Vegetarian Books

I have been fortunate to have eaten at the White Grass Cafe and have always come away more pleasantly surprised than the time before. Laurie and Mary Beth have given us the keys to their kitchen with this book. The food is easy to make, healty, satisfy, heck, it's great. Add some music from Ottmar Liebert in the background, the smell of the wood stove, and you'll be in the West Virginia Mountains as the sun sets over the mountains. Check their menu (...). With the recipes in this book you can serve it up.

The White Grass Cafe Cookbook is one that will travel everywhere with me. The recipes are wonderful and simple to follow. Healthy eating and living is proven easy at White Grass. Anytime I fix something from the cookbook, the smell in our kitchen brings us back to one of our favorite places....White Grass Ski Touring Center and Cafe! Happy Trails!

This is, without a doubt, my favorite cook book! The recipes are simple and easy to follow. The results are special (ie: not your everday sort of mealtime selections) and delicious. The White Grass Cafe cookbook takes over top honors in our kitchen after knocking out a recipe book from a 1950s flour company. Standouts are a Sweet Potato soup that is tangy and soulful and a Walnut pie that is desert's version of heaven! Nothing much in this world beats having a mid-winter dinner at Whitegrass, but this cookbook is a close second!

This cookbook has the best variety of recipes I have ever seen! I love eating at the cafe, but when I am not in Canaan, I can have a taste of it in my house. Lots of good food that people with all different tastes will enjoy.

Never used a cookbook so much. Makes me feel like I'm back in WV. It's truly wonderful. Thanks for being my cooking teachers. Couldn't of done it without you.

To my surprise, this book is very well written, not preachy or ideological, but rather is a "laundry list" of facts and well documented research on the topic of vegetarianism, why people have switched over, the current role society plays in the environment and of course, health. The facts are compelling, and you cannot deny the truth. As everything is footnoted and sourced, the author challenges you to read the articles and publications that are referenced in her 101 reasons. This is truly a must read book for those who are interested in the truth about eating meat and the effect it has on a person's health, the environment, the economy, world hunger, and of course the animals. This book sealed the deal for me in fully converting to a vegetarian diet.

I loved this book! It was candy to my soul. I read it twice and probably will again. I highly recommend it to everyone that wants the facts, the whole facts and nothing but facts. A brilliant piece of work. Very well done.

"101 Reasons" is full of facts I didn't know, and full of stats for those I did. I particularly learned a great deal about the impact of factory farming on the environment, and fish in particular. Although the book is barely off the press, it already predicted things that happened after its printing: additional cases of mad cow; enormous numbers of deaths for animals during the Katrina hurricane; and outbreak of avian flu.

"101 Reasons" is unlike most books and lectures on vegetarianism, which preach to the already converted and don't teach me (already converted) anything I didn't already know. "101 Reasons" will surprise people whether they have, or lack, previous knowledge of the rationale for vegetarianism.

The book is beautifully written. To the point, and humorous puns makes a hard-to-take message more palatable.

I want everyone I know to pick this one up!

-- Jean Thaler Brooklyn NY
for some reason Amazon shows somebody else's name as the reviewer

There are all sorts of reasons to become a vegetarian, and this little book contains 101 great ones. From the effect of animal production on the environment to the destruction of genetic diversity and the spread of disease from animals to humans to the horrific treatment of farmed animals, many of these reasons will sound familiar to a lot of people.

Still, these reasons are articulated in intricate and often disturbing detail. The links between dairy production and the life (if it can be called that) of veal cattle, the extreme overproduction required of laying hens and mother cows, the huge amounts of waste produced by factory farms and the dangers of biotechnology, genetic engineering and cloning are outlined in stunning detail.

Of course there are also reasons involving the positive health benefits (and benefits for the planet) brought about by eating a vegetarian diet, from reducing your risk of several kinds of cancer to increasing beneficial phytochemicals in your diet and reducing the world's oil and energy drains.

There are probably reasons here that most readers have not considered, and facts you might not know about; for instance, that the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention suggest pregnant women heat cold cuts to 170 degrees to reduce their risk of getting listeria. Or that even though its forbidden for cows to eat other cows because of the risk of bovine spongiform encephalopathy (BSE, or mad cow disease), the Food and Drug Administration says as many as 350,000 cows that humans consume were fed bovine by-products.

So many moments in this book will make readers gasp in surprise and horror at the state of the average American diet and what it is doing to the animals, the workers who are paid to kill those animals, the planet that must deal with the waste and corpses of those animals and the people who consume such a diet.

If nothing else, this book will affirm everything you believe about why the vegetarian diet is right for you and the planet. Perhaps you could also use it to convince family and friends to stop their meat-eating ways, or at least to show them why you are a vegetarian.-Sarah White

Be prepared, this is no ordinary book on vegetarianism. It is undoubtedly THE BEST I've read on the subject in over 24 years of maintaining a vegetarian/vegan lifestyle.

101 Reasons is a gift to society. A clear, comprehensive log of the myriad reasons a vegetarian diet just makes sense. The tone is perfect-unapologetic and direct while still light and conversational. Reading this will strengthen your convictions if you are already vegetarian, and will make you stop and reassess if you are not. This is a "just the facts" approach. Thankfully, not once are animals referred to as "cute" anywhere in the book. Covering everything from individual health benefits to environmental and global impact, and everything in between, this book should be a treasured resource in any home library to be referred to again and again.

the recipes in this book are so unusal that you are dying to try them just to see what they taste like... yet they are not unusually difficult. I was pleasantly surprised at this book... you'll never miss the meat.

I found this cookbook very interesting as D.Gram was a friend and classmate of mine in Olean, N.Y. My son does not eat meat dished so He was happy with the recipes in the book. I would love to hear from D. Gram if he receives this message.

I will try to avoid the obvious references to food and pigs. *grin* That aside, this is a wonderful cookbook! I bought it as a fan of the movie, and was delightfully surprised at how good a book it is. Contains breakfasts, soups, salads, vegetables, suppers, pickles & relishes, and deserts. The warm linguini with fresh tomato, balsalmic vinegar, and parmigiano-reggiano is quite good, as are the pecan sugar cookies. Although these recipes are not vegan, they are most definately vegetarian, and tasty!

Babe's Country Cookbook combines a compelling selection of vegetarian fare to cook at home with the charm of a Beatrix Potter tale. The illustrations are first-rate, too. You don't have to love Babe, or eschew meat, to enjoy this book and profit from it.

I bought this book mostly for the stories and illustrations, but was surprised by how good the recipes are! Almost every recipe I've tried from this book has been a great success and added to my permanent recipe file, and I am fairly confident whenever I try something new from this cookbook that it will turn out well. Some of my new regular favorite meals include the Risotto with Asparagus and Pine Nuts, the Porcini Omelet with Feta and Sage and the Whole-Wheat Vegetarian Pie. There are some old standbys included in this cookbook, but for the most part, the recipes are delicious and different without being bizarre or difficult. If you're looking for some delicious new recipes, or even if you are just a fan of the movie Babe, consider getting this book. Even if you never cook out of it, you'll enjoy the "cozy" feeling of the stories and photos. Now that this book has been remaindered, it's really a great buy, too.

Zach Larson has allowed us to dive knee-deep into the truly wonderful wisdom and spiritual teachings of Chatral Rinpoche. I am deeply impressed by the purely spectacular lessons of this book. It's a must read!

-Matt Kline

As a new Buddhist practitioner, though in the Nichiren tradition, not the Nyingma tradition of Chatral Rinpoche, I am in a process of reading the works of many revered Buddhist teachers and practitioners. Compassionate Action by Chatral Rinpoche, and edited by Zach Larson, provides wonderful insight into the diversity of the Tibetan Buddhist tradition through a series of essays, interviews, prayers and photographs. I read it cover to cover on a flight from New York to Chicago.

The highlight of Compassionate Action for me was his explanation of one of his most well known actions. He releases 70 truckloads of fish from the market in Calcutta annually, an action that allows the live caught fish to re-enter life with a greater possibility of being born into Dharma practice and ultimately attain liberation. In an interview, he details his reasoning behind the sign that hangs in his monastery: "In this Buddhist monastery the consumption of meat, alcoholic beverages, and tobacco as well as playing cards or gambling is strictly prohibited." Citing the early teachings of the Buddha, and eventually basing his ideas on the laws of cause and effect, he simply notes the negative influence of both killing and not taking action to prevent the killing of other beings has on our own spiritual lives. Chatral Rinpoche is committed in his practices and beliefs around the preservation of all life -- insect, animal and human.

In the West we most often hear of the Dalai Lama as the foremost representative of Tibetan Buddhism. Chatral Rinpoche has taken a different approach to his practice of the Dharma than the Dalai Lama. While the Dalai Lama makes great efforts to travel and teach as many as will listen all across the world, Chatral Rinpoche offers teachings to very few people, often only a few of those who have spent a minimum of six years at his monastery. He is a part of a complex system of lineage that has developed for centuries in the Tibetan Buddhist tradition. In the end, I am still a bit confused about the exact meaning of it all, who is an "emanation" of whom, but appreciate the overall reverence for spiritual ancestry.

Compassionate Action is the first English-language book of Himalayan yogi Chatral Rinpoche, who has influenced Western Buddhist consciousness for decades and was dubbed "the greatest man I ever met" by Father Thomas Merton in 1968. Presenting Chatral Rinpoche's biography and autobiography, six of his essays, five prayers that he wrote, an exclusive interview, and color photographs from the different phases of his life, Compassionate Action is a "must-read" for anyone seeking to learn from this quintessential wise and holy man. "Conscious abstention from hunting and killing living beings, besides inspiring others to do the same, are actions behooving the kind-hearted and pious. For instance, the milk of human kindness requires us to not harm migratory birds in any way, such as casting stones or nets or shooting them while they are resting for brief moments in the course of their long journey from one country or continent to another. On the contrary, we should provide help to them in all possible ways before they reach their final destination." Highly recommended especially for students and practitioners of Buddhism.

Chatral Rinpoche is truly a living Buddha, one of the greatest masters of all time. He is the Vajra Regent of three major lineages of the Nyingma School of Tibetan Buddhism--Dudjom Tersar, Longchen Nyinthig, and Sera Khandro. He rescues the lives of millions of animals each year and has been a vegetarian for 50 years, epitomizing the Bodhisattva ideal.

This collection of his teachings, life story, and photos is priceless. The book starts out with a comprehensive recounting of his amazing life. In the 1940's, he was the head spiritual master of Regent Reting, the political leader of Tibet. He came to Bhutan in 1958 and started many retreat centers throughout the Himalayas. In 1968, he met Father Thomas Merton, who famously remarked that he was the "greatest man I ever met." Since then, he has become a fully enlightened Buddha, whose compassionate activities are limitless.

The book goes on to share many of his essays and prayers, which are filled with whit and wisdom. Compassionate Action concludes with his words of advice, long life prayers, and a special Dzogchen prayer for dedicating merit. I can't recommend this book highly enough.

I've read many dharma books in the last few years, and this is one of my two favorites. Chatral Rinpoche is an amazing teacher, one whose impact on the Buddhist world will be felt for many generations to come. I knew very little about him before, but after reading COMPASSIONATE ACTION I now have profound respect for him and the good work he does for all living beings.

Zach Larson has done a wonderful job editing the book. It's clear and concise, and full of great stories about Rinpoche's life and times. There are also many photos of Rinpoche, his family, and other eminent teachers. Included in the text of the book are several teachings given by Rinpoche that I found deeply moving.

I highly recommend COMPASSIONATE ACTION. It's a book that you'll easily read several times.

Oh, my other favorite is WORDS OF MY PERFECT TEACHER. I'll have both of these books with me for the remainder of this life time.

Every recipe I've made has been a huge success. For active vegans, or anyone looking for offbeat ways to boost protein and nutrients in their daily intake, this book is idea. It's also great for vegetarians and vegans who don't want to depend overly on soy. Healthy, easy, and inventive, these recipes add a great dimension to the daily diet!

Nuts come in an incredible variety and are to be found as integral elements of every ethnic cuisine on the planet this side of the Eskimos. "The Nut Gourmet: Nourishing Nuts For Every Occasion" by Zel Allen is an amazing compilation of recipes that incorporate nuts in appetizers, breakfast dishes, soups, salads, main dishes, grains and legumes, sauces, sandwiches, vegetable dishes, relishes and condiments, spreads and dips, smoothies and beverages, desserts and confections. Beginning with a roster of great advice for the novice kitchen cook about the health benefits of nuts, buying and storing nuts, tips and tricks with their use, nut measurement equivalents, and 'The Nutcracker's Toolbox', "The Nut Gourmet" goes on to feature simply wonderful recipes that range from Pistachio Pea Pate; Poppy Seed Dressing; Sesame Nut Patties; and African Peanut Soup; to Raisin Walnut Bread; Cheezy Tofu Spread with Pine Nuts; Nutty No-Bake Pie Crust; and Very Berry Parfait with Macadamia Nuts. Enhanced for the novice with the color photography illustrations and the inclusion of a glossary, a resources list, and nutrition tables for nuts, "The Nut Gourmet" is an ideal and enthusiastically recommended specialty addition to personal and community library cookbook collections.

This is a delightful book, full of delicious recipes for every occasion. The book makes nuts come alive on your plate and in your palate! And it's written by someone with years of experience teaching people about great nutrition. It's a book for everyone.

I love this vegan cookbook! It has good information about nuts and lots of yummy recipes! I hadn't used pistachios before finding the cookbook, but now I'm hooked! I use this frequently when I have guests coming for dinner and they love it everytime. I highly recommend this book!

Even if you don't love nuts (I do!), you're sure to enjoy this cookbook. Both recipes I've tried--Butternut Corn Cashew Soup and Gourmet Garden Loaf--were terrific and there are tons of other creative recipes for everything from appetizers to desserts. There are also helpful tips on buying, storing, and even cracking nuts, as well as nutrition information.

The Savory Way by Deborah Madison is a vegetarian cookbook that focuses on flavorful, interesting dishes. The few I have tried have turned out well, but there are some caveats to the book. First, Madison relies heavily on very fresh and hard-to-get ingredients, which is great but not very practical if you don't have a big herb and vegetable garden in your yard. Second, although the directions are complete, she does assume that she is writing for "intermediate" or advanced cooks. Beginners might be confused as to appropriate end points to some of the steps. Third, this is not the cookbood for you if you are new to vegetarian cooking or simply cooking a lot of vegetables. For example, there are only two recipes for fresh asparagus and no instruction on the basics of cooking any vegetable (I'm sure that is her other cookbook). If you want some specialty, delicious vegetarian recipes for any meal or course, this is a good cookbook. For basic vegetarian cooking, you should look elsewhere.

This is another excellent cookbook by Deborah Madison. It is packed full of recipes for just about everything. We have tried lots of the recipes, they have all been easy to prepare and delicious. Highly recommended for vegetarians and non vegetarians alike!

`The Savory Way' is an early (1990) book from leading vegetarian cookbook author, Deborah Madison so, as Ms. Madison has a new book on the way, I thought it was high time for me to catch up with her body of work so I can give an informed review of how her new volume fits into her other books.

Ms. Madison is a former colleague of Alice Waters and Lindsey Shere at Chez Panisse who specializes in a very general way, like Mollie Katzen and Madhur Jaffrey, on dishes that fit into a vegetarian lifestyle. Note that the term `vegetarian', especially as used by these three authors, is extremely misleading, as it is much more appropriate to say that they construct meals of everything under the sun except meat, fowl, fin fish and shell fish. Both Madison and Jaffrey make extensive use of milk, cheese, yoghurt, and eggs.

Madison's objective in this book is, in fact, to cover as broad as possible a survey of what can be done without using animal flesh. The book's title may be a bit misleading to some foodies in that `savory' is often one of the words used to divide dishes in two great groups of `savory' and `sweet'. This book in fact includes two rather long chapters on sweets.

A first look at this book shows lots of headnotes to the many recipes. The first thing you need to know if you are put off by `chatty' recipe books is that these notes are almost exclusively devoted to an understanding of the cooking involved with the recipe and how to get the best results from your ingredients. While little stories about the historical provenance of a recipe may interest many, including myself, that is not what this book is about. On top of this, I firmly agree with the blurbed opinion from Mollie Katzen who compliments both her cuisine AND her writing. Almost all professional culinary writers are pretty good, or have an excellent copy editor at work on their prose, but Ms. Madison is a food service professional who writes very well. I often wish the soon to be beknighted Jamie Oliver had a bit more talent with words, as I find his books so comforting in spite of the heavy contribution from his editors.

The very first attraction of the book is its Table of Contents, which lists every single recipe title in the front of the book. This is doubly useful in that this relatively long book divides recipes into chapters covering eleven different types of dishes suitable for just about any time of the day, including a good selection of recipes very good for breakfast. The eleven recipe chapters are:

Quick Bites with 40 pages of recipes for sandwiches, toasts, and spreads.
Salads to Start or Make a Meal with 42 pages
Soups and Stews with 50 pages of thick, thin, and pureed soups, including a new one with my favorite fall ingredient, chestnuts.
Eighteen Quick Pasta Dishes for Five and Company, 32 pages
Stovetop Vegetables, 27 pages of sautes and braises.
Baked and Roasted Vegetables, 25 pages with ratatouille, gratins, tians, and other goodies.
Grilled Vegetables and their Sauces, 11 pages with two to six sauces per grilled dish.
Down to Earth, 26 pages on Rice, Potatoes and Beans (although beans appear throughout all chapters!)
Morning Foods for Day and Night, 26 pages of Eggs and Cheese and Cereals and Breads.
Finishing Touches, 31 pages of sauces, salsas, condiments, dressings, pastes, and you name it.
Desserts, 45 pages on Fruit Dishes, Cream Cheeses, Pastries, and Custards
Sweetmeats, 12 pages on sweet pastes, peels, syrups, dried fruits, and other dessert dressings.

Every recipe I examined is relatively simple to prepare with fewer expensive or rare ingredients than you may find with Jaffrey or Jack Bishop, and great tips on understanding the recipes and the ingredients.

The appendix is just right for the occasional home cook who is lost in the forest of equipment you can find in a first rate kitchen supply store such as the second floor at Zabars. Ms. Madison puts it all in perspective by highlighting all my favorite tools such as gratin and tian pots, the mortar and pestle, a few good knives, the food mill and the pizza stone and peel. The chapter on the pantry has lots for the novice and a few good tips for the foodie, such as the fact that Mexican olive oils can be very spicy. Possibly the best items in the Appendix are the lists of dishes for special purposes such as entertaining, feeding large groups, and fitting into a low fat diet (note that for the number of recipes in this book, this low fat list is surprisingly short).

The list of sources is short with no Internet sites provided, but I recognize that virtually all of these vendors are still in business. The bibliography is also brief, but hits all the right titles, especially Joy Larkcom's excellent `The Salad Garden'.

This book is a great resource for `liberal' vegetarians who simply eschew meat. I would add this to Madhur Jaffrey's `World Vegetarian', Peter Berley's `The Modern Vegetarian Kitchen', and Jack Bishop's `The Complete Italian Vegetarian' to create a great core vegetarian library. I cannot at this time compare this to Ms. Madison's other books, as this is the first I have read, although I sense many of her more recent books have a narrower scope, focusing on vegetable dishes. I plan to review her other books in the next few days.

Highly recommended for both vegetarians and foodies in general.

So many do-able and delicious recipes - all a bit out of the ordinary, yet deeply satisfying.

As I was very unkind to the author's Vegetarian Cooking for Everyone (as I should have been -- it's a mess), I felt like I needed to give fulsome praise to this one, as it deserves.

I was a vegetarian for 16 years, and this was one of my most relied-upon cookbooks. And now that I've finally left the cult, erm, lifestyle behind, I'm continuing to use The Savory Way.

Deborah Madison has a sophisticated palate, and these recipes are head and shoulders above those of MOST vegetarian cookbooks. Take Mushrooms Flagstaff, for example. It's a recipe she adapted from a nasty hippy vegetarian cookbook. In Madison's hands, it becomes an amazingly complex ragout of mushrooms, bell pepper and tofu, ideal for serving to omnivores. The pasta dishes here are all amazing, including the absolute pinnacle of macaroni and cheese recipes. I've never tasted one better, and she's right: It's even better the next day, fried in butter.

You can't go wrong with anything in this book, and its predecessor The Greens Cookbook is a pretty close second.

Sounds a bit over the top, but I'm an actress in Hollywood with an athletic build. I've always found it hard to stay really lean, even though I'm a hard-core athlete, and that makes it hard to compete with the waifs. I bought Brendan's book two months ago and for the first time I am shredded without starving myself. I feel better than I ever have in my entire life and I honestly can't believe it.

I love the diet, love the food, love the philosophy. (I'm also an environmentalist)

I read the book cover-to-cover, excited by the philosophy but dismayed by the foreign foods that I needed to learn to locate, sprout and soak in order to start. This was just initial panic. I got over it.

I started with the smoothies and energy bars. I bought the Vega Complete Whole Food Optimizer he recommends and I found that making the smoothies was super-fast (throw my fruit, water, optimizer in a blender and go) and that while the energy bars took a little time, I could make a 2-month supply at a time, and then have a quick, easy snack always ready. I like them best frozen, so I'm not worried about spoilage. That was week one.

Week two I did my big shop (it was a bit pricey to start, but it's been very cheap ever since) which took a little to psych up for, washed and sanitized my fruits and veggies, and started sprouting. As soon as my sprouts were ready (a few days later) I took a full day and made pizza, burgers, crackers, sauces, salad dressings, etc. I basically made a little of everything. The joy was that I then could eat all week without doing anything but opening up the fridge. Since then, I've run out of things one by one, but since I've done it before, I had all of the ingredients on hand and it was no big deal to replenish; getting started was the hard part. I was glad I just bit the bullet and did it all at once.

Sprouting and soaking have become part of my routine and I actually find it kind of fun. It's very fast and I get the "farmer's joy" of seeing the first shoots every few days.

I keep Brendan's book on the table and I read part of it every day while I eat. I'll probably keep doing that until I feel like I have fully absorbed it and can really remember what nutrients are in which food.

Last night I did I bathing suit scene in my acting class and didn't think twice about stripping down in front of everyone. That's a first.

I cannot tell you how wonderful it feels to look in the mirror and feel great about my body, without having to punish myself to get the look I want. When I told my husband he said, "I never thought I'd hear you say those words." Yeah, neither did I.

I just finished my second marathon season, and am ready to take a step up in the laziest manner possible. ha ha! My previous diet was vegetarian, no dairy, but fish and eggs were included because I didn't feel like I was getting the right fats and protein. What I like about this book is that Brendan gives you the info to dive right into a vegan diet, but he also gives you the basics for someone that wants to slowly ease in, with regards to effort. I have started by adding to my intake every day: a veggie rich salad, a smoothie, and an energy bar. They were pretty simple, and did not involve spending $237 at whole foods (beside, I found a great co-op which is way cheaper). I pick a few things, and then shop only for the ingredient they require. I have tried sprouting quinoa and buckwheat, and the quinoa has become a new favorite in salads and energy bars. I'm also a big fan of BOKU Superfood powder, which has a lot of the ingredients he talks about like Chlorella, Sea Vegetables, and other good stuff. I don't spend much time cooking during the week, so I prep all my veggies, salad items, and energy bars on Sundays, and then everything is really fast during the week. I'm not much of a dinner person either... I often go out with friends and follow his eating out tips, and or myself eating a bowl of cooked psuedograins for dinner, and that's enough. After a few weeks, I'm down from 130lbs to about 127, and my body fat has decreased about 2% as well. Weightloss is appealing, but its not really my priority, mind you. Its all easy enough, becomes easier after you try recipes a few times, and you feel very good since you're getting proper nutrition for once without crazy supplements! This is a lifestyle change and something I feel like I can do on an ongoing basis.

Most Westerners' typical diet is absurdly unhealthy: junk foods, fast foods, big meals with artery-clogging red meat entrées, rushed breakfasts, sugary snacks, corrosive sodas and super-sized portions. Professional triathlete Brendan Brazier presents his "Thrive Diet" to introduce the gluttons stuck in this fat and flabby world to fresh, unprocessed, healthy foods. His main premise: Many people expend more energy digesting dreadful food than the food delivers, so they are tired and "nutritionally" stressed. Instead, Brazier argues, people should eat easily digested, nutritious whole foods. Based on raw vegetables, fruits, legumes, nuts, seeds, sprouts and other "nutrient-dense" foods, Brazier's diet is as healthy as the typical Western diet is harmful. Yet some readers may find it hard to eat (popped amaranth hemp seed salad?), complex to stock (where do I buy spelt?) and time-consuming to prepare (how long do I soak my pumpkin seeds in purified water?). Of course, people should eat nutritious, whole foods, but Brazier's seed beet pizzas and pomegranate green tea pancakes sound like lots of extra effort in the market and the kitchen. getAbstract thinks that this heartfelt book raises two questions: Do you want to be healthier? And could this rigorous regimen be the way?

I have been studying nutrition for 10 years. The ideas expresed in the book are so well explained, so simple (if you are looking for scientific terminology look somewhere else), and they are so common sense, it makes you say AHA! its like a super summarized compendium of all the modern nutrition theories, that might well be best taken as plain facts. Thanks for joining all this info for everyone Brazier.

"The cornerstone of the Thrive Diet is high net-gain foods. It's that simple. By eating more high net-gain foods, your energy will rise, body fat will decrease, mental clarity will be enhanced, and cravings for refined foods will fade." ~ Brendan Brazier from "The Thrive Diet"

We all want to Thrive in our lives, don't we? It's kinda hard to live at our highest potential if we're having a hard time getting out of bed, eh?

As an active, athletic vegan, I've worked hard to make sure I'm as healthy as I can be. That's why I was thrilled when I first met Brendan Brazier (we actually met at John Mackey, the CEO of Whole Foods' ranch). Brendan's a professional Ironman triathlete and is one of only a few professional athletes in the world whose diet is 100 percent plant-based.

Yep. Ironman. And no meat. No dairy. No refined foods. Nothing but plants.

I'll repeat: Brendan only eats plant-based foods and he's a professional athlete in what must be THE most grueling sport out there. (For those curious souls, an Ironman consists of a 2.4 mile swim followed by a 112 mile bike ride and wrapped up with a 26.2 mile marathon. The best athletes in the world do it in under 9 hours. Brendan's among that group.)

"He does THAT and he only eats plants, you say?!?"

Yep.

"But where does he get his protein?!?!"

From plants. Tragically, plants don't have quite the same marketing spend as the meat and dairy industries so you don't hear quite as much about their nutritional value but you'll learn how to best THRIVE on the food nature intended us to eat in Brendan's brilliant book, "The Thrive Diet."

A co-worker shared this book with me and I then wanted my own copy. I love all the color pictures that show you how the dish is supposed to look, as well as the step by step pictures, and even pictures of the ingredients you will be using. The recipes are a nice mix of relatively easy to more complicated (such as making your own gnocchi and pizza crust), but the pictures make it seem less challenging.

I would suggest this for cooks who want more than the basic, simple recipes but at the same time want to use ingredients that are pretty common. And if you are like me and love a cookbook with pictures, this one will not disappoint.

I was surprised with this cookbook. Unlike most cookbooks I own, particularly if they are received as a gift, I have used this book a number of times. It is varied with receipes suitable for all meal courses, I have held three 'informal' dinner parties from this book alone. The receipes are interesting and enticing for all food lovers, vegetarian or not. The food is informal and edible rather than formal or cordon bleu. It is easy to use and easy to read with pictures of the ingrediants and the final dish to help you. The recipes are simple to follow, in a step by step style with illustrations, if appropriate. I would recommend this book to anyone but particularly a vegetarian who may struggle with cookbooks.

This cookbook is awesome! Lots of Mediterranean & Indian recipes. For instance, many traditional pasta and gnocci recipes, as well as great recipes for baked goods and desserts. And don't forget the yummy soups & salads.

Best recipe I've found so far -- Lemon & Parmesan Capellini -- This is SO EASY, you'll make it all the time! And the sauce makes a nice substitute for Hollandaise on eggs or broccoli or asparagus! =)

Also: this book walked me through my very first handmade loaf of bread (my bread machine went bye-bye). It was the -- Olive & Oregano Bread -- and it came out like it was from a bakery!! People kept asking, "You MADE this?!" If I can do it, you can too!

Buy this, you'll find great easy recipes, you'll learn something new, and best of all, you'll eat well!!

Happy Eating!!

I am not a vegetarian-in fact, I am not even an avid vegetable eater. I saw this book at my son's home and was served a risotto recipe from this volume. It was wonderful! I read the book-it was wonderful!--many recipes I want to try. They are innovative, creative and appealing to a cookbook collector and an ardent cook! I am anxious to start cooking from it.

A treasure-trove of tasty treats, this book is wonderful. The ingredients for each recipe are simple and easy to find, and the directions are clear and concise. I'm usually disappointed with vegetarian dishes because of their blandness, but all the recipes that I've tried from this book have been very flavourful--Mmmmmmm!

This is an engaging discussion of the environmental, ethical and nutritional benefits of eating lower on the food chain as portrayed through this family's personal journey of discovery. The two voices make this book especially interesting. I found myself wondering if a section was written by the scientist mother or the college student daughter. The writing style is conversational, sometimes funny; the material is well researched and offers a thorough look at the impact our food choices have on our future. Whether we choose to be vegetarian or not, we can (and maybe we must) make a difference!

Beyond the militant veggies pictured on Veggie Revolution's cover, one will not find a raging manifesto denouncing meat eaters. Instead, the book contains an informative, intelligent, in-depth analysis of a number of topics relating to vegetarianism and the environment, with a thorough investigation of factory farming. The subject of corporate animal farms can be disturbing, yet authors Sally Kneidel, Ph.D., and Sara Kate Kneidel have a gentle way of presenting the unadulterated truth about the meat industry without resorting to shock tactics.

Despite the serious subject matter, Veggie Revolution is thoroughly readable and so well written that diverse topics such as Pfiesteria, eutrophication, and NAFTA are actually thought-provoking! Indeed, reading Veggie Revolution is like taking an environmental studies, nutrition, and economics course all wrapped into one, taught by the most interesting and capable of teachers.

There are quite a few bonuses to the book as well, such as the thirty-seven pages of recipes, and chapters on nutrition, which make the book an excellent reference and resource. Another added feature is the numerous student interviews. How interesting it is to read what students have to say in their own words about vegetarianism and the environment.

Whether vegetarian or not, Veggie Revolution will help readers understand so much more than the merits of a vegetarian diet. It's a book that has the potential to change the world for the better!

I have read many books on vegetarianism and the environment over the years, so I was pleasantly surprised that Veggie Revolution approaches these subjects in a new way -- very thought-provoking and well-documented but at the same time a fascinating read, never dry or boring. The authors are not just giving us information, they are telling a story! For one section of the book, the authors visited a number of farms of various sizes and types and interviewed farm workers, owners, and other professionals. The accounts of the farm visits are so vivid that I could imagine I was right there with the authors. Another thing that makes the book very interesting is that the authors put a human face on the farmers and other people who are quoted in the book; they do this by giving us a glimpse into their lives and their perspectives on the issues. It is impressive that the authors treat all of them with respect and consideration, whether the authors share their values and perspectives or not. All through the book the authors use a conversational tone that I found very engaging -- they are not talking down to me, but sharing important information as one would with a friend.

The nutritional information is quite solid. I have learned a ton about nutrition over the past 35 years, as well as having been a vegetarian for the past 17 years, and I can say with assurance that the nutritional information in this book is right on the mark.

The recipes are great! I especially like how the recipes can be made with ingredients that are readily available: most of them I already have in my pantry or refrigerator, and any that I don't have are readily available at my local grocery or farmer's market. The directions are easy to follow, and having options and notes on the recipes is very helpful.

Throughout the book, the authors make a solid case for improving our diets as well as for supporting local farmers and working on all levels to take care of the earth. I strongly recommend Veggie Revolution for anyone who is not afraid to learn the truth about where our food comes from, how this impacts our lives and the future of the planet we live on, and what we can do to improve the situation both personally and globally.

Veggie Revolution reads less like research and more like a personal journey to understand the meat industry, how it affects the animals, the environment, our communities and our health. It is full of helpful advice to readers who want to make a difference. I especially enjoyed the alternating voices of the mother/daughter authors as they shared their experiences and choices about food. Good section on vegetarian nutrition and cooking for the beginner.

My husband picked up this book for our 17-year-old daughter who declared herself vegan in April. We had been having a hard time coming up with family meals that would satisfy everyone, but the recipes in this book have pleased even my picky 11-year-old. I've ended up reading the rest of it as well, and found it really interesting. The informational chapters are all too convincing - my husband and I are cutting back our meat intake as well. I'd highly recommend this book to anyone interested in vegetarianism or who is trying to understand a family member's choice. It's bolstered my daughter with new arguments and left us all better informed. I'm buying it for my sister-in-law for Christmas.

This book contains recipes that nutitionally conscious people will love -- while using commonly available ingredients. As exciting as the recipes are, the nutritional information makes this a MUST READ cookbook. LOVE IT !! By incorporating these recipes or ideas into my diet (we still eat meat) and beginning moderate exercise (1hour 3xweek) I have cut my diabetes oral medication by half in less than one month !! Doc says 6mo - 1 year to be medicine free !! (after 3 years of gradually worsening diabetes) This cookbook could save your life !

The recipes in this book are some of the best available if you are serious about eating a healthy diet. They are not only vegetarian but they eliminate the refined oils and sugars which are such a major factor in causing diseases like atherosclerosis, heart disease, adult onset diabetes, high blood pressure and high cholesterol levels. They are the recipes used at the Newstart lifestyle program where they get excellent results with just diet and exercise. The recipes are delicious; we use them in our home all the time. I highly recommend this cookbook to my patients.

a solid good cookbook for those aspiring to the vegan diet. the only drawbacks being that some recipies require hard-to-locate ingredients such as vegan gelatin and smoked yeast. Other than that a very worthwhile purchase for those wishing to eat healthy, etc.

adhealthandwellness recommended this as one of the books that was essential for life. Piper de Vries is deep.

Wonderfully Healthy Recipes...... use it all the time!