The Oh She Glows Cookbook Taught Me That I Can Be Vegan & Still Eat Nachos

Book: The Oh She Glows Cookbook: Over 100 Vegan Recipes to Glow from the Inside Out by Angela Liddon
Price: $25.00
Overall Impression: Filled with recipes that will impress vegans and non-vegans alike.

The Homies 2014 award winner Oh She Glows has tons of fans and it’s no wonder. Angela Liddon’s recipes are fresh, enticing, and approachable. Whether you’re a committed vegan or simply want to incorporate some healthier foods into your life, The Oh She Glows Cookbook will have you and everyone you know fighting for seconds.

• Out-the-Door Chia Power Doughnuts – p. 41
• Coconut-Lemon Whipped Cream – p. 281
• Gym Rat Smoothie – p. 63
• Life-Affirming Warm Nacho Dip – p. 83
• Creamy Avocado-Potato Salad – p. 107
• Sweet Potato & Black Bean Enchiladas with Avocado-Cilantro Cream Sauce – p. 147
• 5-Minute Enchilada Sauce – p. 300
• Salt & Vinegar Roasted Chickpeas – p. 221
• Raw Pumpkin-Maple Pie with Baked Oat Crust – p. 247
• Creamy Vanilla Almond Milk – p. 275
• Easy Almond Pulp Granola – p. 276
• Magical Chia Seed Jam – p. 287

The Oh She Glows Cookbook contains 75 new recipes and 25 updated recipes from the blog. As someone who can’t eat dairy, gluten, or refined sugar, I found it such a pleasure to go through this book — not only because I could make most of the recipes, but I also appreciated Angela Liddon’s sensitivity to food allergies. All of the recipes here are dairy-free and egg-free and most of them are gluten-free. Each recipe is clearly marked whether it is gluten-free, refined sugar-free or sugar-free, soy-free, nut-free, grain-free, and/or oil-free. That said, the focus of the book is not on doing without. Rather, it’s a celebration of colorful, homemade food that can make you feel great.

From the introductory chapters to the recipes, the book is exceptionally well-written, thorough yet clear and precise. I seldom had to reread anything for lack of clarity. Liddon does a great job describing how things should look or feel so you know whether you’re on the right track. Recipes include US and metric measurements, which is helpful.

As for the specific recipes, there were no disappointments. The first thing I made was chia doughnuts. I don’t have a doughnut pan so I made them as muffins, which Liddon suggested, and they turned out great — reminiscent of poppy seed cake but actually energizing for breakfast. This was a recurring theme throughout — dishes that were moreish and comforting yet didn’t weigh me down afterwards. The nacho dip was indeed “life-affirming,” as in “I can be vegan and still eat nachos!!!” and the enchiladas were so satisfying that I never missed the cheese.

I also enjoyed the simple, basic recipes for staples like chia and berry jam, almond milk, and the ingenious use of the leftover almond pulp to make granola. The salt and vinegar chickpeas made an easy snack, just like my favorite salt and vinegar potato chips but so much better for you.

What impressed me the most was the fact that my non-vegan, non-gluten-free friends and family went wild for the recipes. Comments like, “I don’t even like pumpkin and that’s the best pie I’ve ever had!” were not uncommon. It made me happy to cook dishes that I could eat and everyone else loved, too.

One note on equipment: You will need a food processor and/or blender to cook many of the recipes. A high-speed blender such as a Vitamix is not imperative, but highly recommended.

Liddon makes homemade, healthy food feel accessible, delicious, and something you want to share with others. Though certainly wonderful for more experienced cooks, The Oh She Glows Cookbook really strikes me as the perfect cookbook for beginners who want to eat less meat, dairy, gluten, or processed food. It would also be great for families that need to accommodate someone with food allergies. These are dishes that everyone will enjoy.

Find It! The Oh She Glows Cookbook: Over 100 Vegan Recipes to Glow from the Inside Out, $15.00 at Amazon

Apartment Therapy Media makes every effort to test and review products fairly and transparently. The views expressed in this review are the personal views of the reviewer and this particular product review was not sponsored or paid for in any way by the manufacturer or an agent working on their behalf. However, the manufacturer did give us the product for testing and review purposes.