UA alum Halle Burns is set to release a vegan cookbook called “Call Me Vegan” on Tuesday.
Lovingly named by fans as the “Bob Ross of cooking,” Burns rose to fame with content featuring various vegan recipes, and has gained 3.3 million followers across multiple social media platforms, like YouTube and Instagram.
Originally starting her content online due to the lockdown in 2020, she focused her videos on snack foods. Her content specialized around creating vegan dishes with food viewers have around home or might even throw away. One of Burns’ more popular videos includes a BLT sandwich where she makes banana peels into bacon.
“It was more fun than it was education, but as I started getting more engagement, I started to get more inspired,” Burns said. This inspiration led her to attend culinary school in South India, which is known for its vegetarian and vegan cuisine.
One of the main criticisms of veganism is the fear of inadequate protein, since most people get their protein from animal products.
“There are a lot of ways to sneak protein into foods that do not usually have protein in them,” Burns said. “You do not necessarily have to mock meat in order to get protein into your diet.”
Many of Burns’ recipes include high-protein ingredients like tofu and lentils. These plant-based products naturally contain abundant protein and are completely vegan.
“This book is the perfect beginner’s guide to veganism,” Burns said.
The recipes in “Call Me Vegan” include familiar dishes typically found in a standard diet — just made vegan. The book features plant-based versions of classics like crepes, pretzels and bagels. While some recipes might be unfamiliar to most readers, such as eggplant noodles, they remain inviting and appetizing.
Though much of Burns’ content can be found online, her book offers a fresh collection of recipes.
“There are 90% new recipes and 10% audience favorites. It’s not just a copy-paste version of my previous content,” Burns said. “The book will include some of my more famous recipes, but most will be unique to the book.”
