The media LOVES to talk about how great the Mediterranean diet is for health, weight loss, etc. compared to the standard American diet.
But honestly, pretty much anything is better than the standard American diet (aka the Western diet).
Very few studies have looked at the Mediterranean diet compared to other non-Western diets, but a new study came out recently comparing the Mediterranean diet to a low-ish fat vegan diet for health and weight loss. In this video, I go over the weight loss aspects; specifically, how much people lost in 16 weeks on each diet, without eating less or exercising more.
Scientific studies show that high carb low fat diets are generally really good for weight loss–but for some reason, the Raw til 4 diet, which was popular among vegans several years ago, caused a LOT of people to gain weight. In today’s video I go over studies to explain why the Raw til 4 diet so often causes weight gain.
I’ve been quarantining for two weeks now, and I have been eating a *lot* of beans. (Like this chili recipe from a little while back.) For both lunch and dinner. Don’t get me wrong—I’m grateful to have had a supply of beans since the stores have been out, but it’s nice to add some variety sometimes.
Luckily Goode Foods sent me some of their canned corn awhile back, and I already had corn flour on hand, so I made this cornbread to bring some excitement to my daily beans 😛 When I was a kid my favorite cornbread had whole corn in it—it adds such a delicious crunch to it. So to this day I always make it with whole corn kernels!
The best part about these is they’re super versatile. Not only do I have them alongside chili, but I have them for breakfast with vegan butter + maple syrup, or jam!
Featuring my protein-packed chili recipe
Ingredients:
2cupscorn flour
1cupall purpose flour
1tbspbaking powder
2tbsp nutritional yeast
1tsp salt
1flax egg (1 tbsp flax seed & 1 1/2 tbsp water)
1 1/2cups nondairy milk (I used soymilk)
1tbsp apple cider vinegar
1/3cupmaple syrup
1 can whole kernel sweet corn, drained
Directions:
Preheat oven to 350 degrees F. Add the flax to the water to make the flax egg, and let it sit.
Mix the milk and the vinegar in a separate, medium-sized bowl and let it sit–it will curdle and turn into a buttermilk substitute!
In a large bowl, stir together the flour, corn flour, baking powder, nutritional yeast, and salt.
Add the flax egg to the buttermilk bowl, along with the maple syrup.
Add the liquid mixture to the dry ingredients bowl along with the can of corn, and stir just until combined.
Spoon mixture evenly into a greased 12-cup muffin tin, and bake for 12-13 minutes or until a toothpick comes out clean.
Allow to cool for 15+ mins before trying to remove them from the tin.
Eat plain, serve with chili, or top them with vegan butter, maple syrup, and/or jam!
When I need to bulk cook but am feeling lazy, I break out my Instant pot. And 90% of the time, it’s to make this recipe–it’s my favorite of all my stew/chili recipes!
Not only is it ridiculously comforting and delicious, but it’s a great way to pack in tons of veggies. It’s worked well with whatever veggies I’ve had on hand, so it’s a flexible recipe for using things up too!
Also, if you don’t have an instant pot, it works just fine on the stove too. (You just can’t be quite as lazy 😛 )
Ingredients
Base chili:
3 cups dry red lentils, rinsed
4 cups veggie broth
2 cups water
15oz can diced tomatoes
6oz can tomato paste
Large onion, diced (white or red works)
5 cloves garlic, minced
Heaping tsp cumin
3-4 heaping tsp chili powder*
2-3 tsp smoked paprika
Heaping tsp cayenne
2-3 tsp normal paprika
1/4c brown sugar
3 tbsp apple cider vinegar
Salt to taste (after cooking)
Veggies I added (optional/add whatever you like!):
6oz mushrooms
8oz frozen peppers
8oz bag chopped kale (or use 4oz frozen)
5oz broccoli
15oz can corn
*For spices where the amount ranges, if using an instant pot, I suggest using the high end of the range; for normal pot, use the lower end. Of course this also varies by how spicy you like things, and how many veggies you add!
Directions
Add everything but the corn into an instant pot, put on high pressure for 17 mins, and allow to release naturally.
(Or, if making on the stove: add all the ingredients except corn to a large pot over low heat. Cover and let simmer until the lentils are soft and the veggies are tender, stirring occasionally to make sure the bottom doesn’t burn)
Stir in corn, and salt to taste. If you add as many veggies as I do, you may want to add garlic powder and more chili powder.
Top with avocado, chili garlic salt, or if you’re feeling fancy, vegan sour cream.
Miche, Ph.D. 