Mama T has been feeding a family of seven since 1973 on nothing but grit, grease, and gall. In Mama T’s Ingredient Substitutions, she shares the kind of cooking wisdom you don’t find on Instagram—how to stretch a meal, fake a missing ingredient, and make dinner happen with whatever the fridge didn’t offer.

This is not a pretty cookbook. It’s a survival guide with sass. With 30 straight-talking chapters and 12 no-nonsense recipe appendices, Mama T walks you through substitutions that actually work—from replacing eggs with mashed banana to turning saltines into casserole gold. Every page carries the sharp-witted voice of a 70-year-old southern grandmother from Shreveport, Louisiana, who married a roughneck named Bud and never once let an empty pantry beat her.

You’ll learn how to:

• Cook without dairy, eggs, or meat—and not apologize for it

• Turn beans into burritos, breadcrumbs into croutons, and mayo into magic

• Substitute on the fly with the confidence of a seasoned cook

• Use vinegar, broth, and a raised eyebrow in place of wine

• Think like a survivor, not a shopper

This book isn’t about perfection. It’s about perseverance. It’s about how to make meals that don’t fall apart—even when life does.

If you’ve ever opened the pantry and sighed, this is your bible. If you’ve ever made dinner out of three cans and a lie, Mama T sees you. And if you’ve never been broke but want to know how to cook like someone who has, you’re about to learn from the best.

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