Two recent vegan cookbooks arrived on my desk.
The better is Keep it Vegan: over 100 simple, healthy and delicious dishes by Aine Carlin (Kyle Books).
The Irish-born food writer explains briefly how and why she changed from a meat eater and lover of dairy to a vegan four years ago, and lists store-cupboard essentials, then launches into her recipes.
They are fresh and inviting, and she offers recipes for the more difficult situations, such as parties, where she expects only vegetable crudites and dips.
Instead she offers party frittatas, cashew cheese, Bloody Mary bruschetta, little asparagus and caramelised red onion tarts, and even a vegetable version of sushi.
It's nicely illustrated and I will certainly be cooking from it.
It is an American publication, although there is no author mentioned.
The recipes include many sauces and dressings, salads, soups, stews and mains, as well a goodly list of indulgent desserts and baked goods.
Clean eating is another name for eating fresh, healthy, unprocessed food, and cutting out refined grains, sugar, sodas, juices, processed foods and fatty meats, but it has become a bit of a buzzword recently.
For those who like to follow diets with meal plans and rules, The Clean Eating Cookbook and Diet (Rockridge Press) will explain how and give a lot of advice as well as recipes.
They specify the season they are appropriate for, whether they are quick and easy, and/or budget friendly.
It is based on Dr Neal Barnard's Power Foods for the Brain and Mark Hyman's The Ultramind Solution, which recommend plant-based diets with only a little dairy and meat.
They are sensible approaches and may well involve a lifestyle change, but a good one.
