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Dec 09, 2011

Bird rated it:

I want to preface my scathing review by mentioning that I am a vegetarian, and toying with the idea of veganism, so it is definitely not the book's subject matter that garnered my wrath.

There were so many things that bothered me about this book, that even though I finished it two weeks ago, I'm still talking about it to my husband. Alicia Silverstone has gone the route of many famous people these days, writing bad books that get published mainly because the author is, well, famous More...

2 comments like (10 people liked it)

Mar 25, 2011

AJ rated it:

Part of the reason I want this is so I can hear Cher Horowitz's voice in my head while I read.

"I am totally butt crazy in love with tofu."

----

First, yes, I did hear the entire book in Cher's voice.

This is sort of Eating Animals: The Light Version. The first part of the book is Alicia's journey to becoming vegan. She decided at an early age that she didn't want to eat animals, but when you're only 8, it can be difficult. She ate meat o More...

0 comments like (7 people liked it)

Dec 29, 2011

Mypetconcubine rated it:

What's the book about?

This is not just a food diet it is a life diet. It shows you how to look at food in a new way consciously and decide for yourself if it is something I want in my body.

Like countless celebrities before her, actress Alicia Silverstone has put together a book that she says reveals the secrets of how she stays fit and healthy. In The Kind Diet, Silverstone she swears that a diet of only organic, vegan diet, free of meat, dairy, white sugar and processed fo More...

0 comments like (3 people liked it)

Nov 27, 2010

Meridith rated it:

While I'm not a fan of books that tout veganism as a diet I make myself read books like this and (ugh) Skinny Bitch so I can critique the content instead of just making a judgment on the title alone. That said, I will say The Kind Diet is a beautiful book: full color photographs are used throughout. You will not forget this is a book by Alicia Silverstone since she and her husband are featured throughout but it doesn't go to the egotistical lengths of say, Ani's Raw Food Kitchen.

Silve More...

0 comments like (8 people liked it)

Feb 01, 2012

Pamela added it

I LOVED this book. Honestly, as someone who is overweight and feeling pretty nasty, the idea of an all-plant diet is very appealing (plus if there's even a remote chance that less red meat means fewer kidney stones for us, I'm all over it). Am also having issues with the cute little songs my daughter is singing about her pet turkey, which will end up on the diningroom table at Thanksgiving. Of course it's slanted to make the plant-eating lifestyle more attractive, but it's so like a breath of More...

0 comments like (1 person liked it)

Nov 11, 2011

Heather rated it:

This is one of the better vegan books out there. She doesn't rely heavily on soy which I really appreciate. The recipes, for the most part, are normal, everyday foods that my kids would eat. The pictures are lovely.

The first half deals with why a person should become vegan. I wasn't really interested in this part since we eat meat - I'm just wanting to find more vegetarian recipes to add into our menus to decrease our use of meat and dairy. I think the author does a good job expla More...

0 comments like (1 person liked it)

Apr 30, 2011

Jessica rated it:

Read this while I gave up a meat for lent. Gave me great recipes!! Loved how she gave the definition of diet "a way of living, or thinking, a day's journey" sounds so much better that way then what we have all come to the conclusion it means...or what we have learned what "diet" is.

Great book to read if you are in a "flirting" stage as she calls it to being a vegetarian or vegan. It's really not only about not eating animal products but also how it effects our environment. I don't most know if m More...

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Apr 14, 2011

Mrs.soule rated it:

While I feel strange giving a book by Alicia Silverstone the same rating I gave, say, To Kill a Mockingbird, this book alone out of dozens I've read in the past two weeks convinced me our family could go vegan and be healthier for it. Since the night my enraged preschooler passionately declared he hated "bad people who eat dead animals" in the middle of a steak house (think Jesus cleansing the temple of moneylenders meets Rosemary's Baby), I’ve read every book our library has on child More...

1 comment like (2 people liked it)

Mar 01, 2011

Silvia rated it:

A friend told me about this book and my first thought was "she writes? hahaha". But I kept open minded. As a very recent converted vegan, I'm willing to educate myself as much as possible. I liked the organization of the book. She broke it down to digestible (no pun intended) sections of describing the aspects of animals, environment, health, nasty foods, kind foods, and further broke down to implementing these knowledge into flirting, vegan, and macrobiotics. Half of the book is fille More...

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Dec 29, 2010

Courtney rated it:

First, I'll say what I loved about this:

I really liked the first part of the book where Alicia talks about why you should adopt a cruelty-free diet. She wasn't lecturing or anything. I felt like I was having a mature conversation with her about my health and about animals.

I also liked part 2 that explains how you go vegan. She makes it seem really easy and she def. inspired me to finally take that step in my life. What's even better is that she's done this and so she unde More...

0 comments like (1 person liked it)

Sep 01, 2010

Flissy rated it:

I really wanted to love this book because I share a similar attitude about having plant based diet. It's about abundance and kindness to animals and the earth, and even if you're not willing to commit to a fully vegan (or in this case, macrobiotic) lifestyle, even choosing to explore vegan options is a good thing to do. Unfortunately, I thought the writing and editing were both terrible-- every page she's referring you to her website and sometimes repeating sentences word-for-word from a previ More...

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Aug 03, 2010

Emily rated it:

There were some great arguments for eating more vegetables and whole grains, which I completely supported. I was also glad she put in the information about the environmental impact of the commercial meat industry, and made such a push for whole foods.

I was really put off, though, by how poorly defended many of her points were.

"Humans are the only species who drink another species' milk" (while true, we are also the only species who cooks & uses recipes, watche More...

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Jul 24, 2010

Keri rated it:

I'll admit that I picked this book up because I was surprised to see Alicia Silverstone on the cover. I've actually been looking for a book like this, something that would explain how to start out on the path to a vegetarian (she actually encourages vegan) diet. Half her information is well documented research and the other half is anecdotal, so I had to pay close attention to what was truth and what was propaganda. I figure if even half of what she says is true, then I really have no desire to More...

0 comments like (1 person liked it)

Jul 18, 2010

Kaya rated it:

I am thoroughly inspired to eat better after reading this.

Lots of interesting stuff, some horrifying. Um, when animals are euthanized in kill shelters they send their corpses to a rendering facility, boil em down, then use the gunk to feed to both meat and dairy cattle. Then some laws went in place to ban this, but not all those laws are being enforced. And bad pet food got dead dogs and cats in it. For shame!

So I am doing a vegan month in August. Maybe this will be More...

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Jul 17, 2010

Brigid rated it:

I was so, so disappointed by this book. I want to say first and foremost that I am a full vegetarian and about 75% vegan, so my beef (no pun intended) with this book is not the preachiness to quit eating meat and animal products. Alicia Silverstone is not a great writer, and that in and of itself would be fine if her book was not full of unsound health advice. She makes claims that she never substantiates (such as why you shouldn't use spices in your food if you are an eating "superhero" More...

0 comments like (5 people liked it)

Jul 07, 2010

Nicole rated it:

I have to admit that probably becuase of her ditsy role in "Clueless" I wasn't ready to take Silverstone seriously but she knows her stuff and is a very compassionate person. This is for anyone looking to be healthy physically and mentally/spiritually. Filled with healthy and compassionate commonsense that, unfortunetly, isn't so common.

She makes veganism more accessible to the not yet converted, emphasizing that it's okay to be imperfect and sometimes you make mistakes and More...

0 comments like (1 person liked it)

Mar 03, 2010

Laura rated it:

This was a really great read about vegetarianism, or more accurately veganism, and what it entails along with insights into being environmentally friendly. The book covers all aspects of what to do to live healthfully, taking care of your body and our planet. Alicia Silverstone uses easy to understand writing and a conversational style tone to convey heavier topics such as why one should abstain from animal products. She takes leading research from The China Study, Dr. Furhman, Dr. Ornish and More...

0 comments like (4 people liked it)

Jan 27, 2010

Michelle rated it:

Okay, so in elementary, I was a HUGE fan of Clueless and Alicia Silverstone. I was a relatively new vegetarian (new at it compared to now, when it's been over twelve years) and she was active in PETA and also super-cute. Basically, I wanted to be Alicia Silverstone. I even did a book report on an unauthorized biography of her for sixth-grade English class.

Now Alicia has given me the tools, er recipes, to be more like her. I'm not sure how I feel about this book being labeled as a More...

0 comments like (3 people liked it)

Jan 18, 2010

Cara rated it:

Absolutely fantastic book. The moment I picked it up, I read the entire thing in one shot (half of it is information and the other half is recipes). It definitely inspired me to go vegan again as much as possible. She describes the "nasty foods” in a very frank and honest way -- why they are nasty to the environment, nasty to animals, and nasty to our bodies (sugar, dairy, meat, etc.). There are vegan inspiring facts along the way, such as "More than 95 percent of eggs sold in the More...

0 comments like (1 person liked it)

Dec 21, 2009

suzy rated it:

I've been on a temporary vegan kick for a couple months now, inspiring my boss to learn more about the benefits of eliminating animal foods. Cher Horowitz, er, Alicia Silverstone's new book was her most recent finding so I got the chance to read through it the other day, and it's definitely one of the more tolerable publications concerning veganism.

Aside from the thrill of pretending the initial chapters, the ones that explain what makes food 'nasty' or 'kind', are being vocalized b More...

0 comments like (2 people liked it)

Mar 16, 2010

Heather rated it:

Sigh.

I love Alicia Silverstone. No, really! But this book really brings out her bubble-headedness. Which is saying something, coming from someone who enjoys her professional work and was really wanting to be inspired to take another step in the journey of eating kinder. In the end though, I discovered the recipes here represent exactly what I hate about many cookbooks.

The big idea of the book is that if you're eating an average American diet, you can experiment with vegan More...

0 comments like (1 person liked it)

Dec 20, 2010

Natasha rated it:

Oh, good God, unless you are a tween or sorority girl, you, like, aren't going to be able to, like, read this book without, like, wanting to stab your eyeballs out. How old is Alicia Silverstone???? Her narrative sounds like she's 15. The tone of this book is very... young.

Maybe I'm just getting old. And grumpy.

Kudos to Silverstone, as it does appear that she actually wrote this book herself, and did not just slap her name and photo on the cover. Her passion and convicti More...

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May 04, 2010

Jess rated it:

I LOVE this book!!! I got this copy from the library, but as soon as I have extra money I'm going to go buy it. I really enjoyed reading the beginning about the bad foods and what they do not only to your body but to the environment. I'm already a vegetarian, so reading some of these facts just reinforced that I know I'm doing the right thing by abstaining from meat.

I liked the way that everything was connected. From eating great food, to saving the environment at the same time, and More...

4 comments like (1 person liked it)

Mar 06, 2011

Amanda rated it:

I love the concept of "The Kind Diet," and the way Alicia emphasizes that veganism is a way to make food choices that are kind to your body, the planet and (of course) to animals. She takes veganism away from deprivation and constantly saying "no" to certain foods, and moves it towards saying "yes" to a kinder lifestyle.
That being said, I found the tone of the book annoying, which is why I didn't give it five stars. Alicia seems to think that because she is a More...

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Mar 28, 2010

Kristin rated it:

So I picked this one up without intention to become a vegan. Generally, I was just interested in what Alicia Silverstone had to say about health. And I found what she had to say as interesting as the way she said it. The book's called The Kind Diet because Silverstone's vegan path is aimed to be kind to animals, the earth, and our bodies. And she presents her well-researched information in a really kind, gentle and personal way. Yes, from time to time it seems like a bit of Cher Horowitz (Cluele More...

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Nov 25, 2009

Denise rated it:

I'm no stranger to reading books about why one should go vegetarian/vegan and how to do it, so part of me worried I would find this book boring or old hat. But I didn't. I actually enjoyed reading it and even learned a couple of new things. I like Alicia Silverstone and enjoyed learning more about her and her beliefs. And it was a crazy to have so much in common with her.

Anyway, I think one thing this book does very well is explain why moving towards a plant-based diet is a good thin More...

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Oct 22, 2011

Lila rated it:

"Hi ya'll, my name is Alicia Silverstone and I am a Hollywood star. So trust me when I say I know how to go vegan!"

Her style of writing is immature; I was convinced by the end of the book that she knew nothing about being or becoming vegan.

This might be a fad for her and she secretly eats cheese when no one is looking (she did mention she "occasionally" makes exceptions).

I read this book because my aunt read it and she wanted me to read it.
More...

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Jul 02, 2011

Jessica rated it:

Alicia Silverstone's book is divided into diet and lifestyle advice and recipes. For the most part, her advice is spot on, and her writing style is genuine and accessible. (I only picked up on one error, where she says that tofu is less processed than soymilk - not so.)

I'm all for anything that gets people to consider eating a plant-based diet, and I like Alicia's realistic approach, which allows for the occasional slip-up while keeping the focus on pursuing a healthy, green, and anima More...

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Jun 23, 2011

Chavonne rated it:

Every once in a while, I need to read a book that reminds me why I don't eat meat. Kalem and I have been considering going vegan because of our (mostly his) commitment to ridding ourselves of all animal products. That cheese and honey keep calling me back, though! A visit to the naturopath has made me consider it even more because my body doesn't process dairy very well. I picked up this book because I wanted to read about veganism a bit more. I really enjoyed it--the majority of the book expres More...

1 comment like

Apr 26, 2010

Kat rated it:

I sort of waywardly decided to be a vegetarian 9 months ago. There was tons of principle behind it, but I just couldn`t verbalize it because I hadn`t read any specific literature on the health effects and/or the meat industry. But, after reading Cher Horowitz`s book, I`m not only convinced vegetarianism is for me, but today I`m also cutting out dairy and eggs - and with much principle. The burping cows killing the earth I think actually turned out to be not as bad as they first predicted, but More...

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