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Best Vegetarian Cookbooks

What are the best vegetarian cookbooks that one can use for well-rounded, meatless meals?

By James PortersonPublished 8 years ago 5 min read
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People who love vegetables indirectly prefer high protein food for themselves. A diet high in protein provides a great collection of amino acids that further act as the building blocks of the cells. A diet high in protein makes the immune system strong against infections and facilitates the functions of all body organs. Cooking method is very important to maintain the protein content in vegetables and non-meat dishes. Vegetables and meat are rich in protein. However, the protein of meat is not destroyed by any cooking methods, while the amino acids of vegetables and many other non-meat proteins are destroyed by some. For example, thiamin is an amino acid that gets destroyed by excessive cooking, leaches out in water, finally evaporates with the steam released during cooking. So when it comes to vegetarian cooking, finding recipes that are well-rounded in nutrients is vital to a healthy lifestyle. Here are few of the best vegetarian cookbooks to help create well-rounded, meat-free meals.

The Complete Vegetarian Cookbook by America's Test Kitchen

This is one of the most popular vegetarian cookbooks. The Complete Vegetarian Cookbookis highly informative and contains easy to make recipes full of nutrients. America's Test Kitchen, a group that has devoted their services to people who have trouble in preparing vegetable dishes and who are unskilled in vegetarian cooking, edited this book. This book is a collection of pleasurable, tasty, favorable, and nutritious vegetarian recipes ranging from main courses to single dishes made up of rice, grains, beans, soy, snacks, and salads. There are 300 fast vegetarian recipes in this book that can be prepared in 45 minutes or less, including a variety of gluten free and vegan recipes.

The High-Protein Vegetarian Cookbook by Katie Parker & Kristen Smith

Katie Parker and Kristen Smith have created one of the best vegetarian books for their vegetarian fans, titled The High-Protein Vegetarian Cookbook. The book is full of high protein recipes based around vegetables and other non-meat based proteins. The recipes range from a fresh veggie quinoa salad with lemon Tahini dressing and mushrooms to wild rice burgers, and all of the dishes are outrageously tasty and flavor-oriented. In a nutshell, this book has challenged the concept that vegetarian recipes don't satisfy hunger. This book presents some truly outstanding options for vegetarians as they can get great high-protein meals from these easy to make recipes.

Easy Vegetarian Slow Cooker Cookbook by Rockridge Press

Another prestigious and informative book available for vegetarians is the Easy Vegetarian Slow Cooker Cookbook. The recipes are simple and not time consuming, making this the perfect cookbook for the working man or woman. All of the recipes can be prepared in 10 to 15 minutes. It includes breakfast recipes, bread recipes, pizzas, stews, pastas, desserts, and main dishes. It even includes a chapter on slow cooking practices that provides you with guidelines to keep the kitchen cool on hot summer days.

Vegetarian Cookbook for Beginners by Rockridge Press

Another very informative item on our list of the best vegetarian cookbooks is Rockridge Press' Vegetarian Cookbook for Beginners. This book is designed for those just starting out with the vegetarian lifestyle. Whether you've just become a vegetarian or you're a lifelong vegetarian who is just finding their way around the kitchen, this book can teach you the art of preparing delicious meals that are well-balanced in nutrients. The book also walks readers through the health benefits of vegetarianism, explaining how they can lower their blood cholesterol levels by eating vegetables and how a vegetarian diet can help reduce body fat, protect against heart disease, and improve skin. It contains more than 150 simple and hearty vegetarian recipes and a 14 day meal plan to help beginners adjust themselves to a meatless diet.

How to Cook Everything Vegetarian by Mark Bittman

How to Cook Everything Vegetarian is written by Mark Bittman, who is a registered dietitian and meal planner. As such, he created this book with the goal of helping vegetarians cook healthy, well-rounded meals. The book has acted as a sort of vegetarian Bible over the years, selling well over a million copies since its release. From chickpea fries to braised tofu with eggplant, Bittman's recipe book provides a vegetarian alternative to many traditional favorites.

The Southern Vegetarian Cookbook by Justin Fox Burks & Amy Lawrence

The Southern Vegetarian Cookbookby Justin Fox Burks and Amy Lawrence takes your down home favorites and translates them into vegetarian recipes. Meat is an important part of southern dinning, but this book finds well-rounded alternatives that taste just as delicious. The 272 pages of this book are covered with palatable images of the recipes on one side of the page with detailed instructions on the opposite sides.

Vibrant Vegetable Recipes from London's Ottolenghi by Yotam Ottolenghi & Jonathan Lovekin

Yet another highly informative and outstanding book among the best vegetarian books is Vibrant Vegetable Recipes from London's Ottolenghi. The most exciting feature of this book is that it contains recipes from four fabulous restaurants in London. It contains 120 recipes featuring unique combinations of fresh and tasty ingredients.

The New Vegetarian Cooking for Everyone by Deborah Madison

The New Vegetarian Cooking for Everyone was written in the year 1997, but its recipes are timeless. Its fourth edition is just as enticing as the first. It is one of the best vegetarian cookbooks and among the more popular cookbooks, earning both the James Beard Foundation award and the IACP Julia Child Cookbook of the Year Award. It contains more than 200 simple recipes, which are detailed, comprehensive, and easy to prepare. Pudding and raspberry coulis are among the best recipes that book contains.

The I Love Trader Joe's Vegetarian Cookbook by Kris Holechek Peters

The I Love Trader Joe's Vegetarian Cookbook consists of more than 150 delicious recipes, written by Kris Holechek Peters. This fantastic book provides step by step guides to preparing many simple and highly nutritious dishes and meals for vegetarians. More than 180 pages include recipes for tasty tofu scramble, Tuscan tomato soup, almond glazed green beans, coconut cherry polenta, roasted carrot risotto, and pumpkin spice cobbler, among many others. The recipes range from beginner to advanced, and include many decadent desserts.

Great vegetarian cookbooks are kitchen essentials for vegetarians and meat-lovers alike. Whether you're always a vegetarian or just want the occasional vegetable-based meal, the above mentioned books can provide you with hundreds of well-rounded, delicious meals.

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About the Creator

James Porterson

Former obese teen turned nutritionist. Enjoys writing about staying active and proper nutrition.

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