Eat Well, Be Well: 100+ Healthy Re-Creations of the Food You Crave

In this satisfying debut cookbook, nutritionist Cristofano delivers crowd-pleasing vegan versions of dishes typically prepared with animal products, gluten, and refined sugars. Positing that non–plant-based foods can be linked to ailments such as arthritis and migraines while a vegan diet can reverse symptoms of type 2 diabetes, Cristofano relies on nuts, legumes, and fresh produce in her recipes. Her solutions are creative and tasty, such as portobello bacon (the mushrooms get a smoky spice marinade), vegan parmesan cheese (ground and seasoned raw cashews), and sloppy joes (lentils replace the meat). Sweeter options include apple carrot cake muffins (made with gluten-free flour), fudgy chocolate cake (made with dates and apple sauce for sweetness and texture), and no-bake lemon cheesecake (soaked raw cashews are blended with other ingredients to make a cheesecake-like filling). Home cooks who aren’t familiar with vegan cooking will appreciate Cristofano’s tips (for the asparagus quinoa potato salad, she says the quinoa can be made ahead the night before) and ingredient substitutions (for vegan ricotta cheese, macadamia nuts or almonds can be used in lieu of cashews). This is an accessible guide to vegan cooking. (Oct.)