Books
Book Review: ‘Why Vegan is the New Black’
By Kam Williams
Why Vegan Is the New
Black: More Than 100 Deli-
cious Meat and Dairy-Free
Meal Ideas Your Whole
Family Will Love
by Deborrah Cooper
Deborrah Cooper Publishing
Paperback, $24.99
224 pages, Illustrated
ISBN: 978-0-9909713-8-2
“An estimated 82% of black
women and 69% of black men are
considered overweight or obese,
with 45% and 40%, respectively,
suffering from hypertension. Heart
disease is the #1 killer of African-
Americans, with cancer, stroke
and diabetes also among the top
five reasons for early death.
My goal was to help change the
perception that healthy foods look
weird and taste bad.”
–Deborrah Cooper
E
ven though Deborrah Coop-
er had been a nutritionist
and fitness trainer for over a
decade, she never considered
becoming a vegan until her body
began breaking down. As assorted
stresses of life started taking a toll,
she found herself battling
headaches, high cholesterol, high
blood pressure, high blood sugar
and sever stomach pains.
And with each visit to a physi-
cian’s office, she was prescribed
pill after pill to treat this or that
symptom. Deborrah decided to
become actively involved in her
recovery by making some imme-
diate lifestyle changes.
She had a hunch that a combina-
tion of diet and weight loss would
do the trick, so she proceeded to
exercise more while turning to
vegetarianism. As she explains, in
making the shift to a plant-based
diet, she got rid of “anything that
would not fit my new eating
plan… bakery items, butter, eggs,
cheese, crackers, packaged con-
venience foods, fish, poultry,
bacon, canned chili and soups,
canned milks, lunch meat,
etcetera.”
Fortunately,
the
changes
“worked wonders… reducing
risks of coronary heart disease and
stroke by half in just eight weeks.”
As an African-American, Debor-
rah subsequently felt a sense of
duty to share the secret of her suc-
cess with the black community,
given its particular susceptibility
to a host of diseases which are pre-
ventable simply by paying strict
attention to what one ingests.
However, she also knows that
there is a general “perception that
health foods are expensive, bland
and flavorless.” So, in order to
reverse that image, Deborrah has
published Why Vegan Is the New
Black, a combination how-to
primer and illustrated cookbook
featuring 100+ mouthwatering
recipes for main dishes (Black
Bean Lasagna), appetizers (Potato
and Mushroom Soup), sauces
(Tahini Salad Dressing) and
sweets (Oatmeal Shortbread
Cookies).
An inspirational, informative
and creative guide for anyone hop-
ing to wean themselves off meat
and/or prescription drugs
CELEBRATE AMERICA’S GREATEST CIVIL RIGHTS LEADER
29TH ANNUAL
Martin Luther
KING, JR.
BREAKFAST
Keynote speaker: Dr. Benjamin F.
Chavis, Jr., is the current CEO &
President of the National Newspaper
Publishers Association and reknown
civil rights leader. While a freshman at
college he served on the advance team
for Dr. Martin Luther King, Jr. As one of
the Wilmington Ten, Chavis spent
nearly a decade in prison before his
sentence was overturned in 1980.
Tickets available: MLKBreakfast@theskanner.com
sponsors:
Page 16 The Portland and Seattle Skanner January 7, 2015
Monday
January 19 , 2015
8:30-10:30 a.m.
Oregon Convention Center
777 NE Martin Luther King Jr. Blvd.
Portland, OR 97232