Every Tuesday we will feature a review from our Dairy-Free Library. This week’s selection is Vegan Vittles, Second Helping by Jo Stepaniak. I reviewed it back when it was released in 2007, and loved it (in fact, I am still loving it). But Sarena of The Non-Dairy Queen is here to bring new life to this book with her own review:

I approach cookbooks differently now that I have dairy allergies. Since I realized that vegan cookbooks contained no dairy products, they are the cookbooks I go for first. I know that the recipes won’t necessarily feed all of my family, but I like it when there are options that will. I have discovered through my research that vegan cookbooks are extremely helpful when it comes to sweets and breakfast foods for all of us to enjoy ...

Most people look shocked when you tell them about a recipe for pancakes, French toast or cookies without dairy. They normally look at me like I have four heads when I tell them that. Not my family though! No way, we look at it as an opportunity to eat the same food together!

Since I start my days with oatmeal, I have a fondness for breakfast for dinner. So, when I got the book Vegan Vittles Second Helpings by Jo Stepaniak, I was excited to see that there are many recipes that my whole family could enjoy. Since I have only made some of the breakfast options (with great success), I am anxious to get to try more recipes from this book! I started with the Flaxjacks. The recipe said they were “light and fluffy”. While they were good, I would consider them to be a denser, heavier version of a pancake. They were a little different, but really good in their own right.

We also tried out the Phenomemal French Toast. This was a really good showing for French Toast, as well!

Next, for the true test, the oatmeal cookie! This is the test for any cookbook in my house. If my family likes your oatmeal cookie recipe, then the book is a keeper! Well, it is a keeper! They loved them. I made one batch and separated it into two different flavors. The younger group here likes chocolate chip (which is what the recipe calls for), while the older crowd likes raisin walnut (black walnut in this case). The Oatmeal Chocolate Chip Cookies were a hit here!

While I really only scratched the surface of this book, there are many great dairy free recipes I still want to try. Vegan Vittles Second Helpings has a wide range of recipes for many meal options with varying degrees of difficulty. There are quite a few options for cheeses that I can’t wait to try. I am also anxious to try out the gravy recipes. I can’t find any here at the store that don’t have dairy, so that is on my to do list. I would definitely recommend this book for a dairy free lifestyle!

This is a third party review by Sarena Shasteen of The Non-Dairy Queen. "Vegan Vittles" by Jo Stepaniak is available to purchase on Amazon.

For More Food & Book Reviews like this one see the Product Review Section on GoDairyFree.org.