One thing I learned before founding the Center for Plant-Based Living was "Eat the Rainbow." And it's the truth. Food is fun, celebratory, a part of everyday life – and full of color.
Let's eat real food that tastes delicious and is not rabbit food. Eating a wide variety of whole, plant-based foods increases our fiber (think, not hungry), strengthens our gut flora, and, thus, our immune system (fighting illness).
Understanding how food affects our health is becoming more commonplace, and it's exciting to see people realize they have more control over their health than they thought they ever did.
People think adding more plants to their plates or even becoming plant-strong or plant-based is complicated when, it is quite simple. But being simple doesn't mean it isn't hard. Adding more plants to your plate can be challenging because of outside pressure or needing more time to learn how to prepare delicious meals. While change is hard, the Center for Plant-Based Living exists to make it simple.
It's encouraging to see medical physicians increasingly having whole-food conversations with their patients. Many physicians follow the Center for Plant-Based Living Medical Director, Dr. Jim Loomis, in prescribing center memberships to their patients.
Dr. Loomis, the former team physician for the STL Cards and STL Rams and former physician at St. Luke's, is my co-host on The Doc and Chef Show, our new YouTube series. Follow Plant_Based_Center on Instagram or visit cpbl-stl.com for cooking class schedules at our store in Downtown Kirkwood.
Creamy White Bean and Greens Soup
Ingredients
- 1 white onion, chopped small
- 3 carrots, diced
- 1 bunch of bok choy, remove the clean white stalk ends from the greens and dice, save greens for later
- 1 large shallot, diced
- 1 large Yukon or Russet potato, peeled and diced
- 1 1/2 cups of frozen or canned artichokes, chopped
- 2 14 ounce cans (3 cups) cooked white beans
- 2 tablespoons of your favorite Italian blend
- 2 teaspoons dried dill
- 4 cups of vegetable broth
- Pinch red pepper flakes (optional)
- freshly ground black pepper to taste
- 1 8oz bag of baby spinach
- lemon
Directions
In pre-heated Dutch oven, add onion, carrots and bok choy stalks. Bring heat down to medium/high and continually stir. Have a small cup of water or broth to deglaze browning on the surface of the pot.
After about 4-5 minutes, add shallots and continue to stir another 2 minutes.
Add potato, artichokes, white beans, and herbs. Coat beans and vegetables well with the herbs and then add broth.
Cover and bring to a boil and then down to a simmer. Cook for 20 minutes.
Using an immersion blender, blend half of the soup so that it is both creamy and chunky, or scoop the soup out and transfer to a blender.
Add the spinach and allow it to wilt.
Taste and season as needed. Scoop into a bowl and squeeze a little fresh lemon juice on top. Stir and enjoy!
Zucchini Fritters
Ingredients
- 2 cups of shredded zucchini (about 2 large zucchini)
- 1 1/2 tablespoons ground flax + 1/4 cup water
- 1 white onion, diced small
- 3 garlic cloves, pressed with your knife and minced
- 1 1/2 cups (one 14-ounce can) chickpeas, drained and rinsed
- 1 cup chickpea flour
- 1/3 cup fresh dill, minced
Directions
Preheat oven to 375
Shred zucchini and then transfer in batches to a clean kitchen towel and squeeze water out.
Combine flax and water and stir. Allow to sit for 5 minutes. This is our flax "egg" and a really great binder.
To a hot pan, add onion and bring the heat down to medium-high and continually stir. Add a few drops of water to deglaze if the onions begin to stick.
Add in the garlic and cook for another 45-60 seconds, until fragrant.
Add the zucchini and cook for 5-7 minutes, cook out the water. If the fritter mixture is too wet, it will not hold together.
Add chickpeas to large mixing bowl and press them with a potato masher or the back of a fork.
Transfer zucchini and onion mixture to the chickpea bowl, add flax egg, chickpea flour and salt / pepper to taste. Fold in the fresh dill.
Place mixture in the fridge to chill for at least one hour or overnight.
Line a baking sheet with parchment paper and pick off an amount that feels somewhere in between a golf ball and a softball size. Roll in your hands, and gently press to flatten a little.
Bake for 15 minutes. Flip and bake an additional 10 minutes.
To freeze: Batch cook and allow to cool. Store in freezer safe container for 3 months.
Makes 20-22
Serve with Tzatziki and enjoy!
Double Chocolate Nice Cream.
Ingredients
- 2 overripe banana
- 2 tablespoons cacao powder
- 2 teaspoons date paste (or 1 date, softened in warm water, pit removed)
- 1/2 teaspoon vanilla extract or powder
- 1 1/2 tablespoons cacao nibs (or dairy-free dark chocolate chips, chopped small)
- 1/2 pinch salt
Directions
Peel and cut bananas to about 1/2" rounds and place on a parchment lined baking sheet. Freeze overnight. Pop the bananas into a high speed blender or a food processor and blend until smooth.
Add in the cocoa, date paste, vanilla and salt. Continue to blend/process.
Transfer the Nice Cream to a loaf pan, sprinkle the coca nibs/chocolate chips on top and allow to freeze for a few hours. Using an ice cream scooper, scoop to a bowl or cone and enjoy!
Serves 2
Using a base of 2 bananas and date paste (or one softened date), here are some other delicious flavors:
Chocolate Peanut Butter: 2 tablespoons cocoa powder, 1 1/2 tablespoon natural peanut butter + 1/2 teaspoon vanilla extract
Cherry Vanilla: 1 cup frozen cherries + 1 teaspoon vanilla powder (or 2 teaspoons of extract). Add the cherries in during the initial mixing of the bananas.
Pistachio Maple Peach Vanilla: 1 cup frozen peaches + 1 teaspoon pistachio extract + 1 tablespoon maple syrup (skip the date paste / date). Sprinkle 1 1/2 tablespoons crushed pistachios on top before freezing.
A couple of tips:
1. Even though the bananas are quite ripe and very sweet, adding the dates or liquid sweetener will help the banana not crystalize in the freezer.
2. Adding vanilla really does help with the depth of flavor and I encourage you to keep vanilla extract, powder or beans (scrape out the inside) around for this treat!
3. If you have overripe bananas, but don't have the time to freeze beforehand, you can blend/process at room temperature and then freeze. I get a better end product blending while frozen and then freezing, but in a pinch and to satisfy that sweet tooth, skipping the initial freeze is not a bad option.
4. Want to hurry up Mother Nature and get those bananas nice and spotted brown (overripe) in a pinch? Throw them in a paper bag with an apple and in a day or two you'll have soft and sweet bananas.
Want more plant-based recipes?
The Doc and Chef: https://www.instagram.com/thedocandchef/
Center for Plant-based Living: https://www.instagram.com/plant_based_center/
FB / The Center for Plant-based Living: https://www.facebook.com/centerforplantbasedliving
Page 3
"Popping with flavors from dill and artichokes, this creamy and chunky soup is simply delightful. Make once and eat for a few days. What a great way to get those greens in, because let's be real, do you really want a salad when it's 45-degrees outside?"
Page 5
If there were ever a season for Nice Cream, this is it! Thinking about how to become plant-based without ignoring your sweet tooth? Done!