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The Kind Diet: A Simple Guide to Feeling Great, Losing Weight, and Saving the Planet  | | |
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Product Description
In The Kind Diet, actress, activist, and committed conservationist Alicia Silverstone shares the insights that encouraged her to swear off meat and dairy forever, and outlines the spectacular benefits of adopting a plant-based diet, from effortless weight loss to clear skin, off-the-chart energy, and smooth digestion. She explains how meat, fish, milk, and cheese—the very foods we’ve been taught to regard as the cornerstone of good nutrition—are actually the culprits behind escalating rates of disease and the cause of dire, potentially permanent damage to our ecology. Yet going meat- and dairy-free doesn’t mean suffering deprivation; to the contrary, The Kind Diet introduces irresistibly delicious food that satisfies on every level—it even includes amazing desserts to keep the most stubborn sweet tooth happy. Alicia also addresses the nutritional concerns faced by many who are new to a plant-based diet, and shows how to cover every nutritional base, from protein to calcium and beyond. Alicia knows that changing life-long dietary habits is a process, and that each person progresses at a different pace. For that reason, The Kind Diet encompasses 3 separate levels, from Flirting to Superhero. Flirts learn to dip a toe into the vegan pool, reducing their meat-eating and swapping out a few key foods for plant-based substitutes to see quickly how even small changes can reap big results. Vegans get to experience the life-altering effects of forgoing animal-products entirely, while still enjoying many convenience foods and meat substitutes in addition to the wonderful grains, vegetables and fruits that form the core of that diet. True enlightenment comes with the Superhero program, based on the principles of macrobiotics and built on a foundation of whole grains, vegetables, and other yummy foods that Alicia describes in detail. Whether your goal is to drop a few pounds, boost your energy and metabolism, or simply save the world, Alicia provides the encouragement, the information, and the tools you need to make the transition to a plant-based diet deliciously empowering.
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Showing reviews 1-5 of 143
 The Kindest Thing You Can Do November 21, 2009
T. Szefler (Blaine, WA United States)
144 out of 150 found this review helpful
I got interested in reading The Kind Diet soon after reading the book written by Jonathan Safran Foer titled "Eating Animals". Foer really made me think and I decided to research the idea o vegan living. In the chapter about "Nasty Foods" Alicia Siverstone's observations about meat industry were in line with those of Mr. Foer. And she does a good job of backing her statements with well-conducted studies from reputable sources.
According to Alicia, in addition to meat, Nasty Foods include also dairy, refined sugar, and processed foods. These are the foods that we have to avoid in our daily diet. However, she realizes that it is very hard, if not impossible, for most people to just drop their normal nutritional habits and go totally vegan from one day to another. Therefore she suggests three levels of changing into Living in the Kind Life - from Flirting, via Going Vegan, to Becoming a Superhero.
Alicia insists that by eliminate harmful foods like meat, dairy, refined sugar and processed products, and enjoying an endless variety of deeply nourishing grains, vegetables and other delectable whole foods, you will live in agreement with nature and get rid of obesity problem that plagues the modern societies. By changing your eating habits and becoming vegan you will say good-bye to dieting once for all. And that's while enjoying "irresistibly sweet treats, you can eat every single day, forever."
I recently verified Alicia's statement on my recent trip to Central Europe. I discovered a restaurant chain called "Green Wave" that was serving plant foods only. Throughout the whole week I was consuming a variety of delicious meals not even once missing my traditional North American Big Burger.
By the end of the book Alicia provided some good (and some not so good) recipes of vegan meals. I suggest trying most of them to decide which ones suit you best. Keep in mind that you need to eat what's indigenous to the area to avoid stressing your body. This isn't a totally novel idea. The author of a great health/longevity book titled "Live 150 Years - Your Body Maintenance Handbook" is also a great proponent of living in agreement with nature and eating indigenous foods. If you check this book out, make sure to also read the chapters about obesity causes, and proper food combination.
TO SUMMARIZE: Plant-based diet is just about the greenest thing you can do. It requires less fuel, water, and other precious resources. It can also be the secret to your health, slim physique and radiant beauty. Enjoy the ride.
A Winner! October 13, 2009
Eco-Friendly Feng Shui Designer
157 out of 176 found this review helpful
The title: The Kind Diet: A Simple Guide to Feeling Great, Losing Weight, and Saving the Planet, by Alicia Silverstone, says it all. The plant-based diet, according to Silverstone (and a few doctors quoted) will improve your health, help prevent disease, improve the environment and help you lose weight.
The book begins with Silverstone's personal story. It includes her early attempts at not eating meat, and an unhealthy period when she ate only raw foods.
Then the book discusses the "nasty foods"--meat, dairy, white sugar and processed foods. We learn the many reasons these foods are unhealthy, bad for the planet and bad for animal's welfare.
Next, we learn what the "kind foos" are--notably, whole grains, new proteins, veggies and healthy desserts.
There is a chapter on nutritional FAQ's.
Silverstone gets we are not all ready for a vegan diet, especially if we are used to a diet heavy in meats, dairy and processed foods. So, she presents three levels: flirting, vegan and superhero.
In flirting, she makes recommendations like: go to a vegetarian restaurant and order a dish, buy some vegan products from her "Transitional food chart", and simply recommends we start adding vegan meals into our diets.
In vegan, she presents a plan on how to build a meal and a vegan meal plan.
Finally, the superhero level is loosely based on the macrobiotic diet (minus fish,) and features fresh, local and seasonal fare.
Silverstone adds helpful tips, like chew your food really well, what to do about detoxing and cravings and more.
There is a chapter on tips when away from home.
Lifestyle tips is a very short chapter, mentioning things like the importance of reusing and buying secondhand. I would recommend HARMONIOUS ENVIRONMENT: BEAUTIFY, DETOXIFY & ENERGIZE YOUR LIFE, YOUR HOME & YOUR PLANET to learn how to make your entire home green and beautiful for optimal health and it also describes how to eat healthy with recipes and cooking/shopping tips.
The book concludes with fantastic looking recipes (I'm a pretty good cook, I can always tell.) They recipes are divided into vegan and superhero.
Even if you are not committed to a full time vegan diet, I highly recommend this book--just start with the flirting and see where it takes you. If you do get into the vegan lifestyle, know that there are lots of good cookbooks out there to help.
I am really enjoying this book October 29, 2009
starrryswirl
28 out of 30 found this review helpful
I recently stopped eating meat again; it had been almost 10 years. Since my last veggie venture, I learned how to cook and really needed to find a vegetarian cookbook to give me direction.
This book is inspiring in many different ways. First, it reinforces the reasons why I decided to go veg again. You may want to skim through this section if it comes off too evangelical for you. Second, it gives the reader different options for using the book. Namely, you can try vegetarian foods, go vegan or try some macrobiotic diet. Being that I had only ever been vegetarian in the past, it did offer a wealth of new information, and sparked a curiosity to find out more. Alica does a really good job of making the narration engaging and personal. Like a good friend that wants to hang out in the kitchen & cook healthy food with you.
From what I've tried so far, I genuinely really like the recipes! so far i've tried (& loved):
*morrocan couscous with saffron: i left out the saffron and the zuchini, and doubled the butternut squash and carrots.
*sweet potato & lentil stew: really good! i added my leftover butternut squash too. yum.
*eggplant chana masala: i added extra curry powder and salt. also, about a cup of veg broth before simmering. it was way too thick otherwise. served it over brown rice and crumbled corn bread in to it. mmm.
*cornbread: the soupy batter looks like something went wrong, but stick it in the oven anyway. it'll be fine. i used half maple syrup/half molasses. it's a deep brown bread with a nice, sweet, complex flavor. different than any other cornbread you've eaten.
*sicillian collard greens: wasn't really crazy about these. i think cooking a little longer, uncovered, would have fixed it though. just to get the balsamic less vinegary and more reduced.
A lot of it is my taste, but there are plenty of exotic new things to try. I would say the only thing I wish she would have expanded on was this though. More detailed explanations of what the more exotic ingredients are, and why/how to use them. The ones I wasn't sure about, I googled. Whole foods has most of the items you need. And it's a great way to try a bunch of new things.
This will definitely be my go to cookbook for a long time. It has gotten me excited about cooking again, and I'm so pleased that I will no longer be cooking with meat! That was always a big turn-off for me in the kitchen.
Giving it a try as of today! January 26, 2010
Martinis for all
12 out of 12 found this review helpful
I received my book yesterday afternoon and read chapters 1 thru 9 last night. It was insightful and finding out what it takes to keep animals in stock for food, and what happens to male calfs (they become veal) and their few months on the planet vs. what happens to girl calfs becoming milkers, and the mom being shot up with hormones to produce endless milk is madness. There are many systems in this world that are cruel and just dont make sense. This morning I went through starbucks and ordered a green tea instead of decaffeinated coffee. ALicia's book helped me to start questioning "what is next" down the line. Okay, so I have my green tea, but now I have a papercup, if I purchased a reusable cup and rinsed it out and let it air dry, then my carbon foot print will be reduced by 365 cups a year.
I cooked the last of the ground turkey last night and had it for supper, Alicia recommends either giving it away or finishing what you have, no waste! I also baked a lot of brussel sprouts with olive oil, sea salt, and black pepper and that should last the remainder of the week. Tonight, I make the grains that Alicia talked about - for protein, and this morning I brought in a tomato and avocado for morning. Which is better than having nothing for breakfast, my normal routine. But ohhh, someone brought in donuts this morning. But I feel good. Because now that I know what processed sugars will do, it makes it easier. ONly because I now understand the effect white sugar has on my body. I cant give up lemonade for now, eventually yes, but this being my first day - I'm going to wean into this gradually.
The point is, whether it was Alicia or someone else, find the right book for you that has a message written so that you can understand. WHat I gained from this book is that I really am affected by a system much larger than myself (processed foods, cows and hormones, dirty places that kill animals, would I trade places with an animal for a day? No, the affect sugar has on my body, how my bones give up nutrients to help break down what I eat - the process itself contributing to osteoperosis).
For me, this book broke it down, and the recipes look simple. My family lives in the four corners area and I just visited them for Christmas, I perused Safeways and Smiths while I was there and I am happy to say that the standard of living in northern New Mexico will not inhibit my new diet when I visit next year.
One other thing I want to say is I've been concerned with my diet for a long time. I've wanted to incorporate being a vegetarian into my life for a long time. In the past, I didnt know what to read or where to start. When I went to bookstores, there are plenty of Vegetarian/Vegan books, but they were mass volume encyclopedias (really thick vegetarian books) and its overwhelming because I want to start now, not in 3 months and I never wanted to invest money and time in a food encyclopedia. This book is simple, and now I know what questions to ask. Im a beginner, I'm peeking around the curtain, and this is an easy read, and for me, this answered basic questions. Like what is Quoina (?) and why would I want to eat it, what nutrition does it offer me? I thought it was just a carb. Alicia's book encourages one to go slow, and not to stick to an "ideal" - meaning dont beat myself up if Im not perfect in my first steps towards becoming vegetarian. So Im going to do the best I can, and be patient, and if I feel like faltering as myself "what is available to me now or within 5 minutes, that is a better alternative to _____ (eating meat, eating a donut, etc.)? If its an apple that a coworker offers to tide me over for 30 minutes until I get something substantial, thats an alternative. Wish me luck and good luck to you!
Thank you.
Flirting with veganism, totally turned on by macrobiotics! October 15, 2009
M. Lanstra (Real World)
62 out of 77 found this review helpful
Ok, so I've been flirting with vegetarianism/veganism for a while and now have been gathering a rather extensive vegan cookbook library (it's become a bit of a compulsion)... and have been waiting with baited breath for this book to get to my door.
It came yesterday while I was home sick, and I read the entire book in one sitting.
I'm in love. While this book is simply based on Alicia's life experiences and observations, for the most part (with facts backed up by research sprinkled about)... something about she says speaks to me.
All the veg cookbooks I've been getting still had so many processed food items in them... I didn't know that what I was really craving was macrobiotics. I've always believed that eating foods in a more natural, whole state were better for you, but didn't realize it was an actual named practice... I thought regular ol' veganism was the way to go, but it didn't quite speak to me the way this book did.
The part I really enjoyed was the discussion about exercise, and her assertation that she wants EVERYTHING she does in life to be enjoyable. Amen, sister. We only go round in this body once, why not make it as enjoyable as possible... not only physically, but mentally and spiritually as well.
I'd suggest reading this book along with Yoga & Vegetarianism by Sharon Gannon. While you may not be into yoga, there are some interesing points of view to consider about the animal industries, if you are still on the fence about your eating choices...
I'd recommend this book to anyone who just wants to take a look at their life, consider the alternatives and figure out how to make life simpler... simple= less stress, and who couldn't use less of that?
Showing reviews 1-5 of 143
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