Here are 50 books that Transition to Vegetarianism fans have personally recommended if you like Transition to Vegetarianism. Book DNA is a community of 12,000+ authors and super readers sharing their favorite books with the world.

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Book cover of Food Politics: How the Food Industry Influences Nutrition and Health

Ron Pickarski Author Of The Classical Vegetarian Cookbook

From my list on vegetarianism, food history, health, and politics.

Why am I passionate about this?

A former Catholic, raised in the restaurant business, becoming a Franciscan, and with a passionate love of art, they collectively integrated and came to define my life. I was sent to culinary school. Suffering from a chronic lung condition and obesity, I learned that an animal-based diet was the primary cause and became a vegan in October 1976, regaining my health. Vegan culinary art, as my life’s passion, led me to compete in the International Culinary Olympics five times in Germany, winning Seven medals, including gold, writing for magazines, authoring four books, and working with the United Nations to help humanity improve its health with a plant-based vegan diet.

Ron's book list on vegetarianism, food history, health, and politics

Ron Pickarski Why Ron loves this book

Food Politics is a compelling read about the tensions between economics and nutrition. Corporate food companies' strategic efforts to undermine sound nutrition for profit is one of the core themes. Government is petitioned and lobbied by corporations to weigh in on their side. Vegetarianism was not endorsed by the American Dietetics Association until 1987.

The meat industry is beginning to embrace and develop vegan products as a result of the consumer shift. It is a reminder to be vigilant and informed as to our food choices and the influence corporate food manufacturers have on your governments. In part due to industrial pressure, it wasn’t until 2009 that the American Dietetic Association endorsed the vegetarian diet.

By Marion Nestle ,

Why should I read it?

3 authors picked Food Politics as one of their favorite books, and they share why you should read it.

What is this book about?

We all witness, in advertising and on supermarket shelves, the fierce competition for our food dollars. In this engrossing expose, Marion Nestle goes behind the scenes to reveal how the competition really works and how it affects our health. The abundance of food in the United States - enough calories to meet the needs of every man, woman, and child twice over - has a downside. Our over-efficient food industry must do everything possible to persuade people to eat more - more food, more often, and in larger portions - no matter what it does to waistlines or well-being. Like…


If you love Transition to Vegetarianism...

Book cover of December on 5C4

December on 5C4 by Adam Strassberg,

Magical realism meets the magic of Christmas in this mix of Jewish, New Testament, and Santa stories–all reenacted in an urban psychiatric hospital!

On locked ward 5C4, Josh, a patient with many similarities to Jesus, is hospitalized concurrently with Nick, a patient with many similarities to Santa. The two argue…

Book cover of Diet for a Small Planet: The Book That Started a Revolution in the Way Americans Eat

Ron Pickarski Author Of The Classical Vegetarian Cookbook

From my list on vegetarianism, food history, health, and politics.

Why am I passionate about this?

A former Catholic, raised in the restaurant business, becoming a Franciscan, and with a passionate love of art, they collectively integrated and came to define my life. I was sent to culinary school. Suffering from a chronic lung condition and obesity, I learned that an animal-based diet was the primary cause and became a vegan in October 1976, regaining my health. Vegan culinary art, as my life’s passion, led me to compete in the International Culinary Olympics five times in Germany, winning Seven medals, including gold, writing for magazines, authoring four books, and working with the United Nations to help humanity improve its health with a plant-based vegan diet.

Ron's book list on vegetarianism, food history, health, and politics

Ron Pickarski Why Ron loves this book

This was a ground breaking book at the time and makes the case from a food security and sustainability perspective as to why humans should embrace vegetarianism as a lifestyle change. It is the second book on food, after Food is Your Best Medicine, that led me to becoming a vegetarian. 

By Frances Moore Lappe ,

Why should I read it?

2 authors picked Diet for a Small Planet as one of their favorite books, and they share why you should read it.

What is this book about?

Discover a way of eating that revolutionized the meaning of our food choices and sold more than 3 million copies—now in a 50th-anniversary edition with a timely introduction plus new and updated plant-centered recipes
 
“Frances Moore Lappé is one of the few people who can credibly be said to have changed the way we eat—and one of an even smaller group to have done it for the better.”—The New York Times
 
In 1971, Diet for a Small Planet broke new ground, revealing how our everyday acts are a form of power to create health for ourselves and our planet. This…


Book cover of Food in History

Ron Pickarski Author Of The Classical Vegetarian Cookbook

From my list on vegetarianism, food history, health, and politics.

Why am I passionate about this?

A former Catholic, raised in the restaurant business, becoming a Franciscan, and with a passionate love of art, they collectively integrated and came to define my life. I was sent to culinary school. Suffering from a chronic lung condition and obesity, I learned that an animal-based diet was the primary cause and became a vegan in October 1976, regaining my health. Vegan culinary art, as my life’s passion, led me to compete in the International Culinary Olympics five times in Germany, winning Seven medals, including gold, writing for magazines, authoring four books, and working with the United Nations to help humanity improve its health with a plant-based vegan diet.

Ron's book list on vegetarianism, food history, health, and politics

Ron Pickarski Why Ron loves this book

Food in History is a pioneer work on the deceptively simple theme. Its purpose is to examine the forces which have shaped the nature of man’s diet throughout the course of thirty thousand years and to show, without special pleading, something of the way in which the pursuit of more and better food has helped to direct – sometimes decisively, more often subtly – the movement of history itself. To demonstrate, in effect, that in some senses, at least food is history.

This book literally walks the reader through the history of food, how we evolved from foraging to an agrarian community, and how supermarkets evolved from farmers markets. Weaving food into politics, religion, and economics Food in History is an expose on humanity's complex relationship with food and our reliance on both produce and meat as the basis of the human omnivore diet.   

By Reay Tannahill ,

Why should I read it?

1 author picked Food in History as one of their favorite books, and they share why you should read it.

What is this book about?

An enthralling world history of food from prehistoric times to the present. A favorite of gastronomes and history buffs alike, Food in History is packed with intriguing information, lore, and startling insights--like what cinnamon had to do with the discovery of America, and how food has influenced population growth and urban expansion.


If you love Rudolph M. Ballentine...

Book cover of Dark Fae Outcast

Dark Fae Outcast by Autumn M. Birt,

Trapped in our world, the fae are dying from drugs, contaminants, and hopelessness. Kicked out of the dark fae court for tainting his body and magic, Riasg only wants one thing: to die a bit faster. It’s already the end of his world, after all.

But while scoring his last…

Book cover of Food is Your Best Medicine: The Pioneering Nutrition Classic

Ron Pickarski Author Of The Classical Vegetarian Cookbook

From my list on vegetarianism, food history, health, and politics.

Why am I passionate about this?

A former Catholic, raised in the restaurant business, becoming a Franciscan, and with a passionate love of art, they collectively integrated and came to define my life. I was sent to culinary school. Suffering from a chronic lung condition and obesity, I learned that an animal-based diet was the primary cause and became a vegan in October 1976, regaining my health. Vegan culinary art, as my life’s passion, led me to compete in the International Culinary Olympics five times in Germany, winning Seven medals, including gold, writing for magazines, authoring four books, and working with the United Nations to help humanity improve its health with a plant-based vegan diet.

Ron's book list on vegetarianism, food history, health, and politics

Ron Pickarski Why Ron loves this book

Dr. Bieler discusses the use of food as medicine in lieu of using medicine, enabling one’s body to heal itself through nutritional therapy provided by vegetables and whole foods. His thesis is that improper, or nutrient-deficient, foods cause disease and proper foods heal disease.

It is the first book I read on nutrition shortly after entering the seminary. In his book, he makes the nutritional case for fresh vegetables and fruits as essential to a healthy human diet. 

By Henry G. Bieler ,

Why should I read it?

1 author picked Food is Your Best Medicine as one of their favorite books, and they share why you should read it.

What is this book about?

Drugs may not be the only cure for disease . . . 

What do Gloria Swanson and Greta Garbo have in common?

They owe their good health to Dr. Henry Bieler's sane, simple, and utterly profound philosophy that food is your best medicine!

You are what you eat, and Dr. Bieler contends, based on over fifty years of practice, that proper diet plays a key role in warding off and curing disease.

Food Is Your Best Medicine features a fascinating interpretation of how the body functions to maintain good health and addresses all kinds of ailments with specific nutritional approaches.…


Book cover of The Essential Wild Food Survival Guide

Thomas J. Elpel Author Of Foraging the Mountain West: Gourmet Edible Plants, Mushrooms, and Meat

From my list on gourmet wild food foraging.

Why am I passionate about this?

Growing up, I spent summers and weekends with my grandmother, who introduced me to wild food foraging. Grandma Josie and I harvested purslane and lambs quarters weeds from her garden, dandelions and meadow mushrooms from the pasture, and watercress from a nearby spring. On daily walks we gathered peppermint, yarrow, and other wild herbs for tea. She cooked on a wood stove and kept a pot of tea warm at all times. Grandma nurtured my interest in wild plants, wilderness survival, and self-sufficiency. Inspired by her, I built my own stone and log house, teach survival skills and botany, and I still cook on a wood stove just like she did. 

Thomas' book list on gourmet wild food foraging

Thomas J. Elpel Why Thomas loves this book

The Essential Wild Food Survival Guide is full of surprises. Author Linda Runyon lived semi-primitively without plumbing or electricity for thirteen years and foraged for the majority of her food. As a vegetarian she was truly dependent on wild edible plants for survival and sustenance. I was taught that real survival required plants rich in carbohydrates, oils, and calories, but Runyon showed that it is possible to survive and thrive by turning salad plants into real food, such as drying and grinding wild clovers and grasses into flour. There is protein in these plants, like beans and grains, and Runyon proved that you can really live off of them. One hour spent reading Runyon's book changed my view of what's edible and how to truly live off wild edible plants. 

By 9780936699103 ,

Why should I read it?

1 author picked The Essential Wild Food Survival Guide as one of their favorite books, and they share why you should read it.

What is this book about?

Author Linda Runyon lived off of the land in the wilderness of Upstate NY for years, feeding her family with wild edible plants. She has paid her dues and learned the hard way so you don't have to. With this book, you will learn how to see and use the abundance that surrounds us everywhere plants grow. You won't look at the world the same way again, and you will never fear hunger. The book is 320 jam-packed pages, profusely illustrated by the author. You will learn how to identify, gather, prepare, store and enjoy an endlessly nutritious and renewable…


Book cover of In Praise of Veg: A modern kitchen companion

Niki Webster Author Of Rainbow Bowls: Easy, delicious ways to #EatTheRainbow

From my list on healthy plant-based recipes.

Why am I passionate about this?

I’ve been a fan of vegetables as long as I can remember, I went plant-based as a young girl and have never looked back. I love to celebrate vegetables in their wholesome, vibrant goodness and put them at the center of your diet. I love nothing more than pairing different flavours and textures to create feel-good food that tastes as good as it does for you and the planet. I have been running my blog – Rebel Recipes for over 6 years and have four plant-based cookbooks with fans from across the globe!

Niki's book list on healthy plant-based recipes

Niki Webster Why Niki loves this book

This chunky and vibrant book by Alice Zaslavsky is going to make you put vegetables at the center of your plate! With over 150 recipes plus information about flavour combinations, rule-of-thumb buying/storing/cooking methods, shortcuts. It’s really inspiring and informative and will help you re-think how you structure meals. One not to be missed.

By Alice Zaslavsky ,

Why should I read it?

1 author picked In Praise of Veg as one of their favorite books, and they share why you should read it.

What is this book about?

For fans of Samin Nosrat, Anna Jones and Stephanie Alexander, the ultimate veg guide for food lovers

'Alice Zaslavsky is a force of nature!' Nigella Lawson

The definitive guide to making vegetables the centre of the plate.

In this comprehensive and fully illustrated kitchen companion, food writer and presenter Alice Zaslavsky profiles 50 favourite vegetable varieties, offering 150+ recipes reflective of both tradition and modernity, just as all good cooking should be. Uniquely organised by colour and filled with countless tips on flavour combinations, rule-of-thumb buying/storing/cooking methods, shortcuts, and veg wisdom from over 50 of the world's top chefs, In…


If you love Transition to Vegetarianism...

Book cover of Everyday Medical Miracles: True Stories from the Frontlines in Women’s Health Care

Everyday Medical Miracles by Joseph S. Sanfilippo (editor),

Frontiers of Women from the healthcare perspective. A compilation of 60 true short stories written by an extensive array of healthcare providers, physicians, and advanced practice providers.

All designed to give you, the reader, a glimpse into the day-to-day activities of all of us who provide your health care. Come…

Book cover of Cooking With Vegetables

Lisa Steele Author Of In Season

From my list on cookbooks if you love vegetables but aren’t a vegetarian.

Why am I passionate about this?

Since I started raising chickens almost 20 years ago, I have slowly reduced the amount of meat I eat. That means that vegetables have become a larger part of my diet. I also love to garden, so I grow all different kinds of vegetables and am always looking for new ways to cook them. I’m not a vegetarian - I do eat meat a few times a week - but vegetables are definitely taking up more space on my plate. It’s so easy to get into a rut with vegetables and just throw them onto a sheet pan and roast them, but there are so many other options and so many great vegetable recipes.

Lisa's book list on cookbooks if you love vegetables but aren’t a vegetarian

Lisa Steele Why Lisa loves this book

I love the unique flavors that Jesse combines to elevate a simple vegetable dish.

Think things like capers, miso, sesame, and all kinds of fresh herbs. This is one of the more innovative vegetable cookbooks I own. His dishes absolutely stand alone without any meat in them. 

By Jesse Jenkins ,

Why should I read it?

1 author picked Cooking With Vegetables as one of their favorite books, and they share why you should read it.

What is this book about?

'A love letter to mighty veg; everyone needs this beautiful book' - Jamie Oliver

'A stunning guide to bold flavours inspiring us to cook with audacity and confidence. Plus, the recipes are good for you. What's not to love?' - Jessie Inchauspe, #1 bestselling author of The Glucose Goddess Method and The Glucose Revolution

Jesse Jenkins' stunning debut cookbook offers distinctive, uncomplicated dishes for starting with a humble ingredient - such as a carrot, cabbage, leek, tomato - and ending up with a delicious meal, in over 100 inventive recipes.

- Grilled Gem Lettuce with Marinated Artichokes and Anchovies
-…


Book cover of Milk Street Vegetables

Lisa Steele Author Of In Season

From my list on cookbooks if you love vegetables but aren’t a vegetarian.

Why am I passionate about this?

Since I started raising chickens almost 20 years ago, I have slowly reduced the amount of meat I eat. That means that vegetables have become a larger part of my diet. I also love to garden, so I grow all different kinds of vegetables and am always looking for new ways to cook them. I’m not a vegetarian - I do eat meat a few times a week - but vegetables are definitely taking up more space on my plate. It’s so easy to get into a rut with vegetables and just throw them onto a sheet pan and roast them, but there are so many other options and so many great vegetable recipes.

Lisa's book list on cookbooks if you love vegetables but aren’t a vegetarian

Lisa Steele Why Lisa loves this book

I was immediately blown away by the fact that this book includes more than 250 vegetable recipes - far more than the 100 in the average cookbook.

And the recipes come from all corners of the globe, focusing on the flavors that are used in the areas where the specific vegetable grows. I am never steered wrong by Milk Street recipes.

This cookbook would get you through more than 8 entire months of cooking vegetables without repeating a single recipe.

By Christopher Kimball ,

Why should I read it?

1 author picked Milk Street Vegetables as one of their favorite books, and they share why you should read it.

What is this book about?

Chili-spiked carrots. Skillet-charred Brussels sprouts. Mashed potatoes brightened with harissa and pistachios. These are just three ways to put vegetables in the center of your plate.

Here in the U.S., meat is cheap and has been in the center of the plate for centuries. The rest of the world, however, knows how to approach vegetables, grains and beans not only with respect but with a fresh, lively approach, one that transforms the ordinary into the extraordinary.

To get a vegetable education, we traveled to Athens to learn how winter vegetable stews could taste light and bright, not hearty and heavy.…


Book cover of Positively Vegetarian

Veronika Sophia Robinson Author Of The Mystic Cookfire: The Sacred Art of Creating Food to Nurture Friends and Family

From my list on conscious plant-based cookery.

Why am I passionate about this?

Veronika Sophia Robinson has eaten a plant-based diet for forty-eight years and knows what healthy and delicious vegan and vegetarian food should taste like. She has had extensive experience in cooking for others whether around her kitchen table or in a yurt with no electricity feeding up to fifty families for five days (for many years). The Mystic Cookfire is a tome of over 400 pages. It is an expression of her deep love and respect for food, conscious cookery, and intentional eating. Her second recipe book Love From My Kitchen is a collection of vegan, gluten-free recipes based on the four elements: fire, earth, air, and water. She’s delighted that her granddaughter is a fourth-generation vegetarian.

Veronika's book list on conscious plant-based cookery

Veronika Sophia Robinson Why Veronika loves this book

I bought this treasure of a recipe book after dining at Demuths. The food was exquisite. A recipe book that’s based on meals which have been tried and tested over and over by a judicious public is different to other recipe books. In its time, more than sixty thousand people a year have eaten in Demuths. Surprisingly, many of those diners weren’t vegetarian but omnivores.  This book is a magnificent collection of the most frequently asked for recipes. Some of the best recipe books are those which don’t feature colour photographs: the focus is entirely on the written recipe and easy-to-find ingredients. This book remains unrivalled in the vegetarian-recipe field.

By Rachel Demuth ,

Why should I read it?

1 author picked Positively Vegetarian as one of their favorite books, and they share why you should read it.

What is this book about?

This is the 1st recipe book that we self-published way back in 1997.
It's a collection of our most frequently asked for recipes at Demuths Vegetarian Restaurant in Bath.
It contains a wealth of vegan & vegetarian soups, starters, main dishes, salads & puddings.
Sixty thousand people eat in Demuths each year. Many of them are vegetarians but many more of them are omnivores.
The recipes are easy to make & delicious to eat when made with love & attention.
This book is for those who care for their friends & themselves because at the end of the day a…


If you love Rudolph M. Ballentine...

Book cover of Karl's War

Karl's War by Neil Spark,

Karl's War is a coming-of-age-meets-thriller set in Germany on the eve of Hitler coming to power. Karl – a reluctant poster boy for the Nazis – meets Jewish Ben and his world is up-turned.

Ben and his family flee to France. Karl joins the German army but deserts and finds…

Book cover of Love Real Food: More Than 100 Feel-Good Vegetarian Favorites to Delight the Senses and Nourish the Body

Deana Gunn Author Of Vegetarian Cooking with Trader Joe's Cookbook

From my list on cooking vegetarian for easy and delicious meals.

Why am I passionate about this?

I’m a cookbook and children's book author and co-owner of Brown-Bag Publishers, a small independent publishing company since 2007. I love good food, and I have a passion for creating (and using!) recipes that are easy and result in delicious, healthy meals that appeal to the whole family. I’m the author of the bestselling Cooking with All Things Trader Joe's which was the first in the popular 10-book Trader Joe's cookbook series. I live in a small surf town in California with my husband and four kids.

Deana's book list on cooking vegetarian for easy and delicious meals

Deana Gunn Why Deana loves this book

Kathryne is behind the vegetarian food blog, Cookie + Kate, and this cookbook includes favorite recipes such as Southwestern Roasted Veggie Salad, Lentil Soup, Butternut Squash Chipotle Chili, and homemade granola. I love that she incorporates roasted vegetables into so many salads and other dishes. It's my favorite way to prepare vegetables. Lots of photos throughout, which is a feature I appreciate in any cookbook.

By Kathryne Taylor ,

Why should I read it?

1 author picked Love Real Food as one of their favorite books, and they share why you should read it.

What is this book about?

Her friendly commentary inspires readers to step into the kitchen and cook healthy meals, again and again. And the book wouldn't be complete without plenty of pictures of her lovable, food- obsessed puppy sous chef, Cookie, of course! With delicious recipes like chai-spiced steel-cut oats, a pesto and quinoa power salad, jasmine tea mojitos, and reader favourite banana oat bread, Love Real Food is a natural extension of Taylor's blog, including the hallmarks that entice her many readers to visit her site daily for more. She's got quite the fanbase eagerto buy the book: Her blog has more than a…


Book cover of Food Politics: How the Food Industry Influences Nutrition and Health
Book cover of Diet for a Small Planet: The Book That Started a Revolution in the Way Americans Eat
Book cover of Food in History

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Interested in vegetarianism, presidential biography, and Veganism?

Vegetarianism 40 books
Veganism 43 books