Living Whole Food, Plant Based!
Living Whole Food, Plant Based!
One of my favorite meals as a kid was Shepherd’s Pie. In our house, it was how my mother would empty the refrigerator of the week’s leftovers. She would turn these leftovers into a warming comfort food, perfect for the cold Vermont evenings. As I …
I have found that simple recipes that are easy to prepare are necessary to maintain and sustain the Whole Food Plant Based lifestyle. If you need to spend your days meal prepping for hours, you’ll quickly lose focus and reach for something that is processed, …
I have always believed that the Whole Food, Plant-Based (WFPB) lifestyle is a journey full of obstacles. Choices abound, right or wrong, compliant or non-compliant, and what do you do when the world is turned upside-down?
In full transparency, I fell off the wagon. I’m not proud of it, but it is what it is. Like an addict, if you have a relapse, own it and get back on the wagon. I’m owning it and back on, but let me give you context.
This COVID-19 pandemic really threw me for a loop. I’m working from home with my family all here. Forced to stay-in-place with limited access to shopping, I had a very irrational response to the pandemic. I ate. I ate everything. I hated hamburgers when I was a meat-eater…I started eating them with a passion! Every non-compliant food in front of me was consumed. Not realizing psychologically why I was doing what I was doing, the 19 in COVID-19 became the weight I was putting on.
But that wasn’t it. My legs started to ache. My stomach started to protrude, and I hurt everywhere. I had no energy, my skin looked horrible, and I was miserable.
What the freak was happening to me?
I started to do some soul searching. How did I completely fall off from where I was and where I wanted to be?
I realized that my response to the pandemic was completely irrational. What would help defend me against the Corona Virus was the very thing I abandoned. At the time I should have been doubling-down on the WFPB lifestyle, I was consuming those things that would weaken my defenses.
I caught myself and corrected my failings.
Today is day fourteen of my renewed commitment to the WFPB lifestyle. Weight isn’t the only measure of health, but in the last two weeks I’ve dropped 10 pounds, my skin is clear, and there is a pep in my step as I walk the dogs and tend to things at home. I feel great, I look better, and I am happy.
So, if you have fallen off the wagon during this pandemic, I get it. Don’t beat yourself up. None of us have been through this type of event before. The triggered response psychologically may not make a whole lot of sense, but we tend to fall back on what is comfortable. Fifty plus years of eating a certain way doesn’t just go away…at least not easily.
Do as I did. Recognize it, own it, and get back on the wagon and move forward with this wonderful and life-changing way of life. If I can do you, you can do it…and I am here to help.
As is the case with everything today, we are in this together and we need each other more than ever. I look forward to this journey with each and every one of you!
Are you like me? As I live this Whole Food, Plant-Based lifestyle, I look at other aspects of my life and how they impact my health. For example, alcohol. Empty calories, poor food and dietary decisions, etc. are just some of the negative aspects of …
Isn’t it that time of year when there is nothing better than some good old-fashion comfort food? There is something about curling up in your favorite chair with a blanket and a bowl of something warm, filling, and nourishing when it is cold and wet …
Welcome 2020!
As one year closes and another begins, possibilities abound. We spend time making (then breaking) resolutions. We want to make changes in our life, but life is funny. Old habits are so hard to change. It is so easy to fall into our old routines. The very ones that we are trying to change.
I am no different.
I launched this site one year ago today. I did so as a re-dedication to the Whole Food, Plant-Based lifestyle. I was determined and committed to the lifestyle and the reasons I had for adopting this way of life. Then life got in the way.
Keeping it real with you guys, I successfully maintained the lifestyle for almost five months. Then I started traveling a lot and when home, I was tired and didn’t have the energy to make a compliant meal for myself and then a non-compliant meal for the family (I’m the lone vegan in our house).
I fell off the wagon for a couple months, then was compliant for a couple months, then off the wagon for a few weeks, back on the wagon for a few weeks, and so on. If I actually looked at the year in total, I was compliant for eight to nine months. Not what I intended and not what I wanted for myself.
So here I am, January 1, 2020 assessing my goals for the year and the resolutions I am committed to seeing through. A Whole Food, Plant-Based lifestyle is at the top of my list, as is a commitment to my blog. The blog will see some changes, including regularly scheduled posts each week. There will be one recipe published each week as well as a “check-in” post once a week. This “check-in” will be my thoughts, experiences, and recommendations on books, articles, YouTube videos, etc. that I think you will find useful.
As I am here to serve you, I welcome any questions or requests for content. I am not a medical doctor or nutritionist, but I do believe that I can offer insight for the average person that is relatable.
I hope you join me on this journey and make 2020 our healthiest year ever…together.
Wishing you the best of health!
Stephen
Here’s the concept. Grocers have standards for the produce they display in stores. The produce that doesn’t meet those standards is rejected by the grocer (or buyer, distributor, etc.). As the produce cannot be sold, it is either destroyed or goes unused or not consumed. …
Does this sound familiar? You are out with the family and everyone is hungry (and getting hangry). No one else has adopted this way of eating and their choices for restaurants proves they are not interested in helping you maintain this Whole Food, Plant Based …
Farro, which is also known as emmer in some parts of the world, is an ancient wheat grain that has been eaten for thousands of years around the world. Farro is commonly found in Middle East, Ethiopian, and Mediterranean dishes. I have no problems finding Farro in grocery stores in the United States, commonly found in the bulk food, health food, or rice sections of the store.
As part of a Whole Food, Plant Based (WFPB) diet, it is recommended that whole grains are consumed rather than highly processed grains, such as white rice and pastas.
This makes Farro a wonderful substitute for Arborio rice, which is commonly used in risotto recipes. Risotto has a wonderful creaminess from the starches that are released during the cooking process and I have found that with Farro, I am able to achieve a similar creaminess (when combined with my secret ingredient).
In my recipe, I use the Instant Pot (pressure cooker), but honestly, you can make this on the stove top as you would normal risotto. The primary difference is that all liquid is added at the beginning with the farro rather than a little at a time with Arborio rice. An added benefit, you don’t need to constantly stir the farro as you do the Arborio rice.
This recipe can be served either as a side dish or as an entrée. Pair it with a nice red wine. This makes for a (clear my throat) sexy meal. Curl up on the couch, turn the lights down, and put on a romantic comedy. You can thank me later (even I am blushing writing this)!
The ingredients are simple and there is very little preparation.
Ingredients
One shallot, chopped (about ½ cup)
Five garlic cloves, minced
3 ½ cups of vegetable broth
12 to 16 ounces of baby portobello mushrooms, cleaned and quartered
6 to 8 ounces of washed baby spinach
1 cup of frozen peas
2 cups of farro (uncooked)
¼ cup of nutritional yeast
1 teaspoon of salt (I use pink sea salt)
2 teaspoons of granulated garlic
I recommend doing all chopping and measuring before the cooking process as it is surprising fast how quickly the steps in the process come. Trust me on this one. I usually chop and measure as I go along. With this recipe, it is best to be prepared.
Steps
Set the Instant Pot to Saute (I apologize for the image quality of the pictures of the Instant Pot…not sure why that happened)
Put the chopped shallots, minced garlic, and ¼ cup of vegetable broth in the basin of the Instant Pot. Stir constantly for about 90 seconds. The garlic and shallots will sweat and start to caramelize while the broth evaporates. If the garlic and shallots are too raw within those 90 seconds, add a splash of vegetable broth. Total cooking time here is no more than 2 ½ minutes.
Add the cleaned and quartered mushrooms, salt, and granulated garlic to the Instant Pot with a ¼ cup of vegetable broth. Stir to incorporate all ingredients together. I like to let the mushrooms cook down for about 3 minutes, stirring occasionally.
Turn off the Instant Pot.
Add the 2 cups of farro and three remaining cups of vegetable broth to the instant pot. Stir all ingredients together.
Put the lid on the Instant Pot. Set the vent to full sealing. Use the manual setting with high pressure for 10 minutes.
Once done, keep the vent on full sealing. After 5 minutes, release the vent (pressure). Unplug the Instant Pot.
Open the lid to the Instant Pot, add the baby spinach, peas, and nutritional yeast. Stir all the ingredients together. The spinach will begin to wilt down and the nutritional yeast will help create the creaminess of risotto.
Put the lid on the Instant Pot and allow 10 minutes for the spinach to wilt and the peas to warm.
Open the lid, stir everything together, and then serve! Add salt and pepper to taste and garnish with a sprig of parsley. If you like it a little spicy, red pepper flakes do the trick!
I could not have been more pleased with the dish after watching both my wife and 11 year-old stepdaughter going back for more! Start to finish, you have a wonderful (and sexy) meal in less than 35 minutes.
I hope you give this recipe a try. Who knows, maybe it will become one of your go-to dishes.
Let me know how you like it if you give it a try. I would love to hear your feedback!
Wishing you the best of health!
Stephen
I was on the Facebook page for the Forks Over Knives community. If you haven’t joined the group, I highly recommend you do so. As you embark on this lifestyle journey, the page is full of motivating stories, moral support, and encouragement from the group …
So many people confuse a whole food, plant-based (WFPB) lifestyle with eating bland and boring foods. Essentially, a diet lacking in flavor or substance. Nothing could be further from the truth! Food does not have to be bland, especially when you learn to incorporate spices …