Give them

Cookbooks

Plant Based Recipes 
Your Family Will LOVE!

When I was cooking for a small Bible School, several of the students kept asking “When are you going to write a cookbook?” I really had no intention of writing a cookbook back then, but, I then I heard about learned about Dan Buettner’s National Geographic Study on longevity, and found that I was part of a Blue Zone—I was part of one of the groups that lives the longest! wanted to share the recipes and lifestyle that help us live up to 10 years longer than the average American. That is how my first cookbook “Give Them Something Better” was created.
A few years later, as I was raising my kids, I saw I need to help kids and families learn why it’s so important to eat whole, plant-based foods, as well as encourages families to start cooking together, so my daughter (10 years old at the time) and I collaborated in writing Kidlicious.

Give Them Something Better

If you are ever standing around your kitchen wondering what to make for supper, then this is the cookbook for you! This book has five full weeks of supper menus laid out in a way that makes meal planning easier, including oups & Sandwiches, vegetarian meat and potatoes, Mexican, Italian, rice dishes and even a “junk food” day that includes vegan mac & cheese. Each supper meal has an entree and sides to go with it. Give them Something Better also includes some fantastic breakfast meals for the weekday as well as for the lazy Sunday morning t walks you through the four main reasons Dan Buettner’s research pointed to the Seventh-day Adventists in Loma Linda California as a Blue Zone who live 10 years longer than the average American. Give Them Something Better has sold more than 200,000 copies and helped thousands of people make a permanent change in their lifestyle.

More than 120 easy vegan vegetarian recipes for the foods most families eat every day. You’ll find recipes for weekday and special occasion dinners and breakfasts, sides, salads and even dessert!

Short-cuts to faster meals – If you don’t have time to make everything homemade, I’ve got your back, each recipe includes short-cuts to get the meal on the table even faster.

Vegan and gluten-free variations. All the recipes in the book are completely dairy free and many of them have gluten free options that are easily identified by the GF icon.

Handy cooking resources. Find a ton of resources for taking the mystery out of the vegan-plant based cooking and meal planning.

Who would love this book?

If you’re looking for an all-in-one resource for vegetarian cooking, this book is the one for you. You’ll learn how to make old family favorites like lasagna and pot pie, only a little healthier. It also includes savory and sweet breakfasts, and mouthwatering desserts like cookies and southern style banana pudding.

Our Favorite Recipes:

Unsausages, White Bean Chili, Gluten Steaks, Eggplant parmesan, Fake feta, Broccoli Salad, Chilaquiles’, Mac & Cheese, Chicken-style seasoning, scrambled tofu, Nut gravy, just to name a few!

Kidlicious

My second book, Kidlicious is for everyone including grown-ups, but, written with kids in mind with healthy food mysteries to solve at the beginning of each chapter. The little detective style lessons help kids (and moms) discover why: breakfast is the most important meal, why eating the “rainbow” is so important, and why too much sugar can make us sick, as well as other important lessons. It also includes the ever important “For Parents Only” pages that help you as a parent help your kids make good healthy choices as well as how simple things you do at meal time can make dramatic changes in your child’s life.
I collaborated with my 10-year-old daughter to create a cookbook that kids would love, and that would get the whole family in the kitchen together. We made each recipe for the kids at her school to make sure they passed the Kidlicious taste test. But the highlight of the book is the expanded lunch box section to make the dreaded job of packing lunches so much easier.

More than 100 recipes and ideas for families trying to eat more plant rich vegetation meals, snacks and desserts. This cookbook is laid out in typical breakfast, lunch, sides, desserts, etc. categories. You’ll love breakfast favorites like “Fruit Pizza,” side dishes that include “Veggie Presents”, amazing full meal salads like the all time favorite “BLT Pasta Salad,” easy family favorite dinners like “Stuffed Shells” and “Black Bean Sliders,” and an all new cheesier vegan “Mac & Cheese” as well as great desserts like “Apple Nachos” and “Cutie Pie.”

Tons of healthy vegan, plant-based lunchbox recipes and ideas – Try with Rainbow Soup, and more!

Tips for getting kids to want to eat healthier veggie-ful meals – Make pancake faces, Kidliciable lunches, and Superfood Cookies your kids will love!

For Parents only sections – Believe it or not cooking together as a family creates more of a family bond than most activities, and as a bonus we include some fun ways to go out and share your plant-based treats with others.

Where do foods come from – Kidlicious has a super fun section that shows kids where some foods some from and how to make them! Did you know that Ketchup comes from tomatoes!? And pickles are really just cucumbers!?

Who would love this book?

This is one of those cookbooks that you will want to read cover to cover! It is full of excellent recipes for sure, but so much more! It tells you the how’s and why’s of a vegan plant-based lifestyle that will make a drastic difference in your health and the well- being of your children.

Our Favorite Recipes:

“Strawberry Shortcake for Breakfast”, Veggie Presents, Edamame Munches, Smashed Potatoes, BLT Salad, Burrito to Go, Sandwich on a Stick, Asian Noodle Salad, Popcorn Seasoning, Pot Pie, Zebra Cake, Oh…there are just too many to list!

Find these cookbooks on Amazon.com

What others are saying

I absolutely lLove this cookbook. I am not a great cook, I do not like to be in the kitchen cooking. I have to follow recipes. This cookbook has recipes that are so easy to follow and taste really great.They have a meal planner and meal share suggestions for parties or potluck. What I love the most after the great tasting recipes is the beautiful, colorful, shiny pages. I really do not like a cookbook that is just all words. I would highly recommend this cookbook to anyone not just vegetarians. It is good healthy cooking with great taste.”

Give Them Something Better is an amazing cookbook! The recipes are delicious and so practical. Most of the ingredients can be found at the regular grocery store and they are quick and easy to put together.”

I’m a fairly picky person when it comes to cookbooks and not many make my favorite list, but this cookbook is one that made my cut and is a staple in my kitchen drawer.”

I love the vegetarian pot pie!

For someone changing to healthy eating habits, this is the best and easiest cookbook I have found, making it easy to switch.”

I was not raised eating healthy. I had suffered from sickness very often because of it. I met Stephanie Howard and began to eat food that she prepared. It was the best food, so tasty and it was healthy too. She gave me a copy of this cookbook and I eat out of it almost every day. I have never felt so good in my whole life. There are lots of meals in this book that will keep you coming back for more. She gives lots of tips and ideas to use some now and some later, she gives short cuts that I found to be real helpful. I also like that all the items you might need, she tells where to get them, or how to make them yourself. I never knew I could cook so well. I often have people asking for the recipes of the items I cook. This is the best cookbook I have found as I have tried as well.”

Great Cookbook! Would definately recommend!
I bought this book for my son and his family. When I got it in the mail and looked over it, I had a really hard time giving it up!! I made a few of the recipes before sending it off and they were GREAT!! Thanks for this wonderful cookbook!!

Finally what I’ve been looking for!
Came upon the title by chance as I was looking on a website and I saw this advertised. I teach veggie classes and often asked to teach for children. This is perfect! The recipes are quite adaptable and easy to follow and they appeal to the eye and curiosity of the child. Love it and highly recommend it. I have no more little ones at home, my baby is 28 years old, no grandkids either, but I love kids, and if you work with children at church or school, this is great.”
More than a cookbook…
This cookbook has great pictures, very nice recipes, and though there are some recipes that use analogs and commercial mayonnaise and cream cheese, many do not. I like the emphasis on family and relationships in the book. There is a section on things to do as a family and also ways to present food items as gifts. I am looking forward to making some of these fun foods for the children at church. Sure wish I had my grandbabies near by to enjoy this with–maybe I can borrow a few from someone else! This book is designed for happy cooking!”

From Dr. Neal Barnard

Parents who serve healthful meals at home do their children an enormous favor. In particular, children who are raised with a plant-based menu gain tremendous advantages. They have a strong measure of protection against the problems that so many people encounter–obesity, heart disease, diabetes, and even certain cancers. Studies also suggest that children raised on plant-based diets have higher IQs than their omnivorous classmates and, on average, will live years longer.

We can say this with confidence because we and many other research teams have put healthy diets to the test. In our studies, we have shown the power of healthful food choices to dramatically cut cholesterol levels, improve and even reverse diabetes, and restore overall good health. However, we were by no means the first to study the effects of good foods.

By putting plant-foods at the center of your family’s plate, your kids will thank you and so do I. For decades, researchers have been studying Seventh-day Adventists. The reason is that, based on church teachings, Adventists are supposed to avoid alcohol, tobacco, caffeine, and meat. Nearly all Adventists are very good about the first three of those admonitions. But only about half of them follow vegetarian diets, while the other half include rather modest amounts of meat in their routines. This provides a natural experiment that has allowed researchers to tease out the effects of including or excluding meat in the diet in a population that is otherwise generally health-conscious.

The results of these comparisons have been repeatedly reported in medical journals and have clearly shown the health advantages of avoiding meat. But in May, 2009, researchers published details that allowed them to go much further.1 The group under study—60,903 adults—was big enough to allow comparisons, not just between vegetarians and meat-eaters, but between people following a broad range of diet habits. The research report was provided by Serena Tondstad of Loma Linda University, and the findings were published by the American Diabetes Association in its journal Diabetes Care. Looking first at body weight, it turned out that non-vegetarians were the heaviest group. Semi-vegetarians (who had occasional meat meals, but otherwise stuck to a vegetarian diet) and “pesco-vegetarians” (who ate fish, but no other meat) were somewhat slimmer. But they were not as slim as full-time vegetarians. And slimmest of all were vegans. In fact, vegans were the only group that comfortably stayed within the boundaries of a healthy weight.

You now have in your hands a practical and engaging guide to preparing the very best plant-foods in your own kitchen. You will be able to enjoy favorites like Vegetable Pot Pie, Lasagna, and Veggie Fajitas, and also to learn some new tastes, too. Along the way, you’ll get all the tips and menu planning support you need! All this and more is here in Giving them Something Better.
By putting plant-foods at the center of your family’s plate, your kids will thank you and so do I.

Neal Barnard, M.D.,
President, Physicians Committee for Responsible Medicine

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