The 30-Minute Vegan - Mark Reinfeld [2]
Despite the challenges afoot with embracing a vegan lifestyle—not only the decision to be vegan but to fully enjoy eating this way—Mark and Jennifer offer a calm sense of purpose, unquestionable joy, and warm encouragement to those who want to cook and eat this way—especially those who find time in short supply.
Deborah Madison
author of Vegetarian Cooking for Everyone
Preface
One of the most pressing issues of our time is how to deal with our busyness. No matter where we go these days, people feel busier than ever. It affects our health, our happiness, our relationships, and virtually every part of our lives. Too often it feels like a stretch to even spend time with the people we love—not to mention learning a new way of eating, even if we do crave more health and vitality.
We created 30-Minute Vegan out of a sincere desire to address this issue for anyone willing to devote just a little bit of their precious time. This book is a bounty of quick and easy, delectable vegan cuisine for busy people. We are a husband and wife team living in Hawaii. We enjoy spending time in the kitchen together and we never tire of bossing each other around. We aspire to impart some of our culinary enthusiasm to you.
We’ve selected recipes that illustrate the diversity yet simplicity and ease of vegan food preparation. Here you will find healthful recipes for every occasion—from romantic dinners for two to slumber parties for your children. You’ll find lots of suggestions for recipe modifications; you can be adventurous and still be time savvy. If you’re a novice in the kitchen, playing with these recipes will help you become more comfortable with cooking. Seasoned chefs can delight in some of our time-saving techniques while discovering new tastes by being inventive with the variations.
Superfoods for Health
One of our guiding principles is that food is best when enjoyed in its whole, natural state. This goes for both flavor and nutritional quality. Superfoods are those foods that are packed with nutrients and have been shown to have outstanding health benefits. Many of these are ancient foods that have been revered for thousands of years for their healing qualities. They are high in disease-fighting antioxidants, which are known to protect cells from damage, even slowing down the aging process in many instances. We highlight these wonder foods throughout the book and show how they represent the wave of the future in terms of reclaiming our health.
Organic food is grown without the use of chemical fertilizers and pesticides, many of which have not been fully tested for their effects on humans. Although people continue to debate whether these chemicals are harmful, we know they are not necessary, so we don’t take the risk. We highly recommend using organic ingredients whenever possible in our recipes.
Raw or living foods are nutrient-rich foods that have not been heated above 116°F. Live food cuisine is a growing trend in the culinary world. People who eat raw foods report feeling increased energy, weight loss, healing, and a host of other benefits. We indicate the raw food recipes in the book with a ♥.
The importance of eating locally grown foods whenever possible cannot be overemphasized. Locavore was even recently selected as “new word of the year.” It refers to one who eats only local foods. Eating local foods ensures freshness and saves those resources involved in shipping across long distances.
Growing foods in your own garden or participating in community-supported agriculture programs (CSAs) is the best option if you have the opportunity. It’s very rewarding