[.ca] 1,001 Low-Fat Vegetarian Recipes (ISBN 1572840579)

you'll never run out of ideas!:
I suppose, like the reviewer above said, that this isn't a beginning vegetarians cookbook, in the sense that it does not guide you through what it means to be vegetarian etc, etc, BUT, I'd like to point out that nowhere on the book does it say that is what it is (there are books for that). I also will agree that yes, in SOME of the recipies there are strange ingredients: fat-free half and half, cactus paddles, flavored cooking sprays... but there are over 1,000 recipies! Of course they had to get creative! I think this cookbook is excellent, if you've been a vegetarian for awhile, and you like to cook, then this book is perfect for spicing up your everyday cuisine. The recipies are easy to follow, and so far (I've cooked a lot of dishes from this book) almost everything has been yummy. I'd like to add that if I can't find something I substitute. I use veggie bullion in place of stocks, and skim milk in place of fat free half and half, and I've never had any problems. The book has widened my scope on mixing vegetarian ingredients, enabling me to scan my pantry and whip up combinations I'd never thought of before. There is so much to chose from that you can keep it simple or get a little fancy! Highly recommended!

The Best Vegetarian Cookbook:
I own about 20 vegetarian cookbooks and this is the best by far. Every recipe has tasted terrific. The instructions are clear and easy to follow and the preparation times given are accurate. All ingredients are readily found in your local supermarket or superstore. Some of the recipes we have tried are: Black Bean Soup with Sun-Dried Tomatoes & Cilantro Cream, Roasted Vegetables, Moo Shu Style, Holiday Sweet Potato Loaf with Apple Cranberry Relish, Sante Fe Beans, Grinder with New England Baked Beans & Roasted Potato Salad, Star Pasta with Carrots & Ginger Cream, Vietnamese Curried Coconut Soup, and Fresh Tomato and Basil Pizza. All have been delicious and low in fat. Also helpful is the Nutritional Information provided for each recipe as well as a marking to let you know if the dish is acceptable for lacto-ovo, vegan, lacto-, or ovo- vegetarians. This is a VERY large cookbook, but it contains enough enjoyable recipes to last a family for years.

Losing Weight:
My husband lost a lot of weight (I lost 13 pounds as well) and both of us kept it off by using these receipes for all dinners at home. They were tastey and reliable and featured all of his "free" foods. While receipes mostly used a lot of ingredients, they were clear and easy to follow. There were numerous main dishes and low fat versions of many ethnic dishes. A very nice feature is the analysis of each receipe in terms of the ADA's diabetic diet terms.

Just so you know:
Just so people realize, some of these reviews were written almost 4 years ago. I had no trouble finding fat free half and half in most area grocery stores. And yes, Worchester sauce traditionally contains anchovies, but a vegetarian version is available in natural food stores. Also, ALL yogurt DOES NOT contain gelatin. There are many brands of "natural" yogurt which do not contain such additives. In the northwest, Nancy's is the first which springs to mind and Stonyfield Farms, which is a northeastern company, but available elsewhere. If anything, I felt that too many of the recipes called for the same set of ingredients (artichoke hearts, bell pepper, etc.). It's lucky my household likes those items, we just wished for a little more variety.

Great Recipes But Some Mistakes!:
This is overall a great cookbook, some great ideas, I've made some desserts from it and they are delicious. I was looking for something like this when I fell upon it at out local Borders bookstore. The only problem is many of the recipes contain yogurt, which ALWAYS contains gelatin(which I think most people know is boiled animal connective tissue, skin and bones). I don't know if Sue Spitler realized this and didn't care or didn't know or what. Also, some of the recipes called for Woccessire (Sp?) sauce, and that has Anchovies in it. None of the recipes are supposed to contain meat, fish or poultry. But overall, a great book. Many of the recipes are bland, some of them have strange ingredients, and some of them are pretty high in calories, actually higher or equal in calories than the normal kinds. Others have less calories, yes, but that's because the portions are smaller. So, basically, I would say, if you are really interested, buy it. If not, look elsewhere.