This Crazy Vegan Life: A Prescription for an Endangered Species [Paperback]

Christina Pirello (Author)

Book Description

Release date: December 2, 2008

Read Christina Pirello's posts on the Penguin Blog.

A manifesto on being vegan and living healthfully from the award-winning host of public television’s Christina Cooks, Naturally!

Being vegan is not only about a plant- based diet. It means taking a whole new look at health, fitness, lifestyle choices, and the world. Christina Pirello not only advocates the development of animal-free alternatives for the benefit of humans, animals, and the environment, but also promotes their impact on wellness. Beyond the value of eating whole, and organic foods, Pirello explores a host of subjects from nutrition and fitness to education and emotional well-being as she helps readers take control of their lives and achieve their personal goals, whether they want to lose weight, regain health and vitality, or simply look and feel better.

Featuring a 28-day nutrition and fitness plan, This Crazy Vegan Life also includes sample menus and more than 100 delicious and easy-to-prepare low- glycemic, phyto-nutrient-rich, high-fiber, wellbalanced vegan recipes that emphasize good carbs and good fat.

Editorial Reviews

From Publishers Weekly

Dairy products should be illegal, proclaims leukemia survivor and Emmy Award–winner Pirello (Cooking the Whole Foods Way), giving readers a good idea of this crusader's uncompromising stance on the current state of the food industry, our environment and the need for change. Host of the public television series Christina Cooks and a noted authority on vegetarian cooking, Pirello studied with macrobiotic diet pioneer Michio Kushi and has eaten vegan for more than 20 years. The first section of the book grounds readers in vegan principles, arguing the case from a variety of perspectives (health, humanitarian, economic, environmental). Her plan for making the transition from standard American fat- and sugar-laden convenience foods to regularly scheduled whole-food meals consists of a 21-day, two-phase detoxification and weight-loss program, with tips on stress reduction and living more consciously, and a whole-body fitness regime (cardio, strength training and flexibility). Having beat leukemia and completed her first triathlon at age 51, Pirello is strong on setting intentions and achieving goals. With her, readers have a tireless, reliable guide to going vegan, and the many recipes she offers for delicious vegan meals will make foregoing meat easy. (Dec.)
Copyright © Reed Business Information, a division of Reed Elsevier Inc. All rights reserved.

About the Author

In 1983, Christina Pirello was diagnosed with an acute form of leukemia. With little prospect of help from conventional therapies, she turned to a nutritional program using a whole foods approach. Now, after more than 15 years cancer-free, Christina Pirello is the Emmy award-winning host of Christina Cooks! on National Public Television, teaching whole foods cooking classes and lecturing nationwide. Christina is the author of Cooking the Whole Foods Way, Christina Cooks, and, most recently, This Crazy Vegan Life. She and her husband publish a natural foods magazine, Macrochef.

Product Details

• Paperback: 336 pages
• Publisher: HP Trade (December 2, 2008)
• Language: English
• ISBN-10: 1557885389
• ISBN-13: 978-1557885388
• Product Dimensions: 5.1 x 1 x 8.3 inches
• Shipping Weight: 1.2 pounds (View shipping rates and policies)
• Average Customer Review: 4.3 out of 5 stars  See all reviews (26 customer reviews)
• Amazon Best Sellers Rank: #399,877 in Books (See Top 100 in Books)

More About the Author

Christina Pirello is the Emmy Award-winning host of the national public television cooking show Christina Cooks!. She teaches whole foods cooking classes and lectures nationwide. Christina lives in Philadelphia, Pennsylvania.

Most Helpful Customer Reviews

59 of 60 people found the following review helpful

3.0 out of 5 stars Solid resource for those considering veganism, but could still use improvements February 3, 2009

By Chicago Book Addict TOP 1000 REVIEWERVINE™ VOICE

Format:Paperback

This Crazy Vegan Life: A Prescription for an Endangered Species reads like a lifestyle book for omnivores who are considering a vegan lifestyle. Overall this book is pretty substantially focused on weight loss and speaks to someone who may be wrestling with excess weight and poor eating habits. However, it is still broad enough that even those who are already eating a healthy diet and maintaining their weight will find something of value. The premise of the book is that through a vegan lifestyle that emphasizes whole foods, exercise, and mindfulness one can not only lose weight but start a journey towards a healthier life and more longevity. I say lifestyle because Pirello is careful to point out several times throughout the book that this is not a quick fix or a fad diet, but a lifestyle that one must be willing to embrace for a lifetime.

For the most part, Pirello achieves this aim. She manages to give the reader a very good sense of what a vegan lifestyle entails and its benefits (for weight, health, the environment, animal welfare, etc.) as well as a good crash course in nutrition and and exercise. All of these topics are presented in a manner that is suitable for a beginner. In other words, she assumes no prior knowledge about nutrition or veganism. This means that the book is very approachable if you are new to either or both. However, if you're already quite familiar with veganism, nutrition, or exercise a lot of what you find here will be review. In either case, Pirello does a good job of breaking down the shift to veganism step by step and even providing a 21 day plan with menus and recipes to ease yourself in.... I especially appreciated that although the recipes she includes are loaded with whole grains and vegetables they don't feel like "diet food" and sound very appealing. As she mentions in her book, a routine is only good if you can stick to it and with recipes like Tangy Pear and Blueberry Salad, maple popcorn, and mini pumpkin cupcakes with orange glaze she makes it seem VERY doable. She also explains a lot of culinary terms, especially as it relates to vegetables, that should help make those who do not cook a lot feel more comfortable with the recipes.

Although I appreciated these aspects of the book there were a couple of things that kept me from giving it a 5 star review. The biggest one for me was the absence of end or footnotes or sources. The author cites a lot of medical studies and nutrition facts, which I appreciate but does not provide detailed source information to check out on my own. For the sake of clarity, she does include a resource list, but these do not seem to be clearly related to the studies cited in the book. I recognize that not everyone takes the time to check out sources but when health and nutrition are involved I love going straight to the source whenever possible. As a point of comparison, Michael Pollan, who she mentions in her book has 23 pages of sources in In Defense of Food: An Eater's Manifesto and also includes all the cited articles on his website. It's clear that Pirello did a lot of research for this book so I only wish she made the sources more accessible to the reader. To me this not only instills more confidence in the data mentioned, but also helps me to deepen my knowledge on health and nutrition through my own follow up research.

The other thing I didn't care for is that sometimes the author's tone seemed to slip into hyperbole, particularly when it comes to describing the ill effects of eating animal products. I get that this is done for added emphasis and gives the book life. However, at times I felt like it was a bit much. This is largely a personal judgement and I recognize that others will find the same tone enjoyable. I think it only bothered me because at times it was coupled with nutrition information that could be a bit vague. For example, she mentions that Splenda is broken down into a toxic compound which she deduces will have negative effects on the body. However, she fails to mention in what quantities and to specify what these negative effects will be. This is a case where a footnote would have been fantastic as I would have loved to get more information on this.

Even with these complaints I think there is still a lot of value to be had in this book. It's approachable, thorough, and great for a beginner. Compared to other books I have read on the vegan lifestyle like Vegan Freak: Being Vegan in a Non-Vegan World and Skinny Bitch I think it does the best job of setting you up with the tools you need to be successful. Of the three it also focuses the most strongly on making sure you don't just don't switch from regular junk food to vegan junk food by favoring whole foods. Of these three books I would definitely recommend This Crazy Vegan Life: A Prescription for an Endangered Species the most, but still think there are areas in which it could be improved to be a more rigorous vegan resource. Read more ›

27 of 28 people found the following review helpful

5.0 out of 5 stars This Crazy Vegan Life - Wonderful! January 7, 2009

By Alice Minasian

Format:Paperback|Amazon Verified Purchase

I love all of Christina's books, and this one is no exception! This book includes over 100 vegan recipes (with ingredients that are easy to find in any grocery store or health food store). The recipes are not complicated and nutrition information is included at the end of each recipe. There is also a 21-day nutrition and fitness plan which includes sample menus and an exercise routine (with pictures as well as descriptions). The table of contents includes:

1. How Did We Get Into this Mess Anyway?
2. Veganomics: Rethinking Everything
3. The Path to Rethinking Your Life
4. Food for Thought
5. Eat Well for Life
6. The Eating Plan: Menus and Recipes
7. Get Moving
8. This Crazy Vegan Lifestyle

Christina's writing style is fun and easy to read. She's been living this lifestyle for a while and she knows her stuff. If you're not already into this lifestyle, this will be a thought-provoking read. Christina saved her life by changing her diet; she is living proof that it works! By changing the way you eat, you can experience positive results too (increased energy, weight loss, improved health and vitality).

Thank you, Christina!

20 of 21 people found the following review helpful

5.0 out of 5 stars Great Info January 16, 2009

By Saffrons Lab

Format:Paperback

I love this book. It's very easy to read and has lots of great info. Most vegan books don't tell you how to lose weight. It's just expected that if you're vegan...you just will. But that's not always the case as Christina brings out. She goes into detail of her own weight battle....and wants to help you with yours (if need be).

This is a great read with lots of low cal recipes. It's not a diet, it's a lifestyle.

16 of 17 people found the following review helpful

2.0 out of 5 stars Good Advice, Bad Diet Plan August 29, 2010

By S. D. Shaver

Format:Paperback

So, I've been on this plan for about two weeks, and the subject pretty much says it all. Good advice! Poorly assembled diet "plan".

The advice that starts out the book is written in a conversational tone, but it's nothing new to anyone who's read a book on vegan lifestyles. Half of the book is dedicated to telling you why going veg is good for you, which is probably necessary and useful for someone new to the lifestyle. I read it dutifully, hoping to find some new gems, but it mostly contained stuff I'd already read in "The China Study" and others. Still, this would be useful if you were completely new to the subject, so I can't demerit her for doing her due diligence.

She did make a point of saying what I haven't seen in a lot of other vegan/macrobiotic books, mainly: calories in, calories out. What you don't burn, you gain. Hurray for that!

I will also give her props for not going down the rabbit hole of "reheated food is bad" or insisting I ditch my microwave or buy a gas oven. She doesn't mention any of these. She also didn't try to tell me that doing some light stretching a day was all the exercise I needed. There is some decent advice on exercise in the book, and it doesn't require crazy equipment; you could easily do any of the moves in a tiny apartment with a set of resistance bands.

The diet "plan" itself is where things start to fall apart. First, there is no shallow end: she dives straight into veganism, and doesn't look back. No "flirts" here. This might work for some people, but I have to wonder how well this works with long-time meat eaters.

Second, the number of dishes she has you preparing is ludicrous. This might be easier to cope with if she mentioned some way to mix/match the recipes, but she doesn't.... Instead, we get guilt -- if we TRULY care about our bodies then we'll go to the effort of making breakfast, lunch, dinner, and snacks. Seriously, though, who has time for this other than a professional cookbook author?

My third complaint is an editing issue: the meal plan pages don't list page numbers for the recipe they reference. So there's a ton of flipping back and forth through the book, going to the index, now going to the recipe, now going back to the menu. Argh.

Fourth, because I was so flummoxed by all these ingredients, recipes, and so on, I decided to fill out a spreadsheet for every meal I was eating from the book that week, and tried roughing together some way to build a meal plan around leftovers so I wouldn't be preparing 6+ meals a day. Yes. I created A SPREADSHEET because there were so many recipes, ingredients, and dishes I was expected to have on hand every day. In the spreadsheet, I put page number, calories per serving, and a tick in a column for every fresh ingredient needed. Then I started totally up daily calories, and to my surprise they weren't balanced. AT ALL. Some days she had me eating around 1300 calories, other days bordering on 1700. It was inexplicable and smacks of poor number crunching on the author/editor's part. Some items didn't even have calories, like steamed kale and the daikon-carrot "remedy". What happened to calories in, Christine?

Fifth, where is the study backing up the claims that kombu and daikon "dissolve hardened fat" in our bodies? No, seriously -- I'd love to know if there is one, but I kind of suspect there isn't. Anyone know?

Finally -- some of these intro recipes suck. Sorry. They're boring, bland, and tedious to prepare. And they're some of the first recipes you're making! So once again, good luck keeping a die-hard meat eater loving this life. Not all of them suck, though, which is why I give the book 3 stars.

I give her props for trying, and for actually posting calories per serving. But ultimately, I was too disappointed with the seeming lack of sensitivity to those of us with day jobs and don't have three hours a day to spend cooking (to say nothing of the additional time shopping).

PROS
* Good advice for a beginning vegan.
* Good fitness tips.
* Some good recipes.
* Written in a friendly, conversational tone.
* Facts occasionally followed up with research studies.

CONS
* Too many recipes to make per day for anyone who has a day job.
* Poorly designed daily menu leads to too much flipping around in the book.
* Daily calories poorly balanced.
* No mix-n-match suggestions.
* Intro recipes tedious and often bland.
* Some iffy-sounding "facts" (properties of kombu/daikon and their effect on fat in the body). Read more ›