Monday, December 08, 2008

Shmoo Review: Holiday Book Ideas

Are you all done with your holiday shopping? If you're still looking for some gift ideas I've put together a list of some of the books I've been enjoying lately...

1. For those with allergies: Alisa Fleming has just released a new edition of her book Go Dairy Free: The Guide and Cookbook for Milk Allergies, Lactose Intolerance, and Casein-Free Living.This book includes all the good stuff of the original -- a comprehensive guide to dairy substitutes, grocery shopping information, chapters on health and calcium concerns, food allergy resources, and more -- plus updated information and a lot more recipes (over 225!)

2. For the bento fan: Hawaii's Bento Box Cookbook: Fun Lunches for Kidsis about the cutest thing going. If you love to coo over lunches that look like teddy bears, princesses, mermaids, or little mice, this is the book for you. I have to warn you, the recipes are not vegan, but that shouldn't stop you from using this book for inspiration; substitute vegan deli slices and cheese and white veggies like jicama or daikon for the bologna, cheese, and fishcake in the designs.

(Also, if you like bento, manga, or Japanese cooking in general, I'm sure you'll like The Manga Cookbook,another book I really got a kick out of this year.)


3. For the athlete: For information about vegan athletes and nutrition, check out Thrive: The Vegan Nutrition Guide to Optimal Performance in Sports and Lifeby professional Ironman triathlete and vegan, Brendan Brazier. His book offers up sound advice for athletes along with all-natural recipes for gels, sports drinks, smoothies, and bars.


4. For the home preserver: This was my birthday present this year from my mom, who also loves to can and make preserves: Ball Complete Book of Home Preserving.With the economy going the way it is, what could be better than lining your pantry with rows of pretty preserves that you made yourself? And this book is gorgeous, with full color photographs throughout and hundreds of recipes I've never seen before but can't wait to try. (By the way, the "Bruschetta in a Jar" is fantastic.)

That's all the new books I can think of for now. What are some of your recommendations?

P.S. My book(ahem) would also be a great holiday gift for all the vegans and lunch-packers on your list!

12 comments:

LizNoVeggieGirl said...

Some of my recipes are in the "Go Dairy Free" book!!! :-)

Jennifershmoo said...

Me, too! :-)

Tara said...

Those books all look great, but I already got my mom your book for Christmas! It was on her wish list after she heard me rave about it. :)

penny said...

Congrats Jennifer! I was reading the new January issue of Vegetarian Times and they also recommend your book as a holiday gift this year!

Geosomin said...

Ooh...thanks for the link to the canning book. I've been wanting to get in to canning more. Now I've got the guide to put on my gift list :)

Kristen said...

This is such a great list -- I can cover a bunch of my people with these ideas! And myself, which is just as good, right? Right.

veganf said...

The canning books sounds great!

I made a list of veg kid books over on my blog for holiday shopping inspiration.

avegancalledbacon said...

I totally, totally recommend this book about collecting edible mushrooms. It's from the UK but I understand we more or less get the same mushies as North America.

The reason it's so good is because the photos are perfect; the descriptions are useful and laugh-out-loud funny; and it's the only useable field guide that only covers edible mushrooms that I've found. Which means, if it's not in the book, don't eat it.

Alisa said...

Thanks for the mention, and I am glad you are enjoying it!

Aurelie said...

Of the books you mentioned, I've only seen the canning book before (in physical form, I've been hearing alot about Go Dairy Free), at my local library, and I agree with you, it is a gorgeous book.

And speaking of books.... I do know of one new cookbook which I highly recommend (cough, cough).....The Healthaliciously Good Cookbook (http://www.aurelieshealthycuisine.com) by Yours Truly. It's vegan, and super healthy and tasty. And full of recipes of quick'n easy, kid-friendly recipes.

Aurelie
aurelie@aurelieshealthycuisine.com

Erin said...

I asked for your cookbook for Christmas, hopefully Santa will come through!

Susan Yuen said...

I just happened to see your write-up about my book (Hawaii's Bento Box Cookbook) and just wanted to say thank you! Love your blog.