Vegetarianism Books

Great inspiration fromthis book and a very simple approach to health:

1.Become a vegan
2. Eat mostly raw food
3. Drink lots of fresh organic vegetable & fruit juices
4. Eat less
5. Exercise regularly
6. Keep Colon clean

Another great book by Dr Norman Walker!

this book was instrumental in turning my health around. Dr Walker was very practical, very educated in how the body functions and what the body needs. I wish I would have had a chance to meet him when he was alive. I think he lived to 113.

WA

If you are ill, please buy this book along with all of Dr. Walker's other books and become a new person. There are no guarantees in life but Dr. Walker's research is in my opinion rock-solid. If you are not willing to change, save yourself the money.

Forget all the modern diet approaches to health. This is the best information available about how to improve and maintain your health and live to infinity! The research is rock solid and there are examples of the diet Dr. Walker followed throughout his life.

Every topic this author touches in this book receives the same advice: consume raw fruit and vegetable juices and have a few colonics. The author ignores totally standard approaches that help digestion such as drinking plenty of water and taking in fiber. The reader looses out on a thorough and comprehensive approach to health as the author is so taken by the raw food religion. Additionally, living on juiced raw food may not be the best long-term approach, although the book seems somewhat of a retort of the processed food diet that was gaining popularity in the late 1940s when this book was originally written.

Nearly ALL of my cooking falls into the "one-dish" category, because it's the easiest kind to cook up on a Sunday afternoon and freeze for meals throughout the coming week or month. So I was thrilled about this book. Most of it looks pretty good. The only thing that strikes me as odd is the massive chapter on pastas. I'm fairly sure I can figure out what to top pasta with. I wouldn't have minded if the suggestions were very original or of unique interest for vegans/vegetarians above and beyond the mere fact of being meatless... but they mostly weren't. However, I instantly forgave this when I reached the glorious chili chapter. No other book in my bloated cookbook collection pays such loving homage to the diverse possibilities of vegetarian chili. All I can say is Wow. I intend to try every single one of them. The chapters on baked dishes and stovetop simmers also look very promising from a make-ahead-and-freeze perspective.
One annoyance: ingredients that can only be found in specialty shops or ethnic groceries appear frequently. (I cook a LOT, and I have never heard of filé powder.) Fortunately, Robinson does acknowledge them, and frequently makes suggestions for less exotic substitutions or advises when you can do without them without detrimental effects on the flavor.
Overall, a book that I'm going to be spending a great deal of time with.

My 3 and 2 year old, as well as myself, have food intolerances to soy, dairy and gluten. On top of that I am vegetarian and my kids don't really like meat. So I have a heck of a time finding recipes! I came across this cookbook and was skeptical. But I purchased it on a whim. I am so happy I did!!! The recipes are phenomenal!

The author rarely uses cheese in any of the recipes. If she does, it is usually parma sprinkled on top and can easily be omitted. The pasta dishes can all be subbed for a gf pasta, such as Tinkyada. She has a ton of rice dishes and uses all fresh ingredients, which eliminates contamination of soy and gluten. Some recipes call for soy products. Those can either be easily subbed for meat (for you meat eaters out there) or ignored altogether as there are plenty of other recipes.

Some of my favorite recipes in the book are: Black Bean and Avocado Rice Salad, Waldorf Rice Salad, Bell Peppers Stuffed with Rice/Spinach/Sun-Dried Tomatoes, Rotelle with Spicy Pumpkin Sauce, and Green Beans and Rice with Sesame-Orange Sauce.

HIGHLY RECOMMENDED!!!

I purchased this cookbook partly anticipating new and exciting recipes, partly anticipating it would join the other 40 cookbooks in my cupboard (covered in dust). What a fabulous surprise! So far, I haven't made anything I didn't like. The recipes are not too labor intensive, the ingredients are found at the local store - occasionally require a trip to Central Market.

As I get older, it is SO much easier to make one dish meals; less to clean up, less prep time. Experimenting with recipes from around the world spices things up as well- literally and figuratively. I highly recommend this title.

By the way, did I mention I don't like to cook?

I purchased this book as a gift for a friend who had checked it out of the library and who liked it so much she wanted to buy it. She is one of those cooks who needs a recipe to follow and doesn't really like complicated dishes. This is wonderful for those types of cooks who want tasty, easy and nutritious dishes. We have had several dishes from this cookbook, and they were all very good. Highly recommended for beginning vegetarian cooks and busy folks who want a good, fast dinner in the evening.

I didn't give this book a full 5 stars because the title of the book is misleading. I have all of this author's other cookbooks, and they're all very good. I got this one because I thought the recipes would be easy "one pot" meals. A lot of the recipes call for multiple pans while cooking for sauteing and sauces, hence making the title of the book false. I was looking for easy quick recipes, and these are not what I was looking for. Definitely NOT a one pan/pot cookbook. It also has a lot of obscure flavors in the recipes. If you're looking for quick, one pot comfort meals, this is not the book for you.

This book is an EXCELLENT reference book for the many reasons that veganism is the way to go whether it is for environmental, ethical, evolutionary, religious, health/medical, or other reasons. Though the author is sometimes sarcastic (and some people don't "get" sarcasm apparently), it is well-researched and sourced. (Though some of the citations don't match the sourced information 100% of the time.) I would recommend this book to anyone, vegan or not, who wants to learn just how important a plant-based diet is.

Plant Roots will be a great reference book for me in years to come. I love having it by my side to continue to read and go through. Many answers to my questions are all in this book. I have recommended this book to many. George Eisman R.D. is the one that brought it to my attention at the Vegetarian Summerfest 2006. He sure knows what he is talking about.

Bowlby intermingles and confuses a variety of separate issues. The book is advertised as an evaluation of why the human body is designed for eating plant foods. In fact the book wanders far afield and spends too much time discusssing issues that are not relevant. The ethical issues of eating meat, the economical issues associated with eating meat and the political issues associated with eating meat are COMPLETELY UNRELATED to whether our bodies are designed to eat meat. If our bodies are designed to eat meat, then we have to eat meat, a fact that Bowlby cannot comprehend.

This has just become one of my favorite books of all time, dealing with the subjects of vegetarianism, veganism, animal rights, ecology, the environment, world hunger and other areas. Yes, this book deals with all of these subjects. And all in one place for easy reference. This book has obviously been very well-researched and is extensively documented with numerous footnotes at the end of the book. Yet this book provides timeless (and timely) information in a very concise, and at times humorous, way. It definitely is very effective at getting the point across to anyone reading it. I highly recommend this book to everyone, both to my fellow vegans and to all the wannabes out there, as well as to everyone in between. This book provides the solid information and evidence you need in dealing with those people who constantly ask questions and who sometimes want to argue with you about our lifestyle choice. By way of comparison, in giving you the detailed information you need, this book is the M16 of books in a world of flint-lock guns. The book contains irrefutable logic. And at this price, and for being a genuine treasure trove of knowledge, it is a real bargain! Get a copy for yourself and for anyone you care about - because you will not be wanting to lend out your copy to anyone. It's that good!
As for the reviewer below, he (or she) obviously never read the book or even purchased it, to make such asinine accusations against it. This book's message is very clear and comprehensible to anyone who made it out of the first grade! This book proves, beyond ANY reasonable doubt, that we are in fact - by nature - fruit-, nut- and seed-eaters. There is no way around that. Read the book to find out why. :)

In Plant Roots: 101 Reasons Why The Human Diet Is Rooted Exclusively In Plants, Rex Bowlby strongly advocates the consumption of a vegan diet - one consisting of plant-based foods alone, with no meat, milk, or eggs. Articulately defending the vegetarian diet as healthier, more economical, better for the environment, and less likely to spread disease, Plant Roots is stringent and unashamed in its denouncement of the physical and social ills caused by meat, milk, and egg consumption, ranging from the callous disregard of animal (or dairy cow) life, to cultural and social issues of food processing technologies and practices, to the threat of food-borne diseases and increased bacteria resistance to antibiotics caused by eating antibiotic-treated meat. An unapologetic manifesto advocating sweeping dietary change, Plant Roots is a welcome and seminal addition to personal and professional Vegetarian Studies reading lists, as well as community and academic Health & Nutrition Studies library reference collections.

After purchasing this book in a bookstore it was immediately "borrowed" by a vegetarian relative. My only recourse was to order another for myself. We obviously enjoy the recipies. I find all Williams-Sonoma cookbooks worthwhile.

A passionate home cook that has been honing her cooking skills for the last 25 years, concentrating on Italian cooking for the last 10 years, writes this review. My favorite cookbooks are "The Professional Chef" by the Culinary Institute and "Culinary Artistry". With more than 500 cookbooks in my collection I am usually disappointed in my recent cookbook acquisitions. This book is a nice addition to any cookbook library if you have a vegetarian in your family or just want to add a few meatless meals to your family table.

The book is subdivided as follows:
Introduction
Starters and Salads
Soups and Stews
Sauteed & Stir Fried Vegetables
Boiled and Steamed Vegetables
Baked, Roasted and Grilled Vegetables
Beans and Legumes
Pasta, Polenta & Rice
Eggs and Cheese
Basic Recipes & Techniques

This book is vegetarian, not vegan. However, there are many recipes in the book that are vegan or that can be easily changed to make them vegan. As a new follower of the mostly vegan "Eat to Live" plan I have been purchasing vegetarian cookbooks with abandon looking for new flavor ideas. This book has added a number of new recipes to my cooking repertoire.

My overall observations about the book are as follows:

Pros:
1. Book covers many ethnic cuisines in its recipes
2. Recipe directions are very thorough
3. Covers many different techniques for preparing veggies (stir fry, baking, roasting, grilling, etc.)
4. Many but not all of the recipes are healthy
5. Color photographs of all the dishes are provided
6. Small book, doesn't take up too much room on the counter
7. Nice sturdy binding that will stand up to many years of constant use


Cons:
1. No desserts
2. Uses while flour where whole wheat would work
3. Uses full fat-bechamel where low-fat bechamel would work and be a healthier option
4. Uses full fat cream a little too liberally

As a cook that relies mostly on Italian Cuisine and that is new to mostly vegan cooking I found many ideas in this book that I could add to my family table. If you wish to expand your cooking to include multiple ethnicities in a vegetarian environment I would recommend this book. I have given this book 4 stars instead of 5 because it did not try to make the recipes healthier by reducing the white flour and full fat dairy where appropriate.

Don't buy this book if you don't like/can't eat cheese. ;) It contains a LOT of it. The recipes are very tasty though. It's worth owning for sure.

No, I'm not actually a vegetarian but after cooking from this cookbook I may as well become one. My husband wanted me to start cooking with less meat and I had a very hard time doing it because most of the vegetarian dishes I cooked seemed so blah to me. This book has revolutionized my life! Awesome, awesome dishes.

Very eclectic and yet simple recipes- great presentation- very nutritious too.

Lisa Tracy provides a very non-threatening approach to becoming a vegetarian. Set up in stages: ranging from "thinking about it" to "veganism", and how to eat out in not necessarily vegetarian friendly restaurants (an essential thing when I lived in Nebraska) to how, and where, to shop for groceries. An excellent book.

Joseph Campbell realizes that one has to eat to stay alive this means something has to die. He says it is monstrous. However we need to get over it and realize that is the nature of things.

For the rest of us there are other reasons for going vegetarian and cornering the poor carrot that can not run from us. This book is dedicated to the attitude that "you are what you eat."

It is not easy or wise to go cold turkey per-say. And this book helps both physically and psychologically to become the svelte vegetarian that we all long to be.

The process is divided into three stages including 15 steps. The book includes over 200 recipes.

So you do become a social outcast there are strategies for feeding the archaic meat eaters at the same time.

All in all it is a very useful book at treating vegetarian (much more just healthy eating) in a practical and less radical manner.

There are no pictures to this 297 page book. However there is a list of recipes and organizations that can help beyond the book.

This book was a great investment for me - my family has never made it to total vegetarianism, but we are eating less red meat and enjoying the options more.

My biggest concern was that in going away from meat, my family would have no protein - what DO you need to look out for, where do you find enough protein for growing kids? Reading this book gave friendly, easy to understand information along with shopping help and recipes that can lead the reluctant a little closer to healthy eating.

I keep this book in my cookbook library, and periodically pull it out and for awhile, cook meals that are tasteful and a little better for our bodies than the usual typical American meals.

More than half of this book is filled with information on how to step towards vegetarianism in a non-judgmental way. She gives information, recipes and shopping hints for each stage without pushing the reader on to the next. She also realizes that there may be serveral stages all within the same family.

1) Stage One is where many of us are - less red meat, coffee, refined sugar, more vegetables, fruits and cereals. Eating poultry and fish, milk products, egs, beans, and other grain products. She lists the pluses of this stage, and doesn't urge anyone to move on to the next stage unless they want to.

2) Stage Two is the next step - still eating fish, but almost no poultry, more dairy, grains, legumes, nuts, seeds.

3) Stage Three goes beyond the more traditional lacto-ovo-vegetarianism into macrobiotics, natural hygiene.

She says here, "The Stage Three diets represent a much larger step away from what we grew up with, but...remember: You don't have to do it all at once. Or forever. As the teacher said, every little bit helps."

The last part of the book has recipes, divided by the stages, which makes it really helpful for people like me who are vegetarian wannabes, living with meat-lovers.

Soups, Casseroles, Indian Side Dishes, Vegetable Side Dishes, Breads, and more - some have become staples, even in the months when we are eating less healthy foods. Her chicken recipes are fast, easy and absolutely delicious!

A treasure of information AND recipes!

I've had this for a long long time and enjoyed it thoroughly. In addition to feeling better, I lost weight as well. It's a wonderful guide if you follow it. Informative and educational. I recommend it!

Does anyone know of other books she has written?

What, No Meat?!: What to Do When Your Kid Becomes a Vegetarian
I love this book b/c it's easy to read and understand. THe menus and recipes are simple as well - although I wish there were more! It's a great book for new vegetarians and their meat-eating parents. It's also good for vegetarian parents who are not exactly sure about nutritional values.

About a year ago, I checked out this book from the school's library (I was very suprised they had a book on vegetarianism). It has alot of information on becoming a vegetarian, has Q & A sections and tells you about different kinds of non-meat diets, such as "fruititarian", when you only eat fruit. I think all children and teen vegetarians should read this book.

The cover of I'm A Vegetarian features three kids who appear to be about 11 to 20 years old, a clue that this book is written for "tweens" and teens. The writing style is simple, easy-to-understand, and fun-to-read, making it a sure winner for this age group. However, the book would appeal just as much to parents and younger children. The author and her husband have raised two vegetarian daughters, and her connection with what veg kids want and need to know is clear and strong. She has a knack for presenting facts and information that keeps your attention, and most importantly, will appeal to young minds.

The book starts by defining "vegetarianism," and includes quotes from kids of all ages explaining why they decided to become vegetarians. Interspersed throughout the chapters are quotes from famous people and interesting facts about animals, animal agriculture, the environment, and nutrition. Short activities help to illustrate the topic of each section. For example, to help children understand how much space a chicken is allotted in a typical egg-laying factory cage, the author suggests taking a ruler and a sheet of paper and tracing a six-inch square. This is a quick, easy lesson that really brings the point home.

Schwartz goes on to discuss how to deal with parents who aren't happy about having a child convert to vegetarianism and "other sticky situations," like talking to one's peers, handling holiday dinners, and getting decent veg food in the school cafeteria. She covers these topics by offering simple advice without sounding preachy. She keeps it upbeat and positive, which kids will appreciate, but which some may find unrealistic. Still, her saucy comebacks are priceless, and will allow veg kids to arm themselves with funny comments whenever they are put on the spot.

In the chapter "Food, Glorious Food!" Schwartz presents a history of vegetarianism and a primer on "new" foods, many of which are not eaten regularly within the standard American diet. She introduces soy foods including soymilk, tofu, TVP, tempeh, and miso, and includes information on lentils and quinoa, plus peanuts, chickpeas, and potatoes, all of which have interesting stories behind them. She even briefly discusses genetically modified foods.

Finally, after providing a general discussion of eating a balanced diet in the chapter entitled "Be Smart - Stay Healthy," Schwartz goes on to discuss nutrition in more detail. This section is so easy to comprehend that my 5-year-old enjoyed reading it with me. Provided are sample lacto-ovo and vegan diet menus, lots of meal ideas, and a handful of recipes to get you started. This title is highly recommended for new vegetarian kids as well as their meat-eating or vegetarian parents. It would also work well for vegetarian parents who want to teach their children aged 5 to teen about nutrition.

This book is written in a very fun, age-appropriate style. It highlights many of the concerns and interests of the young vegetarian. It includes jokes, recipes, information, comebacks, and even famous vegetarians. A great read for the young vegetarian, especially one you may be afraid of losing to peer pressure. NOTE: Although veganism is mentioned, the book focuses on vegetarianism, not veganism.

In Transition To Vegetarianism: An Evolutionary Step, Doctor Rudolpf Ballentine presents an informed and persuasive survey of the value and reasoning to a vegetarian diet. Dr. Ballentine's informative text is laced with health relevant information such as meat-eaters having three times as many heart attacks as vegetarians, that a vegetarian diet decreases osteoporosis dramatically, that in endurance tests vegetarians had more than twice the stamina and strength of meat-eaters, and that the vegetarian diet is a time-honored technique for promoting alertness and clarity of consciousness. Ideal for the non-specialist general reader, Transition To Vegetarianism covers red meat, poultry, fish, and the question of milk and eggs in a vegetarian diet. If you are considering the pros and cons of a vegetarian diet for yourself, begin with reading Dr. Rudolf Ballentine's Transition To Vegetarianism.

Most people can't stop eating meat one day and put a red "X" on the plate instead. Unless you live in a culture like India, or eat lots of beans and rice, it takes a bit of adjustment to move to a plant-based diet.

When newly minted militant vegetarian friends reject the idea of starting out by simply eating less meat, this book is the place to turn for support. After twenty years of shepherding people toward a more vegetarian diet, I've seen definite trends that emerge when giving up meat: persistent cheese-eating, a plethora of omelet dishes, a sudden craving for peanut butter, etc. This guide gives sound practical explanations about why these cravings happen; it also gives suggestions for maintaining nutrition without going overboard on fat. Vegans will be unhappy with the assertion that a plant-based diet with some milk products is a typical solution for Americans, but realistically, how many of us are willing to do what it takes to maintain a strictly vegan diet the rest of our lives? And as additional research emerges on fatty acids (such as Omega-3 and Omega-6 oils) there seems to be an increasing number of reasons to consider fish as a practical substitute for supplements like hempseed or flaxseed oil.

Over the years, I've heard countless people wake up to nutrition and tell me they've discovered the "only healthy diet there is." Every one of those diets has been different! Rather than rushing out to try someone else's diet, I'd recommend looking at Dr. Ballentine's set of guidelines first. This is one of the only books on vegetarianism I know that doesn't tell you "here's the best diet." Instead, the author presents the pros and cons of various food options, and gives you a reasonable way to work towards a diet which suits both your body and your life situation.

I bought this book on the recommendation of my homeopath, who had worked under Rudolph Ballentine. I was disappointed. While the nutrition in terms of meat's value and replacement in the diet may be of great help to my sister, who *is* vegetarian, I found the "dairy is good for you" message questionable in terms of my personal experience and in terms of different articles I've read. I'll take a sensible vegan cookbook any day.

I wish I had this book when I first eliminated meat from my diet - it would have saved me a LOT of grief and prevented some pretty bad dietary habits. It gives a unique and well-grounded approach to becoming a vegetarian or shaping up your diet if you're already vegetarian. It does say that eating dairy can be helpful, which there is some controversy on, but even many experts who are anti-dairy object to milk products mainly because they are packed with hormones, pasteurized, and homogenized. When dairy is pure, organic, and fresh it's a good source of nutrition when used properly and in moderation. Also, the book says you should eat dairy OR fish as a supplement to a vegan diet, which makes sense when you look at the traditional diets of native cultures around the world - I don't know of any that are purely vegan. Rudolph Ballentine seems to be a very wise author with a lot of grounded perspective on holistic nutrition.

I also bought this book shortly before becoming a vegetarian and found it to be a wonderful resource. It goes into a great amount of detail regarding nutrition, dispelling many commonly held beliefs about protein requirements and what is healthy. (No, vegatarians are not starving to death from lack of protein and just too stupid to know it, but they do have a 47% lower risk of heart attack!)

This book is very well research and has a huge bibligraphy section for those wanting to learn more. It details the scientific, social, political, and relgiious reasons that different vegetarians have for their lifestyle. My only complaint with this book is that the recipes inside are vegan, not vegetarian (no milk, cheese, eggs, etc.) But, vegan or not, they are delicious!

I purchased this book about 3 months after becoming a vegetarian, and from my perspective it reiterates a lot of points I already knew, and also brought up many things I was unaware of. Mr. Null's writing style is very clear and thorough; the reader will not be left guessing what the point was nor looking through a dictionary for the meanings to technical terms. If you're considering becoming vegetarian, I'd recommend picking this one up. What you learn will surprise you. And if you're unsure how to eat once you've decided to go vegetarian, Mr. Null has a considerable number of recipes in the back of the book.

Most of the information was in his other books. I was looking for recipes not a rehash of his other factual writing. The few receipes included were not very exciting.

Although some of the statistics in this book may be out of date, the information is still quite accurate (you just have to use the ratios given and apply to todays costs).

This book will provide you an education on why a vegetarian diet is good for you and how you can actually provide all the nutrition you need from various fruit, veg & legumes. Even if you are not intending to become a total vegetarian it will provide you with a newer healthy perspective of what to eat and how to find the various products.

One aspect of the book that I find interesting is the wide amount of research done about socio-economic impacts of a general meat-eating populus. It actually points out that a lot of essential foods (vegetables etc) are used in producing cattle/meats, where this could quite sensibly be used for human consumption instead (why feed animals when you can feed humans ?). The ratio of vegetable protein used to produce meat is 16:1. That means that you are wasting 15 of the 16 pounds of grain to provide the same amount of useful consumable meat protein. A simple but a very poignant observation.

All in all, the book provides a lot of information and clarifies mis-information about a vegetarian (or vegan) lifestyle. I would strongly recommend you read it even if it's just for your education. You will absolutely learn something.

I am a vegetarian and I wanted to like this book, but it is lacking in many ways. The family in the story lives on a farm, yet the mother is always dressed better than June Clever. The family seems disfunctional in the 50's way...the illistrations are terrible. I wanted a good book about a vegetarian child, to read to my children, but this isn't it. There are too many loose ends when the book is over. Is the family going to be vegetarians, or just the little boy. The parents don't seem thoughtful or commited to doing so.

Victor, The Vegetarian: Saving the Little Lambs is a simple story with an important message. Victor is a young boy who lives with his parents on their farm set amongst the woods. When
Victor overhears his father talk about killing the lambs on the farm so they can have lamb chops, Victor takes his lamb friends, Marigold and Buttercup, into the woods where they become lost.
When they are finally found, Victor's parents decide not to kill the lambs. Not only are the lambs saved, but Victor realizes that he doesn't want to eat any other animals either. "'What about all the meat we eat?' he asked his parents. 'I'd love all those animals if I knew them. I don't want to eat cows or pigs or chickens either!'" Victor has become a vegetarian!
Victor, The Vegetarian: Saving the Little Lambs will appeal to children and will make vegetarian
children feel good about their compassionate diet. –Reviewed by Glenn Perrett (...)

Radha Vignola's simple story clearly conveys the ethics of vegetarianism. Victor's heroism is inspiring and teaches children that their actions can make a difference. The illustrations are cute but as another reviewer mentioned reinforce gender stereotypes. Also, Victor's parents' ready acceptance of his decision to stop eating meat seems pretty unrealistic, especially given that their livelihood depends on raising animals for slaughter. Meat-eating kids may be disappointed to find that their parents offer more resistance. However, these drawbacks do not affect my 2 year old's enjoyment of the book in the least, and the message of becoming vegetarian for compassionate reasons shines through.

Victor reaches that moment in life when he realizes the origins of the food on his plate, and he's horrified by what he's learned. He shows compassion and his determination, that his family's lambs will not become lambchops. My elementary school students really enjoy this book and its companion tape. They often ask to rehear the story.

In Munchie Madness, Dorothy R. Bates, Bobbie Hinman, Robert Oser, and Suzanne Havala successfully collaborate to present 120 quick and easy to prepare, teen friendly vegetarian dishes that are as delicious as they are nutritious. There is something here for every dining occasion from snacks to major meals, smoothies and shakes to salads and dips, soups to puddings. Of special value is the chapter on "Vegetarian Nutrition: A Primer for Teens". Munchie Madness should be on the kitchen shelf of every family with teens -- and sent off with young adults headed for college or independent living away from home for the first time!

This Book is an informative resource book for teenagers who want to live a compassionate, healthy lifestyle. Teenagers will relate to the main part of the book as it contains tasty, nutritious recipes that are easily prepared. Most of the recipes are vegan, and each contains the number of servings that the recipe makes as well as the calories, protein, fat and carbohydrates for each serving. Recipes are divided into the following sections: "Smoothies & Shakes," "Breakfast," "Salads, Dressings, Spreads, & Dips," "Soups," "Main Dishes" and "Cakes, Pies, Candies, Pudding." Laura Holzapfel offers an insightful message at the beginning of the book in "Notes from a Vegetarian Teen" and Suzanne Havala, who is a vegetarian, author and consultant on food and nutrition, provides important information for teenagers (and their parents) in "Vegetarian Nutrition: A Primer for Teens." Havala effectively covers such topics as protein, calcium, iron, vitamin C, vitamin B12 and fats - to name a few. Whether you are a vegetarian teenager looking for some delicious, easy-to-make recipes, a parent wanting nutritious meals for your vegetarian child, or you are just looking for a good recipe book, Munchie Madness will not disappoint. -Reviewed by Glenn Perrett

by Molly Conway, 15
Teen Editor
...

My friend Rebecca is a super-vegan. I have the utmost respect for her and her family of super-vegans because it baffles my mind as to how they do it. Whenever Rebecca and I have enough of a lull in our schedules to eat lunch together, I'm in for it if any part of my meal comes from "some poor animal." The speech usually starts with, "Did you know?" and continues with Rebecca trying desperately to prove to me that all of the world's problems are my fault because of what I'm eating. Rebecca's argument is rehearsed and usually flawless, which is why I enjoy so immensely trying to prove her wrong, but deep down I know that she is absolutely right on most points. And that's why I've eliminated red meat from my diet.

If you happen to be in the same situation as me - that is, questioning your dietary identity - you might want to pick up this book. It's not just a cookbook. It also includes solid information about vegetarianism, weighs the pros and cons, gives sources for more info, and, here's the best part, nutritional information for every recipe. Plus it's geared specifically for teens so that all of the recipes are quick and easy, and it even offers tips on talking to your relatives and friends about your dietary choices.

But even if you aren't planning on switching your diet completely over to the green side, this is still a good book to check out. After all, according to Rebecca, if we all reduce our meat consumption by 10 percent and use the surplus grain we would have fed to livestock to feed people in Third World countries, we would have solved world hunger already.

Copyright 2002, Blue Jean Media, Inc.