Vegan on the Cheap

I really like this cookbook so far. I'm not vegan (though I am working on eating mostly vegan meals) and the couple that we've tried so far have been enjoyed by even my picky 9 year old (though, I will say, I did leave out the extra toppings on his burritos because I didn't feel like a battle!). I really enjoy the extra information in the book that encourages you to be frugal and not to obsess over organics if you can't afford them - just to do YOUR best. Whatever is possible for YOUR budget (I WISH I could afford organics, but on one income we can't. I'm learning how to garden, but it's a slow process!)There are NO PICTURES in this book, which might be a downer for some, but I think it makes the book more affordable, which is a plus for those of us who just want some easy, cheap, healthy vegan recipes.Most of the recipes in here use simple, whole foods - which are the healthiest AND cheapest. There are recipes on how to make your own vegan "meats" (the wheatballs were surprisingly good - and no, you can't see or taste the mushrooms which is great, because my kids hates vegetables - and I'm not a fan of 'shrooms either) that call for gluten flour. But all in all, it seems gluten flour and nutritional yeast are about as fancy as this book gets. It's very do-able.I think a lot of the recipes probably take more time if you cook it all from scratch. Something easy, like spaghetti a "wheat"balls becomes somewhat of a process when making the wheatballs from scratch and the sauce from scratch, but you can of course always batch cook and freeze, or use store bought sauce instead of DIY.I say buy it. Robin is a great chef, and it will save you money even if you just use 1 or 2 of the "cheap" recipes each week.

I honestly wouldn’t call this a cheap vegan cook book when it practically has expensive ingredients that I can’t get my hands on. I had high hopes for this cook book to help aid in my somewhat food dessert town. We don’t have things such as liquid smoke, tapioca flour or wheat gluten and, these ingredients are used in every imitation meat recipe. However, there are some great recipes in here. It was a nice surprise to learn that this book is Italian inspired. She remixed her mothers recipe’s and, turned them vegan.

Great book! Use it a few times a week. Especially love the mayonnaise, curried vegetable salad, sweet potato shepherds pie and sesame shortbread recipes.I only wish there weren't so many recipes with tempeh, seitan and tofu as I skip over that unnatural stuff. But there are 35 recipes with them!There's a big slow cooker section too. I don't have a slow cooker. I make them anyway but it's a bit inconvenient not having the steps there.If Ms Robertson makes a reprint, I hope she'll leave out more of the yeast, oil, sugar, margarine, etc and have it be 'Healthier' Vegan on the Cheap. : )

I wanted to wait to write my review until I had a chance to make some of the items from the book. I can happily say that everything I have prepared has turned out wonderfully. My favorites were the Mexican Rice and Bean Bake (page 159) with Cheezee Sauce (page 36) and the Call it Cassoulet (page 74 - I added more carrots). I also made the Stovetop Cheezee Mac (page 130) both on the stove and in the oven, while adding mushrooms to the mix in the stove version. I prepared the Baked Ziti (page 160) twice, the second time adding a little more sauce than asked. The Spinach Pie (page 171) was an easy meal that I made twice that my husband loved, and it was also the first recipe I used in the book. I did make the Black and White Bean Chili (page 78) and while it was a little spicy for myself with the chilis in adobo, I thought the flavor otherwise was great. Little extras I prepared for the meals were the Faux Parm (page 38) which was excellent and lasted the two weeks for when we had the ziti twice, and I also made the Cheapamole (page 35). That was a lower fat and higher protein version of guacamole, where I accidentally forgot to add salt and pepper, and it still tasted amazing. Some of her meals do have a splurge section, where you can add vegan cheeses or items that are considered more expensive on a budget (example: avocados in the cheapamole recipe). I have been vegan just over a month now and this book has helped me tremendously in my journey to eating vegan. The recipes are not all necessarily low in fat or completely healthy, but they have been invaluable to myself in my transition to becoming vegan. I highly recommend this book, but also be prepared for a little more involved cooking with blenders, food processors and the like, if you haven't normally used them before. I have loved this book!

I ended up getting this book as a gift, my best friend. I really do like this book, though there have been a number of recipes that I didn't like that much.The ziti, quick lo mein, rice, and veggie cobbler with seitan are amazing. I shared some ziti with some friends who are not vegan and we were all surprised at how it's taste and texture was super close to non-vegan baked ziti. If you are ready to try new things without spending a lot of money on ingredients, I recommend this book. There is a lot of very useful information and it is pretty straightforward and everything I have made was pretty easy to make. My housemate and I have a very small kitchen and the recipes in this book didn't take up too much space when being prepared and cooked. I will be giving some more recipes a try and will continue to keep going back to the ones I know that I like a lot. :)

I've made quite a few recipes from this book before reviewing it. I've been very impressed with most of what I've made from it.Let's get the warning out the way early. This is a US book meaning all temps are in Fahrenheit and its all in American measures, i.e. cups, ounces etc, so you will need to do some converting if you are used to metric and Celsius. It is worth it though, as its got many, many nice recipes and the plus side this time to it being a US book is that the recipes are a bit different from what you would expect in UK book. Haven't loved every recipe I've made made from it, but I'd probably say I've had a 90% hit rate with only 1 out of 10 being a bit meh!.The recipes are very easy to follow, logically laid out, well explained and straightforward.Could have done with pictures of the food you are making in it.Thus between the lack of photos of the meals you're making and a small percentage of the recipes being a bit hit or miss it looses 1 star.

A handy book. I have been Vegan for about a month now, and I have found this book to be very useful. It provides tips on shopping and stocking your cupboards cheaply. I have spent the last few weeks trying to internalise the 'cooking basics' at the beginning of the book, after which I will go on to tackle some of the meals.The cooking basics, by themselves, have totally revolutionised my shopping styles. I am no longer spending big on meat substitutes; just two bakes seitan loaves diced can keep in the freezer and provide enough for a whole months supply; I am also amazed at how great the 'cheezee sauce' tastes, and find it as versatile at the seitan. The Peanut Sauce is a perfect marinade for my tofu, and I can use the excess in a stirfy. I have also learned to make my own vegetable stock, by collecting my vegetable trimmings in a tub in the fridge throughout the week. The chocolate brownies were simple and definitely do the trick. You can make expensive vegan treats such as chocolate and fudge go a lot further, should you decide to add these.I don't have many complaints for this book. The first, and most obvious is that it is American and therefore features product names that we don't use in the UK. Secondly, some of the ingredients, such as nutritional yeast and wheat gluten, I could not find in the shops and had to order online. However, these ingredients feature pro;lifically in vegan cooking, so this is something I guess I will have to get used to. The final complain I would like to make, is that the book is 'vegan', but not necessarily healthy or environmentally minded. I have gone through a lot of olive oil and soya sauce following these recipes, and the authors suggest using supermarkets, tinned foods and overlooking organic products and the potential dangers of pesticides. Having said that, it IS after all about living Vegan on a budget, and I suppose that a vegan on a low income needs to make certain compromises on the journey of veganism.I would definitely recommend to clueless cooks, new vegans and/or people on low incomes. This book will help you on the way to becoming a creative vegan shopper and cook!

This was great, it was in perfect condition, and the book is brilliant; I was very pleased with the book, and would definitely buy a book from the author again.

my favorite vegan book, all recipes work out, even with American measurements.I make the Cincinnati chili recipe at least once a week.down side is that there are no pictures but the instructions are idiot proof

I bought this book recently as I am trying to be vegan for the first time. I have tried 5 or 6 recipes so far (as well as numerous ones from other vegan cookbooks which were a bit hit and miss) but from here they were ALL so delicious, even impressed my meat eating partner and family. Whether you are vegan or veggie or meat eating BUY THIS BOOK! It contains really tasty, satisfying meals which are both easy to make and cheap. (You really wouldn't guess that they were made cheaply, I think it's a nice bonus of not eating meat.)As it's American it's worth noting some product translations- Cilantro = coriander, Canola oil = rapeseed oil, Arugula = rocket, and tablespoon = dessert spoon. I am also planning to buy a 'cup' measurer as would help slightly, though I have managed fine so far. Don't let this put you off though, many of the recipes are simple with basic vegetables and beans and ingredients you probably have in your cupboard or can certainly get from your local supermarket. (Last nights' dish contained a tin of haricot or butter beans, new potatoes, 1 lemon, black olives, sun dried tomatoes, olive oil and salt and pepper)It is a brilliant, interesting book filled with loads of great tips, ideas and excellent easy recipes. Highly recommended. Well worth the money. BUY IT, JUST BUY IT!