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Saturday 4 May 2013

Looking for inspiration? The ABC's of being vegan


In my Looking for Inspiration posts I will be sharing my favorite books, articles and websites with you, basically any resources I found inspiring and helpful in becoming (and staying) vegan. In this part 1 post I have listed my favorites, the books and websites that  helped me take the first steps towards veganism 3 years ago. They answered so many questions for me -  like 'Is being vegan actually good for me?''Why is it kinder for the planet?' and most importantly 'Ok so now what the hell am I going to eat?! And what about desserts?!?' 

So here they are - my ABC resources of being a vegan - they will shortly be followed by many more, and I hope you find them as interesting, fun and inspiring as I did! 

A is for answers
And you will find them in The China Study, by Dr. T. Colin Campbell, Professor Emeritus at Cornell University. If you are going to read just 1 book about health and diet this is the one I would recommend! It's one of those real 'change your life' reads and is based on the most comprehensive nutritional study ever carried out to explore the relationships between our diet, our health and disease. Click here to find it on amazon.





B if for Basics
The Kind Diet cook book, by Alicia Silverstone, is a great place to start if you are considering going vegan or even if you just want to add a few more healthy veggie options to your diet. It has great recipes, beautiful photos and interesting information on different foods and how our dietary choices affect our health, animals and the environment. Her website The Kind Life is also a great place to find recipes, interesting posts on fall things vegan-related, and includes an active forum where members share on all sorts of topics.


C is for Crazy in love with Candle Café 
The Candle Cafe cook book makes my top 3 list of favorites recipe books and almost all the pages are now covered in food stains (I am a messy cook)! I often daydream about where I would go right now if I could tele-transport myself anywhere (Geeky? Perhaps). Invariably the answer is the Candle Cafe, in NYC. I hear you saying, ‘Oh come on! You would chose some vegan restaurant over a white sandy beach? Or an Indian palace?’ The answer is a definite Yes, because it is THAT good. So good that both my boyfriend and I are adamant it is the best restaurant we have ever been to, including all those we went to before we became veggie. Between the 2 of us we have been to roughly 30 countries over 5 different continents.. that’s a lot of restaurants. Anyways, until someone does figure out the whole tele-transportation (please hurry up about it!) I make do with the second best thing; the candle café’s wonderful cook book. The recipes in it are divine, they will seduce anyone - from Anne Heathaway, who I saw stand in line for 30 minutes to get a table in this cute and friendly cafe in the upper east side, to my Dad, who doesn't have an oscar, swears by Sunday roast, thinks I am a nutter for going vegan and yet went back for 2nds and 3rds when I made their pecan crusted seitan dish. So there you have it – if Anne Heathaway and my dad love it, I guarantee you will too! Click here for the candle café website, and here to get a copy of their book on amazon.


D is for Don't forget the Desserts!
Becoming vegan in no way means saying goodbye to delicious and decadent desserts. And when it comes to vegan desserts, no one does it better than Chloe Coscarelli's, award winning vegan chef who won the Cupcake wars on the Food Network. She has some amazing recipes, visit her website and try her vegan cookie dough truffles or her Chocolate-Dipped Ice Cream Sandwiches. She also has a cookbook, Chloé's Vegan Desserts, which I intend to purchase soon.


courtesey of: www.chefchloe.com
What are your favorite websites, books and blogs about vegan food, or anything else? 

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