Nicole Axworthy and Lisa Pitman, seasoned cooks and long time vegans, know it's difficult to understand what you're getting from a store bought item unless you become an expert in analyzing labels. When you're in the supermarket, it's almost impossible to avoid buying a prepared item that doesn't contain animal-based by-products.

In their new book, DIY Vegan: More than 100 Easy Recipes to Create an Awesome Plant-based Pantry, Lisa and Nichole show readers how easy it is to make their own vegan pantry staples at home. Using easy to find whole food ingredients that amp up flavours and nutrition, they've created over one hundred recipes that will stock pantry shelves, refrigerators and freezers: vegan milks, ice creams and butters made from a variety of nuts and seeds, home-ground flours, yummy sauces and spreads, snack foods (including a recipe for incredibly delicious vegan Pop Tarts) and an array of artisanal make-them-yourself cheeses. There's even a recipe for that beloved orange cheese sauce that coats everyone's favourite boxed mac and cheese! All of the recipes are vegan. Some are gluten-free and some are from their list of raw food favourites.

Whether you are vegan, vegetarian or someone just wanting to kick the packaged food habit, DIY Vegan by Nicole Axworthy and Lisa Pitman will show you how to create an awesome, more compassionate kitchen powered by a pantry filled with healthy, homemade, plant-based staples.