The subtitle for this book is Quick, Low-fat, Low-Calorie, Vegetarian Meals. And it should be noted that they are also vegan: no eggs, no milk, cheese, butter, or other dairy, and of course, no other animal products. Most of her recipes include some kind of tofu, or other soy product. Which is great if you’re a newly converted vegetarian and looking for ways to make tofu work. But terrible if you’re allergic. But she does include an index for soy-free recipes and those that could be made soy-free. Grogan has a great selection of basic recipes like substitutes for cheese and milk, mayonnaise sauces and breadings, etc. You can make these ahead of time and store in the fridge for a quick way to fix dinner.

Some of the ingredients are a bit exotic like dulse flakes and hydrolyzed vegetable protein. But you can easily find these even in rural areas anymore (something has to be said for Wal-mart), and she has a list of substitutions for some things.

Overall, it’s a good cookbook to help you eat vegan, lose weight, cook fast, and/or make baked goods for people with dairy allergies (a very common problem). And the author is a supercool lady from the Gulf Islands where I stayed in Canada. I never got to meet her, but that’s a great place to live.