Category Archives: Whole Food Plant-Based recipes

Whole Food Plant-Based Recipes

Dr. Mao’s Secrets of Longevity Cookbook: Eating for Health, Happiness, and Long Life

I’m one of those lucky people who gets an advance reader copy of many new books. I get to read and review them before they are even published! For a reading addict, it doesn’t get better than that.

Last week I received a copy of Dr. Mao’s latest book:  Dr. Mao’s Secrets of Longevity Cookbook: Eating for Health, Happiness, and Long Life. The cookbook is the latest in his “Longevity” franchise which include: The Secrets of Longevity, The Secrets of Longevity Eight Week Program and the The Secrets of Longevity Eight Week Diary. (more…)

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Plant-based Sugar-free, Gluten-free, Dairy-free All American Apple Pie

apple pieMost of the time the way I eat makes me very happy. I like feeling healthy and light. I never feel deprived or like I am sacrificing until the Holidays come. It gets dark early, it’s cold and temptations abound! It is only human to want a little comfort! It doesn’t take long for me to start telling myself that I have been so good for so long that just “a little sugar/gluten/dairy/etc won’t hurt”. That is kinda true (or so I hear). My problem is once I start eating a little sugar, I want more. And a little sugar has a way of creeping up to a whole lot! (more…)

Posted in additive-free food, dessert, diary-free food, gluten-free food, plant based diet, sugar-free food, vegan, vegetarian | Tagged , , , , | Leave a comment

Flavoring Whole Food Plant-based Diet

Taste is a funny thing; part biology  part learned and always infused with expectations. We expect certain flavors to meld. An expectation many cooks fail to meet! A great example is in an interview excerpt shown in Forks Over Knives, The Extended Interviews.  In it Doug Lisle tells a story about trying to get his father to switch to a whole food plant-based diet. After one meal, his Father stated that if he had to eat like that for the rest of his life he would rather die of a heart attack.  I just started laughing! Not exactly funny, but very often a too common story. Some of worst tasting food ever created is passed off as vegetarian, vegan or  “healthy!” Lots of people, for good reason, think healthy food and think bland, tasteless and/or ill-conceived.

stuffed peppers

(more…)

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All Plant-based Split Pea Soup

When I was a 4 or 5  my Dad’s family lived in Santa Barbara. A couple of times a year we would drive up from Los Angeles to visit. Along the way there were always signs for Andersen’s – the split pea soup Andersen’s. The signs featured Hap-pea the big cook and Pea-wee his helper. Some even showed an elaborate split-pea soup factory. The signs were provocative and intriguing. It wasn’t long before the idea of Hap-pea, Pea-wee and a soup factory became as real as the car I was trapped in. I could see just how it looked. And if I scrunched up my face and thought really hard I could even hear and smell it. (more…)

Posted in additive-free food, diary-free food, gluten-free food, plant based diet, soup, sugar-free food, Uncategorized, vegan, vegetarian, Whole Food Plant-Based nutrition | Tagged , , , , | Leave a comment

Holiday Red and Green Salad

While I know how important fresh veggies are, I am not ready to go to a raw food diet. . . I know cooked veggies are good, but the heat does kill some of the phytonutrients. Simply put, fresh is always better. My question is: how many salads can you eat without dying of boredom. Which means, of course, that I am always trying new ideas and combinations to keep myself entertained. (more…)

Posted in plant based diet, processed food, salad, sugar-free food, vegan, vegetarian, Whole Food Plant-Based Diet Food Categories | Tagged , , | Leave a comment

Butternut Squash Tostada

Butternut SquashLast week I met my friend Susan in my old neighborhood. When we were trying to figure out a restaurant, she suggested Real Food Daily. The restaurant is literally a block and a half from my old condo so it was easy for me to find.

This is a true plant-based whole food diet restaurant! The menu is an intriguing mix of plant-based food (vegan), local and organic dishes. The thing I appreciated most about the menu was there was no guessing about content. The selections were all marked for easy reference:  Soy-Free, Gluten-Free and Nut Free. The only problem was making a decision. I am not used to having that many selections on a menu. As a vegetarian I usually have 3 or 4 choices so making a decision is simple. (more…)

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Mashed Potato Soup

Plant-based Mashed Potato SoupI have a recipe for Mashed Potato Soup that I have served every holiday for the last 20 years. No matter how much I make, it always gets eaten to the last drop.

Ironically, the original recipe came from “The Healthy Heart” cookbook even though it calls for sour cream, cream cheese, milk and cheddar cheese. With all those dairy products, what’s not to like! (more…)

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Vegan Waldorf Salad

Plant-Based Waldorf SaladThe story goes that Waldorf Salad was created by Oscar Tschirky, the Maître D’hôtel at the Waldorf Hotel in New York. The year was 1893. Benjamin Harrison was the new elected president of the USA. The USA was entering  a serious depression after the stock market crashed   That depression signaled huge changes in American life and was accompanied by violent strikes, Populist crusades and a 12% unemployment rate.

Few people remember the depression, lots remember the salad. Funny how life works.

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Vegan Pumpkin Pie

While I am trying to figure out what else to do with all my pumpkin I decided to make a trial run at a true whole food plant-based pie. One that is sugar-free, egg-free, dairy-free and gluten-free. Last year I made a dairy-free pie that was wonderful! This year the goal is a true vegan pumpkin pie – dairy-free and egg-free as well.

Last weekend I donned my Girl Scout attire (figuratively) and started experimenting so that Thanksgiving prep goes smoothly. I don’t want to be up to my elbows in pie failures come next Wednesday.

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Substituting Eggs

This is the time of year when I start thinking seriously about desserts. I mean, what is Thanksgiving without Pumpkin Pie or Christmas without cookies ?

Those of us who eat a whole food plant-based diet making desserts is really a challenge. There is a lot of substituting that has to be done. For most things it is relatively easy to substitute For example you can substitute:

  • Milk = Nut milk
  • Gluten based flours = gluten-free baking mix or brown rice flour
  • Sugar = honey, maple syrup, coconut sugar or stevia
  • Butter = Coconut Oil (more…)
Posted in baking, dessert, diary-free food, Eggs, gluten-free food, sugar-free food, vegan, vegetarian | Tagged , , , , , , | Leave a comment