Patti Breitman

Being Vegetarian/Vegan 101

(Full disclosure: I received a free copy of this book for review at the publisher's invitation.)

The title of this (cook)book pretty much says it all: in just over 200 pages, authors Carol J. Adams (of The Sexual Politics of Meat fame) and Patti Breitman will show you how to eat like a vegetarian - even if you don't want to be (or in fact aren't) one. Since it's kind of a vegetarianism/veganism 101 primer (though categorized as a vegetarian cookbook, all the recipes are vegan), the book's likely target audience strikes me as newbie vegetarians and vegans; omnivores who are interested in eating fewer animal products, whether for health, environmental or animal welfare reasons; and the family and friends of vegetarians and vegans, new and old.

The last category seems a particularly suitable audience for How to Eat like a Vegetarian. For example, if you've recently gone veg, and your parents, siblings, partner and/or friends are giving you a hard time - "But where will you get your protein?" "Fish is vegetarian, right?" "You haven't joined a cult, have you!?" - allow Adams and Breitman to set them straight. The information contained in How to Eat like a Vegetarian can help teens and young adults assure their worried parents that, yes, it's not only possible but rather simple to consume enough protein on a veg diet, and help men and women reassure their partners that the household won't lapse into starvation because the primary cook (or taste tester) has banished meat from the kitchen.

At its core, How to Eat like a Vegetarian is a cookbook; as such, it features roughly 60 recipes (with a number of additional suggestions, such as quick dinner ideas or suggestions for no-prep, eat-what's-in-the-fridge, snacking-on-the-go eats). It's a rather diverse sample, spanning breakfast, lunch, dinner and dessert, and includes soups, salads, sweets, dips and spreads, and - of course! - tofu dishes. Depending on your tastes, the selection can be hit-or-miss; while I love vegetable-based soups, for instance, I'm not big on "regular" tofu (though I do like the silken stuff!) - so I haven't yet, and probably won't, try the tofu recipes (although the Mr. and/or doggies probably will). The wide range of dishes can be taken as either a negative or a positive: on the one hand, the lack of a coherent theme binding the recipes together may mean that you only try half of the dishes. But, if you're an adventurous eater and don't know where to start your veg-etarian/-an journey, How to Eat like a Vegetarian might just be the place!

In addition to the recipes, Adams and Breitman offer "More than 250 shortcuts, strategies, and simple solutions." These include a number of helpful "top ten" lists, such as "Ten ways to eat more vegetables"; "Ten substitutes for using an egg in baking"; and "Ten different things you can do with chickpeas." You'll also find suggestions for seasonal eating; ideas for vegan appetizers; birthday food ideas; and tips for hosting a cruelty-free reception. In the final chapter, Adams and Brietman sneak in a 30-page discussion about the health, environmental and animal welfare reasons for adopting a vegetarian diet. (Vegan, really, but methinks they didn't want to scare jittery omni's away by using the more radical term "vegan" in their book and chapter titles!)

Over the past few months, the husband and I have tried out a number of the recipes in How to Eat like a Vegetarian. Without exception, all were fairly easy to prepare and quite yummy, if not downright delish. Of course, I did some selective sampling; while I loved the Scalloped Potatoes , the mere mention of Carrot Avocado Soup makes my face crumple, and alas we never made it. Chances are you're not as fussy an eater as I, so grain of salt and all.

(As an aside, if you've seen Baby Mama: That scene where Amy Pohler simply cannot bring herself to eat the organic green pea soup? Totally me. "I would rather be shot in the face than eat this food!")

I especially liked the "top ten" lists and random tricks - many of these are gems! I've been a vegetarian for 13 years now, vegan for maybe 5, and I'm always looking for shortcuts in the kitch! Adams and Breitman offer some inspired tips for recreating new dishes out of leftovers (something I've kind of been doing, albeit on a smaller scale, for a few years), improvising dishes and the like. Probably nothing new to the more advanced vegan cooks among us (you know the types, always making you drool over their food p0rn blogs!), but a dogsend to us amateur and intermediate chefs.

Note: You can read a lengthier version of this review - complete with plenty of gratuitous gourmet food photography - here.… (mais)

Zaterdagavond op de drie kinderen van de buren passen? Duizend euro aan je broer lenen? Voor de zoveelste keer overwerken? Nee zeggen is moeilijk. Nog moeilijker is het om nee te zeggen en je niet schuldig te voelen. De auteurs beschrijven vijf basistechnieken (tijd winnen, 'principes', voorkomen, ik heb wat te doen, excuses die de ander ontzien) om beleefd te weigeren en doen methodes aan de hand om af te rekenen met het schuldgevoel dat daarmee gepaard gaat. Ieder hoofdstuk is gewijd aan een bepaalde categorie nee zeggen, zoals Nee zeggen op het werk, Nee zeggen tegen kinderen, Nee zeggen tegen uitnodigingen, afspraken en een rendez-vous etc. Een praktisch en duidelijk boek, voorzien van vele praktijkvoorbeelden en voorbeeldzinnen, van 'Ik doe maar aan een soort seks en dat is safe seks' tot 'U realiseert zich het waarschijnlijk niet maar als u doedelzak speelt, klinkt dat erg hard door in ons huis. Kunt u ergens anders gaan oefenen of alleen overdag?'
(NBD|Biblion recensie, Redactie)… (mais)