Me and David at the table just before dinner. David cooked such an excellent feast that I'm still thinking about it. Yet the recipes he used are designed for easy home cooking by anyone who want to eat healthy with a minimum of time in the kitchen.

David Gabbe Makes the Veg World More Delicious

Do you ever look around your kitchen and feel uninspired? You want a simple, tasty meal but can’t quite get it together to cook something.

David Gabbe, a Portland-based vegan cookbook author, cooking instructor, and speaker, can help you out. I was fortunate, on a recent trip to Oregon, to savor an excellent dinner at David’s house with him and his wife, daughter, and son-in-law.

My spirited, friendly hosts offered such a variety of enticing food that it was hard to know what to eat first. I ended up with a plate crammed with a whole grain medley, tofu cubes, Mexican-themed casserole, corn bread, baked yams, and kale salad. Home made chocolate truffles rounded out dessert. I was so stuffed that one truffle was all I could manage, but my hosts downed a few more. In fact, I was informed, they eat home made chocolate truffles every day. Can I move in?

David is the only vegan I’ve met who did not have an identified reason to go animal-free. He and his wife just woke up one morning and decided to do it. Their two young children adopted the family food values. David reached out to educate the community. He immersed

David makes cooking manageable and fun for busy people who want healthy recipe ideas

himself in both the art of plant-based cooking and the science of nutrition so he could share his pleasure in vegan choices.

Now, twenty-two years into his career as a vegan author and educator, David teaches over 100 cooking classes a year in Oregon and Washington. His classes range from the general (David’s Vegan Kitchen, Grab-and_Go, Soups and Salads) to focus on specific foods and holidays (Adventures with Tofu, Gluten-Free Baking, Cheeses and Milks Vegan-Style, Thanksgiving, and many more).

Most people who take David’s classes are not vegan. They are just wanting to learn some healthier recipes and pick up some new ideas to incorporate beans, whole grains, and vegetables into their meals. Students describe David and his classes appreciatively as entertaining, delicious, fabulous, awesome, healthy, funny, and inventive.

If you are not lucky enough to live where you can take one of David’s classes, you can still have fun with his cookbooks. David’s Vegan Home Cooking, with over 250 whole foods, plant-based recipes, is his latest. The earlier books are From David’s Pure Vegetarian Kitchen, The Going Vegetarian Cookbook, and Why Do Vegetarians Eat Like That?

David’s Vegan Home Cooking wonderfully incorporates a cooking style that David describes as “quick and easy to prepare, that use a minimum of ingredients and instructions, and that use familiar ingredients that are used again and again in many other dishes.” He calls his food “A celebration of life with every bite.”

You should have an easy time finding intriguing recipes in David’s Vegan Home Cooking. If you are new to whole foods, plant-based cooking, David starts with basic information on kitchen tools, cooking techniques, and preparation of whole grains and beans.

Recipes are grouped by kind of food and how it is cooked rather than by meal. Chapters include Grains, Cereals, and Noodles; Dips, Sauces, and Condiment, From the Oven, Wraps, Patties, and Sandwiches, From the Skillet, Sweets, and more.

David has learned much from working with his students, answering their questions, and hearing their concerns. He has learned to satisfy them with simple, tasty, familiar foods. Because he is meeting students at their starting point, some of his recipes contain added oil and salt. In many recipes, you can simply leave these out if you prefer.

David's recipes incorporate appealing whole foods

I decided to give David’s Tempeh Meatloaf a try. I’d never figured out a way to cook tempeh before that I truly liked, and also was attracted to the bar-b-que sauce, which I love but rarely cook with. The loaf was tasty, satisfying, and easy to cook. It stretched as part of several meals on its own, as a sandwich filling, and cut up into salads. What to make next…it will be fun to sample these ideas made for everyday cooks who love to eat but don’t have a lot of time to spend in the kitchen. David shows that whole foods, plant-based recipes can be varied, intriguing, yet quick and simple all at the same time.

If you liked this post, you may want to read Twelve Ways to Make Cooking Fun and Easy. The two posts, taken together, are a good place to get information for easy, everyday meals with healing recipes, like those shown in the film Forks over Knives.

Intrigued? Now you can use our Whole Foods Blog Finder to target informative, fun postings on whole foods, plant-based diets. Quick information at no cost!

Blog posting by Janice Stanger, Ph.D. Janice authored The Perfect Formula Diet: How to Lose Weight and Get Healthy Now With Six Kinds of Whole Foods. This easy-to-follow eating plan is built on a whole foods, plant-based diet that can prevent, and even reverse, most chronic disease. Janice is still smiling thinking about her dinner with David Gabbe and his family.

Whole grain bread, two kinds of kale, and romaine lettuce are the appetizing basis for my next green sandwich

These Toppling Creations Can Be Your Go-To Lunch

Green smoothies are everywhere. Thousands of recipes offer intriguing ways to blend leafy greens, such as kale, chard, and spinach, with fruits, plant milks, chocolate, ice, and more for a thick, cold, satisfying drink. Often filling enough to be a meal on their own, green smoothies can be a delicious part of a whole foods, plant-based diet.

Green smoothies often aim to be slightly sweet. People who are not much into leafy green vegetables can enjoy them, because the fruit and other ingredients mask the taste of the greens. So even if you are shy about leafy greens, you can get a healthy dose of raw vegetables in your drink.

Green sandwiches are different. Green leafy veggies are the stars and their taste and texture are fundamental to enjoying the sandwich.

Leafy green vegetables are wonders of taste, nutrition, and appealing color. Calorie for calorie, these foods pack in more vitamins, minerals, and phytochemicals (beneficial substances found only in plants) than anything else you can eat. These vegetables also give you omega-3 fatty acids.

Remember, leaves are the nutrient factories of planet earth, harnessing sunlight to drive life on our planet. It’s no wonder that eating leafy vegetables protects against disease and spurs weight loss.

I used to eat nut butter and jelly sandwiches for lunch every day in the office for probably a decade. The last few years, however, I’ve branched out to creating green sandwiches. My inspiration was a goal to get more greens effortlessly into my daily menu. I began experimenting with sandwich possibilities and quickly discovered how simple and delicious green sandwiches are.

Here’s what I’ve learned about making green sandwiches.

• Excellent bread is the foundation of a hearty, satisfying sandwich. At a minimum, you need to choose whole grain bread. Read bread ingredients carefully. The first ingredient should be whole “name of grain” flour (This is usually whole wheat.) “Wheat flour” and “unbleached wheat flour” are not whole. Just because a bread is dark, does not mean it is whole grain. Using bread made from sprouted grain or gluten-free bread is fine.

• Equally important is using a variety of fresh leafy greens. Choose from the many varieties of kale, spinach, chard, collards, bok choy,

Parsley and other fresh herbs are great on a green sandwich

dark lettuces (such as romaine), or any other leafy greens you favor. Fresh herbs, such as parsley, cilantro, chives, mint, and basil, also count and add excellent flavor and fragrance.

• Choose any add-ons you like. I usually spread the bread with a thin layer of hummus, smashed avocado, or tahini. You can also use any nut butter. It may seem strange to put peanut or almond butter on a green sandwich, but if you would put peanuts or almonds on your salad, it’s really the same thing. Additional vegetables, such as green onions or sliced tomato or onion, are also delightful on the sandwich.

Assembling the sandwich could not be easier.

• Toast the bread if it’s stale or you just like toast better

• Wash and thoroughly dry your greens and other raw ingredients, then cut large leaves into sandwich-size pieces

• Spread the bread with whatever healthy plant-based choices you want

• Make sure your sandwich wrapper is handy, because the sandwich will be messy and will tend to fall apart if you don’t wrap it quickly. A reusable sandwich wrapper is best practice.

• Pile the bread several inches thick with greens and veggies

• Press the second slice of bread on top of the sandwich, and wrap it quickly before it topples

Feel free to make the sandwich the night before and refrigerate it if you are rushed in the morning. I find it does not get soggy if I thoroughly dry the greens.

Be prepared for a messy but satisfying eating experience. If you use a mountain of greens, the sandwich will tend to fall apart. To counter this, press the two slices of bread firmly together when you pick it up. Take small bites as the sandwich is very thick. It will

You could try having a green smoothie with your green sandwich. What a combo!

take you a while to eat it all.

Why am I so addicted to my green sandwiches? The concentrated nutrients in the leaves lack one critical part of your fuel – calories. An entire pound of greens has only about 100 calories. To keep going through the rest of the day, the healthy, fiber-dense calories of the whole grain bread are a satisfying complement to the veggies. By varying the greens and bread and other fillings daily, I can make a different sandwich every day and never get bored.

Don’t like raw leafy greens? Not a problem. Your tastes can change in as little as 3 weeks. Start with a sandwich with only one layer of leaves, and pick the kind you like best (or dislike least). Over a period of months, gradually add more leaves until you’ve trained yourself to enjoy them. You may find some raw greens to be bitter. Start with spinach and lettuce, and gradually add other greens as your taste buds adapt.

Want an easy variation? Try a green wrap. It’s just like a green sandwich, but a little less messy, since everything is tightly contained in a whole grain tortilla or flat bread.

While green sandwiches might not be the world’s most gourmet whole foods, plant-based recipe, they are ultra convenient, easy to make, inexpensive, portable, nutritious, and delicious. You don’t even have to wash a blender after you make them.

If you liked this posting, you may want to read Not-Recipes for Not-Meals.

Intrigued? Now you can use our Whole Foods Blog Finder to target informative, fun postings on whole foods, plant-based nutrition. Quick information at no cost!

Blog posting by Janice Stanger, Ph.D. Janice authored The Perfect Formula Diet: How to Lose Weight and Get Healthy Now With Six Kinds of Whole Foods. This easy-to-follow eating plan is built on a whole foods, plant-based diet that can prevent, and even reverse, most chronic disease. Green sandwiches are Janice’s go-to lunch recipe.

You can make delicious soup with a prepared base plus your own fresh vegetables and spices

Cooking from scratch with fresh ingredients is the gold standard for healthy plant-based eating. Tips to make cooking more enjoyable simplify this process. But some nights even the most undemanding recipes are out-of-reach. You are running late at work and get home tired and distracted. Traffic was a hassle. Maybe you have less than an hour to make dinner, eat, clean up, and run out for another commitment. Even on weekends, you can be squeezed for time as you bounce from one commitment to the next.

Don’t despair. Even in these stressful situations, you can have healthy, satisfying food. You do not need to settle for a fast food chain, take-out with uncertain ingredients, or running on empty.

The secret is to jazz up grocery store convenience items with your own fresh add-ins. You don’t need a recipe. Once you get the knack of doing this, you’ll never lack for ideas.

The trick is to select the healthiest convenience items when you shop and always keep a few in your house. Here are some ideas.

• Soup in a box. Many brands offer soup bases you can pour from a box, using just the quantities you want.
• Canned soup and chili
• Jarred or canned tomato-based pasta sauce
• Frozen ravioli, gnocchi, or entrees
• Veggie burgers and dogs
• Cold or hot cereal

Okay, you are probably wondering, how can this possibly be healthy? Everyone knows prepared foods are almost always too salty,

Always keep some fresh vegetables on hand to add to pasta sauce, soups, or wraps

may contain added oils, and possibly other preservatives as well. Keep two things in mind. One is that some prepared foods are healthier than other choices. Second, you are going to dilute the undesirable ingredients with your own tasty additions.

Here are five tips to figure out the best choices for the prepared foods for your pantry.

1. Read the ingredient list carefully. Don’t look at claims on the packaging – only at the ingredients. If the item has any animal ingredients (milk, cheese, whey, cream, butter, fish, chicken, beef, egg or egg whites, and so on) then don’t buy it. Similarly, make sure that there are no hydrogenated or partially hydrogenated oils in the product and it is not deep fried.
2. Favor foods made with tofu over foods made with isolated soy protein.
3. Once you eliminate items that have unacceptable ingredients, compare the remaining choices to see which are lowest in fat and salt per serving.
4. The next step is to see which have the most desirable ingredients, such as whole grains (will say “whole” in the ingredient list), vegetables, fruits, beans, and potatoes.
5. Combine steps 3 and 4 to decide the products to buy.

You don’t need to do this every time you shop. Once you have your list of the best prepared foods, you can usually just buy the

Your cart is a blank canvas. You can add the best available choices...or not.

same brands over and over (reread the ingredient list every once in a while to make sure it has not changed).

The most important step is to add your own healthy ingredients to the prepared base until the healthy ingredients are a significant part of the total. Here are ideas for additions, but in the end you are limited only by your own imagination.

• Add lots of fresh or dried herbs and spices and fresh or frozen vegetables to boxed or canned soup or chili. You can add leftovers that are already cooked, or just let the veggies heat in the broth on the stovetop. Most vegetables in soup do not have to be cooked a long time. It’s ok just to heat them through and you are good to go.
• Follow the same procedure above with jarred pasta sauce. Use the sauce on whole grain pasta or another whole grain, such as brown rice.
• Eat a veggie burger or dog on a whole grain tortilla or whole grain bread. Really pile on greens, veggies, and herbs until they are a thicker layer than the veggie burger or dog base.
• In a real rush, top whole grain cold cereal with lots of fruit, cinnamon, and dairy-free milk.
• Cover your healthy leftovers, such as baked potatoes, lentils, or beans, with a bit of boxed soup as a sauce and lots of veggies, herbs, and spices.
• Cook extra amounts of fresh foods from scratch on days you have time, so there are always leftovers to combine with a purchased base.

This “cooking lite” strategy is not the optimum way to eat, but very often is preferable to just about all the choices that would otherwise be realistic. It’s a great alternative to fast food fries, a bag of chips, or canned soup with no fresh ingredients added.

If you ignore your hunger and don’t eat at all, you are way more likely to overeat later and gorge on totally unhealthy foods. If you are just running out the door, grab a couple pieces of fruit or some whole grain crackers as a not-meal, but don’t leave your body totally unfueled.

So let’s be realistic with our rushed modern culture. We need to live within our time resources as well as our financial resources, making the most of both. Cooking lite will help you to do that.

Intrigued? Now you can use our Whole Foods Blog Finder to target informative, fun postings on plant-based nutrition. Quick information at no cost!

Blog posting by Janice Stanger, Ph.D. Janice authored The Perfect Formula Diet, the smart person’s nutrition book built on sustainable food choices. Enjoy six kinds of whole foods for permanent, hunger-free weight loss and health.

Red potatoes, purple, or Yukon Gold are all excellent for steaming. Cut into bite size pieces first.

Potatoes are one of nature’s most satiating foods. This means they get you full and keep you feeling full and satisfied longer than most other things you could eat. These nutritious spuds have gotten a bad name because they are usually made into chips or fried (read unhealthy and weight-promoting oil) or baked and smothered with a dairy topping. So it’s no wonder that potatoes have gotten a bad – but undeserved – reputation.

Baking and roasting are my favorite ways to make potatoes. In the heat of San Diego summer, though, the oven is best turned off. So I experimented with steaming potatoes and am cheering at the results.

First, I scrubbed and cut up about 10 medium sized Yukon Gold potatoes into bite size chunks (red potatoes or purple would also be good choices). Then I steamed them about 22 minutes until they were just fork tender. You might have to steam a longer or shorter time, based on the size of the potato pieces and kind of spud.

There, I had the basis all the satisfying not-meals I could want for the next day. I ate some of the steamers mixed with salad. I ate some on their own, sprinkled with pepper and paprika or dipped in barbecue sauce.

If you want a bit more elaborate meal, just sauté the steamed potatoes in a bit of vegetable broth (just enough to cover the bottom of

Saute a chopped onion with the steamed potatoes in a bit of vegetable broth

the pan) with chopped onions, mushrooms, spinach, kale, or whatever other veggies you want. Cook until the veggies are barely tender and still flavorful. Sprinkle on your favorite spices or add fresh herbs. Summer offers basil, dill, parsley, cilantro, and many other choices. A large bowl of this creation is a meal, not requiring anything to supplement it.

Add mushromms or whatever veggies you want to the saute. Be sure to include spices or fresh herbs for more flavor and nutrition.

Give steamed potatoes the thumbs up over junk food choices. Even on a plant-based diet, it’s so easy to just go for a chip, cookie, faux meat or cheese, “ice cream,” cupcake, food bars, candy, or whatever the latest vegan manufactured food choice is lining food store shelves. The resulting health effects, over the long-run, will not make you into a model of health that everyone else wants to emulate. The steamed potatoes and veggies alternative is every bit as filling, delicious, enjoyable, and even really convenient. Why not give it a try?

Intrigued? Now you can use our Whole Foods Blog Finder to target informative, fun postings on plant-based nutrition. Quick information at no cost!

Blog posting by Janice Stanger, Ph.D. Janice authored The Perfect Formula Diet, a nutrition book built on sustainable food choices. Enjoy six kinds of whole foods for permanent, hunger-free weight loss and health.

Whole foods are so tasty that, if you are not into cooking, you can still have excellent not-meals with little kitchen time. For example, after work, one of my favorite quick dinners is green lentils with vegetables on a whole grain tortilla.

The lentils cook from their dry form in about 40 minutes. I mix them with freshly steamed or leftover brown rice or some frozen organic corn. Then spoon onto the whole grain tortilla with some chopped leafy greens, salsa, and/or spices. Steamed fresh vegetables round out a super simple but yummy and filling start to an energetic evening.

Sometimes, though, I want a more elaborate taste experience. Just as important, I find chopping and mixing colorful whole foods to

Working with beautiful whole foods is fun and relaxing

be relaxing and fun. If you never liked cooking before, you may change your mind when you go the whole foods route.

Want cooking ideas? An unbeatable site for thousands of whole foods recipes is fatfreevegan.com. This super blog is friendly, fun, and overflowing with enough recipes to keep you happily hanging around your kitchen for years.

This site features food photos that will make you hungry if you aren’t already. The advanced search function helps you find a recipe to use up ingredients that are filling your garden or refrigerator. The home page has an extensive, convenient list of five star recipes.

Cooking ideas are conveniently grouped into categories either by ingredients (such as beans or vegetables) or kind of meal (holiday dishes, kid friendly), not to mention by cooking method (such as pressure cooker or quick and easy).

You’ll also find an overview of why it’s healthy to eat a whole foods diet, without added oils (which are, after all, a manufactured food). There is general information on whole foods cooking that will help you put together your own recipes, or quick, informal not-meals (such as my lentils and greens on a tortilla).

Once you check out this site, you will never again think cooking without animal ingredients or oils is a challenge or deprivation. Instead, whole foods will blossom into the pleasure they really are. Eating any other way becomes the undesirable state.

Intrigued? Now you can use our Whole Foods Blog Finder to target informative, fun postings on plant-based nutrition. Quick information at no cost!

Blog by Janice Stanger, Ph.D. Janice authored The Perfect Formula Diet, a nutrition book built on sustainable food choices. Enjoy six kinds of whole foods for permanent, hunger-free weight loss and health.

The Southern tradition of eating black-eyed peas and greens on New Year’s Day is now widespread. Prosperity and luck throughout the year are the promised benefits. The peas (actually a kind of bean) symbolize coins, while the greens stand for dollars.

Eating this combo at New Year’s started about the time the Civil War was ending. Union soldiers spared the humble black-eyed peas as they confiscated or destroyed other crops in the South.

Black-eyed peas are the stars on New Year's

Had the troops understood the outstanding health benefits of black-eyed peas they might have targeted this food as well. This legume shares the same health benefits as other beans, filling you up and satisfying your appetite. The beans are a nutritional powerhouse, rich in minerals, complex carbohydrates, fiber, vitamins, protein, and phytochemicals.

Just as important, black-eyed peas and greens are easy to cook and there are so many fun variations on the basic dish. Here is the recipe I made for 2010.

Any Day of the Year Black-Eyes Peas and Greens

The ingredients are:

Three cups of cooked black-eyed peas (or two cans if you don’t cook them yourself)

1/3 cup of liquid – water, vegetable broth, or wine

One large onion

1 teaspoon chopped jalapeno pepper (more or less to taste)

2 cups assorted chopped veggies (such as mushrooms, celery, bell peppers, carrot, tomatoes, or whatever else you like)

6 cups chopped greens (such as kale, chard, spinach, collards, or bok choy)

3 cloves garlic minced or pressed

Other spices of your choice

You can put this together fast:

Heat the liquid in a large pan with high sides or a wok. Add the onions and jalapeno pepper and sauté for 5 minutes on medium heat, stirring frequently. Add more liquid as needed ,about ¼ cup at a time, to keep the onion from sticking.

Add the 2 cups of assorted vegetables and keep cooking, stirring every minute or two. Add more liquid as needed. Cook until the vegetables are done to your taste. I like barely cooked, crisp veggies, so I sauté mine only about another 5 minutes.

Add the greens and garlic and cook about another 5 minutes. The green should be wilted but not overcooked. Finally, stir in the cooked or canned black-eyed peas and stir until just heated through.

Add any other spices you like and stir the mixture well. I added about half a teaspoon of curry powder, chopped fresh parsley, and some Tabasco this year.

This is excellent over any kind of cooked whole grain, such as brown rice, bulgur wheat, quinoa, whole wheat pasta, or barley.

This recipe is easy and tasty enough to eat any day. It’s too good to save for once a year. So get off to a fresh start and enjoy whenever you want it.

Intrigued? Now you can use our Whole Foods Blog Finder to target informative, fun postings on plant-based nutrition. Quick information at no cost!

Blog by Janice Stanger, Ph.D. Janice authored The Perfect Formula Diet, a nutrition book built on sustainable food choices. Enjoy six kinds of whole foods for permanent, hunger-free weight loss and health.

Home Made Cranberry Sauce that Will Wow Your Guests

If you grew up eating canned, jellied cranberry sauce, as I did, you have hopefully already discovered how amazing the home made version of this perpetual favorite can be. No holiday gathering would be complete without the deep red and tart richness of this treat.

This cranberry sauce was so good that my friends started eating it before I could get my camera out

Luckily, fresh cranberries are in season. Leave the cans in the store and bring home the ingredients for your own taste treat. While you can discover hundreds of recipes on the Internet, I have put together the following simple recipe that cooks in ten minutes. Even people who usually don’t like cranberry sauce will eat a plate of this.

Recipe for not-too-sweet cranberry sauce:

Ingredients

4 cups of cranberries (this is the amount in a 12 ounce package)

¾ cup water

½ cup sugar (see below)

½ cup agave nectar (this is the secret ingredient which keeps it yummy but not too sweet)

1 orange – sliver the peel into orange zest and juice the orange

½ cup dried fruit – raisins or apricots are perfect

½ teaspoon grated ginger

¼ teaspoon cinnamon

1/8 teaspoon nutmeg

Fun with Cooking

Boil the water with ¼ cup of the fresh squeezed orange juice (1 cup of liquid total). As soon as it boils, add the cranberries and stir. If the cranberries are very fresh, you will hear them pop. Otherwise they will just get soft and start to lose their shape. Immediately add the sugar and agave nectar and stir to dissolve. Simmer for five minutes, stirring occasionally. If the cranberries still have their original round form, squish them against the sides of the pot with the back of a large spoon. This will get the texture right.

Add the dried fruit, orange zest, and spices and stir. Simmer five more minutes, stirring occasionally. Remove from heat.

You can eat this warm, or refrigerate to eat it cold. Either way, it won’t last long after you put it out for your guests. In fact, you may find you need to double the recipe to have enough.

Note on the sweeteners: You can use ordinary sugar, but the cranberry sauce will be healthier and taste better if you use organic, unbleached sugar. This may include Succanat or Rapidura sugar or turbinado sugar or other organic varieties. Note that commercial brown sugar is simply bleached white sugar with some additives. Not to be used in this recipe.

You can find agave nectar in just about any natural food store. It has a mild sweetness that is not as overpowering as sugar. The agave nectar cuts through the tartness of the cranberries without making the sauce too sweet. Also, agave contains minerals that makes your sauce more nutritious.

Enjoy! This is perfect with any plant-based holiday (or any day) dinner.

If you enjoyed this post, you may like the tips in Twelve Ways to Make Cooking Fun and Easy.

Intrigued? Now you can use our Whole Foods Blog Finder to target informative, fun postings on plant-based nutrition. Quick information at no cost!

Blog posting by Janice Stanger, Ph.D. Janice authored The Perfect Formula Diet: How to Lose Weight and Get Healthy Now With Six Kinds of Whole Foods, the smart person’s nutrition book built on sustainable food choices. Enjoy six kinds of whole foods for permanent, hunger-free weight loss and health.