When I read the opening story in Eat Like You Give A Damn by Michelle Schwegmann and Josh Hooten (Book Publishing Company, 2015) I felt what I imagine Dorothy felt as she was tossed around by the twister, starting out in gray and bleak Kansas and eventually ending in the brightly colored land of Oz. This essay, “The Reason” by Anonymous, a former Mercy For Animals undercover investigator, begins with a recounting of what she witnessed while working at the Iowa Select Farm, a pork production company. She then moves on to a discussion of her own emotional journey to veganism and how she came to finally understand that nonhuman animals, just like humans, want nothing more than to live freely, unadulterated by demand, and unmarred by oppression. As Anonymous says, “we discriminate against animals not because we are meant to eat them, but because we decided to eat them, and we breed them exclusively for the purpose of our palates.” From this opening alone, it is clear that Eat Like You Give A Damn is no ordinary cookbook: it is a book with a powerful message. Ethan and I were fortunate enough to meet Michelle at Herbivore Clothing Company (1211 SE Stark St. Portland, Oregon), the store she and Josh co-founded that specializes in vegan products including cookbooks, clothing and t-shirts with messages like “Bacon Had a Mom,” “A Little Veganism Never Hurt Anybody,” and of course, “Eat Like You Give A Damn.” Prior to this meeting, we only knew of Michelle from Facebook, Twitter, and Instagram. We left the store with some great merchandise, and a new friend. In speaking with Michelle we could feel her passion for veganism and that she, like the title of the book, gives a damn.
With Michelle Schwegmann at Herbivore
Following the powerful opening essay, Eat Like You Give A Damn offers some helpful tips for healthy vegan eating. We are then treated to a great discussion on how Herbivore was born from a need and desire for stylish animal-rights T-shirts and grew into the amazing store that it is today. Michelle and Josh each share their stories of how and why they became vegan. Each of their stories are so personal, and resonate so strongly with me for different reasons. In some ways, their stories mirror what Ethan and I went through when he first became vegan and I was still an omnivore. This book is about encouraging all of us to think about what we are eating and basically eat we give a damn. Michelle and Josh want all of us to give a damn about our health, the planet, our fellow humans and ourselves. They show why being vegan is the only option for each one of these four categories if you give a damn. They also are quick to point out that being vegan is not about perfection, just doing your best based on the information you have. And the more you learn, the better you get at knowing what is and isn’t vegan. Their tone is so encouraging and welcoming, that it feels like they are cheering you on the entire way. In fact, that’s exactly what they’re doing. To help readers out, they even include a great vegan debaters FAQ. This quick response sheet provides easy answers to the inevitable questions and comments that most vegans hear at some point. In addition to the question about protein, they tackle many of the other questions and comments we have all likely been asked such as: why are vegans so preachy, but meat tastes good, and I could never give up cheese. Michelle and Josh provide short three or four sentence answers, to help us all respond thoughtfully, candidly, and accurately. The FAQ section is one of my favorite parts of the book. I love that they are giving this assistance. I know, I sometimes get tongue-tied when faced with these comments and am grateful for their help. Eat Like You Give A Damn also has a section on raising vegan kids to help vegan parents handle the questions they face about feeding their children a vegan diet. Michelle and Josh give some great advice for parents on raising vegan kids. The introduction section ends with a look at the herbivores cupboard, a list and description of some essential vegan ingredients to keep on hand, followed by a discussion about the different types of tofu available and how best to use and save each one.
Believe it or not, the entire introduction section filled with so much amazing information is only 12 pages, not including the opening essay. Now with our brains and hearts fed, we can feed our stomachs. The easy to make recipes in Eat Like You Give A Damn are divided into six different chapters: Breakfast, Basics & Staples, Soups & Salads, Sides, Mains, and Baked Goods. These recipes will satisfy any craving you have. In the breakfast section, there are four different types of tofu scrambles. One I expected, but four?!? Amazing! However, if tofu scrambles aren’t your thing for breakfast there are recipes for pancakes, baked oatmeal, biscuits and gravy, and much more. The Basics and Staples section is 40 pages of recipes for sauces, dressings, and marinades that you can use on pretty much anything. The Salads and Soups section has everything from a delicious kale salad to coconut curry red lentil soup. In fact, the kale salad was recently featured in a review of the book in the Oregonian by Grant Butler (the recipe for their incredible beet burgers are in the article too!). This simple to make kale salad will surely become a favorite of yours. While the Sides chapter is filled with great recipes, the star of the chapter is the Polenta Fries. Michelle confided in us that the Polenta Fries is one of her favorite recipes in the book. The dishes in the Mains chapter are satisfyingly hearty shameless comfort foods. The section contains everything from Beet Burgers to Barbecue Soy Curls. This chapter has something in for every taste. Anyone who thinks that vegans can’t have great tasting baked goods, has definitely not checked out the Baked Goods section of this book.
For just a sample of you can make, check out this recipe for Chocolate Chocolate Chip Zucchini Banana Bread (reprinted with permission from Michelle Schwegmann and Book Publishing Company from “Eat Like You Give A Damn: Recipes for the New Ethical Vegan”, Copyright © 2015.)
Chocolate–Chocolate Chip Zucchini-Banana Bread
Photo by Josh Hooten
Makes 10 servings
This bread has it all: chocolate, banana, whole grains, and vegetables. What? Vegetables? The bread is sweet enough to be a treat but not so sugary that you’ll feel guilty going back for a second slice. For us, that’s the sweet spot we aim for. You could easily replace the wheat flour with spelt or barley flour or a combination of the two, if that’s your thing. The recipe would also work with all-purpose flour, but why miss out on the whole grains?
2 cups white whole wheat flour
⅓ cup sugar
¼ cup unsweetened cocoa powder
2 teaspoons baking powder
½ teaspoon baking soda
½ teaspoon salt
1¼ cups plain or vanilla nondairy milk
½ cup mashed banana
2 tablespoons vegetable oil
1 teaspoon vanilla extract
1½ cups shredded zucchini or yellow squash
½ cup vegan semisweet chocolate chips
Preheat the oven to 350 degrees F. Oil a 9 x 5-inch loaf pan and or mist with cooking spray.
Put the flour, sugar, cocoa powder, baking powder, baking soda, and salt in a large bowl. Whisk to combine, breaking up any lumps of cocoa powder.
Put the milk, banana, oil, and vanilla extract in a medium bowl and whisk to combine. Stir in the zucchini. Pour the milk mixture into the flour mixture and stir to combine. Stir in the chocolate chips.
Pour into the prepared loaf pan. Bake for 45 to 50 minutes, until a toothpick inserted in the center comes out clean. Let the bread cool in the pan. Remove from the pan to slice and serve.
Per slice: 208 calories, 5 g protein, 7 g fat (2 g sat), 33 g carbohydrates, 245 mg sodium, 79 mg calcium, 4 g fiber
~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~
At the end of the book there is a short list of books that Michelle and Josh highly recommend and websites they find indispensable. These are great resources for everyone whether a long time vegan or brand new.
Eat Like You Give A Damn is a book with heart. Filled with wonderful information, and fantastic recipes that you will want to make over and over again, this book will likely become one of the first ones you reach for on your bookshelf.
