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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
Great book as far as informing myself on how I can be kinder to my planet and body. It has a very fun and loving energy, which was a nice change from the usually more serious, heavily informative books on veganism and such.
As far as the recipes, I found the ingredients a little too rich for my blood, things such as truffle oil; but they’re inspiring enough to see the options out there.
As far as the recipes, I found the ingredients a little too rich for my blood, things such as truffle oil; but they’re inspiring enough to see the options out there.
I started to skip through some sections of this book when I was about halfway through. The parts I skipped were things I wasn't interested in or were irrelevant to me. You know how Alicia Silverstone's character sounds like an airhead in Clueless? Well, this book was written the same way, and that might annoy some people. But with the current generation, it's probably going to appeal to more people than not.
I thought it was really informative, but after awhile, I started to question a few of her facts (she made a vegan diet sound too good to be true, and you know what they say...) and would like to dig a little deeper to see if they're true.
I thought it was really informative, but after awhile, I started to question a few of her facts (she made a vegan diet sound too good to be true, and you know what they say...) and would like to dig a little deeper to see if they're true.
Great in theory, but I couldn't live without my meat and dairy. I'm trying to eat more veggies, but I honestly could not forgo meat and dairy forever. I read this book hoping to find more delicious veggie recipes, but instead I found too many obscure ingredients.
On my quest to become a healthier eater...
The whole "Superhero" thing is kind of odd, unless you are very wealthy and can afford to eat Sea Vegetables every day (also doesn't seem very kind to the planet to be getting vegetables from like the Sea of Japan). This is not a everyday normal American diet- this is a wealthy movie star diet. BUT I did try one of the regular vegan recipes today and it was pretty good.
Her writing leaves something to be desired as she writes "freakin'" or "freaking" way to much.
The whole "Superhero" thing is kind of odd, unless you are very wealthy and can afford to eat Sea Vegetables every day (also doesn't seem very kind to the planet to be getting vegetables from like the Sea of Japan). This is not a everyday normal American diet- this is a wealthy movie star diet. BUT I did try one of the regular vegan recipes today and it was pretty good.
Her writing leaves something to be desired as she writes "freakin'" or "freaking" way to much.
So after deciding to make the plunge into vegetarianism (and likely veganism after I become more adjusted), I checked out a handful of books from the library to do some more research. I'd heard about this book from the Oprah show (fine, i'm that person), and I wanted to see what the fuss was about.
There were a lot of things I liked about this book, and a lot of things I thought could be improved upon.
In short, the attitude and enthusiasm for veganism were fun and inspiring, but the credibility of her nutritional science was a little spotty.
First, I loved her emphasis that it was a process. It's ok to "flirt," as she calls it, with changing all your dietary habits that you've grown up with. Although some people make these changes cold tufurkey, you can't be expected to. I'm glad her enthusiasm didn't come off as angry and war-like, as some vegans do. So, I appreciated that. I also appreciated that half that book was informational, not just recipes. Especially if you're going to make such a drastic shift in your daily life, it really helps to feel connected to the cause. Be it environmental, health, or animal cruelty-related, being connected to those motivators helps you stay focused and make the change stick. Having done other research beforehand, I recognized many of the arguments and bits of information from other research I've read, either first or secondhand. It didn't seem like a sham.
With that said, she could've made the first section more scientific. Some of her claims were just that -- claims. Fairly unsubstantiated ones at that. I'm not sure if a dietary researcher would've stamped their name by those chapters or a scientific journal would've let that fly. Some of it was -- eh, not quite believable. For example, I have read many other places that calcium from dairy does not, in fact, prevent osteoporosis. Ok, Alicia, believable. But I have not read anywhere reputable that eating meat from a stressful slaughterhouse causes us to "consume" their stress and become stressed ourselves. I've also never heard that adding spices to vegetables are bad. And it also bothered me that she harped on frozen veggies, which are in fact just as nutritious and very convenient for people with less time. Little less-than-reliable factoids like that unfortunately ruined some of her credibility. But don't let those pieces of Alicia Silverstone-ness ruin what otherwise is a fun and inspiring book that will re-motivate you to take the leap into veganism.
The other issue I had was with some of her recipes themselves. She eats kinda strange things, and that's not to say those things aren't great for you, but where the hell do I find them? This is coming from someone who lives with great access to grocery stores and even many ethnic grocery stores because I live in a fairly diverse college town. If you live somewhere more rural or don't have a local health food store, where would you find her specific type of pickled prunes or these kinda strange seaweeds? I'm sorry, but you can be vegan quite easily without needing these sorts of outlandish foods. Not that they're BAD, but they're not relevant to a lot of people, especially people who may already struggle with a vegan lifestyle because of lacking resources to begin with. There are a lot of foods that are closer to my normal diet (and are still a huge improvement on my normal diet, mind you) that aren't seaweed for breakfast. I'm sorry, but that's just never going to happen.
But overall, I thought the tone of her book was upbeat and inspiring. She makes a lot of the same arguments as most other vegan advocates: environmental, moral, health. And she is just a celebrity gone vegan. She's not a renowned researcher, so don't expect that caliber of book, honestly. But I was excited to go try some things I hadn't before. She didn't come off angry or pushy, just excited to show you what this lifestyle has done for herself. So I did enjoy it for those reasons.
There were a lot of things I liked about this book, and a lot of things I thought could be improved upon.
In short, the attitude and enthusiasm for veganism were fun and inspiring, but the credibility of her nutritional science was a little spotty.
First, I loved her emphasis that it was a process. It's ok to "flirt," as she calls it, with changing all your dietary habits that you've grown up with. Although some people make these changes cold tufurkey, you can't be expected to. I'm glad her enthusiasm didn't come off as angry and war-like, as some vegans do. So, I appreciated that. I also appreciated that half that book was informational, not just recipes. Especially if you're going to make such a drastic shift in your daily life, it really helps to feel connected to the cause. Be it environmental, health, or animal cruelty-related, being connected to those motivators helps you stay focused and make the change stick. Having done other research beforehand, I recognized many of the arguments and bits of information from other research I've read, either first or secondhand. It didn't seem like a sham.
With that said, she could've made the first section more scientific. Some of her claims were just that -- claims. Fairly unsubstantiated ones at that. I'm not sure if a dietary researcher would've stamped their name by those chapters or a scientific journal would've let that fly. Some of it was -- eh, not quite believable. For example, I have read many other places that calcium from dairy does not, in fact, prevent osteoporosis. Ok, Alicia, believable. But I have not read anywhere reputable that eating meat from a stressful slaughterhouse causes us to "consume" their stress and become stressed ourselves. I've also never heard that adding spices to vegetables are bad. And it also bothered me that she harped on frozen veggies, which are in fact just as nutritious and very convenient for people with less time. Little less-than-reliable factoids like that unfortunately ruined some of her credibility. But don't let those pieces of Alicia Silverstone-ness ruin what otherwise is a fun and inspiring book that will re-motivate you to take the leap into veganism.
The other issue I had was with some of her recipes themselves. She eats kinda strange things, and that's not to say those things aren't great for you, but where the hell do I find them? This is coming from someone who lives with great access to grocery stores and even many ethnic grocery stores because I live in a fairly diverse college town. If you live somewhere more rural or don't have a local health food store, where would you find her specific type of pickled prunes or these kinda strange seaweeds? I'm sorry, but you can be vegan quite easily without needing these sorts of outlandish foods. Not that they're BAD, but they're not relevant to a lot of people, especially people who may already struggle with a vegan lifestyle because of lacking resources to begin with. There are a lot of foods that are closer to my normal diet (and are still a huge improvement on my normal diet, mind you) that aren't seaweed for breakfast. I'm sorry, but that's just never going to happen.
But overall, I thought the tone of her book was upbeat and inspiring. She makes a lot of the same arguments as most other vegan advocates: environmental, moral, health. And she is just a celebrity gone vegan. She's not a renowned researcher, so don't expect that caliber of book, honestly. But I was excited to go try some things I hadn't before. She didn't come off angry or pushy, just excited to show you what this lifestyle has done for herself. So I did enjoy it for those reasons.
Great for someone that is just starting off with a vegetarian or vegan diet or for motivation.
I think that Alicia Silverstone is incredibly sincere, and really, really believes in her diet in The Kind Diet. Nearly everything I read about vegan diets make sense, but I guess when it comes down to it, I don't want to do the work.
I think this would be a great book for someone who wants to go vegetarian or vegan, and needs pointers and recipes and steps to make it happen.
I think this would be a great book for someone who wants to go vegetarian or vegan, and needs pointers and recipes and steps to make it happen.
A little too focused on the off-kilter ingredients. I want to learn to cook vegan using stuff I don't have to go to an asian supermarket for.
::UPDATE::
Some of the recipes are pretty good. Some I can't believe she's not embarrassed about adding (bok choy + vinegar does not a recipe make). Others made me very angry because they took forever and tasted like nothing (looking at you, Azuki bean and squash dish). Overall it's more of a fad book. There's not even a table of contents so you want a recipe? Well flip through every single page why don't you.
What to say... what to say. Well I don't generally read non-fiction, but I'm no stranger to diet/health type books. But this isn't really a diet book and though it has recipes it's not exactly a cookbook either. Basically it's just an suggestion. A suggestion to change your lifestyle to one that is healthier for the planet and healthier for yourself.
Most of the claims are backed up by doctors and it's presented in a very understandable and encouraging way. It took me a day to read and plenty of the recipes looked like they'll turn out well. I'll have to revise this once I try a few of them.
I do have one complaint about this book though. All the pronouns were female which really put me off. Yes, I'm female and I expect most that read this book will be, but that coupled with phrases like "the goddess you are" and that type of nonsense irritated me to no end. All the hippie (walk barefoot through grass to fight jet-lag) type advice I mostly skipped over, but I wouldn't disregard the rest over it. I've already gotten on the health bandwagon, goddess or no, and I would recommend this book to those interested in the benefits that result from an animal-free diet.
Some of the recipes are pretty good. Some I can't believe she's not embarrassed about adding (bok choy + vinegar does not a recipe make). Others made me very angry because they took forever and tasted like nothing (looking at you, Azuki bean and squash dish). Overall it's more of a fad book. There's not even a table of contents so you want a recipe? Well flip through every single page why don't you.
What to say... what to say. Well I don't generally read non-fiction, but I'm no stranger to diet/health type books. But this isn't really a diet book and though it has recipes it's not exactly a cookbook either. Basically it's just an suggestion. A suggestion to change your lifestyle to one that is healthier for the planet and healthier for yourself.
Most of the claims are backed up by doctors and it's presented in a very understandable and encouraging way. It took me a day to read and plenty of the recipes looked like they'll turn out well. I'll have to revise this once I try a few of them.
I do have one complaint about this book though. All the pronouns were female which really put me off. Yes, I'm female and I expect most that read this book will be, but that coupled with phrases like "the goddess you are" and that type of nonsense irritated me to no end. All the hippie (walk barefoot through grass to fight jet-lag) type advice I mostly skipped over, but I wouldn't disregard the rest over it. I've already gotten on the health bandwagon, goddess or no, and I would recommend this book to those interested in the benefits that result from an animal-free diet.