The New Becoming Vegetarian: The Essential Guide To A Healthy Vegetarian Diet

I just read 2 excellent reviews of this book by Sara G. and Patrick D. Goonan, so I will not repeat points reflected in their summaries, but rather share with you my personal experiences & changes after reading "Becoming Vegetarian". Two years ago I realized that I should not, directly or indirectly, support jobs and industries that cause animals to suffer. At that time I was not aware that there actually are very strong health benefits from following a vegetarian/vegan diet. Luckily for me I ordered this book as soon as I resolved to become a vegetarian and read it in full in the next few weeks, changing my diet according to my new understanding of what the body actually needs and what are the best veg sources of all required nutrients. The 2 most inspiring discoveries for me on this journey from a meat eater to (ultimately) vegan were: 1) I feel myself [not much, but definitely] better: lighter, joints are better "oiled", skin & nails look silkier too (and I was actually feeling very good & was in a good shape before becoming vegetarian); 2) I discovered that taste (the likes and dislikes in food) can actually be adjusted, trained! (Later I discovered that this is applicable to all other likes and dislikes as well). Never before did I eat tofu, nor did I like soymilk; I did not eat a lot of lentils before I read this book, nor did I eat any other legumes, seeds or nuts in any noticeable amounts. But after reading about the health benefits of vegetarian food and also resolving to stop eating animal products for ethical reasons, my taste(s) started to change! Very gradually, but very steadily I was becoming indifferent to steaks, fish dishes when I saw them in front of me, eggs etc. I also started liking what I came to know was good for me: legumes, tofu, flaxseed oil in the mango shake with soymilk (!), and now I actually like the taste of soymilk in cappuccino more than I liked the taste of cow milk there (this did not happen the first time I tried cappuccino with soy milk though)! From "Day 1" I also resolved not to let aversion for meat & meat eaters to be cultivated & settled in my mind, so that I do not become offensive to people who continue eating meat - this I knew would prevent me from promoting veganism effectively, and may also unnecessarily distance me from good people. I started by becoming vegetarian and not eating eggs, and then, a year later, after more research and few internal arguments, I decided to stop consuming milk products as well. I want to conclude with one point, which I personally feel very strongly: if you, like myself, live a life of abundance, being able to afford almost any food of the world that you like, it is a moral sin to stay ignorant (as I was) about what food your body really needs & to stay indifferent to the effects your food choices make on Life: animals, environment & your own body alike. And all this because of some ungrounded fear of becoming physically weaker, or of becoming less socially acceptable, or because of certain likes and dislikes in food, which many of us treat as if they really were our own. The "Becoming Vegetarian" will give you a lot of inspiration & practical guidelines on how to become either vegan or vegetarian with maximum benefits for your health. If you want to know more, the same authors have a very good book called "Becoming Vegan", and I also recommend "The China Study" by prof. Campbell. Eat well, love & care after all God's creatures & I wish you a very interesting & happy journey!

I been doing a lot of online research towards a Vegetarian diet. I knew the different types of Vegans out there and what they entailed and I could find many recipes, but what I did not find so easily online was what this book brought. It dispelled many myths, and helped sort out many things such as what you might be missing in you're diet with no meat (which is nothing if you balance everything right!). A bit more about me, I am in low 30s and always hated meat, I am now a wife and mother. But was raised to eat it and like it. Its not the taste that got me, its the rights of the animals. Its at the point that I cook meat for my family but I dont eat it, and really that cant be good for me, and I found myself hungry right after a meal! So I decided to explore more about vegetarian diets. This book was a life saver and I now feel very confident I can do this now. This book also doesnt downplay meat as evil. It even has a menu plan for a vegan that still eats meat a few times a week, which is perfect for my family, I am Ovo-Lacto vegan, but this allows me to prepare meals and make my family a bit healthier as well. Now this isnt a recipe book. It gives a general idea for a menu plan for different Vegans and has a couple ideas but this is really about the idea of planning a meal and what to eat, without skipping calories and nutritional needs. A must for everyone who is looking into a more Vegan life style. I do want to say that I got the kindle edition. Its not the best. Some of the print is very small and needs to be enlarged. Also some words are improperly spaced. Might be better to get this one as a book, but still great to read on Kindle :)

Just like with exercise, what you put into your body is one of the keys to longevity and overall health. In that context, this is an "important" book for anyone concerned about health, and certainly not just vegetarians. If you're concerned that the authors dwell on the "save the sweet animals" politics or PETA slaughterhouse nightmares, you have nothing to fear. It not so much "don't eat meat," but rather "DO eat this," because your body needs it. And the "this" is almost always plant-based. What's cool is that there's nothing preachy about it. They take a rational, matter-of-fact approach that I personally found to be motivating enough to start making diet improvements, like now! You will never know more about vitamins, minerals and things that your body NEEDS than you will after reading this book. It's also a good book for vegans. They always describe vegan versions of everything. This book is as much of a reference manual or textbook than it is anything else. I have been studying it--underlining and writing in the margins. Neither of these authors are M.D.s, but they're clearly extremely knowledgeable nutritionists. It's very well-researched. As I go through this, I keep thinking to myself, "wow, I'll bet my doctor doesn't know this or that!" I want to pass it on to my wife then mother in law. There are some recipes in the back, but that's not the strength of this book. The only reason why it's not a 5 star rating is that it's a somewhat dry read. At times, you need to literally focus on the smallish type and power through it.

I originally purchased this book because I was considering vegetarianism and wanted to make a smart go at it. When I was a teenager I had a short stint as a vegetarian, but instead of eating the meals my parents prepared (because they contained meat) I mostly ate junk food. To no one's surprise, within a few months I wasn't feeling too great. Now that I'm in my 20's I wanted a better idea of what kinds of foods I should be eating for optimal health (vegetarian or not). About 20 pages in, this book convinced me to not only go vegetarian, but vegan. The book also broke down well-balanced nutrition and made it very easy to understand. I was not overwhelmed like I have been by other books on nutrition. Since the switch I've felt great. I had been struggling with stomach problems for years and my tummy woes have almost vanished. Now that my system is clean of animal products, I reintroduced them one at a time as a test and found that they were the likely cause of my almost daily struggles with eating. Next on my reading list is 'Becoming Vegan' by the same authors. This book made my conversion to veganism very, very easy and I would recommend it to anyone that is considering or already a vegetarian.

I have not finished reading this book, however I am about halfway through it and I must say I am quite impressed. I put this book on my wish list a year or two ago and my husband purchased this for me without me knowing so it had been awhile since I had read what this book was about. It is a lot more then I thought it was. Instead of it just being a bunch of recipes with a paragraph here and there of nutritional info, this book really gets into it. It talks about calcium, vitamin D, fiber, zinc etc. In detail. Well worth the buy even if you plan on continuing the consumption of animals. Very educational. There are some recipes in the back, but recipes is not what the book is entirely made of. Good book, I'm going to buy one for my Mom.

This book was okay, but I didn't feel like it really helped me transition to vegetarianism at all. All it's info is pretty common sense to anyone who has ever read up on the subject of vegetarian nutrition. I found much of the same info for free just casually searching the internet for websites like WebMD or the department of Health and Human Services. In short, I can see how it would be valuable to someone who is absolutely determined to become a vegetarian but has no information at all about where to start or even what to eat. But if you're on the fence and fairly familiar with concepts like getting enough protein and iron, you're not going to learn much from this. Just browse vegetarian cookbooks instead and try and find meals you like and can begin incorporating into your daily life.

I had absolutely no idea how to have a balanced diet without meat in my meals. Being raised in the south EVERY meal included some sort of meat, so I had no idea where to begin other than to not eat meat. This book explains everything you need to have a proper diet, addresses the history and politics of the ever changing views on nutrition in America, goes extremely in depth on what your body needs to be healthy, gives example menus in each section of the food pyramid she's addressing, explains many of the current health issues and how to eat better to avoid those risks and closes off with recipes and many different ideas for the Veg on the go. I can't say enough about it. It's a serious read that leaves you feeling like a nutrition expert and gives the reader an enormous amount of information to present to the family come Christmas time :)

This book is very informative, while also being an interesting, easy read. The authors focus on the nutritional part of vegetarianism, not on the ethical aspects related to factory farming (which is actually the main reason I became a vegetarian). I was a vegetarian when I was younger, but I didn't know how to really use the different food groups to have a healthy diet. There's a big difference between eating healthy foods (sans meat) and simply not eating meat. I've easily incorporated healthy nuts, grains, and lots of fresh and dried fruit into my diet. And I don't need large portions of these to count as my daily "servings," so I feel like I'm succeeding. I've even started re-reading this book because I like it so much.

I am only about a third of the way through this. The book is very well written, with a lot of information regarding nutrition - what you should be getting and how to get it. Would recommend this if you are vegetarian and want to be sure that you are getting all the nutrition you need. This was the reason I chose this book and I am not disappointed. It really is easy and the book is a good reference point.

Excelente libro. Viene aquipado con informacion bastante completa. En mi parecer, se trata de toda una guia practica (y en algunos casos indispensable) para poder llevar a cabo una dieta vegetariana de forma saludable. Compra perfecta;)

This book provides a fair bit of useful information if you wish to start or maintain a vegetarian diet. It lists nutritional information as well as quantities of specific food groups that one needs to consume so that you are receiving a complete and balanced diet. It provides some recipes but mainly focuses on what foods you can eat to provide you protein, fats, carbohydrates, etc.

An old book now but still relevant.

This is a really good source of information for anyone wanting to become a vegetarian while maintaining a high level of health based on modern nutritional knowledge. It was published in 2003, though, and undoubtedly many things have changed in the decade since (like nutritional research, product availability, trends in cooking, etc.) so it might do with an update soon. I have the Kindle format of the book, which is pretty good - the index isn't linked and uses physical page numbers so it's of little use, but the table of contents and the lists of tables and guides are all linked and so are very handy. All in all I think it's a very useful book which has given me the information I need to approach a vegetarian diet in a considered, healthful way.