Main Street Vegan book review

   Main Street Vegan

Everything You Need To Know to Eat Healthfully and Live Compassionately in the Real World is a complete guide to all things vegan.  Victoria Moran is the author of 11 books.  She co-wrote Main Street Vegan with her daughter Adair Moran.  What I really like about this book is  that it explains veganism in a easy to understand and not preachy manner.  It is a great book for people that are vegan, that are curious about being vegan, or people that just want better knowledge about what it means to be vegan.  The mother and daughter team want to get the word out that eating vegan does not have to be difficult or expensive.  Most people eat some form of vegan food everyday so you are already eating some vegan dishes that you love.  In addition to great information, each chapter ends with a tasty vegan recipe.

The first recipe I tried was the 3-Bean and Quinoa Salad recipe that can be found at the end of the Propel Yourself with Plant Protein chapter.  This recipe was easy to make and full of flavor and protein.  Yes, plants have protein too!  One of the first questions usually asked of vegans is, “How do you get your protein?”    The first night we had this salad as a side to our tofu dogs, the next day I had some as lunch and that evening I added the 3-Bean Quinoa Salad to a veggie wrap and it was pretty awesome.

Main Street Vegan has 40 short chapters in all.  Throughout the book Victoria reminds the readers to not be too hard on themselves.  Some people make an effort to eat and use less animal products, others just quit it all at once.  Either way you are doing something good for yourself and for the planet.  There is a chapter for men titled Rethink Macho, that explains that a plant based diet can be manly.  There are websites dedicated to vegan body builders and the famous biker rider, Lance Armstrong, has been venturing into the plant-strong world.  There are also chapters to help people navigate dining out and traveling.

Topics covered  include:

• Figuring out what works for you as an individual, even if that means taking baby steps
• Saving money: being plant-based doesn’t have to mean spending your whole paycheck on Tofutti and Tofurky
• How a vegan diet changes the world for animals, and for people
• Leaving diets behind and making peace with your body for keeps
• Fashion and beauty from a chic-ly vegan point of view
• Ways of identifying hidden non-vegan ingredients in everything from pasta to cocktails
• How to meet other vegans in your area—they do exist, no matter where you live!
• Making this work in real life: dating, raising kids, traveling, eating out, and getting along with the people who just wish you’d eat some meat

I could go on and on about this book.  It is a quick read filled with great information and tasty recipes.  My husband is now reading it and I am hoping my mom will read it too.  We have all gone plant-based and we have all lost over 30 lbs while feeling more energetic and happy.  You can find out more about Main Street Vegan at http://mainstreetvegan.net/

A copy of Main Street Vegan was provided for my review.  All opinions are my own.