Sunchokes

My friend Rosemary took me out to her garden and showed me where she'd just dug up some Jerusalem artichokes, also called Sunchokes. Her neighbor had given her a root and she stuck it in the ground and forgot about it -- and while she wasn't looking, it grew, and grew -- and grew! I'd never had one before, and as I'm always encouraging my students to try something new, I followed my own advice and now have a new favorite vegetable!
My favorite way to eat them is to chop the root in chunks, and braise in a small amount of water with other veggies. They are creamy, rich, and delicious with a delicate flavor reminiscent of artichokes!

Mushrooms -- the new legume!

Mushrooms are high in protein, fiber, and several important vitamins and minerals -- plus, they taste great and have a meaty, juicy mouthfeel. Joel Fuhrman, MD, recommends eating some every day! Try a Portobello Burger by sauteing a portobello mushroom in a balsamic vinegar-soy sauce-veggie broth mixture and serve in your favorite whole wheat bun with all the fixin's. Each variety has countless nutritional benefits, even the basic white button. Have fun exploring different varieties in your local food stores and discovering new -- and old -- fungi friends!

The nature mushroom photos above show how mushrooms grow in the great outdoors.  However, many mushrooms are poisonous, even fatal, so you should only buy your mushrooms from a grocer.

New Flyer!

Yummy in the Tummy Kids Cooking Class at Whole Foods

Have you about given up on having your kid eat better at school?  We haven't.  Our idea is to teach your kids how yummy vegan foods are by making it with them and having them take it for lunch.  Maybe you won't do this every day but what a relief it will be to know that a few days a week your kids are developing a healthier food appreciatioon while enjoying their lunches.  This picture is from my training session as I get ready to teach the kids this Fall.

Pictured above is what the kids made: mini pizzas with jarred pasta sauce, vegan Daiya mozzarella cheese shreds, carrot sticks and applesauce.

Field Trip to Ms. Julie's Kitchen in Akron

My intrepid friend Carol and I did another of our Lewis & Clark forays into the wilderness to explore further afield in vegan cuisine.  Carol maps out the route for its scenic and low traffic best, this time through the Cuyahoga Valley National Park, while I am the driver. If you haven't driven through our local gem of a national park, you are missing quite a scenic event.  We live atop it and use it as a cut through every chance we get.  To get the general info about Ms. Julie's go to her facebook page.

On to the particulars of what I discovered!

The sandwich, on the plate above, was delicious! The best part --besides everything in between -- was the freshly-baked 7-Grain Sunflower Seed bread featuring locally grown spelt flour giving it lightness and a depth of flavor that was outstanding. Carol got the zucchini feta pattywich (vegetarian) while I got the Hemp pattywich (see the blackboard menu in the below collage).  Even though Carol's neither a vegetarian nor a vegan, she wolfed down her sandwich at twice the speed I did plus bought two big containers of the Kale chips to take home!  Ms. Julie's can take that as quite the compliment. (The Kale chips are to the left of Ms. Julie in the above collage.)

Ms. Julie is pictured to the upper right. She was delighted to discover my brother and sister-in-law had hired her to cater my surprise birthday party some months ago.

Not only does Ms Julie's buy as much produce as possible from local farms, but .50 of every fudge brownie sold goes to a local women's shelter.  Carol and I ate some of the brownies along with the zucchini chocolate cake (after the kale chips) for a glorious late afternoon vegan feast. This was a very fun field trip and goes a long way towards proving my belief that vegan food can be both fun and delicious, not a grim health mandated duty.

Art and Photography work in this entry by Carol Irvin.  

All text by Rebecca Dingle.

21-Day Weight Loss Kickstart at Whole Foods Woodmere

Last month Whole Foods in Woodmere sponsored a 21-Day Weight Loss Kickstart program based on the eponymous new book by Neal Barnard, MD, president of Physicians Committee for Responsible Medicine. It's a healthy whole food plant based program that's far more effective than traditional diets for shedding unwanted pounds. Participants raved about Ellen's (WF's Healthy Eating Specialist pictured with me here) favorite breakfast of steel cut oatmeal with tons of healthy toppings like dried fruit, maple syrup, nuts and seeds; and the fat-free dressing I demo'd with the loaded salad was a big hit!

To make Steel Cut Oatmeal a la Ellen: boil 1 1/3 cups water and add 1/3 cup steel cut oats, simmer 20 minutes, then remove from heat and add fresh or frozen fruit -- raspberries or blueberries are her favorites -- then add a heaping teaspoon of natural peanut or almond butter, 2 teaspoons pure maple syrup, and 6 almonds. Voila!

Vegan Sweet Tooth Bakery

My friend Carol and I went to the Vegan Sweet Tooth Bakery where we had a glorious eating experience.  At this time, the main sweet is little cupcakes but it is almost as if they should be renamed as cupcake is too plain a word for these confections.  Carol is not a vegan but when she bit into the lavender cupcake, she immediately said, "This is the best thing I've ever tasted."  I had a chance to talk with the owner to find out a little more about what she uses instead of the traditional dairy products used in baking.  To make her luscious frostings, for example, she replaces the usual butter with Earth Balance, a non-hydrogenated margarine.  

The bakery is located inside the Eaton Collection in Woodmere, just East of Brainard and Chagrin Boulevard.  Exit onto Chagrin Blvd from I271 to get there and head east.

Art and Photography work in this entry by Carol Irvin.  
All text by Rebecca Dingle.

Dr. Esselstyn's Wellness Clinic

 

I was a guest at Dr. E's Wellness Clinic today. Fabulous information about plant-based diet for reversing heart disease, and a delicious plant-strong meal with an assist from Austin firefighter son Rip's bestselling Engine 2 cookbook!

4th Class at Parma for Project Cancer

1  For the final class, I showed how to make super-easy, delicious chili by heating together canned black beans, frozen corn, and prepared salsa -- then serving it over baked sweet potatoes. This was a new taste combination for many, and the class loved it.  To make the chili flavors really stand out, cilantro and fresh squeezed lime juice were added just before serving. I'm holding up a citrus reamer used for squeezing juice right into the skillet.

2  Next I made a Green Smoothie with kale -- a great way to get a quick, healthy dose of nutrient-dense dark leafy greens. Apple adds sweetness and adding banana neutralizes the greens' intense chlorophyl smell and taste. A few pieces of fresh ginger gives a pleasant kick -- and can help calm joint inflammations.

3  Collard Greens with Almonds came next. After removing the thick spines by holding onto the stem end and pulling the leaf off with the other hand, stack several leaves on top of each other, roll like a cigar, and slice crosswise into thin strips. This is called a chiffonade cut. Using an inch of water, braise in a covered skillet until tender, drain, and toss with a pressed clove of garlic stirred into a tablespoon of brown rice vinegar. Sprinkle with pan-toasted sliced almonds and serve!

4  The salad was a big hit: baby spinach, fresh pink grapefruit, red grapes, and raw sunflower seeds and chopped Brazil nuts tossed together with Annie's Lite Raspberry Vinaigrette. Because we use low- or non-fat salad dressings, adding a small amount of high-fat foods like nuts, seeds, olives, or avocado helps the body absorb the vitamins and minerals in raw salads.

Art and Photography work in this entry by Carol Irvin.  
All text by Rebecca Dingle.

Poster About Vegan Food For Life

Art and Photography work in this entry by Carol Irvin.  

Aladdin's Restaurant is vegan-friendly!

In case you're looking for a vegan-friendly place to take your friends or family for a restaurant meal in the Cleveland-Akron area, I highly recommend checking out your nearest Aladdins Eatery -- they are everywhere (see map below), and serve several vegan meals! Just be sure to ask your server to leave off any additional olive oil, and you'll be enjoying some healthy plant-based tasty food!

Non-Fiction Movie "Forks Over Knives"

A fabulous movie will be showing at the Cedar-Lee theatre in Cleveland Heights starting this Friday, May 27, called Forks Over Knives -- about how we can avoid the surgeon's knife by what we eat! to wit:

"Forks Over Knives examines the profound claim that most, if not all, of the degenerative diseases that afflict us can be controlled, or even reversed, by rejecting our present menu of animal-based and processed foods."

3rd Class Project Cancer

Last night was my third class at Parma Hospital Community Health Education Center. Pictured is me preparing a casserole of quinoa seed and cauliflower topped with a mushroom gravy. Any grain can be substituted for the quinoa -- but I wanted to give the class a chance to taste quinoa as it's one of the hot new discoveries in the vegan cooking world because it's a compete protein, and gluten free!  It is served by the students' taking a helping of the quinoa and cauliflower, as pictured, and then separately spooning over the mushroom gravy. The gravy is made with vegetable broth and flour. No oil was used. I used vegetable broth for sauteing the onion for the casserole and the mushrooms for the gravy. This takes the fat in this course down to almost nothing.

Here I am preparing Basil Citrus Salad. There is no oil used in this recipe. The salad gets its "dressing" flavor from seasoned brown rice vinegar, fresh basil, and the juice from the oranges. This again brings the fat content down to practically nothing. (Believe it or not, there are trace amounts of fat even in oranges!) This dish also takes advantage of our Cancer Project poster where we are encouraged to use the full spectrum of colors in plant foods to best maintain and restore health in our systems.

For some students, this next dish was the big hit of the evening. This is a tofu scramble which looks and tastes similar to that old classic, scrambled eggs, and is packed with healthy protein. It is turmeric that gives it that yellow color although as one student pointed out, curry powder would also give that yellow color -- because of the turmeric in it! The same things which are scrambled into the old classic are also perfect for this dish. I kept it fairly simple rather than add even more vegetables to an already high array of vegetables we were about to eat. Soy sauce and nutritional yeast are very good for flavoring this scramble.

Art and Photography work in this entry by Carol Irvin.  All text by Rebecca Dingle.

Second Class Vegan Stir Fry

Our second class introduced the health benefits of eating low-fat, high fiber foods. The main course was a vegan Sweet and Sour Stir Fry served over Toasted Brown Rice, using seitan (wheat protein) in place of meat. I use specialized Saladmaster cookware that is made out of surgical stainless steel and Titanium – but any cookware will do! If you have any chipped or peeling non-stick pans, toss them out, and replace them with stainless steel.

I do not use oil for frying. Instead I use a homemade vegetable broth which I make from saved vegetable trimmings. You can see a photo of my latest batch (in the glass jar) that I used in class -- its dark red color from beet trimmings!

I also demonstrated how to make a delicious low-fat Roasted Red Pepper Hummus, and for dessert we had diced mango with candied ginger. As usual, the class sampled these recipes and were encouraged to recreate them and make their own variations. Stir fries are especially capable of great creative variations and your market's produce department will inspire you by its colors and textures. Whole Foods, Trader Joe's and Heinen's have wonderful produce departments. 

The recipe for this dish is found in the Cancer Survivor's Guide, shown in the right hand column of this blog, with a link to Amazon, where it can be purchased in ebook or large paper format.

Art and Photography work in this entry by Carol Irvin.  All text by Rebecca Dingle.

Cancer Project Class at Parma Community Hospital

The location for my present classes is Parma Hospital's Community Health Education Center on Thursday nights.  If you want to see the national Cancer Project site, click on the below image:

I demonstrated four dishes in the class: a bean salad; spaghetti squash marinara; a hummus, carrot, and spinach tortilla; and chocolate mousse made with tofu and served with strawberries.  Everyone in the class samples the food when I am done.  The spaghetti squash marinara was an especially big hit. Essentially we are using the spaghetti squash as the "pasta", topped with a prepared marinara sauce and fresh basil -- getting loads of fiber and nutrients from the squash in place of regular pasta! Below is a picture of how the squash looks going from whole vegetable to forked "pasta". Click on the picture to enlarge it.

 In the classes, following the one where we learned something new, the students will report their success on making the dishes and/or variations to them.  A number of students were suggesting variations even before they left this class.  One wanted to save time by cooking the squash in a microwave.  Another student wants to "zap up" the bean salad by adding cilantro.

Please refer to the below chart by Cancer Project in planning your meals and foods.  You can print it out to further aid your cooking efforts from the enlargement (click on image).