Betty Goes Vegan

Starred review from March 15, 2013

Animal rights activists and foodies Annie and Dan Shannon started a blog to prove that any recipe could be made deliciously vegan, using the 2010 Betty Crocker Cookbook as their muse. The ensuing cookbook has a fun retro vibe that unapologetically revels in the quality of today's mock meats and vegan cheeses, and celebrates fake butter with whoopee pies, cupcakes, and doughnuts. The Shannons manage to maintain the wide recipe variety and general accessibility of the original Betty, even though "veganizing" recipes involves more than just using vegan ingredients instead of their animal-based counterparts. VERDICT Folks looking for "healthy" vegan fare may be turned off by the frequent use of processed foods. The book's many fans will range from anyone mystified by seitan and Tofurky to vegans nostalgic for favorite meat-based dishes. This book offers a little something for everyone and is a unique complement to popular vegan cookbooks such as Alicia Silverstone's The Kind Diet, Rory Freedman and Kim Barnouin's "Skinny Bitch" series, and titles by Isa Chandra Moskowitz and Terry Hope Romero.--Jude Baldwin, Shasta Coll. Lib., Redding, CA

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