I have mixed feelings about this book. Some of the recipes sound really good, while others seem like they are trying too hard to be fancy. The informative breaks between recipes do not correlate to the information given. I don't recall seeing a recipe including grits at all despite there being a whole page about them.

A few of the recipes worth looking into:
Pg 47 - Fried Green Tomatoes and Tangy Basil Mayo
Pg 65 - Mushroom & Potato Pot Pie Casserole
Pg 67 - Fancy French Onion Mac & Cheese
Pg 137 - Sweet Tea Cake

Overall, this is not a cookbook I would purchase for my own use, but would probably do well in a public library's collection.

This had some really great recipes in it that I will definitely be trying out!
Thank you NetGalley for this ARC.

This is one in a series of three so far (Southern, Indian, Mexican) and probably the best of the three. The presentation is meh - hardly inspiring and none of the photographs made me want to run to the kitchen to try the recipe. I did find more to try in this one, though, and the recipes came out fine. Because it is Southern American food, the ingredients were very easy to source.

The book breaks down as follows: Introduction, Keep your kitchen stacked, Breakfast and brunch, Starters and sides, Dinners and mains, Soups and stews, Sweets and treats, condiments and sauces, resources. The introduction tells you a bit about the author and then provides a list of ingredients you want to keep handy for that type of cooking. Recipes include: fluffy cardamom blueberry pancakes, vitamin c soup, good bakers make oily cakes, fried green tomatoes and tangy basil mayo, cracker crusted mac n cheese, creamy labneh and spiced peach dip, and many more.

Most, but not all, recipes include a photo. Each recipe breaks down as: title, description, serving size, italicized and bold ingredients, then clunky unnumbered paragraph steps. Tips are given on some recipes as well. There is no nutrition information, storage information, or substitution suggestions for allergies.

The presentation is simple and not very inspiring. The photographs as well don't necessarily show the recipes off to advantage and often feel done by an Iphone in indifferent lighting. Admittedly, it created a lot of 'meh' rather than excitement for what was inside which was unfortunate.

Those with health concerns or weight issues would probably want to be careful here - there's a reason no nutrition information is given since you'll get a lot of unhealthy simple carbs and heavy fats. So while the recipes should taste good, the point here is vegan rather than vegan healthy. While reading through, I kept hoping for healthier options rather than what often felt like vegan comfort food. Reviewed from an advance reader copy provided by the publisher.

"Whether new to the world of plant-based cooking or already acquainted and looking for easy vegan versions of beloved dishes, Make It Plant-Based! Southern shows how easy it is to make plants the star of the plate."

I'm always looking to try not just new recipes, but ingredient swaps, cooking methods, or whatever I can do to make the food I cook just a little healthier or different. It's fun to change things up a bit, and adding more plant based recipes is always a fun way to do all of these things.

There are a lot of nice recipes in here, riffing on traditional southern cooking, from breakfasts to desserts, but there could definitely be more photos of the completed dishes. The broiled peach and oatmeal bake sounds quite delicious, and plant based biscuits sound really good! It would be nice to have nutritional info in these books too, in order to make sure you're getting everything you need from these recipes.

I received a free ebook copy of this book from NetGalley in exchange for a fair review.

SO HIGH in sugar and carbs. Like the other books in this series, there’s no nutritional information for the recipes and it’s pretty easy to guess why. They are so high in refined carbs like white flour, grits and sugar, plus very little protein and a lot of unhealthy fats. It makes the same mistake many vegan recipes make of using a wonderful healthy food like eggplant or mushrooms to substitute for meat in a dinner without doing anything about the dive in protein when using these. Protein is abysmally low in almost all of the recipes other than the many tofu ones. Fruit is used heavily which is great in moderation but a smoothie for breakfast that is almost all fruit and then a can of coconut milk is going to wreak havoc on even a healthy person’s blood sugar to start the day. These recipes need way more fiber, way less flour and starches, way more protein (and variety in protein sources) and way less fat and sugar. It doesn’t count as low sugar if the entire dish is made of processed carbs and natural sugars, it’s still not a balanced meal.

I was a vegan for years. I am well aware of the party line about how so many Americans eat too much protein. I know you can get protein from whole plant foods. But I also know that I have to actively work to get enough protein for my age and I still fall short most days. I also know that past 40, consistently eating this high of refined carbs and natural sugars is not sustainable with health. Check out vegan authors like Robin Roberts for good healthy higher protein vegan recipes, especially if you’re over 30 or doing much physical activity.

Also, heads up for those with special dietary needs, these recipes tend to rely heavily on wheat and soy.

This one was a miss for me.

I read a temporary digital loan of this book for review.