten. This is the first time I’ve seen so many tasty recipes that are both vegan and gluten-free. A detailed nutritional analysis follows each recipe. The book also includes an extensive resource list that will be helpful for tracking down less common ingredients, as well as for learning more about specific allergies.

If you or someone you care about has food allergies or sensitivities, this is the book to go to.

Dr. Cousens insists that raw eating is far from dull. Rainbow Green Live-Food Cuisine features more than 250 recipes that have been tested and perfected by chefs at the café located in his Tree of Life Rejuvenation Center in Patagonia, Arizona. Dr. Cousens is a holistic medical doctor and personally consumes live-food cuisine.

While reading through this book, I couldn’t help but think that one really needs to have time to prepare many of the dishes. That’s not necessarily a bad thing; however, as an extremely busy working mom, I personally would be a bit overwhelmed using this book. Nevertheless, the dishes all look quite interesting; if you have the time and are willing to invest in a food processor, a Champion juicer, and a dehydrator, you’ll be well on your way.

One section that particularly caught my attention was the raw pâtés. The Black Olive Pâté is made with black olives, pine nuts, avocado, parsley, and tomatoes that are creamed in a food processor. The Intense Italian Pâté calls for hazelnuts, sun-dried tomatoes, bell pepper, parsley, and a few other ingredients also blended in a food processor.

This book offers a wide range of live-food dishes, including entrées, salads and dressing, soups, fermented foods, breads, desserts, and much more. Nutritional analyses are not provided.

Venturesome Vegetarian Cooking certainly lives up to its name. This new cookbook serves up a wide range of innovative dishes. All the recipes are vegan except for a handful containing honey, which can easily be substituted with rice syrup or maple syrup. Especially interesting items are the Pumpkin Bread, Roasted Tempeh Salad with Lemon-Vinegar Sauce, Italian Spinach, (eggless) Homemade Pasta, Vegetarian Haggis (a Scottish dish), Peppery Pumpkin Risotto, Carrot Cake, Chocolate Fudge Pie, and Spare-The-Pigs Hash. The book also includes beautiful photographs.