Give This Book
12/2/2009
Last year, shortly after Lantern published it, I bought a copy of How
to Eat Like a Vegetarian Even If You Never Want to Be One, by Carol
Adams and Patti Breitman. The authors adopt a friendly, laid-back tone
to meet readers right where they are in their eating habits, and exert
no pressure to make sweeping dietary changes. "We aren’t inviting
you to go for a PhD in vegan cuisine," they write, "we’re
inviting you out to the playground!" I’ve since discovered how
helpful the book can be, especially to those who are just beginning the
path toward more veg meals. If you are such a person, or have one on
your holiday gift list, I urge you to get and give this book.
A co-worker who had never expressed any interest in vegetarianism
asked me one day how she might incorporate more vegetables into her
diet. "I’ve got just the book," I said, and lent her my
copy. Months passed; I thought maybe she’d forgotten it. I asked,
"Have you had a chance to look at that book How to Eat Like a
Vegetarian?" "Oh, yes," she replied, " and it’s
great! I’ve already tried several of the recipes. Can I keep it
longer? I want to learn about tofu." Later, when her birthday
rolled around, I gave her the book, and bought more copies.
An old friend recently reconnected with me, saying she remembered I
was a vegetarian and that she had begun to realize that she needed to
head more in that direction. I sent her recipes and websites, and where
to meet vegetarians locally. When we got together for tea, I showed up
with a copy of How to Eat Like a Vegetarian to give her. She took
it eagerly and opened it up at random. She exclaimed in delight that the
page she opened to had a recipe for kale. "I’ve been hearing
about how kale is so good for you, but I haven’t really known what to
do with it." A couple of weeks later she thanked me again for the
book: "This is exactly what I need."
Fast forward to the Vegetarian Society of Colorado’s Thanksgiving
event last week. Standing in line behind someone I’d never met, I
started a conversation. As we chatted, she spoke of her parents who were
in poor health and struggling to improve their diet. "They
definitely don’t want to become vegetarians," she explained.
"They just need help to eat like vegetarians eat." I took out
pen and paper, wrote down the title and authors, and said, "Here’s
the book you need to give them . . ."
