The Basic Vegan Resource

Vegan is becoming much more popular and more of a household word, yet so many still struggle with the idea of it. Or maybe you're confused about what exactly it is. For those of you that have been following my blog for some time know that I am a strict vegan but am not one to preach. BUT, a lot of people have questions and more and more are interested in switching over to the vegan lifestyle. Studies continue to come out that praise the vegan lifestyle for its vast health benefits. Thankfully there are so many documentaries, books, websites, etcetera today to help those who have interest.

My goal for this post is to provide a basic resource for anyone who is anywhere on the spectrum: a wholehearted meat-eater that is just wondering what the heck a vegan even really is, to the skeptic, to the flexitarian, to someone who wants to dip their toes in the vegan lifestyle, to the dedicated vegans. We can all learn just a little more. You should learn something new every day, right?

In my old blog space, I wrote a post about my reasoning for being vegan, read it here. I have found that there are lot of people out there that have tried being vegan, but they quit, saying it was too hard. Or people that see my lunch everyday and think it must be a lot of work for me. But the truth is, if you're organized and educated in how things are prepared and what goes into different dishes, it is truly easy! Some may say it is a social complication, but personally I've decided that this is something that matters to me and therefore is easy to follow-through.

The Basics:
There is a spectrum from flexitarian all the way to vegan, below will give you the quick run-down.

Flexitarian (semi-vegetarian): an omnivore who isn't ready to fully commit to the vegetarian lifestyle, but is reducing his/her meat consumption.

Pescetarian: people who eat seafood, dairy and eggs, but no other meat.

Ovo-Lacto Vegetarian: a person who doesn't eat any meat or fish, but does consume products produced by animals like dairy (lacto) and eggs (ovo). Some vegetarians are solely lacto vegetarians.

Vegan: a person who refrains from using/consuming any animal product for food, clothing or any other purpose. This goes beyond meat, but also includes eggs, dairy products and other animal-derived substances

Documentaries:
Forks Over Knives — this is the documentary that finally convinced my husband!
Vegucated
Food, INC
Fat, Sick & Nearly Dead — this documentary focuses mostly on the benefits of juicing, which is a whole other subject for another day
Food Matters
And of course, the all famous Super Size Me

Books:
Skinny Bitch — this book is a bit vulgar but is blunt and filled with great research
The Crazy Sexy Diet
The Kind Mama — I am super excited for this book! It is being released this April and covers vegan pregnancy!
The China Study

Online Resources:
NutritionFacts.org — So this website has excellent info and videos, my husband swears by it!
101 Cookbooks
Post Punk Kitchen
Vegan Yum Yum
Oh She Glows
There are so many other sites that I could send you to — the world wide web is so vast — these are just a few good ones to get you started.

Cookbooks:
Like the online resources, there are so many amazing cookbooks out there and ones that are continually getting published, below are a few that I like having on my shelf...
Vegan Eats World
The Conscious Cook
Vedge — a new cookbook I received for Christmas and am still exploring
Oh my, there are so many more (you should see my bookshelf)...But also, I have non-vegan cookbooks that I modify to fit my eating-style.

If you ever have any questions about this lifestyle, you are more than welcome to email me at thepassionateparsley@gmail.com. I am not an expert but have spent many years doing my own research and self-experimentation. Do the research, do a 30-day trial, find what is best for you!