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As a busy, working mom of 3, who cooks every meal from scratch at least 6 days a week, I’ve gotten to know more than a few “quick and easy” recipes.  When it comes to cookbooks on this subject, I own several. But, never before have I found a cookbook that can pull off delicious, plant-based recipes in 10 minutes or less.

The recipes in the new cookbook, Real Food, Really Fast: Delicious Plant-Based Recipes Ready in 10 Minutes or Less by Hannah Kaminsky are all of that and more. Full of flavor, with a focus on whole foods, these recipes are creative and inventive, a welcome surprise to all the other smoothie bowls, rainbow wraps, and avocado masterpieces filling vegan feeds these days. (Not that I don’t love all of the above either!). I know what I speak. While Hannah was writing her book, I was one of the lucky ones, testing the recipes alongside her. (It was a tough job, but someone had to do it!). I admit that I was a bit skeptical at first. I knew Hannah was up to the challenge. She’s an incredible recipe developer, (check out her recipes at TheBitterSweetBlog.com), but could she really pack all that flavor into 10 minutes? Yep. She sure did!

This book is my new favorite go-to for weeknight dinners, (although she’s got mouthwatering recipes for breakfast, dessert, and lunch too), and a plentiful source for my family’s weekly meal plans. Her recipes are inventive and unique. (I dare you to find recipes for Red Velvet Breakfast Smoothies, Hurricane Popcorn, Citrus Carpaccio, Silky Matcha Miso Soup, Hasselback Zucchini, Artichoke Barbacoa, or Speculous Panaforte in any other cookbook.) They are also bursting with flavor – and they really are ready in 10 minutes.

It was truly my pleasure to help Hannah test recipes for her cookbook – and tested, I did! Cake Batter Breakfast Bars, Hashbrown Waffles and Straight-Up Chickpea Scramble are some of my favorites from the breakfast section.

The Buffalo Buttered Pecans are not to be missed from Snacks. My family loved the Grilled Caesar Salad, and I ate the Falafel Fatoush Salad 3 days in a row for lunch after making it the first time.

She’s got a robust soup section. I am especially partial to the Exploded Wonton Soup, but you must try the Garlic Bread Soup in the book too.

When it comes to the entrees, be prepared for a tummy full of palate pleasing meals. Everyone has their standouts and for me, they are the Cashew Scampi and the Seitan Bulgogi.

Beyond the food, Hannah is a gifted photographer and writer. Her brilliant storytelling is what brings me to her blog each week. Her cookbook is full of her rich prose at the beginning of every recipe. And of course, as Hannah is already known for, you’ll find stunning images of the dishes throughout the book (exhibit A are the mouthwatering photos in this post).

Real Food, Really Fast: Delicious Plant-Based Recipes Ready in 10 Minutes or Less also includes helpful tips for speeding through recipes and prepping ingredients in a jiff. It is an indispensable guide for anyone, but especially busy mamas who want to prepare delicious, healthy meals for their family on a daily basis. Hannah proves that you can have it all when it comes to good food – quick, healthy, flavorful, and inexpensive recipes abound in this treasure trove of delicious eats. If you treat yourself to one cookbook this year, this is the one to get!

Photos courtesy of Hannah Kaminsky

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Who else is craving comfort foods? It’s crisp and cool (finally!) outside and my body is begging for hearty foods like creamy casseroles, chunky soups, and indulgent baked goods. If you’re feeling the same, I am excited to share Sam Turnbull’s new book, Fuss Free Vegan. It is full of 101 fuss-free vegan comfort food recipes. She’s got all your favorites covered in this fun and beautiful cookbook.

Sam is the blogger behind It Doesn’t Taste Like Chicken and has an easy-going, no-nonsense approach to vegan cooking. I wish I had this book when I went vegan! The recipes here are approachable, made with homemade whole foods. You won’t find fancy or expensive ingredients here, nor will you have to search for hard-to-pronounce ingredients at specialty stores. Instead, you can cook easy breezy dishes like fluffy pancakes, pizza pockets, and macaroni and cheese.

I really like how Sam has focused on classic favorites with doable plant-based options that aren’t loaded with processed products. She’s got a creamy Caesar Salad and Rice Paper Bacon recipe that are amazing, as well as lots of soups, salads, burgers, and sandwiches to choose from. For “fancier” fare, she has tons of flavorful recipes like 15-Minute Peanut Noodles, Sweet Potato Pot Pie, Sun-Dried Tomato & Walnut Bean Balls, and so much more!

And don’t forget dessert! Sam has 21 sweet treats in her cookbook. My favorite is her amazing Fudgy Double Chocolate Brownies recipe. Check it out below!

Sam also includes a whole chapter on vegan staples, like homemade mozzarella, nacho cheese. feta, Parmesan, ricotta, sour cream, and lots of other recipes that will become go-to’s in your recipe arsenal. These recipes are quick and easy, with no more than 3 or 4 steps. You will love the gorgeous photos in the book, all taken by Sam herself!

Try out her Fudgy Double Chocolate Brownies recipe to get a taste of Fuss-Free Vegan and let us know what you think!

Print

Fudgy Double Chocolate Brownies

Ingredients

• 1 cup vegan chocolate chips
• ½ cup vegan butter
• 1 cup white sugar
• ½ cup non-dairy milk such as soy or almond
• 1 tsp vanilla extract
• ½ cup all purpose flour
• ¼ cup cocoa powder
• 1½ tsp baking powder
• ¼ tsp salt
• ½ cup chopped walnuts optional

Instructions

1. Preheat your oven to 350°F. Grease an 8x8-inch baking pan.

2. In a small saucepan, melt together the chocolate chips and butter, making sure to remove the sauce pan from the heat just as it’s finished melting to ensure you don’t burn the chocolate.

3. Pour the melted chocolate into a mixing bowl. Add the sugar, non-dairy milk, and vanilla and mix well. Now add the flour, cocoa, baking powder, and salt and mix until combined. Finally, add the walnuts(if using).

4. Pour the batter into the prepared baking pan and bake for 30–35minutes, until the brownies are pulling away from the sides of the pan and a toothpick inserted in the center comes out with just a few moist crumbs on it. Let the brownies cool and set overnight.This is the key to perfect gooey brownies.

5. To store, let the brownies cool completely, then cover with foil or plastic wrap and keep at room temperature for the best texture. For longer storage put in an airtight container and store in the fridge.

Excerpted from Fuss Free Vegan: 101 Everyday Comfort Food Favorites, Veganized. Copyright © 2017 Samantha Turnbull. Published by Appetite by Random House®, a division of Penguin Random House Canada Limited. Reproduced by arrangement with the Publisher. All rights reserved.

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In celebration of National Cookbook Month, I am giving away a copy of Vanessa Croessmann’s Awesome Vegan Soups! A big pot of soup is a mom’s best friend as the weather gets cooler. Savory soups are one of my favorite meal ideas for busy weeknights to feed the family. Make a pot over the weekend for dinner on Monday (and lunch leftovers all week!), or prep a pot while making breakfast and all you have to do is reheat for dinner.

I am all about helping families cook and eat healthier, and this cookbook does just that! Full of vegetables and whole foods, soup is comfort and nutrition in a steaming hot bowl! I often enjoy a cup for lunch each week, as well as dinner. Soup is one of my favorite meals for the fall, but as Vanessa shows us in her cookbook, it’s easy to eat all year-long. She’s divided up her book with soup recipes for every season! Her collection of healthy and plant-based awesome vegan soups includes 80 different recipes, plus extras for homemade vegetable broth and powder, as well as toppings such as vegan sour cream, pestos, and croutons. Awesome Vegan Soups is soup-er! Yes, I went there!!!

Enjoy this recipe for Autumn Vegetable Minestrone, one of my favorites from Vanessa’s Awesome Vegan Soups. Then, read on below, to enter to win a copy of the cookbook!

Print

Autumn Vegetable Minestrone

Minestrone is always a crowd-pleaser. It’s also a great way to empty out your fridge with any excess vegetables you may have lurking about. I really like getting my kids involved when I make minestrone. I let them dig through the fridge and pick out which veggies they want to add and then which type of pasta. I’ve had to make minestrone before with three different type of pasta thanks to my toddler.

Servings 2 quarts

Author Vanessa Croessmann

Ingredients

• 1 tbsp 15 ml olive oil
• 1 yellow onion diced
• 2 cloves garlic minced
• 1 tsp dried basil
• 1 tsp dried oregano
• 2 carrots diced
• 2 ribs celery roughly diced
• 14 oz 400 g sweet potatoes, peeled and diced
• 4 oz 115 g deseeded and peeled pumpkin, diced
• 2 cups 480 ml tomato puree
• 4 cups 960 ml vegetable broth
• 1 bay leaf
• 1 cup 170 g cannellini beans, soaked and cooked or rinsed and drained from a can
• 1 cup 116 g uncooked whole grain small pasta (mini farfalle, elbows, pipettes, etc.)
• Salt and pepper
• Fresh basil

Instructions

1. Heat the olive in a large pot, add the onions and cook for 5 minutes until they are translucent. Add the minced garlic, basil, oregano, carrots, celery, sweet potatoes and pumpkin. Cook the vegetables for 5 minutes, stirring often, then add the tomato puree, vegetable broth and bay leaf.
2. Bring the soup to a boil, then reduce the heat and simmer for 10 minutes. Add the beans and pasta. Cook until the pasta and all the vegetables are tender. This will vary depending on the type and size of the pasta.
3. Remove the bay leaf and season the minestrone with salt and pepper to taste before serving it with some fresh basil.

Recipe Notes

Per 1 cup (240 ml) serving without garnishes: Calories 303, Fat 3.3 g, Carbohydrates 55.9 g, Fiber 14.2 g, Protein 14.4 g

Reprinted with the permission from “Awesome Vegan Soups” by Vanessa Croessmann

This post contains affiliate links. All opinions are my own.

My burgeoning collection of plant-based cookbooks is always growing. I can never say “no” to a new cookbook! The latest ones on my wish list are: Vegan Meal Prep by J.L Fields, The Super Fun Times Holiday Cookbook by Isa Chandra Moskowitz and 15 Minute Vegan by Katy Beskow.

I’m a bit of a geek when it comes to cookbooks. I read them cover to cover like a hearty novel, and pour over each page indulgently. It’s an “event” and I savor the time it takes me to go through a new cookbook.

Before I commit to a new one, I have a few criteria I measure it up against:

• The majority of the recipes need to be meals that I will easily and regularly make for my family. It’s a cookbook after all, so if it’s just a pretty book, I am not interested.
• Any cookbook on my shelf also has to offer me a little something different. With so many cookbooks in my arsenal, I am thoughtful about any additions. I curate variety in my collection and look for each cookbook to add something new to my repertoire that I don’t already have.
• The ingredients must be readily available and the recipes shouldn’t take me more than 45 minutes. I’m a busy mom so I want the recipes to be practical and doable for my schedule during the week (when I do most of my cooking).

This list of plant-based cookbooks has it all. From the slow cooker to the cookie jar, the recipes in these cookbooks are ones I turn to again and again to feed my family. These cookbook authors not only offer delicious recipes in their books, but they also present them in fun, eye-catching layouts (another thing I look for in a cookbook).

Browse my list below for a new plant-based cookbook to add to your collection and enjoy some new recipes with your family!

My Favorite Plant-Based Cookbooks To Feed A Family

The Vegan Table by Colleen Patrick Goudreau

Colleen is kind of a vegan fairy godmother. She makes veganism easy and accessible for everyone with her 30-Day Vegan Challenge. She has about a dozen cookbooks, but I especially love this one because it offers mouth-watering, inventive recipes for entertaining family and friends at every occasion.

The book’s chapters are organized by types of menus – Romantic Dinners for Two, Feasts for the Holidays, Casuals Meals for Four to Six, and so on. It’s fabulous and one of my go-to resources when I am entertaining for a holiday or special dinner.

Chloe’s Vegan Italian Kitchen by Chloe Coscarelli

I go major fan girl over Chloe Coscarelli. I met her once at her former Silverlake restaurant when it first opened and I couldn’t stop talking about her for weeks.

An Italiana, she’s a vegan after my own heart. I love how she’s deliciously created vegan Italian recipes that are full of all the classic flavors. Her meatballs are the best I have ever had!

I recently added Chloe Flavor to my collection (I also have Chloe’s Kitchen and it’s great too!) and have been cooking my way through it. There are some great weeknight dinners in there that my family and I have loved. I highly recommend adding it to your collection of plant-based cookbooks.

Vegan Cookies Invade Your Cookie Jar by Isa Chandra Moskowitz & Terry Hope Romero

These ladies are the authors of Veganomicon (the first vegan cookbook I bought) and individually have some wonderful cookbooks to their name.

Vegan Cookies Invade Your Cookie Jar is a must have on my list. With kids in the house, you’ve got to have the perfect chocolate chip recipe – and this book has THE best one and so much more. They’ve got drop cookies and fancy cookies, and slice and roll cookies.

It’s the book you want on hand for your annual holiday cookie exchange, and the one you’ll turn to for a familiar oatmeal cookie on a rainy day.

Minimalist Baker’s Everyday Cooking by Dana Shultz

Dana is one of my favorite vegan bloggers. Her recipes are always inventive and mouth-watering, and the pictures are always stunning.

I turn to these recipes for my every day cooking and weekly meal plans because they are straightforward, and only require about 10 ingredients with no more than 30 minutes to prepare.

Her book also is a great resource for basic vegan staples, like flax egg, DIY almond milk, vegan parmesan, gluten-free flour blend, whipped cream and many others.

Spork Fed by Jenny Engel and Heather Bell

The Spork Sisters are the first vegan cooking teachers I had when I went vegan. They are a dynamic duo and I adore their intimate cooking classes in West Hollywood.

This is their first cookbook and I love it for so many reasons. First, the recipes are de-licious, and they are easy to make. They demystify tempeh and tofu and provide really stunning recipes that are fun to make. I especially love the fun food facts on each page. The suggested menus are also a big plus for me in this cookbook.

I also recommend their second book, Vegan 101 which I have been turning to lately for new recipes to rotate into my weekly dinner plan.

Vegan Holiday Kitchen by Nava Atlas

As vegan mom who loves to entertain, I don’t know what I would do without this cookbook. I’m a Jewish convert with Hispanic and Italian roots so we celebrate a lot in my home, and this book is a feast for all of the holidays, each chapter organized by occasion.

I’m the only vegan in my extended family so I turn to this plant-based cookbook for every celebration to create a meal that everyone will enjoy.

Oh She Glows Every Day and The Oh She Glows Cookbook by Angela Liddon

Clearly, I am an Oh She Glows fan! Both of Angela’s books make my list of favorite plant-based cookbooks for the family.

Her recipes are always beautiful and delicious, and both of her cookbooks are bursting with whole foods and fresh ingredients that always nourish me and my family.

Fresh From the Vegan Slow Cooker by Robin Robertson

Robin is kind of amazing. She has written more than twenty cookbooks, of which I own several.

As a busy working mom, the slow cooker is one of my strategies for getting dinner on the table in less than 30 minutes. Robin’s book is the one I open again and again when I’m cooking in my crock pot (and Breville Fast Slow Pro, a recent gift from my hubby).

She has so many wonderful options for soups, stews, beans, main dishes, and even dessert. She also has appetizer, snack, and beverage recipes. It’s a must-have for your library of plant-based cookbooks.

Vegan Casseroles by Julie Hasson

I own several of Julie’s cookbooks but this one is my favorite because it breathes new life into the ordinary casserole, which I depend on often for family meals because of their practicality and ease.

She breaks down the casserole into a formula and sets you with up several recipes for sauces and toppings, but also has wonderful recipes for everything from pasta bakes and gratins to pot pies and desserts. I love this cookbook!

Real Food Really Fast by Hannah Kaminsky

This book is one of my weeknight favorites. I promise it will quickly become your go to source for delicious plant-based meals ready in 10 minutes or less.

What Hannah takes away in prep and cook time, she adds back in flavor! Each of these recipes passes the “lick your plate” clean test and they are all original and unique in flavor. This cookbook breathes new life into my weekly meal plan when I’m stuck in a rut.

Plant-Powered Families by Dreena Burton

This is the first book I bought by Dreena (and have since purchased several of her others), and I turn to it often. She has three girls around the same age as my kids so I identify a lot with her life, schedule and cooking challenges. Her recipes are full of whole foods and kid friendly ingredients. I highly recommend this cookbook for anyone feeding kids.

Do you have a favorite cookbook that I should know about? I am always in the market for a great find! Let me know in the comments below.