The cookbook shelf of a former vegetarian. Photo: emdot, Flickr.

Whether you're a full-fledged veg or a pro-greens protein fiend, vegetarian cookbooks are the door to a world where beans, greens and grains are celebrated. These books will introduce you to a whole new pantry of ingredients. Just as a meat eater might strive to make use of the entire animal, vegetarian cooks grab inspiration from far and wide and turn every bit of edible, natural earth into a grand culinary experience.

What follows after the jump are five vegetarian cookbooks that any veggie lover must have, covering the staples of meatless cookery -- secret recipes from restaurants, classic culinary bibles, respected names and haute vegetarian food. Which do you think will reign supreme?

For many carnivores, vegetarian cuisine is seen as a partial meal -- one filled with slimy tofu and strange ingredients that don't come close to filling you up. I agreed with this assumption for a while, having visited vegetarian restaurants with friends and picked my way through bland and disappointing meals that I could have done better myself. Then I went to Fresh in Toronto -- a restaurant full of tasty vegetarian/vegan fare that is rich in flavor and quite filling. As soon as I saw that they had a cookbook full of recipes for their popular dishes, written by Ruth Tal Brown and Jennifer Houston, I picked it up immediately.

Fresh at Home is an excellent vegan/vegetarian cookbook, and it's perfect for veggie addicts, those who want to diversify their meals, and those plagued by dietary restrictions. It starts by laying out the main tools and pantry items needed to create great vegetarian meals, and then dives in to a diverse collection of food, separated into salads and dressings, rice bowls, noodles, sandwiches, sauces and mixes, spreads, coatings, and marinades, brunch, desserts, fresh juice recipes, energy elixirs, and pro athletic shakes. (The restaurant also has a juice bar inside, hence the large collection of drinks at the end.)

Fresh's dishes cover a variety of ethnic treats from all over the world, from the diverse selection of Asian-inspired noodle bowls, to tasty soups like Sicilian White Bean and Tomato and East African Pea. There are simple sandwiches like the insanely tasty Reality Bites (a basic sandwich with avocado instead of meat), and more in-depth recipes like the Shanghai Rice Bowl. But what's really great is that each of these uses other simple recipes that can be easily extended outside the dishes listed in the book. There are a number of recipes for mayo substitutes and sandwich spreads, along with tasty preparation guides for marinated tofu with a really tasty and crispy coating and marinated tempeh -- all of which can spice up even carnivorous dishes.

If you're dying for some tastier animal-free fare, or you're determined to spread the joys of veggie appreciation, this is the book to have -- and I say this as someone who adores meat just as much as veggies.