The Complete Idiot's Guide to Being Vegetarian, 3rd Edition (Paperback)

~ M.H., Ph.D., Frankie Avalon Wolfe (Author) "Vegetarians have different reasons for why they reached the decision to go meatless..." (more)
Key Phrases: blue corn bread, meatless breakfast patties, hidden animal ingredients, Sprouts of Info, The Least You Need, Monterey Jack (more...)

Editorial Reviews

Product Description

Time to veg out!

This updated and revised guide to the joys of vegetarianism features—for the first time—75 delicious recipes! You will learn how to prepare and savor main dishes and sides, smoothies, breakfasts, snacks, and more. A great introduction to the vegetarian lifestyle, this edition has tips on changing eating habits as painlessly as possible and covers the health and psychological aspects of going “veg.”

About the Author

Frankie Avalon Wolfe, M.H.H., Ph.D., R.N.C.P., is a natural health and registered nutritional consultant, and a nationally certified reflexologist. She is also the author of The Complete Idiot’s Guide® to Reflexology, Second Edition. She has written articles on natural health for magazines and has been featured on television and radio.

Product Details

• Paperback: 384 pages
• Publisher: Alpha; 3rd edition (December 4, 2007)
• Language: English
• ISBN-10: 1592576826
• ISBN-13: 978-1592576821
• Product Dimensions: 9 x 7.3 x 0.9 inches
• Shipping Weight: 1.2 pounds (View shipping rates and policies)
• Average Customer Review: 4.7 out of 5 stars  See all reviews (3 customer reviews)
• Amazon.com Sales Rank: #191,000 in Books (See Bestsellers in Books)

Customer Reviews

Most Helpful Customer Reviews

6 of 6 people found the following review helpful:

5.0 out of 5 stars Thinking of becoming a vegetarian?, April 10, 2008

By	H. Grove "owling6683" (Maryland, USA) - See all my reviews (TOP 100 REVIEWER)    (REAL NAME)

Unlike other books I've looked at that were primarily vegetarian cookbooks, Being Vegetarian is meant to teach you how to go vegetarian, why vegetarianism is a good and healthy option, and how to survive and thrive as a vegetarian. It does a truly amazing job of this, covering a wide array of fascinating and helpful information.

While the author is a lacto vegetarian (a vegetarian who eats dairy products), she details the wide array of potential vegetarian diets, from the least strict to the most. Her recipes suit a lacto vegetarian diet, although she includes suggestions for adapting them to vegans.

Dr. Wolfe includes a huge amount of nutrition information, both in support of the idea that a vegetarian diet is a perfectly healthy one, and to make sure that you continue to get all of your nutrition as a vegetarian.

Since vegetarians often take up their diet due to health concerns, environmental concerns, or reasons of conscience and animal cruelty, Dr. Wolfe includes information about organic foods, nutrition for all stages of life, cruelty-free products, and so on. I think this holistic approach to the book is going to be particularly useful for many readers.

There are many issues related to going vegetarian that I'd never even thought of that Dr. Wolfe addresses. She provides suggested ways to gradually phase your diet over to a vegetarian one. She details ways to handle holiday meals with the family; road trips; airline travel; restaurant eating; neighborhood barbecues; pregnancy; vegetarian teens; and more. She discusses the idea of using the various available vegetarian substitutes for diary, meat, and eggs, vs. finding other ways to fill out your diet.

In addition, the book includes 92 vegetarian dishes, ranging from breakfasts to dinners, and including a handful of dishes from various cuisines around the world. The recipes are laid out clearly, occasionally include black-and-white photos, and often come with helpful tips. The ones we tried came out wonderfully and were quite delicious; my favorites were a meusli recipe and a chard kopita recipe.

3 of 3 people found the following review helpful:

5.0 out of 5 stars An ideal addition to personal, family, and community library cookbook collections., April 2, 2008

By	Midwest Book Review (Oregon, WI USA) - See all my reviews

Now it a newly revised, updated and expanded third edition, "The Complete Idiot's Guide To Being Vegetarian" continues to be a premier instructional guide for aspiring vegetarians enhanced with the inclusion of almost one hundred, 'kitchen cook friendly' non-meat recipes for dishes that would grace any dining occasion, please any palate, and satisfy any appetite. Of special note is the inclusion of nutritional advice focused on keeping meat-eating habits in proper balance; tips for helping non-vegetarian family members and friends to understand the benefits of a vegetarian lifestyle; finding vegetarian options at grocery stores, restaurants, and when eating while traveling. The recipes range from such staples as Vegan Gravy, to popular dishes like Veggie Bean Chili, to ethnic fare such as Tofu Tamale Bake, to such party fare as an Eggless Potato Salad. Each individual recipe includes along with a list of ingredients and cooking instructions, an 'info block' noting the number of serving portions, servicing size, and prep time. Especially recommended for practicing and aspiring vegetarians, "The Complete Idiot's Guide To Being Vegetarian" is an ideal addition to personal, family, and community library cookbook collections.

4.0 out of 5 stars good overview, November 16, 2009

By	vegetable7 - See all my reviews

This book gives you a nice overview to start eating less meat.
Like a primer, which I suppose what this Idiot Series is about.

It's not very science heavy (though still there's probably enough for a layman), but that's fine, because Ms. Wolfe has common sense ("You weren't created with a calculator in one hand to measure the food value of every item going into your body"), and that helps a lot to make you feel what she says is true enough, and she gives you what you really need. Many insights like this one : "The teeth are tiny samplings of the condition of the rest of the bones in your body."
You can also kind of feel what a person who eats mostly vegetables and such is like inside- it somehow comes through.

A note: The second edition of this book, also by Ms. Wolfe, gives you a lot more background and foundational information for being vegetarian. The third edition has lots of vegetarians recipes.

Quote from the book : "Eating meat creates uric acid in the body. A carnivore's body produces uricase, which breaks down uric acid. Humans do not produce or have uricase."