Perfect Digestion – Interview with Dr. Pam Popper

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Digestion should be something we don’t ever have to think about…our bodies are designed to silently do the work for us upon the ingestion of food. Yet for many, digesting food is a far cry from unnoticeable. What has gone awry? According to the National Institute of Diabetes and Digestive and Kidney Disease (NIDDK), approximately 60-70 million Americans suffer from chronic digestive issues like constipation, reflux, inflammatory bowel disease, and irritable bowel syndrome, and is estimated to contribute to almost $14.2 billion in costs. Further, Celiac disease (an autoimmune intolerance to gluten-containing products) has recently increased in prevalence to approximately 1% of the U.S. population, along with a current surge in food allergies and intolerances. Researchers are attempting to discern what precisely is responsible for these trends.

I am thrilled to share my audio interview on the mystery surrounding what may be causing all this terrible trouble and misery by a leading expert (and personal hero of mine) in health and wellness who may very well have found the solution, Dr. Pam Popper.

Dr. Pam Popper is a naturopath, an internationally recognized expert on nutrition, medicine and health, and the Executive Director of The Wellness Forum, the Founder of The Wellness Forum Foundation, and serves on the Physician’s Steering Committee and the President’s Board for the Physician’s Committee for Responsible Medicine. Dr. Popper is part of Dr. T. Colin Campbell’s teaching team at eCornell, teaching part of a certification course on plant-based nutrition. She has been featured in many widely distributed documentaries, including Processed People and Making a Killing and appears in a new film, Forks Over Knives, which played in major theaters throughout North America in 2011.  She is one of the co-authors of the companion book which is on the New York Times bestseller list. Dr. Popper is the author of several books; her most recent is Solving America’s Healthcare Crisis and the latest that will be published this June, Food Over Medicine.

Dr. Popper is also a lobbyist and public policy expert, and continually works toward changing laws that interfere with patients’ right to choose their health provider and method of care.  She has testified in front of legislative committees on numerous occasions, and has testified twice in front of the USDA’s Dietary Guidelines Advisory Committee.

Dr. Popper has developed an effective, cutting-edge protocol for working with patients with digestive diseases and disorders and has helped many people recover and thrive. In this interview, she tells us how she works her magic and shares her thoughts on digestive health. Click the link below to listen and post your experiences and questions below in the comment section: DrPopperInterview_2013Mar05

Redefining Normal

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As a dietitian, I am used to seeing the consequences of food on people’s health. I see people with excess weight, high cholesterol, high blood pressure, excess weight, type 2 diabetes, autoimmune disease, etc. on a regular basis. I also have had the fortune of watching these same people restore their health, control their weight, and reverse chronic disease by changing the composition of their diet. This is the nature of the biz….

…But as a Mom, however, I have officially reached the apex of excruciating frustration….

I was put over the edge recently, when my son was handed a snack pack of oreos and goldfish crackers with a bag of juice-like liquid as the post-game snack, dutifully provided by another kid’s Mom. Being the neurotic, over-concerned Mom/Dietitian that I am, I quickly snatched the items out of my son’s hands and snuck them back in the other Mom’s bag before she even noticed what happened. Yes, that may have been a reaction that was beyond rude and I did cause my son to cry and feel deprived. My husband all but cursed me out and blamed me for making our kid the one person on the team who was left out. But why should I feel obligated to enable my son to bond with his teammates over high fructose corn syrup, trans fatty acids, and artificial colors? Why is that the new normal? Why am I the bad guy for trying to protect my child from the deleterious effects of eating C.R.A.P. (Calorie Rich And Processed food, according to my dear friend Chef AJ)?

This issue has come up on a regular basis since I became a Mom a few years ago and started the typical rotation of birthday parties, school, and sporting events, and it has been a sore point of contention between me and my kids’ teachers, other parents, relatives, and even my own husband. I am constantly told the following justification tactics:

  • “They’re kids…they should enjoy themselves.”
  • “It’s just a little bit, here and there.”
  • “It’s a special occasion.”
  • “Let them feel normal.”

I have even been accused of “forcing my beliefs” onto my children unfairly, since I happen to be a passionate advocate for a whole food, plant-based diet…But this issue is not ethical nor is it unfair. It stretches beyond plant-based versus non-plant-based and it is – in fact – a matter of life and death. We are killing ourselves and our children with the foods we are eating and providing our families. Is it because we don’t have the information? Is it because we think a little bit can’t hurt? Is it because so called health food is not available or is too expensive? Or is it because we see this standard American diet as normal? After years in the health industry, I am betting it is a little bit of all of these reasons. But I also believe that the last option predominates. Normal is as normal does and our idea of normalcy has shifted with our growing landscape of increased chronic disease and obesity.  Because children are growing at such a rapid rate, their bodies react even more dramatically to assaults from toxins than adults do. They are more vulnerable to this incessantly continuous dosing of toxicity. Researchers predict that more than half of the population in the United States will be obese by the year 2030. Diabetes incidence is rapidly increasing in children. Behavioral disorders, like ADD and ADHD, are dramatically higher than ever before. Is this the normal we want to adapt to? We have been…as we make larger airline seats, hospital gurneys, and even coffins to compensate for the new normal size.

I am writing this as a plea…to all the Moms and Dads out there…the grandparents, teachers, sports coaches….we are at a tipping point. We have the chance to redefine normal. Let’s be the revolutionaries and reclaim our children’s health and their future. Let’s make a ground-breaking paradigm swap. It doesn’t have to be difficult….here is what I propose:

  • Send your child to school with homemade lunches and/or demand your school cafeteria provide healthful whole options that look appealing to a child’s picky gaze. For a bunch of ideas on my favorite healthy snacks for kids, click here. For more ideas of packing a healthy lunch, click here.
  • Opt for nourishing post-game/workout snacks like fruit and water. Or, if you want to fancify it, try coconut water and a healthy bar. For delicious and more creative snack ideas, check out blogs like Plant-Powered Kitchen, Lunch Box Bunch, or Oh She Glows.
  • Talk to your kid’s teachers and band together with other parents to choose treats other than food for birthdays, holidays, and as rewards.
  • Ignore everything on a nutrition or food label except for the ingredients. If you can’t pronounce it or if there are more than a few (4-6-ish) ingredients, put it down and walk away.
  • Educate yourself about nutrition myths and intentional misleading initiated by the food industry. Excellent authors on food policy topics include: Michele Simon, Andy Bellatti, and Marion Nestle.
  • Share this information with your peers, friends, teachers, kids, coaches, family, and anyone involved in your family’s world.

Remember that food habits and culture are fundamental to a person’s identity. It all begins in the home and the tone is set for life beginning during childhood. Role model and institute the new archetype. As Gandhi so gorgeously iterated…


Vegan in the Media

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As predicted…2013 is indeed the Year of Plant-Based! Here are some recent confirmations that are very entertaining and fun to watch…enjoy!

Justin Timberlake veggin’ out as tofu in Veganville on Saturday Night Live:

Andrew McFarlane rapping about being vegan, juicing, and eating healthy in this music video:

Reducing Reductionism

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Science is spectacular. Medicine is magnificent. However, nutrition is one of the most elusive and perplexing subjects ever. We have come to rely on detailed science, disease-based medicine, and messages from the food industry to determine our ideal health choices. Unfortunately, micromanaging our dietary decisions based on these driving forces is only making us sicker, fatter, and more miserable. Why is this? A multitude of factors comes into play. Physicians strive to treat illnesses by quelling symptoms and not addressing the actual cause. Scientific research, although critical to our collection of data, is limited in many ways. We can only assess a few variables at a time, so we come away with facts such as blueberries are high in antioxidants, vitamin C prevents scurvy, and statins reduce blood cholesterol.

In the past several decades, a gargantuan amount of data has been collected identifying compounds in foods including thousands of phytochemicals, micronutrients, amino acids, and fatty acids. Scientists have discovered mechanisms to explain that ample servings of fruits and vegetables reduce your risk for certain cancers and a low fat, plant-based diet can halt atherosclerosis and reverse heart disease and type 2 diabetes. Physicians can use biomarkers to ensure adequate intake of necessary nutrients, and proper lifestyle behaviors. They can also guestimate your risk for certain chronic diseases. Of course, biomarkers are also used for diagnosing these same diseases and others.

However, how much do these markers and diagnostic monitors really reveal? Does the fact that we have adequate vitamin A in our bloodstream indicate we are consuming plenty of cancer-fighting carotenoids? Does achieving that same blood level coming from supplements have identical protective mechanisms as when the vitamin A comes directly from the original source? Further, if we have reached a certain goal in terms of numbers, does that mean our risks for certain cancers are minimized? Do we know the ideal cholesterol level we need to strive for in order to be heart attack-proof?

Unfortunately, the evidence is not clear. By virtue of its essence, scientific research is restricted. It is very difficult-if not impossible-to perfectly perform a health study where all variables are controlled and where long-term results can be attained. In the perfect study, researchers could take a large population (the more, the merrier, and the more statistically significant) and place them in an environment where all the details of their lives can be monitored for many years (the longer, the better, and the more statistically significant). During this time, all meals would be provided, where each bite is quantified by scientists to know precisely how many calories, fat, protein, carbs, vites, mins, fiber, etc. went into each meal. All exercise would be closely monitored for type, intensity, duration, and frequency. Stress levels would be documented. Biomarkers, medications, and other health parameters would be checked regularly at strategically determined times.  Ultimately, after many years of careful quantification, results would be documented in peer-reviewed literature and we would have more specific answers to our questions about what healthy really looks like.

In the meanwhile, while these hypothetical perfect data are being collected, we need to face the music and look at the consequences of what we are doing as a society with the actual information we currently do have access to. We have evolved into a culture obsessed with nutrients and popping pills as a quick fix, focused on the details and not the wider interpretation.

As a Registered Dietitian, I see clients for nutrition counseling as my day job and I regularly hear concerns such as:

  • Will I get enough protein?
  • How can I get my calcium if I don’t consume dairy?
  • I am worried about becoming anemic if I don’t eat meat.
  • Where do I get my omega-3 fatty acids?
  • I don’t eat carbs.

After decades of taking this approach of hyper-analyzing our micro- and macronutrient intakes and popping supplements, are we any healthier? The answer is a loudly resounding NO!

The food and pharmaceutical industries are certainly benefitting from this misconception. Have you been in the “food” aisles at your local supermarket lately? You can be reassured that your nutrition is savvy because you can buy and eat omega-3 fatty acid-infused cereals (never mind the sugars, artificial colors, flavors, sweeteners), skim milk (yes, no fat, but still plump with cholesterol, hormones, steroids, antibiotics, pesticides, and other unmentionables), and protein bars (because we are led to believe that the amount of protein you consume defines your health and weight status).

And shall we discuss drugs? If pellagra is a niacin deficiency and beriberi is a thiamine deficiency, is high cholesterol a statin deficiency and high blood pressure a beta-blocker deficiency? We need to address the cause. For example, high cholesterol is a problem that can usually be cured with proper lifestyle choices. Of course, it is easier to simply pop the medication prescribed by your physician than to truly assess and change your diet. However, there are side effects. Meds used to treat high cholesterol are notoriously tough on your liver. Is that a risk you are comfortable taking? What if you can make some dietary adjustments and not have to risk the happiness and safety of your liver function or have to be a slave to a daily pill regimen?

Thus with all of these forces preventing us from seeing the big picture, I challenge you to step back and look at the birds eye view.  Are you not at your ideal weight because of a protein deficiency? Do you have heart disease because you consume too many omega-6 fatty acids and not enough omega-3’s? What I see with my clients, students, and everyday person I run across is an obsession with nutrients, and a distrust of food. If I could advise people on where to focus their energy, I suggest a return to real whole plant foods. Although there are limitations with nutrition research, we know without doubt that whole plant foods provide precisely what nature intended us to consume.

This is the nature of reductionism. We are taught to look at the details…to quantify and calculate what we eat as if those numbers are a magic formula. This is simply not so. Many factors come into play with respect to optimal health and it’s virtually impossible to reduce them to their parts. The whole is much, much greater than the sum of food’s components and it is now time to widen our view from the details and broaden to the whole. Eat intact plant foods without worrying about its components and you will thrive…


 

 

 

Cooking with Nut Butters & West African Vegetable Stew Recipe

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I am excited to introduce Robin Robertson’s brand new, hot-off-the-press cookbook that is so unique and creative, you’ll want to test every decadent recipe. Nut Butter Universe is chock full of insanely delicious choices, it’s hard to know where to begin, from Peruvian Peanut Potato Soup and Linguine with Thai Pesto to Peanut Butter Cups and Pineapple Coconut Cheesecake. Plus there is an entire nut butter 101 class built in to help you save money and keep it pure. I have to add that I am beyond honored to have written the foreword for this gem, sharing the extraordinary health benefits of nutrient-dense nuts. I have hosted Robin’s recipes and giveaways before with previous book launches. She shared her Cuban Black Bean Soup recipe from Fresh from the Vegan Slow Cooker as well as her Sweet Potato Spinach Soup recipe from Quick-Fix Vegan. Here, Robin clues us in about the magic of cooking with nut butters, shares her amazing West African Vegetable Stew recipe, and we are giving away a FREE copy of this latest masterpiece…

To enter to win a free copy of Nut Butter Universe, follow the options here: a Rafflecopter giveaway

Cooking With Nut Butters

With delicious nut butters on hand, it’s easy to think outside the jar when it comes to creative ways to incorporate them in your cooking. Not too many years ago, peanut butter was the only nut butter in the house, and we mostly used it to make sandwiches or cookies.  How times have changed! These days, peanut butter shares the shelf with almond butter, cashew butter, sesame butter, and many more.  Not just a spread for sandwiches, nut butters can be used in cooking to flavor, thicken, and replace dairy cream in traditional recipes. They can also be used to add complexity and depth to both sweet and savory dishes.

From the spicy Asian sauces and hearty African stews, to sweet puddings and cakes, nut butters can be used in a full range of recipes from starters, soups, and sandwiches, to main dishes, breakfasts, and dessert.

It’s easy to incorporate nut and seed butters into our diets for their protein content and other health benefits, as well as for their rich, luxurious flavors. For example, add a spoonful of your favorite nut butter to your morning smoothie. Stir in a spoonful of nut butter when you’re making a sauce to thicken it and add extra flavor.  Nut butters make excellent additions to pancakes, waffles, cakes, and cookies. They can be used to make creamy vegan mac and cheese and other saucy casseroles, or to enrich stews such as this West African Vegetable Stew from my new cookbook, Nut Butter Universe.

West African Vegetable Stew

Brimming with vegetables, this flavorful stew is especially good served over rice or couscous or with coarse whole grain bread. Like most stews, this one tastes even better the second day, so make it ahead. The crops of peanuts (or groundnuts), sweet potatoes (or yams), and okra can be found throughout western African countries, where stews such as this are often called groundnut stew.

Ingredients:

  • 1 tablespoon neutral vegetable oil or 1/4 cup water
  • 1 large yellow onion, chopped
  • 1 sweet potato, peeled and diced
  • 1 green bell pepper, chopped
  • 1 medium eggplant, diced
  • 1 cup sliced okra (fresh or frozen)
  • 1 clove garlic, minced
  • 1 (14.5-ounce) can diced tomatoes, undrained
  • 1/2 cup peanut butter
  • 1 1/2 cups vegetable broth
  • 1/4 teaspoon cayenne, or to taste
  • 1/2 teaspoon salt
  • 1/8 teaspoon ground black pepper

Directions:

  1. Heat the oil or water in a large saucepan over medium heat. Add the onion, sweet potato, and bell pepper and cook for 5 minutes. Stir in the eggplant, okra, and garlic. Cover and cook 5 minutes longer, then stir in the tomatoes and cook for a few minutes.
  2. In a small bowl, combine the peanut butter and broth, stirring until smooth. Stir the peanut butter mixture into the stew and season with cayenne, salt, and pepper. Simmer until the vegetables are tender, about 30 minutes.
  3. For a thicker consistency, scoop out about 1 cup of the stew and puree it in a blender or food processor, then return it to the pot.

Serves 4

From Nut Butter Universeby Robin Robertson. ©2013 Robin Robertson. Used by permission from Vegan Heritage Press. Used by permission from Vegan Heritage Press. Photo by Lori Maffei.

Time for a Fit Quickie

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As a personal trainer and life-long fitness fanatic, I am excited to host this guest post and book giveaway by fitness expert, Lani Muelrath, to celebrate the publication of her brand new book, Fit Quickies: 5-Minute Targeted Body-Shaping Workouts.

Fit Quickies: 5 Minute Targeted Body Shaping Workouts is an effective, research-driven collection of exercises for functional fitness and body shaping that cuts through the confusion of trends and complicated weight loss routines. It minimizes the time investment needed to see results, yet is honest about what is needed to achieve fitness and body-shaping goals.

Lani has helped thousands of people transform their bodies – and their lives – with her three pillars of healthy weight and fitness: a simple exercise plan, a whole-food plant-based diet, and mindset mastery. In this book, she shares specific strategies on exactly what to do for success in each area.

In Fit Quickies, Lani shares her collection of quick, easy-to-follow body-shaping exercises that zero in on those problem areas and gives them a solid challenge. With these exercises you’ll lift and shape your body and soon see a flatter belly, shapelier thighs, firmer arms, a tighter tush, a strong core, and so much more. Along with her plant-based dietary plan and tools for mindset mastery, you have a winning ticket to healthy, happy and fit.

WIN A FREE COPY by clicking HERE:  a Rafflecopter giveaway

Here is the book trailer for the new book:

Fit Quickies: 5 Minute, Targeted Body-Shaping Workouts Official Book Trailer from Lani Muelrath.

The Power of the 5 Minute Fitness Break! from the Plant-Based Fitness Expert Lani Muelrath

I’ve got great news for you.  It’s the power of the 5 minute fitness break.

I’m betting there is not a single person reading this who wouldn’t agree that they feel better after they’ve had a little exercise.  Moved your body.  Am I right?

Think about it – when you’ve exercised your body – with anything from a stretch to a  walk to a workout, you experience an immediate surge in vitality, physical well being, physical confidence, more clarity of mind – these instantly become yours.  It’s universal. We simply feel healthier.

What does ‘healthy’ mean to you?

Healthy means more than the numbers on a chart.  Healthy also means:

  • Vitality -  having the ability to thrive in your life – to have the energy, strength, and stamina to do all the things you want to do.
  • Feeling good in your body –  having a physical resiliency that invites you to be active, rather than the absence of vitality, which holds you back from fully participating in the life that you want.

In short, there is no greater feeling in the world that being energetically healthy, and at your trim weight.

True, there’s no better, healthier, easier way to get to the trim weight part than a whole foods, plant-based diet – though exercise definitely helps.  Yet when it comes to the energetic part – the full of vitality part -  the strong part – so that you can absolutely thrive and enjoy the activities and adventures of your life? That vital companion to a healthy plant-based diet is exercise.  And the good news is that you can get these benefits in surprisingly little time.

Activity Rx

Multiple miracles take place when you challenge your body to reach, strive, and push beyond the status quo of a more sedentary lifestyle. The fact that sitting less reverses disease biomarkers tells us a lot.  Research tells us that simply by being less sedentary we lower cholesterol, triglycerides, insulin resistance, and many symptoms of metabolic syndrome.

Somehow it’s more inviting for us to talk about the food than the fitness.  Maybe it’s because we simply find eating more fun than exercise! But let’s be absolutely clear on one thing – having the level of fitness to move energetically and joyfully through your day, whether it is being strong enough to carry the groceries into the house, dash through the airport, or eagerly lace up for a walk – means that you have to train and prepare for it – even if it is 5 minutes at a time.

The Power of the 5 Minute Fitness Break

Short fitness breaks benefit us in three distinct ways:

  • as health protection
  • as a builder of strength and vitality
  • as muscle strengthener and body shaper.

Health protection:  Research tells us that the first line of defense when it comes to exercise and your health is simply not sitting so much by punctuating periods of sedentary time with movement. That means in less than one second –  the time it takes to go from sitting to standing – you positively impact biomarkers that, along with a whole foods, plant-based diet, can stride you away from disease.   That is how you initiate a 5 minute fitness break – it’s that easy.

Strength, vitality, and body shape: From there, it’s a short leap to sneaking in a muscle challenge. This layers in multiple benefits for you. Working  your muscles not only shapes and strengthens your body, it encourages lipoprotein lipase (LPL) activity in your skeletal muscle; sitting suppresses it.  Remember, LPL is an enzyme with the job of extracting particles of fat in your blood and transporting them to one of two places:  to your fat cells for storage or to your muscle cells to be used for energy.  Where do you want yours to go?  By sitting less and challenging muscle – even in short, 5 minute bouts, you are inviting your body to be a better fat burner.  Simple as that.

Any muscle challenge will do the trick. Squats, lunges, pushups are perfect. And that also is where the Fit Quickies:  5 Minute Targeted Body Shaping Workouts come in with their dramatic impact on your muscle fitness and body shape. The Fit Quickies are research-driven, physical therapist tested and exercise- physiologist approved exercises designed to target the muscles most responsible for the shape and strength of your body. They can be done anywhere, any time (ie standing in line at market and in the airport waiting lounge, speaking from personal experience!) in short 3 – 5 minute segments. Or they can be hitched up with each other to create 10, 15, or 20 minute fitness breaks. Versatility, effectiveness, and can-do are the operative concepts with Fit Quickies. Combined with a whole-foods, plant based diet – is part of an exciting adventure to healthy fitness success.

Let’s get people eating plants and moving bodies!

Biography:
Award winning Lani Muelrath, M.A., CGFI, CPBN, FNS – The Plant-Based Fitness Expert – (www.lanimuelrath.com), specializes in helping people who struggle with health, weight and energy levels transform their bodies – and their lives – without going hungry or grueling, excessive exercise.

Lani is the author of Fit Quickies:  5 Minute Targeted Body Shaping Workouts with plant-based diet (Penguin) and creator of Lani Muelrath’s Plant-Based Blueprint.

Lani is presenter and celebrity coach for the 21-Day PCRM Vegan Kickstart and VegRun Programs and is the Fitness Adviser for the Dr. John McDougall Health and Medical Center Discussion Boards. She presents regularly for the Complete Health Improvement Project (CHIP). In addition, she is the Health and fitness expert for Vegan Mainstream and Plant-Based Fitness and Healthy Living Examiner at for Examiner.com.

Lani has been a Guest Lecturer in Kinesiology at San Francisco State University and is an Associate Professor in Kinesiology at Butte College. She has a Master’s degree and several teaching credentials in Physical Education, and holds multiple fitness certifications including Fitness Instructor from the American Council on Exercise, Yoga, and Pilates-based instruction from the PhysicalMind Institute.

She is certified in Plant-Based Nutrition through Cornell University and holds a Fitness Nutrition Specialist Advanced Credential from the National Academy of Sports Medicine.

Lani created and starred in her own CBS TV show, “Lani’s All-Heart Aerobics.” Recipient of the Golden Apple Award for Excellence in Instruction, she regularly speaks and writes about healthy living, plant-based nutrition, weight loss, and fitness. She overcame her own lifetime struggle with weight over more than 15 years ago when she lost 50 pounds, which she has maintained easily with the tools that she uses to coach others to be successful with in weight loss, body shaping, and health. Multiple resources for you for healthy fitness, weight loss, and plant-based nutrition at www.lanimuelrath.com.

The Chef and The Dietitian – Episode 52 – PB&J Bites

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Who doesn’t love a good PB&J? Well think of these as on-the-go mini PB&J wonders. Similar to an energy bar you can buy packaged at the store, Chef AJ‘s version is more cost-effective, tastes fresher, and takes a quick minute to whip up.

Recipe:

INGREDIENTS:
1 cup unsalted peanuts
1 cup pitted dates
1 cup unsweetened dried cherries
1 Tbls. alcohol-free vanilla extract

DIRECTIONS:
Blend peanuts in food processor. Add dates and blend together. Next, add 1 cup unsweetened cherries. Add alcohol-free vanilla extract and blend. Scoop out of food processor and place into silicone pans.

Interview with Eco-Vegan Gal

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My interview with the radiant Whitney Lauritsen, known as Eco-Vegan Gal, about the scoop on some deets about my new wellness talk show on Veria Living, What Would Julieanna Do? For more info, click here and here and to check out more about Veria, click here.

Lemon-Infused Mediterranean Lentils

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This delicious recipe comes from extraordinary cookbook author, Dreena Burton. I was a huge fan of Dreena after falling in love with her first couple of cookbooks, so I found her on facebook and “stalked” her until we became very dear friends…and now we are finally working on a book together.

See below for the recipe and also enter to win a FREE copy of her amazing book, Let Them Eat Vegan here: a Rafflecopter giveaway

Dreena Burton has been vegan for almost 20 years, in that time writing 4 bestselling cookbooks charting her journey as a plant-powered cook and at-home mother of three.  Always passionate about creating nutritious recipes, she is an advocate of using the “vegan basics” to create healthy, delicious food for the whole family.  Affectionately dubbed the “Queen Bean” and “Vegan Cookie Queen” by her readers, Dreena is one of the pioneering vegan cookbook authors.  Her cookbooks have garnered a loyal following, and Dreena has earned the respect and repute for reliable, wholesome recipes.  In her fourth and newest cookbook, “Let Them Eat Vegan: 200 Deliciously Satisfying Plant-Powered Recipes for the Whole Family” (May 2012), Dreena utilizes her experience cooking with the “vegan basics” to bring delicious, wholesome vegan meals and snacks to the table for everyday Plant-Powered eating!  You won’t find any white flour or white sugar in this book, and also no vegan substitutes like vegan cream cheese, sour cream, or vegan meats. All recipes are wheat-free or gluten-free, with many soy-free options, and a sprinkling of raw dishes for good measure.  Dreena shares more of her recipes, cooking tips, and experiences as a vegan mom at plantpoweredkitchen.com.  You can also join her facebook page and follow her on twitter.

Lemon-Infused Mediterranean Lentils

gluten-free, soy-free, oil-free

Lentils are a favorite of mine; they cook quickly, taste fresh and clean, and are easy to digest. What makes these lentils even better is infusing them with fresh lemon and herbs during cooking, and finishing off the dish with tomatoes, pine nuts, and dry olives. The sour lemon juice works nicely against the richness of the pine nuts and olives, for a satisfying flavor finish.

splash of water or 1 tbsp olive oil (use water for oil-free version)

1 cup green (or brown) lentils, rinsed

3 – 4 tbsp freshly squeezed lemon juice (see directions)

1 large clove garlic, grated or minced (optional)

1 tsp dry basil leaves

1 cup vegetable stock

1 cup water

1 ½ tsp fresh thyme leaves

¾ – 1 cup cherry or grape tomatoes (left whole if small, or cut in ½ if larger, see note)

1 tbsp capers, rinsed

3 tbsp Moroccan dry olives, sliced or chopped (or kalamata or green olives if you prefer)

1 tsp lemon zest

1 tsp pure maple syrup

¼ cup pine nuts (for serving, optional)

Freshly ground black pepper (for serving)

In a medium-size or large saucepan over medium-high heat, combine the water/olive oil and lentils. Stirring, sauté for a couple of minutes. Add 3 tablespoons of the lemon juice, and the garlic, basil, vegetable stock, and water. Bring to a boil, then lower the heat to medium-low, cover the pot and cook for 35 to 45 minutes, until tender.  Turn off the heat and stir in the thyme, tomatoes, capers, olives, lemon zest, and maple syrup. Cover and let sit for 4 to 5 minutes, then stir again and taste, adding an additional 1⁄2 to 1 tablespoon of lemon juice (or more), if desired, for extra tang! Serve, sprinkling portions with pine nuts and with freshly ground black pepper, if desired.  Serves 4-5

Ingredients 411: I add the tomatoes quite late in the cooking process, to preserve more of their freshness—basically just warming them through rather than cooking them. If you aren’t fond of uncooked tomatoes, feel free to add them earlier, about 20 minutes into the lentil cooking time.

Serving Suggestions: Serve over quinoa, brown rice, or with pasta. Also works well as a filling for wraps, or as a pizza topping (under sliced fresh tomatoes and a sprinkling of vegan cheese). Alternatively, chill and toss with a whole grain, plus a little extra olive oil, lemon, salt, and pepper, for a chilled lentil salad.

Recipe from Let Them Eat Vegan by Dreena Burton.  For more of Dreena’s recipes, go to www.plantpoweredkitchen.com.