Acknowledgements and Notes

Acknowledgements:

This blog is based mainly on the work of Dr. Caldwell Esselstyn, Dr. Colin Campbell, and others promoting nutrition from plant based, whole, unprocessed food, oil free, without added sugar, and with minimal salt.

For more, please see the books at the foot of this blog and the "Essy's Favorites and Videos" page as well as in other posts below. (Note: this is a PAGE and NOT a POST!)

Special thanks to Carol D'Anca who shares her deep nutritional knowledge and extraordinary culinary expertise to inspire me and so many others to see our daily meals as continuing sources of good health and joy.

And many thanks as well to Ariane Glazer whose knowledge of raw vegan foods is encyclopedic and exceeded only by her generosity of sharing information and good food! While some of her recipes use oil, they are valuable and easy to modify when needed.

This Blog is NOT intended to replace medical advice!
This blog is intended to give general information and food preparation ideas. For medical advice please consult your qualified health care practitioner.

Note on Navigating this Blog More Efficiently:

When using the links on these posts use the back arrows (<) to get back to your original spot rather than closing the window. That will save you a lot of time! If any of the links don't work please let me know using the "Keep in Touch" form.


Note on referenced books. You can find books by Dr. Caldwell Esselstyn, Dr. Colin Campbell and Carol D'Anca at Amazon.com.

Saturday, August 27, 2016

RECIPE: Rip Esselstyn's Mighty Muffins

These are Rip Esselstyn's famous Mighty Muffins.
They are included with other great recipes in the book Engine2Diet available at the Bookstore at the foot of this blog.

With their high fiber and low fat content they are definitely mighty!

INGREDIENTS:
6 brown bananas, lightly mashed (leave some chunks)
1 large apple, grated
¾ cup water
3 cups oat bran
1 teaspoon baking powder
½ teaspoon salt
¼ cup walnuts, chopped or halved
¼ cup raisins
4 tablespoons sweetener
Juice of 1 lemon

INSTRUCTIONS:
Heat Oven to 350°F.  (Some sources say 375°F.  I use the latter.)Mix wet and dry ingredients 

in separate bowls. Squeeze the juice of one lemon onto the combined apple and bananas
Combine wet and dry ingredients into one bowl.
Pour into lined muffin tins or use silicone muffin bake ware and bake for 45 minutes or until golden brown on top.

Watch these carefully!   They can go from uncooked to burnt very fast!!!
They are a great, snack or filling side dish or even a dessert with some fruit on the side!
I sometimes put a few in my handbag when I know I'll be out for several hours. 

There are many variations; to see some of these on the Engine2Diet website click here.

Here are My Notes and Variations:

1.  Bananas should be ripe but needn't be brown to make good muffins.  Keep them chunky!

2.  I omit the 4 tbsp of sweetener - these are plenty sweet already!
3.  I use aluminum-free baking powder (Rumford from Whole Foods).
4.  I like to add more walnuts and/or raisins.  I've also added unsweetened frozen cranberries, which are delicious but careful, they add more liquid!)
My Fun Silicone Muffin Pans
from Amazon.com
See Link in Text 
5. I use silicone mini-muffin pans placed on cookie sheets.  Just spoon them generously into mini-muffin cups.  No greasing required and very easy to clean using Scrub Daddy scrubbers from Amazon.com  (see article on Small Appliances).  Here's a picture of my muffin pans.  For purchasing info:  click here.
6.  One recipe makes 4 dozen mini-muffins.  Or make them as soft cookies on cookie sheets.  But muffins are nicer!
7. They'll be soft inside; that's fine - they are just oat bran and bananas and apples!
8.  Whole Foods stores may have oat bran including gluten free.  Bob's Red Mill sells gluten free oat bran. (Oats do not contain gluten intrinsically but are often contaminated).
9. These freeze well.  I keep enough for a few days thawed in the fridge and the rest in the freezer.



Thursday, August 25, 2016

DIY Engine 2 Hummus

Rip Esselstyn's Engine 2 Hummus is sold at Whole Foods.  And perhaps also in other outlets.  I love them and how handy to have some in the fridge all ready to go!   I've tried five varieties -- Traditional, Jalapeño Cilantro, Roasted Red Pepper, Falafel, and Spicy Black Bean, -- and I like them all!  But you may not have a store carrying them nearby.  Or despite their convenience, cost may be a factor.  Or you just may want to try making some of these yourself.

I've listed the INGREDIENTS on each variety below.  This will NOT give you the amounts to use, but you can get an idea about that from many of the excellent recipes in books featured at the foot of this blog.  Also, I've put the Esselstyn's basic "My Hummus" recipe in the "East Meets West" post in this blog, and the Engine 2 Hummus is linked below as well.  Normally ingredients are listed by weight on labels so this may help as well.

The one ingredient you probably won't have access to is guar gum, so you many not get the same texture, but this may give you some ideas about ingredient combinations.

A small food processor is great for making Hummus.  I use the KitchenAid 3 1/2 cup model described on other pages.  This hummus doesn't freeze so well so best to make the amounts you can eat in a few days.

I've made these with canned and dried beans.  Canned salt-free beans give a slightly smoother texture, but I prefer the texture of those made with dried beans.  I cook the dried beans in my Rice Cooker.   Engine 2 uses "fresh steamed garbanzo beans" and I'm afraid I do not know how to do this at home so I just used canned or home-cooked.

All of these use sea salt, but the sodium amounts listed seem all right for regular servings.  Try to use as little salt as possible and emphasize other seasonings!

Here are the ingredients in five of the Engine 2 Hummus varieties:

Traditional: Fresh steamed garbanzo beans, water, sesame seeds, lemon juice, garlic, sea salt, cumin, guar gum.  (JL Note: Buy bulk sesame seeds and grind in small coffee grinder.  Best to get sesame seeds WITH their hulls; otherwise they get rancid quickly.  They are a little like flax in that way.  Store sesame seeds in cool place or freeze).

Jalapeno Cilantro:  Fresh steamed garbanzo beans, water, jalapeño pepper, water chestnut, sesame seeds, cilantro, lemon juice, garlic, cumin guar gum.  (JL Note: I often use jicama as a substitute for water chestnut. Easy to find, keeps well in the fridge even after you start cutting it, adds a nice crispness or texture, and a great source of a healthy fiber).

Roasted Red Pepper: Fresh steamed garbanzo beans, roasted red pepper, water, sesame seeds, garlic, sea salt, lemon juice, cumin, guar gum.  (JL Note: roasted red pepper is available in small jars in many markets.  Nice for other uses too. Try to find water-packed).

Falafel: Fresh steamed garbanzo beans, water, sesame seeds, lemon juice, cilantro, onion, garlic, cumin, coriander, black pepper, sea salt, parsley, guar gum.

Spicy Black Bean: (JL Note: THIS IS MY FAVE, but it's hard to find in the stores!)  Black beans, fresh steamed garbanzo beans, water, roasted onion, sesame seeds, lemon juice, ancho chili pepper, lime juice, cumin, garlic, sea salt, coriander, guar gum.

If you would like to see the recipe for Engine 2 Hummus on the Engine 2 Diet website, please click here.

Friday, August 5, 2016

Carolina and Giovanni D'Anca Inspire Us!

Carolina and Giovanni D'Anca have opened their homes and hearts, literally, to so many people whose lives are enriched by their friendship and teaching.   Carolina gracefully combines her professional nutrition knowledge together with her skill as a chef to teach us how to prepare beautiful,  heart-healthy dishes.

She has made these available in her book Real Food for Healthy People with impressive yet easy recipes amply illustrated with Giovanni's photographs.

And many of her wonderful recipes are available at her website:  www.foodnotmeds.com.

You can find this book at Amazon.com.
https://www.amazon.com/Real-Food-Healthy-People-resource/dp/0692658769



A Birthday Party at the Cleveland Clinic

My 80th birthday this spring found me driving to Cleveland, Ohio, with my friend Beth Damon to attend a day long program given by Dr. Caldwell Esselstyn and his wife, Anne Esselstyn, on Preventing and Reversing Heart Disease.  It was an intensive day of science and food prep, building on things I learned in Dr. Colin Campbell's course six year ago, as well as at our wonderful Plant Based Nutrition for Life Meetup Group organized by nutritionist/dietician Carol D'Anca.    (See below for more information.)

I came away inspired to continue my progress with whole food, plant based nutrition in my own life and also to share what I learn with others.
Joan Levin, Dr. Caldwell Esselstyn, Beth Damon, and Anne Esselstyn

Dr. Esselstyn's book Prevent and Reverse Heart Disease is available here:


For more information about Dr. Esselstyn's monthly inspiring and educational one day seminars, click here.    (Note: participants may bring along a spouse or partner and this is encouraged).  

To learn more about Dr. Esselstyn's other programs and resources, see: http://www.dresselstyn.com/site/

Carol D'Anca's beautiful book Real Food for Healthy People is a treasure trove of delicious, beautiful, healthful and easy to make recipes.  https://www.amazon.com/Real-Food-Healthy-People-Resource/dp/0692582703/ref=tmm_hrd_swatch_0?_encoding=UTF8&qid=1550116124&sr=8-1

To learn more about Dr. Colin Campbell's Cornell University Online Certificate Program in Plant Based Nutrition, click here.   

Dr. Campbell's book The China Study is available at Amazon. 

To read a Chicago Tribune feature about Dr. Esselstyn, click here.

Thursday, August 4, 2016

Meeting Dr. Colin Campbell

It was an honor to meet Dr. Colin Campbell at Northwestern University Medical School where he lectured to physicians, medical students and lay people in 2010, not long after I had completed the Cornell University Plant Based Nutrition course he directs.


If you would like your own copy of Dr. Campbell's book The China Study, or his newer book Whole about the benefits of whole, unprocessed foods, you can find them at Amazon.com.  

If you would like to learn more about  Dr. Campbell's online certification course on Plant Based Nutrition from Cornell University, please click here.