I go over studies on how what we crave and what tastes good to us actually depend a lot on what happens to us AFTER we eat! And how we can use this information to change what we crave and how much we eat.
Here’s the matcha I reference (tested by Consumerlabs, so it contains no appreciable levels of heavy metals).
The bonus content, video sneak peeks, etc. I talk about is all over on my Patreon page.
I go over meta-analyses on how eating rate predicts weight and changes how much you eat. I also talk about concrete ways you can implement these results to help regulate your weight!
The bonus content, video sneak peeks, etc. I talk about is all over on my Patreon page.
I go over studies on how adding beans to your diet affects your health (cholesterol, diabetes markers, heart disease risk), inflammation, oxidative stress, longevity, and all-cause mortality. I also cover studies on whether you should be concerned about lectins and phytates in beans.
The bonus content, video sneak peeks, etc. I talk about is all over on my Patreon page.
I go over studies on the weight, waist size, and satiety effects of just adding legumes to your diet! I also talk about *how* exactly they do what they do, and answer viewers’ questions on specific implementation.
The bonus content, video sneak peeks, etc. I talk about is all over on my Patreon page.
In today’s video, I’m answering a question that quite a few of you have asked: what’s the healthiest grain? There is of course no single straightforward answer to that, but I used my scientific expertise from getting my PhD and publishing studies to create a metric that scores grains in terms of how much they help fill in vegans’ micronutrient categories that tend to be lowest (especially wfpb vegans). See the details in the video!
Table: the percent daily value provided by each grain in each category in 200 calories (for average height 5’6″ woman), and my score for each grain. Note that it’s all relative, so it doesn’t matter how tall you are or how much you eat, or anything like that! For the nutrients, the winner in each category is bolded.
Today I’m going over studies and data on a danger that’s lurking in some of our favorite, otherwise healthy foods. And, more importantly, I go over a bunch of ways to avoid it while still eating what you love!
Sometimes you just want comfort food. And one of the great things about intuitive eating is that you can have it whenever you want, without guilt!
Before I was vegan, I loved the Irish boxtys they’d serve at a pub in San Diego–essentially a potato-filled calzone with cheese and meat. (I’ve since learned that’s not what a boxty technically is, but that’s not the point!)
So on a dark and stormy night, I decided to come up with my own vegan version… which ended up surprisingly healthy for the comfort food goal. And then at my fiancé’s request, I made it again the next night, and the next week. We’re addicted. It’s definitely found its way into our comfort food rotation that used to primarily consist of homemade burgers and pizza.
It’s hearty and very savory thanks to the beef, and the potatoes are super satiating. Plus, the cheese sauce is secretly based on whole foods!
Makes 1 large calzone, serves 2
Calzone
Ingredients:
3 medium peeled gold potatoes, about 450g total
3 tablespoons unsweetened nondairy milk (I used soy)
2/3 the cheese sauce recipe below, save the rest for dipping!
Directions:
Preheat oven to 440 degrees F. Put potatoes in a pot, fill with enough water to cover them by a few inches, and put it over high heat. If you want them to boil faster, chop the potatoes before putting them in the pot. Boil potatoes until they are fork-tender and able to be mashed.
Meanwhile, sauté the beef and onions together according to the directions on your vegan beef package. For the Beyond ground, break it up into chunks as you sauté it so it turns into crumbles (or whatever sized chunks you’d like in your calzone). Remove from heat once the beef is cooked and onions are translucent. Be careful not to overcook, since they’ll get cooked more in the oven.
Drain the potatoes and transfer them to a bowl. Mash the potatoes, adding the dash of garlic and milk as you do until they are a creamy texture. Add more milk as necessary, or you could add vegan butter if you want them to be richer.
Roll out the pizza crust into a circle, as you would for a normal pizza. I use parchment paper on top of a baking sheet, but you can use whatever pizza baking method you prefer. First layer on the mashed potatoes, then layer the beef and onions on top, then add the cheese sauce. Be sure to leave at least an inch around the edges free of any toppings. Then, fold the crust in half so that the edges line up, and pinch it together. (If any filling comes out the sides at this step, don’t worry about it–I just eat it 😉 )
Bake for 12-14 minutes at 440 degrees, or until the crust begins to get firm when tapped and is golden brown.
Remove from oven, cut it in half, and serve! You can hold it in your hand like a pizza pocket if you’re in an especially comfort-food-y mode (that’s what we do!). We also sometimes dip it in the extra cheese sauce, or drizzle it on top.
Cheese sauce
Ingredients:
1 cup roughly chopped gold potatoes
1/4 cup chopped carrots
1/2 cup chopped onion
1/2 cup raw cashews
1/4 cup unsweetened nondairy milk (I use soy)
1/2 cup water
1 tablespoon lemon juice
2 tablespoons nutritional yeast flakes
1/4 teaspoon garlic powder
1 teaspoon salt (or to taste)
Directions:
Boil the potatoes, carrots, and onion until tender. (You can do this along with the potatoes for the calzone–just be sure you separate them to get the right amounts in each!)
Combine all the ingredients in a blender, and blend until smooth. Add more salt and lemon to taste.
Last weekend I got to attend the loveliest holiday cookie party with an awesome group of vegan girls. We had vegan eggnog and peppermint mochas, a cookie contest, a white elephant gift exchange, some of the cutest Christmas decor I’ve ever seen, games, and most importantly, a ton of amazing cookies and holiday treats.
I decided to bring my ol’ faithful cookie recipe: classic chocolate chip cookies. I’ve been making these for years and everywhere I’ve brought them, someone has asked for the recipe–without fail.
So I thought it was finally time I posted it here for you all!
I know a lot of blogs call every recipe “the best ___”, and I haven’t done it before, but I really have heard from a lot of vegans AND omnivores that these are the best chocolate chip cookies they’ve had. 🙂
Ingredients:
2 & 1/4 cup all purpose flour
1/2 tsp salt
1 tsp baking soda
1 cup vegan butter, melted (I use miyoko’s)
1/2 cup brown sugar
1/2 cup white sugar
1/3 cup non-dairy milk* (I used soy)
1 tsp vanilla
1 cup semisweet chocolate chips
*If using vegan margarine instead of miyoko’s, use 1/4c milk instead.
Directions:
Preheat oven to 350 degrees.
Add the flour, salt, and baking soda to a large bowl and stir until combined.
After melting the vegan butter in a medium bowl, add the brown and white sugar, non-dairy milk, and vanilla. Stir until combined.
Pour the butter mixture into the flour mixture, and stir until it begins to come together. Add the chocolate chips and stir until just combined.
Drop spoonfuls of dough onto a baking sheet–I usually get about 20 cookies per batch.
Bake for 8-10 minutes or until bottoms and edges turn golden brown.
Today I’m teaming up with Goode Foods to bring you a recipe that’ll help keep you warm in the cold weather: chili!
I’ve been eating Thanksgiving leftovers for almost every. single. meal. since we celebrated it last weekend. I guess that’s what happens when you make 7 dishes for 4 people. 😉 And after all that heavy comfort food, all I wanted this weekend was something veggie packed and oil free—but still comforting. And this chili fit the bill perfectly!
I also made tofu sofritas to put a fun spin on it and up the protein factor. It’s so chewy and delicious, and a perfect contrast for the melt-in-your-mouth beans and veggies!
So, thank you Goode foods for inspiring me to make this! I’m a big fan not only because their canned beans & veggies are delicious and grown by local farmers, but they support veganism—all their products are vegan, and they team up with vegan bloggers (like me!) to get more healthy vegan recipes out there.
Chili Ingredients:
Large yellow onion, chopped
4 large cloves garlic
3/4c chopped bell pepper
1 large carrot, chopped
4 large celery stalks, chopped
3 – 15oz cans of pinto and black beans (I used Goode Foods: 2 cans black, 1 can pinto–any combo works!)
Mince or press garlic (I use this garlic press) and add to a large pot over medium heat, along with the onion. Saute until the onion begins to get translucent, about 3-5 mins.
Add bell pepper, carrots, celery, chili powder, cumin, and smoked paprika to pot. Saute about 2 mins, or until veggies begin to get tender.
Add the beans and tomatoes to the pot, and bring to a simmer. Reduce heat to low and simmer for 20 minutes. You want the veggies to be tender, and the beans to be very soft and start falling apart.
Stir in the lime juice, maple syrup, can of corn, and the tofu sofritas.
Enjoy on its own, or top with vegan sour cream, or cornbread muffins (stay tuned for that recipe!)
Tofu Sofritas Ingredients:
1 block super firm tofu (~400g)
2 tbsp nutritional yeast
3 tbsp soy sauce
1 tbsp lime juice
1 tbsp maple syrup
1 tsp smoked paprika
Tofu Sofritas Directions:
Combine nutritional yeast, soy sauce, lime juice, syrup, and smoked paprika in a small bowl. Stir until combined.
Using your fingers, crumble the tofu into a large skillet. Pour in the sauce you made in step 1, and stir until tofu is evenly coated.
Saute tofu on medium heat, stirring frequently, until it browns. (The drier it is, the chewier it’ll be in the chili!)
Remove from heat and set aside until step 4 of the chili.
Miche, Ph.D. 