These days it seems like a new vegan cookbook hits the market every week. It’s awesome that the vegan population is large enough to support all the new titles but I’m noticing that it’s becoming increasingly difficult for authors to find a vegan niche that hasn’t already been covered in print. There are already vegan books on everything from Caribbean cooking to gluten-free baking and everything in between. I was delighted to find that Melisser Elliott a.k.a. The Urban Housewife’s new book, The Vegan Girl’s Guide to Life, is so unique and is a welcome addition to my kitchen bookshelf.
Melisser’s book is a hipper version of “Living Vegan for Dummies.” It covers every aspect of veganism ranging from what one eats and wears to crafting and even gardening (shout out to SoCal’s Adriana Martinez!). Sprinkled throughout are profiles of cool vegan chicas, many of whom have cool vegan blogs. I wish this book had been out when I first went vegan—it is chock full of handy info like how to make your pet’s diet cruelty-free.
I love the chapter on nutrition where Melisser’ defers to Choosing Raw’s Gena Hamshaw. Despite spending an ungodly amount of time reading vegan blogs and books about health, I still find that I have trouble remembering all the vitamins and minerals I need to be getting. Gena writes a concise yet comprehensive run-down of the basic info every vegan needs to know about proper nutrition.
Of course there is no such thing as a vegan book without recipes. The book has a collection of recipes both from Melisser herself and from other vegan notables. I have an affinity for the Tangy Cabbage Beet Slaw, so much so that I’ve eaten it for lunch the past three days in a row. It’s healthy, simple, and delicious—just like I like it.
The Vegan Girl’s Guide to Life is the perfect gift for a new vegan but also for an old vegetarian—you know the kind…the ones who have been off meat for years but just need that extra push to go all the way. It’s also very useful for more experienced vegans will want to whip up the inventive recipes. I’m looking forward to checking out the sites of the some of the featured bloggers that I’m not already familiar with–they all sound amazing.
Now for the best part for all my fellow Angelenos…Melisser will be in town tonight Friday January 14th, signing copies of her book from 7pm to 9pm at Doomies! Pick up a copy of the book, get it signed, and have some delish vegan goodies. Sounds like the perfect start to a long weekend (MLK woo woo!) to me!
