Monday, May 24, 2010

Alicia Silverstone

I love Alicia Silverstone. Her passion for veganism is why she's one of my favorite vegan role models. Alicia wrote a book called The Kind Diet, which basically talks about why she went and stayed vegan, why you should too, how to make the transition, and shares loads of recipes. Here are a few interviews with her where she talks about the book and how veganism changed her life.

For more about The Kind Diet, see Alicia's website, The Kind Life.








8 comments:

Rissa Watkins said...

I've always liked her. I want to read the book. I like the concept of flirting with a vegan diet. I could totally do that.

I kept thinking, oh I need to do it all the way or not. But even if I ate vegan for lunch and breakfast it's better than not doing it all. Right?

Duke said...

Rissa, I'm not trying to butt in or answer for kenike, but in my case I go days only eating vegan. Tonight I had beans, potatoes and a salad.

Vegan diets are great. They are tasty and filling. I like them just fine and never feel cheated because I don't have meat.

Give them a try at whatever meals you like and see if you don't feel the same. I bet you do.

Kenike said...

Rissa- Yeah, you totally could! I used to think I had to do it all the way or not too. And I didn't think I could do it all the way, so I didn't try. Then when I gave myself a trial period I realized how easy it was.

I definitely think the book is a good read for you. I checked it out from the library when it first came out and found it to be very positive, friendly, and engaging. I liked her approach and message very much.

Her recipes tend to be on the very healthy end of the food spectrum. Not that they aren't tasty. There are lots of other cookbooks that tend to focus more on the taste of the food rather than on being super healthy. So if you don't like the recipes, keep that in mind and try some from Isa Chandra Moskowitz's cookbooks which contain more comfort foods.

Eating some meals vegan DEFINITELY makes a difference, for you, for animals, for the earth, etc. That is essentially the Flirt level that Alicia talks about.

I was a vegan flirt as a vegetarian for about 5 years. Then I became vegan. I'm not sure I'll ever be what she calls a Superhero (essentially a macrobiotic vegan).

Kenike said...

Duke, I didn't realize you were a flirt! ;)

Duke said...

Haha...flirt...never heard that one.

I may never go completely vegan for several personal reasons but at the same time I think vegan is a fine lifestyle. There's nothing wrong with the food, taste, or experience of eliminating animal products and going vegan.

I'm all for your nice blog and the great philosophy behind eliminating cruelty to animals. I love animals and I'd love to see the horrible farming practices stopped. There's no reason to mistreat animals like they do. Going vegan is one way to do something and getting involved with legislation to outlaw it is another. Making people aware of how terrible things are for corporate farm animals is important too. Those poor creatures are tortured.

Anyway, I'm a big supporter of anyone who is trying to prevent animal cruelty.

Kenike said...

I'm glad to hear it. And "flirt" is Alicia's term for someone who eats vegan sometimes.

Anonymous said...

Duke - You know, my first thought was, I don't have the willpower to resist if the rest of the family is eating meat- but that's not true.

I can make pasta or use dark meat chicken, which I hate, and stick with the veggie stuff for me.

Kenike- yup, that is exactly what I was thinking. It's too hard to do so don't bother.

Now I know better. :)

Kenike said...

Rissa-
I know it can be hard to prepare meals for families where there are both omnis and veg-heads. There are some cookbooks that are geared towards cooking a meal that is the same but splits into a meat-eater one and a veg one at the end of cooking. Which saves on cooking, time, and foods. An example might be making spaghetti and just adding meatballs to 1/2 the batch.

Here are two of them (I'm not familiar with either to give a recommendation-sorry!):
Double Take-
http://www.amazon.com/Double-Take-Fabulous-Vegetarians-Omnivores/dp/1558324232

The Adaptable Feast-
http://www.amazon.com/Adaptable-Feast-Satisfying-Vegetarians-Omnivores/dp/1570615837/ref=pd_bxgy_b_text_b

And the other option is just to make more meatless recipes where they don't miss the meat.