The Healthy Vegan - Cookbooks

Dr. Neal Barnard's Program for Reversing Diabetes: The Scientifically Proven System for Reversing Diabetes without Drugs
I'd been butting heads with my doctor over some health issues for more than a year and had a growing dissatisfaction with his response. When he thought my cholesterol numbers were higher than he liked, he wanted me on medication. I refused. When my blood pressure increased, he ran to the pills. And when my blood sugar level crept up to the now newly lowered levels, he had his hand on the prescription pad. I had issues with his reactions.

Because I was having serious blood pressure issues, I did opt take the medication to gain some control over the numbers. I'd been on the BP pills barely a month or two when the doctor plagued me about taking diabetic medicine. I had issues with the diagnosis. It didn't feel right. I went to the bookstore and bought a shelf of books and read them over the next two weeks. All three conditions could be controlled by a change in dietary lifestyle in the early stages. The medications presented side effects that I considered deal breakers. When I returned to his office and confronted him about the lifestyle changes, his answer was, "Oh, yes, you can do that but hardly anyone wants to." Well, ya could ask, you know?

I found another doctor and embraced the findings of Dr. Neil Barnard. The National Institute of Health had done a number of lengthy studies on the benefits of the vegan diet where cholesterol, blood pressure and high blood sugar levels were concerned. Dr. Barnard found after many years of study that patients who embraced the vegan diet and rid their body of any animal-fat related products were able to reduce their levels and resist the onset of all the diseases brought on by high levels of cholesterol, blood pressure and blood sugar. He believes that many people can resist high cholesterol heart problems, high blood pressure and diabetes with the simple step of moving to a vegan diet.

I walked out of my first doctor's office and immediately embraced the vegan diet. Within two months my new doctor took me off the high blood pressure medicine. My blood pressure has remained consistently low for the last three years. My cholesterol levels remained down. My new doctor does not find that I have diabetes and says I should not be on any medication. So going vegan worked for me.

It does take some serious attention when you first make the transition. I like to dive into a subject so I went back to the bookstore and thumbed through the pages of all the vegan cookbooks I could fine. I found a few that appealed to me for various reasons and took them home. Every day I saturated my mind with visions of vegan dishes. The photography in the cookbooks is beautiful and it really helped me stay focused on my diet choices. Here are the cookbooks I chose.

The Get Healthy, Go Vegan Cookbook: 125 Easy and Delicious Recipes to Jump-Start Weight Loss and Help You Feel Great
What works best for me is to keep it simple. I don't tend to do any elaborate cooking but I do enjoy trying different things. In the beginning I kept Dr. Barnard's books with me constantly and read them over and over.

It was important to get into the habit of being vegan. So I narrowed my food choices initially and kept my meals very simple so I could be sure I stayed on the straight and narrow of no meat or animal by-products. It's a little tricky at first because things you think might be okay, are not. But pretty soon I was scooting down the Whole Food aisles like a pro.

Vegetarian Times Everything Vegan
I love The Vegetarian Times magazine. The pictures are just gorgeous and the recipes are terrific. Every month they have a good selection of purely vegan recipes and they are highlighted. So when I discovered their cookbook it was a no-brainer for me.

Veganomicon: The Ultimate Vegan Cookbook
I love this book. I love its feel, its design, its contents. It's a beautiful book that runs the gamut when it comes to vegan recipes. You won't find phoney fake meat used in these recipes. Nope, the authors stay true to vegan principles and offer a wide-range of vegan food. Want to try some Middle Eastern-style food? No problem. Are you a breakfast buff and would rather find recipes to replace the traditional ones you had in the past? Not a problem. Desserts? You bet. You'll find plenty of eggless, milkless, meatless food.

Vegan with a Vengeance : Over 150 Delicious, Cheap, Animal-Free Recipes That Rock
Vegan with a Vengence is hardcore vegan and a wonderful cookbook. I've always loved cookbooks and even collected them during my 20s and 30s. I like the author's writing style and the stories she weaves throughout. The food is good and the recipes are easy to follow. They range from the simplest to the more exotic but whatever your taste, you're bound to find something to suit your taste within the book's covers. .