People for the Ethical Treatment of Animals has planted its newest target on college students. No worries, there won't be activists on Turlington Plaza splashing buckets of red paint on our coats. Instead, the group has made becoming vegan easier than ever by tailoring to students' fast-paced, budget-bearing lifestyles through a new cookbook, "PETA's Vegan College Cookbook: 275 Easy, Cheap, and Delicious Recipes to Keep You Vegan at School." The book meets every college student's needs, so excuses for not becoming vegan are as non-existent as the meat in veggie burgers.
Starza Kolman and Marta Holmberg wrote the book in a style that's both amusing and down-to-earth. In a fashion worthy of a few chuckles, they address the definition of veganism and collapse the common misconceptions and stereotypes, such as the berry-picking hippies we so often associate vegans to be. They acknowledge that college students are not necessarily the Betty Crockers of the world and thus have made all of the recipes microwave-friendly - no stove needed. Better yet, the bulk of the dishes take less than five minutes to prepare with slim ingredients that won't bust your budget.
Sifting through the 275 recipes is surprisingly intriguing due to the hilarious names each recipe bears, like the "WTF? Wings" or the "Booty Shakin' Bagel". The recipes range on a large scale of mouth-watering deliciousness, varying from "F-U Tacos" to the "Fruity Frat-Tootie Smoothie." There are even special sections of recipes dedicated to variations on one food, like the budget-friendly Ramen noodles.
The book stays true to its mission, keeping sight of veganism facts, and benefits through little "did you know?" blurbs splattered throughout the book. Holmberg offered The Avenue more insight into veganism and the behind-the-scenes making of "PETA's Vegan College Cookbook: 275 Easy, Cheap, and Delicious Recipes to Keep You Vegan at School."
Marta Holmberg is the co-author of the vegan cookbook, as well as the street team coordinator for peta2- PETA's youth focused division.
There are many different reasons why people become vegan, such as environmentalism, animal rights, nutrition, etc. What's your reason?
I am definitely a vegan for the animals. At age 4, I became a vegetarian after I realized that meat was actually an animal. Then, when I was in college at San Jose State in California, I made the switch over to being vegan.
Obviously college students live on a tight budget and yet eat out a lot. What advice can you give to college students on maintaining veganism in such circumstances?
Beans are a vegan-friendly product that is a lot cheaper than meat at the grocery store. In the book, we have a lot of recipes dedicated to Ramen noodles, which are also fairly inexpensive. As for eating out, you just have to be specific with your restaurant orders. Request to have cheese and meat left off. Even at places like Taco Bell, just substitute beans for your meat in the taco. There are vegan options everywhere; you just have to look for them.
All 275 recipes in the book don't require a stove. There is even the "I'm, Like, So Easy! Blueberry Pancakes" that are made to eat in a mug. Won't many of the dishes look a bit funky when they come out of the microwave?
I'll admit I was skeptical when we decided to make only microwavable meals. But there aren't any stoves in dorms so we made it work. It was about a year-and-a-half process of collecting and testing vegan-friendly recipes from PETA staff, interns and supporters. We received about 400 recipes and then cut it down to 275 dishes. There were definitely some snafus, but we put the dishes in the cookbook that we liked ourselves and that got the best responses from.
Most people think that being vegan doesn't allow many food options. What advice do you have to those scared to switch to a vegan lifestyle?
You have to approach veganism with an open mind. There may be vegan dishes you don't like, but that doesn't mean you won't like some other vegan dish out there. It's not a scary transition. Some people can just jump into being vegan, but most just have to take it step by step. Start out small by substituting soy milk in with your cereal. Use applesauce instead of eggs. Don't overwhelm yourself.
With dishes ranging from "Chocolate Dorm Cake" to "Stalker Fruit Salad," how nutritious are the recipes in the book?
We wanted to make sure that we tailored to every type of college student's eating habits with the cookbook. We made sure there were dishes for everyone from the health nuts to the junk food junkies.
