It’s no secret that I’m a big fat fan of gluten. I love Wheat! HOWEVER, I have multiple friends with gluten intolerance, celiac disease and more that simply cannot eat gluten. I do a lot of baking and I like to cater to everyone, especially when I take treats to an event, so when I bake and it’s not for my family I often bake gluten-free. I also (really) know what it feels like to be the only one at the party with nothing to eat, which is no fun!

Gluten-Free baking is still somewhat of a mystery to me. Honestly, wheat flour is so much more predictable and easy to work with. I had a hard enough time re-learning how to bake without eggs and butter when I first changed my diet! Take out wheat flour too?!? Serious panic attacks in the kitchen! Even after experience with baking gluten-free on and off for nearly three years now, I still sometimes feel like the sun, moon, stars, kitchen temperature and humidity need to all be aligned in order for gluten-free baking to be successful in my house! BUT that’s where the wizardry of Cara Reed of Fork and Beans comes in. She has been in the same position as I have where the first gluten-free baking experiences resulted in a lot of trash bags full of heavy, inedible, brick-like food.

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I’ve been ambling my way through Every Day Vegan Eats by  Zsu Dever from Zsu’s Vegan Pantry for the past few months. It’s one of those cookbooks that I’ll return to again and again as every one of Zsu’s recipes I’ve tried has been exceptional. The book is also very easy on the eyes! There are beautiful full color photos to accompany many of the recipes, which makes it easy to envision making them in your kitchen.

This is exactly the type of book that I really wish had been available when I first went vegan, because it takes a lot of classic home-style foods and makes them vegan without too many special ingredients or difficulty level. There’s a lot of lovely comfort food in this book as well as some ethnic favorites. There’s even a special seitan holiday roast that I know will be gracing our table this Thanksgiving!

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I adore Pomona’s Pectin! I first bought the product at Whole Foods to make low-sugar freezer jam for my family (which is super easy and delicious), then one day I was making some vegan cheese and somehow decided to throw some pectin in! It worked fabulously! It’s a great alternative to carageenan or agar based vegan cheeses for those with health concerns or who simply don’t enjoy the flav0r of agar.

Pepper Jack Cashew Cheese made with Pomona’s Pectin! Get the recipe here

The owners of Pomona’s Pectin and I have been fast friends ever since! Today they have asked me to share this very special giveaway with you!

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I have to say the reviewing cookbooks is one of my favorite things about being a blogger. I’m constantly blown away by the genius, creativity and beauty that I find in each book. Most of these cookbooks are really like an art form.

I knew that Vegan Chocolate by Fran Costigan was going to be good, but I was literally blown away by the quality of the recipes, the gorgeous photos by Kate Lewis and even the descriptive text in this cookbook. Plus it’s a 304 page hardcover, like a beautiful chocolate encyclopedia! The quality of the book makes it feel like it will last forever and take all my kitchen smudges, smears and drippings that end up on my most well loved cookbooks in good form. I’m not kidding that as a self-confessed chocoholic I literally want to make all the recipes in the book.

The book is so good that I couldn’t stop looking at it yesterday when it arrived, so I substituted it for my five year old’s normal nighttime story routine. He was just as entranced as I was, and recommend we make everything, plus add strawberries. I had to agree.

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24 pack (double recipe) cinnamon rolls with vegan buttercream

 So, I’ve been making these cinnamon rolls like they’re going out of style for a while now. If you follow me on Instagram you’ve probably gotten a bit tired of it really. It all started when a neighbor of mine brought me a loaf of “accidentally vegan” bread earlier this year. It was the stuff white bread dreams are made of, soft, fluffy and just delicious. So of course I asked her for the recipe and she gladly obliged.

For those needing the recipe right now, scroll all the way to the end of this post

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I am so excited about Kathy Hester’s new book OATrageous Oatmeals! Kathy is one of my all time favorite vegan cookbook authors. Her recipes make veganism easy, yummy, afforable and accessible for everyone! She’s asked me to join in on her Pre-Order Party and let you know about her exciting and tasty partnership with OXO with a fabulous giveaway!

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Vegan Cuts is offering a fabulous giveaway on my site today! One lucky winner gets to choose between the Vegan Family Starter Kit OR the Dog Lovers Box

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Veganism is on the horizon of exploding with popularity. It seems like hopping on the vegan bandwagon is the chic’ thing to do with celebrities like Beyonce and Jay Z doing a 22 day vegan kick start last year, J-Lo recently confessing her love for the lifestyle and even Jessica Simpson going on a 2 week vegan cleanse prior to her wedding. I’m all for any publicity in the media to promote a vegan lifestyle but I think many people are confused about what being a vegan means.

So the question is, what exactly is a vegan?

That’s it. Plain and simple.

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I was beyond thrilled when contacted by Tamasin Noyes and Celine Steen to review their newest collaboration, Vegan Finger Foods! Who doesn’t love snacking on little bites of deliciousness of every kind?!? I reviewed their cookbook: Whole Grain Vegan Baking last year and still bake out of it frequently! You can read about that review (and get a fantastic whole grain [veggie] burger bun recipe for your summer grilling) here. Now, lets have a look at some of the delights in Vegan Finger Foods!

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I was contacted by the lovely Kayle Martin at Cowgirls and Collard Greens  back in February about doing a guest post for her site. I was so pleased because I absolutely adore her, and her story! She’s a 2 time cancer survivor and vegan cowgirl with a passion for animals that is contagious!

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