Veggie Mama

It is without doubt that fruit and vegetables are good for us – even better when they are in their natural state – raw.

I have vivid memories from my childhood, when there were few varieties of vegetable available to the average shopper, that most vegetables, (other than iceberg lettuce and tomato) were cooked until they were mush. I still can’t bring myself to look at a parsnip after years and years of having pulpy mashed parsnip and carrot served to me on a regular basis. That was nearly enough to put me off all vegetables for life. Now the variety of vegetables, fruits, legumes, nuts and seeds available is almost beyond imagination as are the many ways we can serve these products.

While I firmly believe that no food group, including protein in the form of meat, poultry and fish, should be excluded from ones diet, I now often find myself cooking vegetarian and vegan meals that I serve as a large side to a small piece of protein. Of course, my adding protein to a meal is my choice, but I respect the choice of others who reject this idea and live very well completely on plant based foods, especially if there is a medical reason to do so.

Doreen Virtue and Chef Jenny Ross have combined their vast experiences and written Veggie Mama – a fun and wholesome guide to feeding your family plant-based meals.

Doreen holds B.A., M.A., and Ph.D. degrees in counselling psychology and is a former psychotherapist specialising in eating disorders and addictions. Jenny is the owner and executive chef of the living-foods restaurant 118 Degrees LA in Tarzana, California, and has been a pioneering spirit of the raw-foods movement since 2000, beginning with her first Los Angeles café. Her award-winning cuisine has drawn a celebrity clientele to her restaurants and has been a positive catalyst for changing many lives. These two ladies know a lot about food, food preparation and nutrition and how plant based meals can benefit our minds and bodies.

In Veggie Mamma, Doreen and Jenny discuss food allergies and present a CSG-free program—meaning free of corn, soy (with the exception of fermented miso paste), and gluten which are inflammatory agents that can create anxiety in sensitive kids, as well as worsen allergy symptoms. Also discussed are nutrition pre, during and post pregnancy, healthy fats, nutrient-dense foods, important minerals, shopping guidelines and staple tools for your kitchen.

Veggie Mama is a manual for elevating your family’s diet to incorporate more whole, plant-based foods. The book features over 100 vegan recipes—including many raw options, using whole grains, legumes, nuts, fruits, and vegetables, along with superfoods such as hemp seeds and quinoa—for growing kids of all ages.

Using the books tasty, 100-percent plant-based recipes you will be pleasing the palates of everyone in the family. Imagine serving your family the likes of Tomato Basil Bisque, Pumpkin Flax Waffles, Banana Bread or Sweet Yams and Rice, knowing that every mouthful they take is packed with goodness and is also very tasty.

I found the recipes to be well laid out, easy to follow, and most ingredients to be easily accessible through a local supermarket or health food shop. The presentation of food shown in Veggie Mama is inspiring and as they say, ‘we eat with our eyes’ – appearance is just as important as taste – in this book you will learn both.  With menu-planning guides, brown-bag school lunches, and snack and dessert favourites, you’ll have everything you need to feed your entire family wholesome and delicious meals.

Published by Hay House Australia – Veggie Mama can be purchased at Booktopia – www.booktopia.com.au/veggie-mama-doreen-virtue/prod9781401947491.html