Basilmomma

Vegan Family Meals….Part One…

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A few months ago I was asked to review a copy of the new cookbook Vegan Family Meals by Ann Gentry.  At first I was a little cautious that I would be able to do this author justice with my review but I agreed and I am so happy I did.

Ann Gentry is Hollywood’s go-to vegan chef, mom and founder of Los Angeles’ very popular and chic vegan restaurant Real Food Daily .   Ann has shared her secret recipes in her new cookbook in her new cookbook Vegan Family Meals.  As a mom herself, Ann knows how to feed a hungry family on an affordable budget.

I have been cutting back the meat, dairy and animal products that I have been eating in the last  few years due to health reasons but I am not what you would call a ‘vegan’ by any stretch.  I think people hear this term and they run for the hills not really knowing that it is easy to make small changes to our diets that will reap great rewards to our health.

You don’t have to be a vegan to enjoy Vegan Family Meals.  Moms, chefs, foodies and families can all enjoy expanding their cooking repertoire  with this new book filled with easy to prepare, scrumptious, and healthy recipes.

I was fortunate enough to be able to ask Ann Gentry 5 questions that I , personally, really wanted the answer to and I thought some of you might too!

On Wednesday I will show you what I made from Vegan Family Meals …so make sure to come back!


Here are a few things I wanted to ask Ann:

1.What prompted you to become a vegan?
My second job in NYC was at a vegetarian restaurant.  I started bussing tables, and then became a server.  My customers shared their food journeys and these stories helped encourage me to change my diet, my life.  In the beginning eating veg, then vegan was purely for health reasons, years later the environmental and farming issues and the inhumanity of how animals are treated on the way to slaughter became part of the bigger picture for me. 

2. Was it an easy transition?
Yes.  I knew the way I was eating which was the standard American diet wasn’t serving me.  Eliminating too much salt, sugar, fat, and eating foods in their whole natural states really resonated with me.  My body and whole being could feel the goodness that came from changing how I ate.

3. Can you suggest some good dairy substitutions?
In my new book, Vegan Family Meals, I have created pantry pages to focus on certain staples people will want to have on hand in their kitchens when exploring and preparing plant-based cuisine.  I have one on non-dairy cheeses, milks, even ice creams. I list the store bought cheeses made from nuts, rice, soy or tapioca based as well as my homemade cashew cheese.
Same for nut, rice, grain, soy based milks and my own recipe for a nut based milk.

4. Have your children always had a vegan diet?

My first child after being breastfed was a vegan for a few years. Then, you go to a birthday party and its cheese pizza and ice cream cake and that was the change of that!   Already, my husband and I had made a decision to eat primarily vegan at home. When our two kids go to birthday parties, or other social occasions at their friend’s houses, they eat vegetarian.  We allow them to eat these “non-vegan” foods from time to time, NOT to supplement their vegan diet as there are no supplements to an already ideal diet, but rather allow them joy, comfort and participation in their childhood social settings.


5. What made you decide to open RFD?
When I moved to Los Angeles, I thought LA was the Mecca of natural foods establishments and I would find a healthy eating-place in every hood. To my disappointment, there was a handful of places serving a vegetarian cuisine and in my first year of living here, two of them closed! 
I opened RFD the restaurant in 1993 because there were very few places in LA that offered quality flavorful pleasurable and innovative vegan food.
I would like to thank Ann Gentry and Much and House Public Relations for this opportunity, information and being so kind as to let me personally ask Ann a few of my questions!
Come back on  Wednesday to see Ann’s recipe for Lasagna Rolls with Tofu Ricotta and Everyday Tomato Sauce that I made!
 

 



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