Jessica Seinfeld encourages you to go vegan, no pressure

NEW YORK (AP) — Jessica Seinfeld became a vegan almost by stealth. The cookbook author and philanthropist started quietly making separate meals for herself without dairy or meat.

“I just started doing it myself and experimenting with it and not talking about it and kind of seeing how I would feel,” she says. "I undeniably felt better.”

Over time, she has managed to win over her three teenage kids and her husband, comedian Jerry Seinfeld, who all eat vegan these days. Now, she’s hoping to recruit even more with her new book “Vegan, at Times.”

With more than 120 recipes — from vegetable spring rolls with peanut butter dipping sauce to red curry with zucchini noodles — Seinfeld hopes the book can inspire more meatless Mondays (and maybe a few meatless Thursdays, too).

“I don’t know if I’ll ever get to be 100% vegan. That isn’t really my plan. My plan is to just do a really good job every single day with eating more vegetables, less meat and less dairy, and I’m succeeding," she said.

“Vegan, at Times,” written with Sara Quessenberry, is a judgement-free book with practical recipes that avoid dairy and meat. They can be prepared from ingredients at any store and made in 30 minutes or so. Seinfeld hopes readers can ease into veganism. (There's even a chapter titled “How Not to be an Annoying Vegan”).

“Myself and my family and lots of people that I know felt really intimidated by the aura around veganism, which is that it's strict and it's militant and unless you do it at 100%, you are not welcome,” she says.

“I have a real issue around shaming people for their food choices. I just think that food is a privilege and it’s a pleasure. And if you are able to put food on your table and make choices, you shouldn’t complain about...