Clearing up Confusion -- a little!

I've been a bit confused by some of Dr. Esselstyn's directives -- perhaps others have too -- especially about quantities of greens to eat per day and how to prepare them, and also about adding or eliminating certain groups of foods.

Nutritionist Jeff Novick (who has already appeared in these pages in another post, The Genius of Jeff Novick, had some of these same questions, so he asked Dr. Esselstyn for clarification.

To see Jeff Novick's summary of Dr. Esselstyn's answers,  please click here.
I found this most helpful!

(To go to The Genius of Jeff Novick, please click here.  There you will find some fast, easy meals, that are easy to adapt for rice cooker preparation as described in more detail here.  )

A NEW Small Appliance and a Recipe to Go With!

Not another small appliance!

Zyliss Easy Pull
Food Processor

Yes, but this one is small and not even electric!  It is the Zyliss Easy Pull Food Processor.  I bought one today at Whole Foods in Lincoln Park for about $28, and here it is on Amazon: click here. 

(By the way, when I list a store, I am not necessarily recommending that store, but just identifying a place where you can see or learn more about the item. )

(Also, if you buy this, note that you remove the blade guard by first pulling off the bottom "paddle" (it's a little tight but it does come right down off the central column by pulling down) so the  blade cover can slip right off that column.  Then just replace the bottom paddle and it's ready to use!   There were many complaints on Amazon about the company providing no instructions for this and it took me a while to figure it out!)

This is a great little chopper that uses a "pull cord" (like some of the lettuce dryers for example).   This can be useful if you don't have an electric outlet nearby, and it also makes this much smaller and lighter and easier to clean.  

I chopped just one ingredient at a time because each requires a different number of "pulls" to get the sizes I wanted.  It made the receipe below with it's many chopped ingredients quickly and easily, and I think I'll use it a LOT in the future, especially for meals for myself.

Below is the RECIPE I made using this.   It is called "Carrot Salad with Lemon Turmeric Vinaigrette," but as you will see I made some changes to make it "Essy Compliant" as well as for my own personal taste.

This recipe was in a Chicago Tribune article that appeared Wednesday, March 15, 2017 in the Food and Dining Section.   The article was about Turmeric -- quite a long article that said not one word about the health benefits of that wonderful spice.  This conforms with what appears -- to me at least -- to be the unfortunate Chicago Tribune policy of avoiding discussion of health considerations in the Food and Dining Section!

I've posted the recipe below.   In ITALICS I've added the changes I made to make it better for my needs and also Essy-Compliant!

1 pound long, thin carrots, peeled and sliced into rounds.
I used four long thin carrots, very coarsely chopped before putting in the processor. 

1/3 Cup Virgin Olive oil plus extra for drizzling!
OMITTED! But I broke the rules a bit and shook in a few drops, less than a teaspoon, of toasted sesame oil for "mouth feel" and a bit of flavor.   This could be omitted.

1/2 C bulgur
I need to be gluten free so I used Quinoa that I cooked quickly in my little rice cooker!

1/4 C lemon juice
I used the juice of one large lemon and one lime - because I like it!
I think a wedge of lemon when serving would "pop" up the flavor nicely as well!

1 1/2 tsp ground turmeric
I used a generous amount of Love That Spice Anti-Inflammation seasoning which I love and which  has lots of turmeric in it.  To learn more see https://www.lovethatspice.com

1 large garlic clove, pressed
I didn't have any on hand :-( so I shook in a little garlic powder.

1 tsp cumin seeds, toasted
It would be nice to roast seeds but I just added some cumin powder.

1/2 tsp salt
I used a little sea salt, considerably less than in the recipe.

2 cups chopped red cabbage
I used about half a small red cabbage, chopped into coarse chunks to put into the processor.

1 can (15 oz) garbanzo beans, drained and rinsed
I cooked my garbanzo beans from dried beans in the rice cooker a few days ago, adding fresh jalapeño peppers to the water. 

1/3 cup chopped Italian parsley.
I chopped curly parsley very coarsely and then used the processor.

2 green onions sliced
I chopped these coarsely and then used the processor.

4 ounces feta cheese
OMITTED! I'm strictly dairy free!

PLUS,  I used a few big chunks of fresh fennel because I had it and I like it!
And I added a few shakes of dulse flakes for a bit of iodine in our "goiter belt" midwest!

In the future I think celery stalks and/or leaves chopped with the above processor would add a nice flavor touch, as would some pomegranate seeds!   No end of variations on this theme or it's uses.   

I think adding some fermented veggies would also pop up the flavor and may try this next time!


Instructions:

Directions call for cooking the bulgur (which, as noted, I didn't use) and the carrots.
I cooked the quinoa in my little rice cooker but left the carrots raw.

Next it calls for all ingredients to be tossed in a large bowl, and notes you can make this 2 days in advance.

When you are ready to eat,  you might want to "pop up" the somewhat bland flavor a bit with a squeeze of fresh lemon and/or lime juice, and even a small grind of sea salt.  (The salt on the "surface" of a food will taste a lot "saltier" than the salt mixed into the food, so you will use a LOT less that way!)

I ran each ingredient requiring it through the Zyliss Easy Pull Food Processor one by one to get the consistency I wanted.  It handled the raw carrots and cabbage, parsley, green onions and fennel  quite well and quickly as long as I coarse chopped them first into medium large chunks.    I did one ingredient after another this way -- no need to rinse the bowl in between as they were all winding up in the same dish.

You could use this as a sandwich filling mixed with a little hummus to hold it together, or perhaps incorporated into a salad dressing.   It could even be heated up in some veggie broth for a quick soup. If you use a commercial plant based salt-free broth (as opposed to one you make and season yourself) consider adding to the flavor with just a few drops of a savory commercial sauce.  

I have enjoyed the Sky Valley line of organic, gluten-free, non-GMO products.  Sriracha, Korean BBQ, Sweet Chili, Thai Peanut Sauce, and others.  I especially like their "nozzle" tops that let you add these sauces by the drop!  Whole Foods also has some nice 365 products. These are fairly high in sodium if you use the amounts often used in their labeling, but most of the time a few drops will not add much sodium and can add a lot of flavor!

I'm not including the nutritional information but this is obviously a colorful,  low fat, high plant-protein, high fiber dish, and I think the little Zyliss Easy-Pull Food Processor will be handy for many uses!  

Rip Esselstyn and Jane Esselstyn Visit Chicago!

Rip Esselstyn and his sister Jane Esselstyn came to Chicago during an unexpectedly warm week in late January to promote Rip's new book, The Seven Day Rescue Diet.  Rip's gift is making the plant-based, oil free diet advocated by his physician father, Dr. Caldwell Esselstyn of the Cleveland Clinic, a program that can be easily followed, step-by-step, by millions of men and women.  

Rip Esselstyn

So much to learn from these wonderful, spirited advocates for healthier eating.    Rip shared statistics revealing that the leading cause of "line of duty" deaths among firefighters is heart attack.  Considering the hazards that firefighters face with every call, his should be a sobering thought for us all.

Jane Esselstyn.  

Batch cooking is one that I especially like, starting with a bag of your favorite potatoes to be "batch cooked" and used in various dishes over the course of the next several days.

As a busy mom, Jane has become an expert in getting healthful plant-based whole food meals on the table quickly, and she shared some tips with us.

Jane also shared many other ideas for prepping food in advance to make actual mealtimes much easier to get to the table quickly.

We also had a chance to sample some Engine 2 Products (named for the Austin, Texas firehouse where Rip first shared his ideas.)   Many of these -- sold at Whole Foods Markets --  could save busy cooks time and still comply with Dr. Esselstyn's requirements.

Please come back soon, Rip and Jane!!!

You can find Rip Esselstyn's Engine 2 and Plant Strong Cookbooks at Amazon.com.

https://www.amazon.com/s/ref=nb_sb_noss_2?url=search-alias%3Daps&field-keywords=Rip+Esselstyn

Warming for a Cold Winter -- or ANY Time of the Year

If you have been following some of these posts you now may have half a dozen or more neat little pint containers in your freezer - dishes made with beans or lentils or brown rice, and the veggies that you spent time shopping for, washing, chopping and cooking in your rice cooker.  Whether you have frozen these dishes in a plastic Ziploc Twist n Loc container or in a paper Solo Bowls to Go container  to heat in a "Lunch Crock," or in any other kind of container to heat in your rice cooker, I will refer to them as the "frozen block.    (Please check the earlier post on Building a WFPBN Main Course ... in a Rice Cooker, and the post on Small Appliances for more on these methods, appliances and containers.)

For all of the ideas below you must first REMOVE this frozen block from it's container (easy to do - just run a little warm water over it until it pops out!) before heating it in any way.

These little containers are the money in your nutritional savings bank that you "deposited" when you spent some time prepping and cooking.  Now you can make "withdrawals" of these frozen blocks for healthful meals with minimal fuss!

The easiest, no fuss way is just to put a frozen block into your Lunch Crock warmer or in your rice cooker set to warm, warm them up and eat them.  If you leave your Lunch Crock at work you can carry the frozen block in the Ziploc Twist 'n Loc container or the paper Solo Bowl to Go container, take it out and put it into the Lunch Crock and enjoy a good hot dish at noon.

You could also do the equivalent at home for a no fuss meal, leaving the frozen block in the fridge to thaw part way and, and later heating it in the lunch crock.

But what if you have a little more time and want something a little more interesting?  That's when the cooking and warming abilities of your rice cooker come into play.   You've already done the "heavy lifting" for this meal - the rice/beans/lentils are fully cooked and so are the veggies.  Now you can start a frozen block in the rice cooker using the cooking function and adding a little water to facilitate thawing without sticking, and add a few things to "freshen" it a bit, as well as adding more greens!

The frozen block will thaw fairly quickly and you can add some of the following - as much as you like:   More chopped greens of course (in addition to what is already in there), plus whatever you have on hand.  Leftover veggies from something else?  Some mushrooms, diced potato (sweet or regular), or anything else you have on hand,  chopped fine enough to heat through in a few minutes, or maybe a bit of tofu for texture or fresh bean sprouts (that only need a few seconds warm up).  Consider a few tablespoons of quinoa that only need a few minutes of cook time,  and a little extra water to be ready and which will add to the texture and nutrition.  Season as you wish  - I like a few drops of sriracha sauce - and in a few minutes you have a big, delicious bowl with hardly any prepping or cleanup.  

This is a dish for when you get home from a long day and just want to relax and eat without compromising health, using the frozen block that you made earlier,  in a meal that's as simple or as complicated as you want it to be.

Building a WFPB Main Course Soup or Stew in a Rice Cooker

Please note that this post and a few others on this blog were originally notes for demonstrations.  They were particularly intended for people preparing food for one or two people, to be able to enjoy a cooked meal without a lot of kitchen mess and to freeze a portion for use as the basis for a super-quick meal later.

Here are the steps for making a whole food plant based (WFPB) soup or stew in a Rice Cooker.  I'm illustrating an Asian-inspired dish but there are endless variations on this theme for you to create!

Equipment needed besides a rice cooker  (preferably with stainless steel or ceramic bowl and with a steamer):  a wooden spoon, a cutting board, a knife, a measuring cup, and a small strainer.    You don't need a stove or any other pots and pans.

(I like this small Oster Rice Cooker with steamer from Target: https://www.target.com/p/oster-174-duraceramic-6-cup-rice-cooker-black-ckstrc61k-teco/-/A-50972594#lnk=sametab&sneakTo=50972594  As of this writing the price is around $20.00.)

Ingredients are in bold type.  These ingredients are just examples!   This post is meant as a springboard for your ideas for your own dishes!  

The "Elapsed Times" will give you an idea of how much time you will actually spend preparing the dish.  But once prepared, this dish could easily be the basis for at least three other meals.  These times are for a dish using brown rice or small lentils.  For a dish using quinoa or small lentils or pre-cooked beans the times will be shorter!  (See the Super Quick Meals post for this).

1. Total Time elapsed: 0.  
Coarsely chop an onion (or 1/2 onion if you wish) and one or two jalapeño peppers.  Also if you wish, fine chop a clove or two of garlic and/or some thin slices of fresh ginger.  

Place the above ingredients in about 1/2 C water in the rice cooker bowl and set on cook.   The rice cooker should start simmering in about 5 minutes, so let the veggies simmer for about 5 minutes more before adding anything else.  Do not remove these veggies.

(This will make the basis of a flavorful broth, but if you prefer, you can substitute a salt-free veggie broth such as Kitchen Basics throughout this recipe.)

Measure (and rinse in your strainer)  between 1/4 and 1/2 cup of brown rice (short or long grain) and double that quantity of water, and add to the rice cooker.

(This is when you might use instead lentils or split peas or small dried beans -- such as mung or adzuki -- but this is an Asian themed meal so we're just doing rice.  The water will need a few minutes to start simmering again. )

Let it simmer while you do veggie prep!

All of the above should take about 15 Minutes. 

2. Veggie Prep!   While the rice is cooking, wash the veggies you intend to use and prepare them for your dish.

a.  First, prepare the veggies you would like to steam (broccoli heads, cauliflower florets, asparagus, brussels sprouts halved, etc.)  When the water in the rice cooker is simmering, set these in the steamer.

KEEP AN EYE ON THIS SO THAT THEY DON'T GET MUSHY! TAKE THEM OUT AND SET ASIDE WHILE STILL FAIRLY CRISPM AS THEY WILL CONTINUE TO COOK A BIT.  

b. Chop into bite sized pieces the veggies that will be cooked with the rice.  

Here are some of the veggies you might want to use.  They are non-leafy (mostly they need a little more cooking time):  carrots, parsnip, kohl rabi bulbs, broccoli stems, green beans, potatoes, sweet potatoes, jicama, beets (watch out - they'll color everything), etc. and whatever else you'd like.  Be adventurous! Try new things!

Place them on your counter in order of the cooking time they need.  For example carrots may take a little longer, mushrooms a little less time and chard very little time.   Start adding veggies when the rice is partially cooked.

When the rice is almost fully cooked (sample a few grains),  you can add shorter cooking things like mushrooms (my faves are shiitake), fennel, and tougher leafy veggies like chopped cabbage, collards or kale, as well as bok choy stems, celery, etc.

Check a few grains from the rice cooker from time to time.  Brown rice will need around 25 minutes to cook.  If you are using lentils, a little less, and millet or quinoa a lot less. it will probably take around 20 minutes to cook.  When it is almost all cooked you can go to the next step.

c.  Last come the more tender leaves that just need to soften briefly.  The best way to prepare these is to roll them into a tight cylinder or ball and slice very thin slices.  This is called "chiffonade" and it looks nice and lets them cook fast!  This is the best thing to do with leaves of bok choy, chard, napa cabbage, etc. You can cut the heavy stems out first.

A few extras:

A few small cubes of firm tofu near the end and some small cubes of jicama are nice in an Asian themed dish.  Jicama is a lot like water chestnut.   If you can get fresh bean sprouts add them at the very end just to warm a little, and add some low sodium tamari sauce (a milder, gluten-free soy sauce).

For some Mexican flavor consider adding poblano or other mild or medium hot peppers and some chopped tomatoes, and chili seasoning, or even a favorite commercial salsa.

Depending on what grains you were using your total elapsed time is now around 30 minutes.

Now you can also add the steamed veggies.  

This may come right up to the top of the 6 cup cooker.  No problem. It simmers gently and will not boil over.  Adjust the liquid if you wish for more of a soup or more of a stew.  When you have mixed everything well and it is heated through unplug it so you don't overcook.

Some Extras: Go Easy!

To perk up flavor at the table consider adding low sodium tamari (gluten-free soy sauce), Sriracha sauce, other condiments you like, or one of the many commercial salt-free seasonings or even nutritional yeast.

Once you know what kinds of flavors you like you can even add some of these during the cooking process, but many seasonings are best added  later, as cooking can destroy the benefits of miso (high sodium so go easy!) and nutritional yeast.

You have spent no longer than 30-45 minutes making a main course (just add a salad if you like and fruit for dessert) AND you also have frozen the basis for one or two more meals!

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Quick Meals for Another Day!

You can store leftovers in fridge for a day or two but try to save TWO CONTAINERS (such as the Solo Lunch and Go containers)  FREEZER!   These will be for meals another day!  

If you want to make lunches for work, you can use freeze meals in the disposable Solo Lunch and Go containers referenced the the "Small Appliances" post, they will freeze into "ice blocks" that fit perfectly inside your  LUNCH CROCK for later warming.

There will be room to "freshen" them up a bit with a little lemon or lime juice and other seasoning, and you can even add more fresh chopped leafy greens that will soften quickly in the lunch crock and add a note of freshness as well.

If you always eat at home just reheat these "ice blocks" later in the Rice Cooker, setting it on "warm," or even on "cook" if you are in a hurry, once again adding fresh leafy greens near the end.

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Summary: 

This is an example of a main course soup or stew (depending on how much you decide to dilute it) for THREE or FOUR generous main courses.   And you only have  minimal equipment to clean up.  You've used only one pot -- the little container of your rice cooker which will not burn or scorch!  

This has ENDLESS variations. You can use lentils or small beans or quinoa or millet and add other kinds of veggies, always adding a LOT of green leafy veggies.   You can use a homemade or commercial salt-free vegetable broth or just plain water using peppers and onions to make a savory broth.   You can vary amounts, seasoning, etc.

Experiment, try different combinations (I'm crazy about the combination of beets and fennel, or sweet potato and squash)  and keep notes on the ones you like best!  I may add a few posts on my faves.

The order is pretty much the same for every variation:

1. Cut up the "broth" veggies (onions, hot peppers such as jalapeños), garlic, etc. and start them simmering in water (or even in broth if you wish).

2. Add the rice, lentils, small beans, etc.  Quinoa or millet can be added later.

NOTE: Large beans (garbanzos, etc., should be cooked ahead of time, even days ahead. and you can do this easily in the rice cooker.  If you use canned beans you can add these near the end with the shorter cooking vegetables).

3.  While this is cooking, chop the other veggies.

4. Add the other veggies in the order of how long it takes them to cook.

5. Set aside enough for 2 freezer containers.  Best to season these more when you are ready to use them.

6. Eat the remainder  -- seasoned as you wish!

When you are ready to eat the frozen portions, heat the food (not the container!) in the Lunch Crock, adding fresh lemon or lime juice, fresh parsley or cilantro,  and/or other seasonings you like and a good sized handful of fine chopped "fast cook" greens - spinach and chard are ideal here!  This adds a "fresh cooked" flavor.

Bottom line:  You've spent less than hour making a great dinner for two.
On the other nights, or for lunch, you are just heating up your frozen dish and adding seasoning and more greens!

If you made a container of hummus and/or guacasalsa, and a large batch of Mighty Muffins for a side dish (or even dessert) -- and a quick green salad, you'll have a few whole food plant based meals that will take very little prep time.

Note: Plenty of other dishes freeze well.  If you're not sure, test a few ounces whenever you make a new dish.  You'll quickly see which ones are fine after freezing and which ones are not!

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Building a Super-Quick meal from Scratch in a Rice Cooker

This builds on the same idea as the post on Building a WFPB Meal at http://wfpbn.blogspot.com/2016/08/biography-of-soup.html, but it is much quicker.

You can start from scratch and have a great filling dish in about 20 minute.

Put half a cup of water in your rice cooker.

While it's heating up chop a few of your high flavor veggies (jalapeño peppers, an onion, maybe a clove of garlic or a few slices of ginger) and toss into the water.   (Really in a rush?  OK, just a pinch of hot chili flakes and some onion and or garlic powder - but if you can swing it the veggies are really nicer!)   They'll start to simmer in minutes.

Use this time to measure about 1/3 cup of quinoa and toss that in, and stir it into the water.  Then add another 2/3 cup of water.  (Proportion of liquid to quinoa is 2:1, but some of the water will steam away cooking the flavoring ingredients and the steaming that you are about to do)

(Hint: Want to save a little more time and fuss?  Spend a few cents more and buy one of the brands of quinoa that is "pre-washed" so  you don't have to rinse off the bitter coating first.   If the directions don't tell you to wash it first, it is probably pre-washed.)

The quinoa will take about 12-15 minutes to cook.  So chop up a few pieces of broccoli and/or cauliflower.  Or maybe some nice asparagus!  (Ah, lucky you, you remembered to buy some all ready cut up at the store and it's in the fridge, so just cut those larger pieces in half!) Set them in the steamer.  You don't want these to steam for more than 4-5 minutes however so remove the steamer then.     Or you can chop in a little kale or chard or collard or other greens and take them off as soon as they soften to your liking.  Don't overcook!

Try a bit of the quinoa - is it ready yet?  If not give it a few more minutes.  Then pile it along with the peppers and onions into a bowl and mix in whatever you like -- a salad dressing, a little Sriracha, some low sodium Tamari, some shakes of a salt free seasoning mix, and stir in whatever you had in the steamer.

Take the rest out of the rice cooker.  If it's too much for now you can heat it up in the  rice cooker for breakfast tomorrow!  

Oh No!  The bottom of the steel rice cooker pan is gummy!  No problem!  Just set it in the sink to soak while you are eating and give a wipe with your smiling Scrub Daddy to make it shine.!  Smile back!  You're done!

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The Genius of Jeff Novick

Dietician Jeff Novick is one of the early voices for Whole Food, Plant Based Nutrition (WFPBN), and is known for adapting WFBPN for people whose busy schedules and/or limited income may influence the time and/or money they have for meal preparation.

To learn more about Jeff Novick's qualifications, click here.

Some of his meals are made from "semi-scratch."  That is, his recipes using brown rice call for a favorite brand, Success, that is partially cooked and available in supermarkets in porous cooking bags.  Veggies may be purchased already trimmed and frozen.  Tomatoes in cartons are a staple.  He recommends certain Tabatchnik soups that are plant based and salt-free. One pot meals are his specialty.

These are simple recipes, quick and easy to prepare, to make healthful, filling main courses for four.  They are meals that even young people could prepare to serve a family, or that one person could prepare for one or two meals and then freeze the remainder for later.

To see what is in some of his "Fast Food" recipes on Facebook, click here.

These are not gourmet meals, although they can be "dressed up" with creative seasoning and condiments.  But they are made with ingredients that are easy to keep on hand on the shelf or in the freezer and have on the table in minutes!

Jeff Novick's instruction videos are for sale at Amazon and also at his website.
For Jeff Novick's website, click here.
For Jeff Novick's "Fast Food" DVD  click here.

Also find his videos searching for Jeff Novick on You Tube.  Look for his videos on "Fast Food."

There is more information from Jeff Novice on his Facebook page.  Jeff Novick's Facebook Page.

I don't think I would want to live on these meals day after day, and I would want more greens raw and cooked in my diet, but for a quick meal I think it would be good to have some of the ingredients in these dishes on hand!