BOOKS: Simply Vegan: Quick Vegetarian Meals

From ANIMAL PEOPLE, July/August 2006:

Simply Vegan: Quick Vegetarian Meals
by Debra Wasserman
Nutrition section by Reed Mangels, Ph.D., R.D.
(updated 4th edition)
The Vegetarian Resource Group (PO Box 1463, Baltimore, MD 21203), 2006.
222 pages, paperback. $14.95

This excellent vegan cookbook was first published in 1991.
The need for an updated 4th edition testifies to its popularity.
The first half of the book includes appetizing vegan recipes of all
sorts: snacks, soups, side dishes, etc. The recipes are simple,
making for easy cooking.

Perhaps to keep printing costs down, though, there are no
photos of the dishes. This is a pity, because all cookbooks benefit
from a visual representation of each dish. Often the picture
catches attention first and is the inspiration to cook that dish.
The second half of the book discusses the nutritional value
of vegan food, with emphasis on achieving a healthy diet.
Recommended daily allowances for protein, minerals, and vitamins
are given, with helpful discussions of what food sources are needed
to attain the RDA. The particular need for vegans to supplement
their diets with vitamin B12 is stressed. The special requirements
of pregnant and infant vegans are also analysed and some popular
misconceptions debunked.
If more cookbooks included nutritional information along with
lists of recipes and ingredients, vegan eating might rapidly become
much more popular.
–Chris Mercer & Bev Pervan
<www.cannedlion.co.za>
South Africa