Stage Two
Dairy and eggs? Whoa! Both have really “taken a shellacking” in recent years because of fat and cholesterol content.
I’ll be exploring fat-free dairy as an option in a future post. For now, what I’d like to say about Stage Two is that it explores the traditional “lacto-ovo” vegetarian diet, and that dairy and eggs are not NECESSARILY bad for you. In fact, recent studies suggest that good-quality eggs from genuinely free-range hens are actually GOOD for you.
Stage Two also introduces quick and easy recipes for a wide range of legumes and grains, the backbone of any long-term vegetarian diet. For more on these, check out the “Recipes” dropdown on the navigation bar of this site.
Overview
The Gradual Vegetarian was first published in 1985 by small independent New York publisher M. Evans.
The book was soon sold to Dell, which brought out the trade paperback in 1986. Meanwhile, the British rights were sold, and by 1986 a hardback was circulating in Great Britain and Australia.
Paperback editions then appeared in Sweden (Vegetarian Steg for Steg) and Italy (Il Vegetariano Graduale).
The book was in print in the United States for 12 years, a notable run, and is considered a classic.