Review of Simple Happy Kitchen: An Illustrated Guide for Your Plant-Based Life
When I first heard about Simple Happy Kitchen: An Illustrated Guide for Your Plant-Based Life, I was pretty excited to do a review for the book. No matter how long you have been vegan, an all-in-one resource on veganism is always a great refresher to have on hand. Plus, the description for the book sounded very cute:
“Pedro Almondovar, a roasted almond with a nutty sense of humor, is about to take you through the wonderful world of plant-based nutrition in a new book from Simple Happy Kitchen, an educational website that uses humor and infographics to simplify plant-based diets. Simple Happy Kitchen: An Illustrated Guide for Your Plant-Based Life is the first book of its kind, with cheerful visuals and quirky characters giving plant-based living a fun, fresh voice.”
The hardcover’s 128 pages are packed with “information and practical tips that make it easy to eat well without animal products,” and include “guides on meal planning, sources of plant-based protein, building a healthy shopping list, soaking and sprouting, plant-based milks, the environment, and much more.”
To my pleasant surprise, I was sent the book along with merchandise that included a reusable shopping bag, pantry labels, stickers and a key chain:
When I call this book an all-in-one resource on veganism, I’m not exaggerating. Its nine chapters are dedicated to providing information on the various reasons behind adopting a vegan lifestyle, nutrition, meal plans, substitutions, raising vegan families, the environment and more. When I asked Miki Mottes, illustrator and founder of Simple Happy Kitchen, about this book serving as a resource, he stated:
“I tried including topics that I know are important for those looking to change their lifestyle and diet and also those who are already vegan but still want to learn more. The book answers almost every question that usually comes up around veganism. In fact, our Kickstarter backers were the ones who helped made sure of that - in the end of the campaign I sent them a survey asking what topics they’d like to see covered in the book and then chose the ones that were the most requested.”
The book also seeks to address common misconceptions surrounding a vegan lifestyle, with Mottes adding:
“There are many myths surrounding veganism, and I tried addressing most of those in the book with humor. One of the most common myths is the one claiming vegans lack nutrients. A big part of the book deals exactly with that: what vegan foods are rich with protein, iron, calcium, what is the deal with b12, kids and veganism, pregnancy, food storage, and more. The idea of this project is to help turn vegan nutrition into something that everyone can understand but with humor and no judgment. That’s crucial for me and my team. We try showing what you can do and not what you shouldn’t do. We believe in positivity.”
It is worth noting that the nutritional information in the book is also verified and approved by vegan nutritionist BSc Tal Porat.
Many of the sections served as great refreshers for me, and I did learn a lot of new information. I found the book to be very fun and informative, and really appreciated how easy-to-digest the information was, making it suitable for just about everyone, whether they are just beginning to develop an interest in plant-based living, or have been vegan for 10 years. And according to a survey Mottes sent to those in the crowdfunding campaign, it is not just vegans interested in this kind of all-in-one resource:
“We asked our backers how they defined themselves (vegans/vegetarians/carnivores) and were really excited about the results: more than half were not vegans but either vegetarians or interested in veganism. There were also many carnivores. For me, that’s what it’s all about - appealing to a wide audience.”
My favorite parts of this book included the section on meal planning (chapter 4), the detailed information on all of the nutrients (chapter 5), and as a lover of all food-related hacks, the sections on food storage (chapter 2) and kitchen (chapter 4) hacks. (I am currently testing out the hack related to homemade veggie broth!)
I think Simple Happy Kitchen: An Illustrated Guide for Your Plant-Based Life is not only a great resource to have on hand for information, reminders, tips and recipes, but can also be a great gift for anyone in your life interested or new to veganism-especially with a bunch of the adorable and useful accessories!
If you are interested in getting a copy of Simple Happy Kitchen: An Illustrated Guide for Your Plant-Based Life, it is currently available on Simple Happy Kitchen’s online store and on Amazon (US), with the accessories sold separately here.
I hope you enjoy it as much as I do!
