Forks Over Knives Plant-Based Thanksgiving Livestream

This Thanksgiving, Forks Over Knives came into my kitchen and I demonstrated how to make an entire whole food, plant-based Thanksgiving meal live. The recipes I made were: Fall Harvest Chowder, Stuffed Acorn Squash, Tempeh Italiano (from The Complete Idiot's Guide to Gluten-Free Vegan Cooking), Kale Salad with Maple Mustard Dressing, Berry Apple Relish, and Chocolate Chip Pumpkin Muffins (based off of my Blueberry Oat Breakfast Muffins in the Forks Over Knives book). Click here for all six recipes and I hope you enjoyed a happy, healthy Thanksgiving!

The Chef and The Dietitian - Episode 35 - Saucy Glazed Mushrooms

Wondering how to eliminate oil when sauteing? This episode will show you how...and why! One tablespoon of oil contains 120 calories and 100% of those calories come from fa!. Plus, the amount of micronutrients (vitamins and minerals) found in oil is minimal...especially when compared to the whole food version. But who needs oil when you can saute in water, vegetable broth, coconut water, juice, beer, or wine and never miss the flavor (or the fat)?!

Try out this easy Saucy Glazed Mushrooms recipe from the talented and hilarious Chef AJ's book Unprocessed. These end up in her famous Disappearing Lasagna by the way! For more information about low fat eating, check out my book, The Complete Idiot's Guide to Plant-Based Nutrition.

A Whole Food, Plant-Based Thanksgiving Livestream with Forks Over Knives

Holiday time is usually centered upon meals...parties, celebrations, family gatherings....They are basically eating opportunities gone wild! It is commonly agreed upon that a certain weight gain is expected between Halloween and New Years....upon which, the focus shifts from accumulating towards removing those excess pounds as a resolution for the new year. The average weight gain during the annual holiday season ranges from 5-10 pounds. If you fail to accommodate for these subtle additions to your body, you could pack on some serious poundage over the years and increase your risk of virtually all chronic diseases at your disposal. 

This year, Forks Over Knives - the best documentary of 2011 and New York Times Bestselling Book - is streaming a live Thanksgiving cooking demo LIVE! On Thursday, the 17th of November, I will be creating an entire whole food, plant-based Thanksgiving meal to show how easy it is to make healthy delicious...even during the holidays!

The menu is as follows:

• Kale Salad with Maple Mustard Dressing (inspired by my partner-in-crime Chef AJ's House Dressing)
• Tempeh Italiano...from The Complete Idiot's Guide to Gluten-Free Vegan Cooking which I co-authored with the brilliantly creative and talented Chef Beverly Lynn Bennett (publishing on December 6th)
• Stuffed Acorn Squash (original recipe exclusively for this event)
• Berry Apple Relish (original recipe exclusively for this event)
• Pumpkin Chocolate Chip Muffins (a version based off of my Blueberry Oat Breakfast Muffins in the Forks Over Knives book)

Tune in this Thursday at 6:00pm PST / 9:00pm ET here.

The link will show the recording for a couple days after we air. After that, check the Forks Over Knives You Tube page to watch.

Recent Updates

I have had a very busy and exciting month and wanted to share some of the details...

This past Friday, October 28th, I was featured as the expert on The Dr. Oz Show.  J. Morris Hicks wrote a fabulous blog delineating the details of the show on his site. To read it, click here: Healthy Eating Healthy World. After Dr. Oz showed the massive beneficial results of putting 3 women on a whole food, plant-based diet for about 6 days, he had me explain how this is plausible in the real world. I explained how to appropriately and easily find protein, calcium, healthy fats, and carbs in the plant kingdom, all while improving your health. In the second segment, I demonstrate how to make 3 recipes from my book: It's Easy Being Green Smoothie, Mexican Noritos, and Beans and Greens Chili. Overall it was an incredible experience...going to New York City, taping at 30 Rock, and meeting Dr. Oz and his incredible team. If you liked the show, please write in to tell them here because I would love to go back.

Here are the links to watch the show online:
Part 1 sets up the story.
Part 2 explains the results for the women.
This is me describing the details of the diet.
Here are the cooking demos.

One of the most rewarding parts of having this experience is that it helped my book and DVD rankings go all the way into the top 100 books and documentaries! The Complete Idiot's Guide to Plant-Based Nutrition ended up as #48 in all books, #2 in Nutrition, #2 in Nursing, #3 in Diets, and #4 in Medicine on Amazon. (Ok, yes, I have become obsessed with these numbers!)

I also had my debut on an amazing website called One Green Planet. Click here for my article which is entitled Reducing Reductionism: A Big Picture View of Nutrition.

I thank you all for your support in my journey to help tell the masses about the benefits of a whole food, plant-based diet!

The Chef and The Dietitian - Episode 35 - Leafy Green Dip

This recipe takes a prize for the most delicious way to get your greens in! And if you like versatile, you will love this one. Two of the healthiest food groups-leafy greens and beans-are creatively blended together with lemon, nutritional yeast, basil, and nuts or seeds thanks to my clever partner-in-crime, Chef AJ. This can be used as a filling for lasagna, to top crackers, or inside of a whole grain bread bowl. In fact, I can't imagine how many options there are for this ridiculously decadent dip! It truly is one of my favorites!

The Chef and The Dietitian- Fennel Salad

Welcome to our new set of The Chef and The Dietitian. Chef AJ and I will show you how to make a three-ingredient recipe including fennel (tastes like licorice, texture like celery, and high in flavonoids, vitamin C, and fiber), dates, and lemon juice. Easy and unique, this is something you can whip up in minutes and serve as an appetizer, side dish, or even a dessert. Enjoy!

The Chef and The Dietitian- Hockey Pucks

These decadent beauties, created by Chef AJ for Dr. Caldwell Esselstyn, are similar to a Reese's Peanut Butter Cups, but oh so much better for you! Made strictly with whole foods (of course) you can easily find in any market, this phenomenal dessert will impress any sweet tooth and make you wonder how you ever could ever have enjoyed the original version!