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Gift ideas for a newbie vegan

ZoeZoe Raw Newbie

Hi all, My brother recently went vegan, following a vist to our house for a raw feast. He is a heart surgeon, but he’s new to all of this. His birthday is coming up, any suggestions for a cooked vegan (we’re doing baby steps!!) book that will keep him inspired? Thank you everyone!

Comments

  • germin8germin8 Raw Master

    Vegetarian Times magazine! It has some vegan recipes. Our favorite so far is the Vegetarian Posole Stew= It’s really vegan. Also, Moosewood is internationally known for their vegetarian cooking… and they have several cookbooks. I’ve been to their restaurant in Ithaca, NY too… wonderful place!

    I haven’t been successful with finding a good vegan cookbook… I just use the vegetarian ones and modify them using all vegan ingredients.

    And, anything with pictures is a plus…

  • kandacekandace Raw Newbie

    Perhaps a cookbook? A couple of my favorite transition books (as they have both vegan and raw recipes) are: The Balanced Plate by Renee Loux and Vegan World Fusion Cuisine by Blossoming Lotus.

  • I LOVED this book: Vegan Italiano by Donna Klein

    Granted, she uses a lot of white bread / pastas (but those can be replaced)... some recipes call for sugar too unfortunately. :-\ Either way the food is great and simple, which is a plus.

    I have several Moosewood cookbooks. I agree that their food is wonderful but I’ve actually never made anything from the cookbook. They’re mostly so complicated or too many ingredients / gets too expensive for me.

    So I reccommend Vegan Italiano if 1) he likes italian food and 2) you’re trying to reassure him that vegan food tastes good. But if you want it to be the healthiest cookbook, this won’t be good for a starter. If you know what to replace in it (such as no sugar, no refined carbs), then it should be fine.

    When I just started being vegan I think this really helped. Its what I used to give me meal ideas that DIDN’T use stuff like fake-soy products. But I also knew that white bread/pasta and sugar weren’t good ideas to go overboard on (but I didn’t see the harm in having it occassionally). I know sugar technically isn’t vegan if you get the kind dyed with animal bones but again that can be changed.

  • “How It All Vegan,” “The Garden of Vegan,” and “La Dolce Vegan” by Sarah Kramer are all really good vegan cookbooks with a little sass, humor, and great recipes. Available online at www.govegan.net.

  • ZoeZoe Raw Newbie

    Wow thanks! He is now going to get a whole pile of books. Great suggestions, he loves making complicated food so those complex types of cooks will really inspire him. Thank you everyone.

  • I would reccommend the book “Sundays at Moosewood Restaurant”. I have it and it’s great.

    I found the following description on Amazon.com:

    The book is organized into 18 ethnic regions, less a comprehensive collection of world recipes, more like an eclectic, culinary passport to some areas perhaps less familiar to American cooks: Africa South of the Sahara, Caribbean, Finland, Armenia and Eastern Europe. Each chapter features an essay on the region by the contributing writer, followed by a sampling of the region’s cuisine, from appetizers and salads to desserts and after-dinner drinks.

    The recipes are as varied as the cuisines, though all are fairly straightforward, emphasizing fresh, easily accessible ingredients. Some recipes can be prepared in under 30 minutes, while others can be an hours-long labor of love (assuming one finds meal preparation theraputic, as I do.) I’ve found the chapter on North Africa to be a favorite; I can’t count how many times I’ve prepared Fatima’s Salad, an intoxicating blend of potatoes, carrots, beets, peppers, vinegar and olive oil, each time with raves from my guests. And Mahshi Filfil, a dish of rice-stuffed bell peppers with a creamy feta cheese sauce, has convinced my finicky Armenian family that there’s more than one way to stuff a vegetable.

    As to the recipes’ authenticity, most are modified creations of ethnic dishes, in many cases substituting vegetables or soy products for meat or for hard-to-find ingredients. It is not a book for the cook interested in authentic ethnic cooking; a more accurate description is a collection of Americanized recipes that pay their respects to world cuisines.

  • Not a recipe book but a very good book that addresses the importance of veganism and how our diet effects our health and the world, – “The Food Revolution” by John Robbins, http://www.foodrevolution.org/

    You could also check out Vegan Freak, they a list of online vegan stores (from food, clothing, shoes, DVDs, magazines, and even vegan sex toys hehe), which could possibly give you some great gift ideas other than books. http://veganfreak.net/index.php?s=places

    Good luck!

  • ZoeZoe Raw Newbie

    Thanks, of course I am hoping that eventually he will be advising his patients to go vegan before/instead of cutting them up!...fingers crossed :)

  • LailaBarkerLailaBarker Raw Newbie
    edited September 2022

    Oh, I have that book by Donna Klein too. The book is great, actually. I think he will like it. You know, my brother has also gone vegan. It happened unexpectedly, but I’m really proud of him. He’s a gin fan, so I bought him a gin gift. Once we went to a NY bar with him, and he ordered his first ever cocktail there. It was a gin&tonic one. It’s become his most favorite drink, that’s why I bought him such a gift. So, I guess you could consider buying it too. Anyway, I hope your brother is happy being vegan. Best wishes to you and him!

  • walishahwalishah Raw Newbie

    great gift give him best manga or noval books

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