Mena Massoud - Evolving Vegan: Deliciously Diverse Recipes from North Americas Best Plant-Based Eateries—for Anyone Who Loves Food: A Cookbook

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First Tiller Press hardcover edition September 2020

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Interior design by Matt Ryan

Photography by Andrew Rowley

Author photo on by Alexi Lubomirski

Cover design by Patrick Sullivan

Cover photo by Andrew Rowley

Plane icon by Aha-Soft/Shutterstock

Library of Congress Cataloging-in-Publication Data

Names: Massoud, Mena, author.

Title: Evolving vegan : deliciously diverse recipes from North America's best plant-based eateries-for anyone who loves food / Mena Massoud.

Identifiers: LCCN 2020010320 (print) | LCCN 2020010321 (ebook) | ISBN

9781982144562 (hardcover) | ISBN 9781982144579 (ebook)

Subjects: LCSH: Vegan cookingNorth America. | LCGFT: Cookbooks.

Classification: LCC TX837 .M23667 2020 (print) | LCC TX837 (ebook) | DDC

641.5/6362dc23

LC record available at https://lccn.loc.gov/2020010320

LC ebook record available at https://lccn.loc.gov/2020010321

ISBN 978-1-9821-4456-2

ISBN 978-1-9821-4457-9 (ebook)

DEDICATED TO MY BEAUTIFUL MOM, GORGIT, WHO SPARKED MY PASSION FOR FOOD, COOKING, AND THE ENTERTAINMENT OF OTHERS. LOVE YOU, MA.

A FEW YEARS AGO, WHEN I FIRST ADOPTED A PLANT-BASED LIFESTYLE, I WAS QUITE CONFIDENT THAT VEGAN LIVING WAS GOING TO TAKE OVER THE WORLD VERY RAPIDLY. FIVE YEARS LATER, ITS CLEAR TO ME THAT WHILE IT MAY NOT BE HAPPENING AS QUICKLY AS I WANT IT TO, THE WORLD IS CERTAINLY EVOLVING VEGAN.

Most people are not completely vegan, committing themselves to a lifestyle void of all animal products, ocean life, animal by-products like honey, and materials made from animals, like leather and fur. But people are aware of the impact all those things have on our planet, and more people are trying to limit their consumption of animal products. And that is a victory in itself. In the last year alone, some of the biggest fast-food chains in the world have introduced numerous plant-based options. The reason these big conglomerates have invested millions into plant-based food is not necessarily that they see the number of hard-core vegans increasing; its because they are noticing a shift in how meat-eaters are consuming foodmost people truly are evolving vegan.

So while the majority of people in America still consider themselves meat-eaters, they are beginning to consume considerably less animal products and more plant-based foods. Whether thats by switching to plant-based milks for their coffee or implementing Meatless Monday, theres a tectonic shift happening in what people are consuming and how they are consuming it. Humans are starting to take responsibility for the major changes happening to our planet and their own health. And you dont need to become a militant vegan to make a difference.

Even when it comes to my personal lifestyle, I cant call myself 100% vegan. Thats the whole reason I started Evolving Vegan, the company. Why? Because like with any other label, group, or cult, there are very specific rules to which you have to adhere to be able to label yourself vegan. And to be frank (who the hell is Frank, anyway?) I dont like locking myself in chains made up of a set of specific rules just because a group of people got together one day and decided what it takes to qualify as a vegan, deeming any person outside those stipulations an outsider or unworthy. So heres what I say: Try your hardest to cut down your intake of animal products, do your part to reduce your environmental footprint, and start taking pride in what you put into your body, because you know its better for your health. Thats what it means to be evolving vegan, and everyone is welcome.

The majority of the friends I cook for or take out to plant-based restaurants tell me the same thing: If I could eat vegan food like this all the time, I would be vegan. And at first, the Al Pacino part of my brain wants to look them intensely in the eyes, peering down into their soul to the very being of who they are, strangle them, and yell very loudly, YOURE IN THE DARK HERE! YOU UNDERSTAND?! YOURE IN THE DARK! Thats a slight variation on what Pacino actually says in Scent of a Woman, but you get my point. After a moment of reason, however, I explain to my friends that while its not as easy and accessible, yes, they can eat like this every day, and they dont have to become a raw, organic, only-comes-from-trees herbivore overnight. They can start off slow, committing to eating plant-based two days a week, which eventually evolves into only eating meat twice a week, which turns into only eating it when they have no other choice (and to be honest, I think you always have a choice).

Many vegans switched to a plant-based lifestyle because of their love and compassion for animals. I did it because of my love for the earth and for my health. Lets be real here. Yes, it is absolutely horrendous how animals are farmed to accommodate our eating habits. And anyone who even remotely loves animals should really think twice about the hypocrisy they are living. But you have to remember that for generations before factory farms existed, and still to this day, tribes and groups of humans all over the world have hunted with their fellow animal counterparts. In Mongolia, hunters track game with eagles as their partners, and the eagles always get to eat first (usually the heart or liver of their prey). Its primal. Its natural. Its part of the circle of life. But the point is, humans have evolved as a species to the point where we dont have to eat that way anymore. We dont have to kill other animals in order to survive and prosper. We dont have to farm and enslave any kind of animal at the expense of our planets well-being. Let me be clear: I care about the animals, I really do. But without the planet, without Mother Nature, there are no animals, there is no vegetation, and there is no us. And the most important thing you can do to reduce your environmental impact is to change the way you eat. (Do that first, and then buy an electric vehicle and line your roof with solar panels and youre pretty much Gandhi.) Not only will you be doing your part to prolong the life of our beautiful planet, but youll start to appreciate all living life the samenot only the cute dogs that you get to pet in your neighborhood. Just because you dont see the animals you end up consuming doesnt mean they dont have the same spirit and desire to live as the animals we see day to day. Eat more plants and less meat, and youll be helping to save our planet and doing wonders for your health at the same time.