Review: Vegan for the Holidays ~ by Zel Allen

Review by Shellie for: Vegan for the Holidays ~ by Zel Allen

An easy-to-read and follow cook book with recipes specifically created for Thanksgiving, Christmas, Hanukah, Kwanza and New Year’s Eve. All for eating without meat and dairy.

Thoughts:  This reasonably sized paperback book contains sections with unusual and delicious sounding concoctions for each of the holidays mentioned above. It has starters, soups, main dishes, side dishes, desserts, and drinks. With names like Lemony Carrot Soup, Autumn Vegetable Roast, Mashed Potatoes with Onion-Chardonnay Gravy, Holiday-Ready Apple Crisp, and Pumpkin-Apple Nog; these are a small selection of the recipes for Thanksgiving alone. With a number of beautiful colored photographs of many of the recipes in its 153 pages you can see examples of how to serve some of the dishes in the book. I also like that the index includes each of the recipe names and many of the major ingredients for easy access in creating dishes with specific foods.

We especially enjoyed a delicious recipe that will more than suffice in exchange for the obligatory turkey (a center piece for a lot of holiday meals – in the US at least) called Thanksgiving Philo Pie. The dish is large and dense, using nuts, mushrooms, and traditional poultry spices to give the dish protein, a meat like flavor, and the familiar taste that most of us crave when thinking about the holidays. I will have to say that the pie is gorgeous, and tasty. And it will have those who try it believe that there can be an alternative to eating meat and dairy.

So, what exactly is a Vegan? Often the word vegan is confused with vegetarian. But it’s different. Being a vegan means that you do not eat meat, eggs or any dairy products. Some vegans do not wear or use any animal products (wool and silk included), and may even forsake honey.

Eating a diet that is vegan is lower in fat, better for the environment, and also kinder to our fellow animals. With that being said, it also takes a large commitment including changing your entire way of eating and cooking. This is a process -especially if you have been eating and cooking as an omnivore for years. But one does not necessarily need to go “the whole hog”. You can start by considering recipes that are vegan and bringing them into your diet and your body just may thank you. And with this book especially, it can help find alternatives to traditional recipes for the holiday. It will surely help to convert even staunch meat consumers into thinking and eating differently at your dinner table. Some may not even realize that there is a difference. It’s a 4 star cook book in my opinion.

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160 pages | Book Publishing Company |July 1, 2012

About the author and her husband: Zel and Reuben Allen are “just a couple of adventurous pigeons” who live in Los Angeles. With many fun explorations in their own city and cruising the world on the web, they’ve discovered that paradise is just about anywhere they can touch the fruits of the earth.

Connect with them at their many sites which have loads of recipes, color pictures, and links for more information on eating without meat or dairy:

• http://www.vegparadise.com/
• http://nutgourmet.wordpress.com/
• http://pinterest.com/vegparadise/
• https://twitter.com/Vegparadise
• http://www.facebook.com/pages/Vegetarians-in-Paradise/192473518315

Happy Thanksgiving!