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114 reviews for:
The Kind Diet: A Simple Guide to Feeling Great, Losing Weight, and Saving the Planet
Alicia Silverstone
3.65 AVERAGE
114 reviews for:
The Kind Diet: A Simple Guide to Feeling Great, Losing Weight, and Saving the Planet
Alicia Silverstone
3.65 AVERAGE
I'm excited to try a few recipes out and was ready to give this a 3, but several recipes are unfinished as printed.
I enjoyed the recipes, especially the peanut butter cups. Everyone I've made them for has raved. Delicious!
One issue: I think she gets a little colloquial in her discussions. While I realize she isn't a scientist, sometimes her verbage is a bit strange for me to find her a believable authority.
Another issue: The maple sugar she suggests is outrageously expensive. It is not even an option.
I presume the goal of this book is to encourage people to become vegan. I'm left not totally understanding HOW I could do that or if I could AFFORD it. That being said, it does have some great recipes.
Worth a read if you are interested in food issues.
One issue: I think she gets a little colloquial in her discussions. While I realize she isn't a scientist, sometimes her verbage is a bit strange for me to find her a believable authority.
Another issue: The maple sugar she suggests is outrageously expensive. It is not even an option.
I presume the goal of this book is to encourage people to become vegan. I'm left not totally understanding HOW I could do that or if I could AFFORD it. That being said, it does have some great recipes.
Worth a read if you are interested in food issues.
Sigh.
I love Alicia Silverstone. No, really! But this book really brings out her bubble-headedness. Which is saying something, coming from someone who enjoys her professional work and was really wanting to be inspired to take another step in the journey of eating kinder. In the end though, I discovered the recipes here represent exactly what I hate about many cookbooks.
The big idea of the book is that if you're eating an average American diet, you can experiment with vegan alternatives. Vegetarians can go vegan. Vegans can go whole-food, organic, or localvore. Everyone can go further toward a healthy diet, which impacts one's own wellness as well as the wellness of the earth. As someone who has been vegetarian for 16 years, yes, I get it.
Unfortunately, every single recipe in the book requires some ingredient I would need to go out of my way to chase down somewhere: mostly daikon, umeboshi products, or kabocha squash. Of the two recipes I made yesterday (wheat biscuits–the only thing I had all the ingredients for, and oatmeal-from which I omitted the maple syrup and substituted raisins for dates)–they didn't taste as "yummy!" as Alicia promised. I don't want to chase down ingredients to try new recipes–so Mark Bittman's How to Cook Anything Vegetarian, with its simple, basic recipes and ingredients, and easy vegan adaptations is going to win out.
On top of this, the writer (I'm assuming she used an uncredited ghost writer–most everyone does) inserted Alicia-speak everywhere possible. Many of the recipe introductions say "They're so good," "Yummy!" or "This dish is delicious!"–if a recipe needs to tell the reader it's good, it's probably a hard sell otherwise. Here's a particularly representative example:
"I used to eat the presweetened, instant oatmeal that came in a packet until I joined the cast of a play about Orthodox Judaism in which I portrayed a lesbian who has a cocaine overdose on stage...anyhoo, another actress in the show, Lesa Carlson, taught me how to make this oatmeal! I love using dates from the farmers' market."
Yes, Alicia loves the farmers' market and reminds us of this at every turn. I also love the farmers market–except when you don't live in southern California, they're not open year round–making the "more affordable" argument for organics rather flimsy.
Frequently I have thought about taking the next step and doing a vegan experiment–but these recipes are not what I'm going to be using if or when I do so. Back to the library with you, book!
I love Alicia Silverstone. No, really! But this book really brings out her bubble-headedness. Which is saying something, coming from someone who enjoys her professional work and was really wanting to be inspired to take another step in the journey of eating kinder. In the end though, I discovered the recipes here represent exactly what I hate about many cookbooks.
The big idea of the book is that if you're eating an average American diet, you can experiment with vegan alternatives. Vegetarians can go vegan. Vegans can go whole-food, organic, or localvore. Everyone can go further toward a healthy diet, which impacts one's own wellness as well as the wellness of the earth. As someone who has been vegetarian for 16 years, yes, I get it.
Unfortunately, every single recipe in the book requires some ingredient I would need to go out of my way to chase down somewhere: mostly daikon, umeboshi products, or kabocha squash. Of the two recipes I made yesterday (wheat biscuits–the only thing I had all the ingredients for, and oatmeal-from which I omitted the maple syrup and substituted raisins for dates)–they didn't taste as "yummy!" as Alicia promised. I don't want to chase down ingredients to try new recipes–so Mark Bittman's How to Cook Anything Vegetarian, with its simple, basic recipes and ingredients, and easy vegan adaptations is going to win out.
On top of this, the writer (I'm assuming she used an uncredited ghost writer–most everyone does) inserted Alicia-speak everywhere possible. Many of the recipe introductions say "They're so good," "Yummy!" or "This dish is delicious!"–if a recipe needs to tell the reader it's good, it's probably a hard sell otherwise. Here's a particularly representative example:
"I used to eat the presweetened, instant oatmeal that came in a packet until I joined the cast of a play about Orthodox Judaism in which I portrayed a lesbian who has a cocaine overdose on stage...anyhoo, another actress in the show, Lesa Carlson, taught me how to make this oatmeal! I love using dates from the farmers' market."
Yes, Alicia loves the farmers' market and reminds us of this at every turn. I also love the farmers market–except when you don't live in southern California, they're not open year round–making the "more affordable" argument for organics rather flimsy.
Frequently I have thought about taking the next step and doing a vegan experiment–but these recipes are not what I'm going to be using if or when I do so. Back to the library with you, book!
Not a lot here that's new, but it's presented in a way that's compelling and easy to digest. I've been talking to my husband FOREVER about cutting back sugar (he has a huuuuge family history of diabetes + stroke)....but somehow only Alicia Silverstone could convince him.
As a vegetarian, I totally skipped the meat chapter, but found the dairy info convincing enough that we're experimenting.
Starting 8/24, we're going dairy-free. (Not full on vegan, because my mom keeps chickens (truly free-range, truly happy) and we'll still eat those eggs...but no commercial eggs or out-to-eat-eggs).
Looking forward to trying some of her recipes and cranking up the whole grains (not just whole-grain products like bread + noodles) with our normal meals of veggies + beans.
As a vegetarian, I totally skipped the meat chapter, but found the dairy info convincing enough that we're experimenting.
Starting 8/24, we're going dairy-free. (Not full on vegan, because my mom keeps chickens (truly free-range, truly happy) and we'll still eat those eggs...but no commercial eggs or out-to-eat-eggs).
Looking forward to trying some of her recipes and cranking up the whole grains (not just whole-grain products like bread + noodles) with our normal meals of veggies + beans.