Forks Over Knives

Great news! Dr T. Colin Campbell and Dr Caldwell Esselstyn from Planeat have been working on a new project. Forks over Knives is a mission to teach the world about how to eat a plant-based diet and the health benefits associated with it.

Although the website, www.forksoverknives.com, is still in development, there will be a new film coming soon, and you can sign up to receive information by email.

Read the Label!

   In a previous job I was trained to constantly review and reassess everything I do, and it's a habit that I'm very glad to say has stayed with me. So today I had a look back at the top tips for eating a plant-based diet that I first picked up from the Planeat website. After all, I wouldn't want to revert back to any bad habits and take a small step forward and then a massive leap back.
   No 8 on Ann Esselstyn's Principles is to Read Labels. As a vegetarian this is something that I've been doing for years anyway. Even after the V logo was applied to most vegetarian foods in the UK, I still checked the ingredients out of habit. And it's the ingredients that are the important thing to read. Having worked in food retail myself, I know that food packaging can be very deceptive. This is particularly true here in the UK, where laws and rules are a little more relaxed than in other countries such as the USA and Canada. It's easy to think that if something is labelled as 'low fat' or 'diet' then it's better for you. Unfortunately, this is rarely the case. Personally, I try to only eat things that come in a packet if they're wholefoods and as close to their original state as possible.
  If like me, though, you're trying to start change by taking small streps, then the important thing to remember is always read the ingredients. As a general rule, if you can't pronounce it or you don't know what it is, it's probably best to put it back on the shelf.

The tardis of freezers

My freezer is like Aladdin's cave sometimes. Which is all the more amazing considering it's only a box freezer. Alongside the mushroon gravy I used to make the stew yesterday I also found a tub of the basting sauce from Chef Sarno's Seitan Briskett recipe. I added a teaspoon on cornflour, heated it gently whilst stirring continuously, and ended up with a lovely sauce to pour over vegetables.

Winter Warmer

It's freezing cold here in Wales (although I'm glad to say we have no snow in Cardiff yet). In an effort to win the battle against the freezing temperatures, I made a big batch of vegetable hotpot/stew this morning. A few weeks back I mentioned that I'd tried Chef Chad Sarno's Wild Mushroom Gravy recipe from the Planeat website with much success. I found a tub of it in my freezer, and it is a perfect base for my hotpot/stew. I simply defrosted the gravy with some vegetable stock to bulk it up a bit, and then added steamed vegetables. Whatever vegetables are seasonal to your area will do, personally I used the celeriac, potatoes, carrots and onions (fried in vinegar) that I bought at the market yesterday. This recipe will be of no use to anyone living in a warm climate, but for those of us currently experiencing winter it's a great way to warm up. And it means I've got my lunch sorted for the next few days. I've even got a little pot of pickled red cabbage to take into work with me and serve with my hotpot/stew.

Hummus is my new favourite snack

Without wanting to sound like a stereotypical vegetarian, I'm going to talk about the merits of hummus. Over the years I've tried various types and brands of pre-packed hummus and, whilst it is perfectly edible, I've never been a huge fan. Inspired by Ann Esselstyn's 8 Principles on www.planeat.tv, I decided to give in another shot. Number 8 on Ann's List is Eat Beans and Lentils instead of meat and dairy. You should, however, avoid hummus that contains tahini, and Ann has a great, simple recipe for making your own hummus. Blend together chick peas, lemon and garlic and add cumin, vinegar, red peppers, parsley or cilantro (coriander to us Brits) to taste. On a personal note, I'm alergic to garlic (I know, it's a nightmare) so instead I use chilli which tastes great. My top tips are to boil the chick peas for 5 minutes first for a smoother texture, and grate a bit of the lemon zest into the blender for an extra tangy taste. Whilst we're on the subject of blenders, it's an important piece of kit for any whole food home cook. I got mine for Christmas last year and it's probably been used more than anything else in my kitchen. When I'm trying new recipes, I always find that I have lots of vegetables left over that I'm not going to use up before they go off. Just fry some chopped onion and chilli in a large pan, chop the leftover veg and add to the pan with some vegetable stock (2:3 ratio is about right). Leave it to boil until all the veg is soft, and then once it's cooled down blend it to make a tasty soup. I then freeze the soup into batches so that I can reheat it at a later date when I don't have time to cook.
Anyway, I've finished my hummus and oat cakes that I've been eating whilst typing this, so I'm off to the fridge to get some more.

Dyfal Donc i dyr y Garreg

Apologies to anyone who can't read Welsh, and rest assured that 'Dyfal donc i dyr y garreg' isn't offensive. At least, my Welsh tutor told me it isn't. The phrase translates into English as 'It's a steady tapping that breaks the stone', and I thought it an apt mantra to adopt whilst tackling my latest challenge. Having been a vegetarian for the past seventeen(ish) years, I know a few facts about the impact our diet has on the environment. However, I'm always keen to broaden my knowledge, and with that in mind, last week I watched the Planeat film (www.planeat.tv). According to the scientists in Planeat the less animal-based foods and the more plant-based foods you eat the better, both on a health and environmental level. Their mission is to create awareness of the benefits of a plant-based diet, encourage consumers to reduce their meat and dairy consumption and be inspired by plant-based cuisine.
Already being a vegetarian, I fully admit that at the start of the film I was quitely confident that my diet was already pretty environmentally friendly. I was soon brought down a peg or two though, when Gidon Eshel, prof. of Physics and Geosciences at Bard College, explained that vegetarian diets aren't actually that much better than an average omnivore diet, and in fact a poultry-based diet can have less impact on the environment. This is due to us veggies tending to over-compensate by eating more dairy products and eggs. Which brings me neatly to another important message that I learnt from Planeat. In the Western world we are brought up to believe that we should eat lots of animal-based protein.The research of T Colin Campbell shows that too much protein from an animal-based diet is damaging to our health (As you may have guessed already, I'm no scientist, so please watch the film or visit the website for a more coherent explanation of this theory).
So, where am I going with this? I'm not saying that I'm going to turn vegan overnight, but what I am interested in, though, is to see if it's possible to make small changes towards the Planeat philosophy. I will use the free-range carrots blog to chart my ups and down, and also to share any tips and plant-based recipes that I come across. And I'll take it one small step at a time, because as we say in Wales 'Dyfal donc i dyr y garreg'.