Title:	The Complete Food Substitutions Handbook: Including Options for Low-Sugar, Low-Fat, Low-Salt, Gluten-Free, Lactose-Free, and Vegan
	Author:	Jean B. McLeod
	Published:	November 23, 2018
	No. of Pages:	544
	Cover Price:	$19.95 Paperback, $5.99 Kindle

---

Wow! This is one of those books that belongs on every cook’s shelf. How many times have you been in the middle of a recipe and found you were out of a critical ingredient? The Complete Food Substitutions Handbook: Including Options for Low-Sugar, Low-Fat, Low-Salt, Gluten-Free, Lactose-Free, and Vegan. Jean B. McLeod has outdone herself with this excellent book, since it contains not only standard ingredients, but also hundreds – maybe thousands – of lesser known and specialty ingredients. This is a must-have book for those who want to convert recipes to special diets, such as vegan, gluten-free, and lactose-free. It is also a must-have for when an ingredient isn’t available, or when it isn’t convenient to run to the grocery store.

The book is well-organized, and the ingredients are in alphabetical order, making it easy to locate what is needed. It includes spices, as well as cheeses, vegetables (even exotic ones used all over the world), meats, grains and flours, and seafood, to name a few. There are also definitions after most of the ingredients for those of us who aren’t familiar with them. Just perusing the book will be educational and informative.

Although this isn’t a cookbook, there are a few recipes for spice mixes, all purpose biscuit mix, and flavored vinegars – very helpful, and very easy to follow. The text in the book is concise and easy to understand and, although there may be a few things left out that none of us have ever heard of, it seems that this book includes almost every ingredient known to man.

Highly recommended, this is one to give as a gift and will be a help in every kitchen – whether for beginning cooks or advanced chefs. There is something here for everyone.

Special thanks to NetGalley for supplying a review copy of this book.