Welcome to the Veggie Shelf!
I'd like to welcome you to my new blog, the Veggie Shelf. I'm a librarian and a vegan and my goal is to share resources with you that will help you live a long, healthy, whole-food, plant-based life and age in the most healthy and happiest way possible. (And yes, for me, plant-based means vegan.)
I started on the path toward veganism when I was 12. Of course, I didn't know it then and I'd never heard the word "vegan." That was back in 1980, and I was at summer camp. Our unit counselor was a vegetarian, and the only other vegetarian I'd ever met was my great uncle Alex, who ate fish, too. The term "pescatarian" wasn't in vogue then, and in my 12-year-old mind, anyone who didn't eat red meat and chicken qualified as a vegetarian.
This was light-years before the Internet or World Wide Web and a few years before we bought our first PC (or Mac), and I was ignorant for sure. I could have gone to the library to find books on vegetarianism (and I wish I had, for I would have learned something valuable) but the libraries of my youth weren't exactly welcoming places, and it never occurred to me to ask my Mom to take me to the library for non-school purposes.
For the two weeks at camp, I refused to eat the beef or chicken dishes served at the communal table and only ate tuna, dairy and egg dishes, and whole wheat bread. When I came home and told my Mom I wanted to be a vegetarian, she was peeved. To her credit, she is now a vegan, too.
When I started college, I decided to follow a vegetarian diet, which was easy because the food they served in the dorm cafeteria was disgusting. I read Frances Moore Lapp's Diet for a Small Planet at the suggestion of a friend, my eyes widening when I read the now discredited advice for protein combining. (Whew, thank goodness I don't have to worry about that these days!). But the book did introduce me to new food such as tofu, and while I didn't do much cooking in college, I learned quite a bit about how eating plants could help the environment AND solve world hunger AND save the animals.
When I met my husband in 1998 and learned he was a vegan, I was thrilled. I had been an on-again, off-again vegetarian for years, always aspiring to do better. He was so patient with me, and a couple of years after we married, I took the "Veg Pledge" at World Fest and cut out all animal products from my diet and eventually my wardrobe and cosmetics, too.
I lost a lot of weight by doing this (about 40 pounds). In the meantime, I stumbled upon Dr. John McDougall's Maximum Weight Loss and eventually Dr. Joel Fuhrman's Eat to Live plan. These two eating styles introduced me to calorie density and the concept of SOS-free eating. (SOS stands for sugar, oil, and salt.) And reading John Robbin's Diet for a New America taught me about the ethical and moral problems of animal agriculture. Then I met Chef AJ, whose SOS-Free cooking classes really opened my eyes.
When she started the Ultimate Weight Loss Program, I resisted joining. Then I saw her in person, and she looked amazing. So, in July 2016, I joined her online UWL program and started my journey toward an SOS-free lifestyle.
Since then, I've lost another 20 pounds and have maintained my weight for a year, the longest time I've been able to do so in my adult life. I weigh less now than I did in high school. The next step in my journey is to start a regular exercise program.
The first book I'd like to recommend is Chef AJ's latest book, The Secrets to Ultimate Weight Loss. In it, you'll not only learn about Chef AJ's journey to health but find out if you're a food addict, and if so, what you can do about it. And if you're not quite ready to make the investment in her book (although it is so worth it), you can find out more about her and watch her videos for FREE (see the link below).
There are enough videos to keep you busy for a long time. Not only is Chef AJ a talented chef, but her videos feature amazing interviews with icons of the vegan and plant-based world.
Now, I'm off to pack for the UWL Live in Vegas conference! I'm looking forward to reporting back on what I learn. Have a great Labor Day weekend.
Recommended Reading:
The Secrets to Ultimate Weight Loss by Chef AJ
The McDougall Program for Maximum Weight Loss by Dr. John McDougall
Diet for a New America by John Robbins
Recommended Websites:
https://www.youtube.com/user/therealchefaj/videos
http://chefajwebsite.com/index.html
I started on the path toward veganism when I was 12. Of course, I didn't know it then and I'd never heard the word "vegan." That was back in 1980, and I was at summer camp. Our unit counselor was a vegetarian, and the only other vegetarian I'd ever met was my great uncle Alex, who ate fish, too. The term "pescatarian" wasn't in vogue then, and in my 12-year-old mind, anyone who didn't eat red meat and chicken qualified as a vegetarian.
This was light-years before the Internet or World Wide Web and a few years before we bought our first PC (or Mac), and I was ignorant for sure. I could have gone to the library to find books on vegetarianism (and I wish I had, for I would have learned something valuable) but the libraries of my youth weren't exactly welcoming places, and it never occurred to me to ask my Mom to take me to the library for non-school purposes.
For the two weeks at camp, I refused to eat the beef or chicken dishes served at the communal table and only ate tuna, dairy and egg dishes, and whole wheat bread. When I came home and told my Mom I wanted to be a vegetarian, she was peeved. To her credit, she is now a vegan, too.
When I started college, I decided to follow a vegetarian diet, which was easy because the food they served in the dorm cafeteria was disgusting. I read Frances Moore Lapp's Diet for a Small Planet at the suggestion of a friend, my eyes widening when I read the now discredited advice for protein combining. (Whew, thank goodness I don't have to worry about that these days!). But the book did introduce me to new food such as tofu, and while I didn't do much cooking in college, I learned quite a bit about how eating plants could help the environment AND solve world hunger AND save the animals.
When I met my husband in 1998 and learned he was a vegan, I was thrilled. I had been an on-again, off-again vegetarian for years, always aspiring to do better. He was so patient with me, and a couple of years after we married, I took the "Veg Pledge" at World Fest and cut out all animal products from my diet and eventually my wardrobe and cosmetics, too.
I lost a lot of weight by doing this (about 40 pounds). In the meantime, I stumbled upon Dr. John McDougall's Maximum Weight Loss and eventually Dr. Joel Fuhrman's Eat to Live plan. These two eating styles introduced me to calorie density and the concept of SOS-free eating. (SOS stands for sugar, oil, and salt.) And reading John Robbin's Diet for a New America taught me about the ethical and moral problems of animal agriculture. Then I met Chef AJ, whose SOS-Free cooking classes really opened my eyes.
When she started the Ultimate Weight Loss Program, I resisted joining. Then I saw her in person, and she looked amazing. So, in July 2016, I joined her online UWL program and started my journey toward an SOS-free lifestyle.
Since then, I've lost another 20 pounds and have maintained my weight for a year, the longest time I've been able to do so in my adult life. I weigh less now than I did in high school. The next step in my journey is to start a regular exercise program.
The first book I'd like to recommend is Chef AJ's latest book, The Secrets to Ultimate Weight Loss. In it, you'll not only learn about Chef AJ's journey to health but find out if you're a food addict, and if so, what you can do about it. And if you're not quite ready to make the investment in her book (although it is so worth it), you can find out more about her and watch her videos for FREE (see the link below).
There are enough videos to keep you busy for a long time. Not only is Chef AJ a talented chef, but her videos feature amazing interviews with icons of the vegan and plant-based world.
Now, I'm off to pack for the UWL Live in Vegas conference! I'm looking forward to reporting back on what I learn. Have a great Labor Day weekend.
Recommended Reading:
The Secrets to Ultimate Weight Loss by Chef AJ
The McDougall Program for Maximum Weight Loss by Dr. John McDougall
Diet for a New America by John Robbins
Recommended Websites:
https://www.youtube.com/user/therealchefaj/videos
http://chefajwebsite.com/index.html
I love this and find it very Helpful. I have been wanting to start following Chef AJ's plant based recipes and your article had just given me some motivation. Thank you for this.
ReplyDeleteThanks, Rhonda!
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