Books/Resources


This was the first book I bought when I went vegetarian.  I had seen Alicia Silverstone do some interviews on begin vegan and I saw her racey PETA ad.  Based on that information and the fact that her book was a New York Times Bestseller I bought the book.

As soon as I picked it up I couldn't put it down!  Everything she says is everything I wanted to hear when it came to changing your diet and your lifestyle.

She divides the book into three parts.  Part I is about differences in meat-based and plant-based foods.  She talks about dairy as well as sugar and processed food.  Part II is all about living the "kind life" where she discusses flirting where someone is just testing the waters of a veggie diet, vegan where someone has made the commitment to cut out all foods that come from animals, and superhero which takes veganism one step further and further cutting out sugary and processed foods.  Part III is the recipe section : )

Her recipes are delicious and healthy (although they tend to be a bit pricey).  She uses many ingredients you can probably only find in a health store but it is worth it!  I have made many of her recipes with my own tweaks here and there depending on what I have available to me and what I like.

The best part about her book is that it emphasizes changing your lifestyle for yourself! She encourages people to make changes in their lives that will benefit them and will let them be the healthiest they can.
The Vegan Zombie is a website as well as a youtube page that everyone should check out! The man in the video's has been a vegan for 16 years and has combined his love of horror movies and veganism and has made hysterical videos of him making delicious dishes.

He has everything from lasagna to mac and cheese.  One of my favorite videos is that he made lasagna in two ways - one way was with daiya cheese, and meat substitutes while the other version was for people who do not have access to health stores or whole foods where the lasagna is with tofu and basic foods that you can find in almost any supermarket.

He is incredibly entertaining and makes foods that are delicious!! Plus, the way he says "onion" is hysterical

Youtube is a great resource for vegan recipes because not only do you find out what is in the dishes but you get to visualize how they are made.  Since vegan foods do not "act" like non-vegan foods it can be difficult to figure some recipes out.  For example, although some vegan cheeses melt it is still a slightly different consistency than cow cheese so it helps to visualize how people cook with it.