Vegan Bookclub

This is Nota's review of "The Happy Herbivore Guide to Plant-based Living" by Lindsay S. Nixon, I gave it 4/5 stars

#plantbased #wholefoodplantbased #health

I read this as I got a cold from relatives who do not care about their health as much, and reading this while that happened hits certain points much harder. I deserve to prioritise myself, and my health.

This is an overall good read with a lot of resources, and links to find out more about plant based living. It is very short, quick, and accessible, the language is very digestible. A lot of information is what you would find in more serious, dense plant based nutrition books, and they are references all the time. This is mostly that, but super compacted.

I do feel like veganism could have been at least explained, had some screen time, and wasn’t brushed off. There was one page where the author describes Peta, and slaughterhouse videos as cringe. I do understand the sentiment that she wants to thrive, and be her best self, and that it has worked, but perhaps that wasn’t the most tactful. There was one instance where honey was suggested as an alternative. Then I am not the biggest fan of suggesting people to compromise with their non-plant based or non-vegan spouses. I feel like that’s like suggesting people to settle, and to not have their self-esteem in check. There was a part in the book where the author was so happy that her family prepared vegetable patties, and that it meant much to her. I am happy for that, but also self-esteem!!! Are these little accomodations really something we should be so excited by? I think that speaks volumes to our low mental health, and to what kinds of people we choose to be around. The bare minimum is not enough for me, and shouldn’t be for anyone else. I think that hiding being plant based as an allergy is a bit much, and there should have been some understanding that you can convey veganism, and animal rights issues in a positive, uplifting manner just like the plant based food.

I nitpicked quite a lot in the last paragraph, but I do feel like that all adds up a little in not wanting to give this a full rating. Overall this was an enjoyable read, and I am glad it helped people to prioritise their health, and go whole food plant based at least. I find it so fascinating how a lot of shorter books while in theory would be easier to rate higher, it is really the long ones which I rate the best. The short ones usually throw in a few questionable things there, and there. This was mostly about nutrition, and how to get by with strangers a little. The nutrition part was good which was most of the book. I wish the author, and all the readers who improved their lives the best.

#herbivore #cookbookwriter #happy #thriving #relatives #livingvegan #livingplantbased #challenges #communication