Alisa Fleming ~ To complete their trilogy of cute, square little dessert cookbooks, Isa Chandra Moskowitz and Terry Hope Romero recently released Vegan Pie in the Sky. If you know someone who is new to the vegan or dairy-free & egg-free diet, then a “box set” including Vegan Pie in the Sky, Vegan Cupcakes Take Over the World, and Vegan Cookies Invade Your Cookie Jar would be the sweetest gift.

But back to the pie cookbook … it starts with a helpful introduction called “How to create the universe or bake a pie from scratch.” This is a helpful little 25 page section that gets right to the point with how to’s and tips, written in the author’s voices (if you have any prior books from these ladies then you know that they are quite witty to say the least!). I especially loved the How to Spy a Pie page that explains the difference between a betty, buckle, cobbler, crisp, galette, hand pie, pie, and pandowdy (?). I obviously needed a little education on this topic!

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Robin Robertson ~ During this hectic time of year, it can sometimes be a challenge to find time to make a nutritious dinner when we’re busy with a zillion other things. With a little planning, there are lots of ways to save time and get quick and easy meals ready. Here are just a few ideas:

1. Make a large batch of brown rice and portion and freeze it to use as you need it.

2. Keep your pantry stocked with a variety of canned beans, tomatoes, and other pantry staples and keep some frozen green peas, spinach, and other vegetables on hand as well.

3. Plan some one-dish meals to save clean-up and make extra so you have leftovers for lunch or another dinner.

Alisa Fleming ~ Do you need dairy-free stocking stuffers, gifts for your favorite candy bar fan, a treat to keep you fueled through hectic days of holiday shopping, or simply an “everyday” kind of indulgence to quell your chocolate cravings? If you said yes to any of these, then I definitely recommend any of the vegan candy bars from Go Max Go Foods.

It has been a couple years now since I first reviewed their initial line of candy bars. My personal favorites were the Mahalo and Twilight bars, but all are still going strong in sales. And now, they have two new candy bars that will appeal to anyone who loved the sweet crisp of a Nestle’s Crunch bar or who wants a “purer” and dairy-free alternative to Reese’s Peanut Butter Cups.

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Alisa Fleming ~ A discussion about gift-worthy new cookbooks would not be complete without mentioning Vegan Holiday Kitchen by Nava Atlas. Nava is the founder of VegKitchen and a well-known vegan cookbook author (Vegetarian 5-Ingredient Gourmet, Vegan Express, Vegan Soups, and The Vegetarian Family Cookbook are her leading titles), but she seriously outdid herself with Vegan Holiday Kitchen!

I was amazed when I opened the shipment to discover this beautiful hardcover, full color cookbook filled with 200 recipes that I could eat! If you are looking for a cookbook to gift to a vegan or dairy-free loved one, to help out with your own holiday preparations, or simply one to share just how wonderful vegan recipes can be, then this is it. Vegan Holiday Kitchen has an attractive and well-organized layout, numerous pictures all taken by the talented Susan V., and it truly looks professional through and through.

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