<p>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. </p><p>In their new book, <i>DIY Vegan: More Than 100 Easy Recipes to Create an Awesome Plant-Based Pantry,</i> Lisa and Nicole 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 flavors 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 favorite boxed mac and cheese! All of the recipes are vegan and have gluten-free options and some are from their list of raw food favorites. </p><p>Whether you are vegan, vegetarian or someone just wanting to kick the packaged-food habit,<i>DIY Vegan </i>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.</p>