Becoming Vegetarian: The Complete Guide to Adopting a Healthy Vegetarian Diet

Janet Arnett is the former campus manager of adult education at Ontario’s Georgian College. She is the author of Antiques and Collectibles: Starting Small, The Grange at Knock, and 673 Ways to Save Money.

Whether from compassion for animals, health concerns, cost containment,
or other motivation, more and more Canadians are considering the
vegetarian lifestyle. This book is the best available exploration of the
topic, with considerable attention given to reasons for vegetarianism,
the nutritional adjustments it requires, ethical and health
considerations, and even social implications.

The three authors are registered dietitians and bring a calm,
analytical tone to the work. With considerable detail, they discuss the
protein, vitamins, and minerals that must be replaced when meat and
dairy products are dropped. They’ve even created a vegetarian food
plan to replace the traditional Canada’s Food Plan with its “food
groups” approach to balanced nutrition. They include an extensive
discussion on vegetarian diets for nursing mothers, children (including
infants), and teenagers. There’s a small selection of 30 recipes
included as a sample of what vegetarian cooking can mean.

The work takes a realistic position, not the do-or-die fanaticism found
in so many vegetarian diatribes. The authors know not everyone wants to
drop all animal protein, and certainly not all at once; they appreciate
the limited appeal of a steady diet of tofu, and bring reason and humor
to the subject. While the chapters discussing nutritional adjustments
are valuable for any family in transition toward a plant-based diet, it
is the chapter on “vegetarian diplomacy” that will assure the book
wide popularity.