Polenta seems to be the new black.  On many modern menus, it seems to be a replacement for the omnipresent potato.  Now, you know that I love the potato, but variety is one of the tools that helps to energize me on my plant-strong journey.

I recently saw a traditional recipe for polenta where the final product was then made into oven-fries.  First I had to “flip” the recipe to meet the pillars of plant-strong goodness.  And once that was done, I was able to prepare “polenta fries” for the freezer.  If you’re in the market for something to partner along with your veggie burger, well, these polenta fries will make your heart sing.  And from the mountain tops!

Follow this quick and easy recipe, and make yourself some fries.  I’d make a double recipe, because these will be a huge hit with everyone.

Polenta Fries

• 2 qt (2 l) water
• 21⁄4 cups (1 lb) instant polenta
• 1 cup (8 fl oz) unsweetened non-dairy milk
• 1⁄2 cup (2 oz) nutritional yeast
• 3 tbsp flaxmeal (this will help to bind the polenta)
• Freshly ground pepper and garlic powder
• Preheat oven to 400 degrees

1. Line a baking sheet with parchment paper.
2.  In a heavy-bottomed saucepan, bring the water to a boil over high heat. Reduce the heat to a simmer and slowly add the polenta while whisking constantly. Cook, continuing to whisk, until the polenta has thickened, about 3-4 minutes.  Remove from the heat. Add the non-dairy milk, nutritional yeast, and flaxmeal, and seasoning.  Stir with  a wooden spoon until thoroughly blended and the polenta is smooth.
3. Pour the polenta into the center of the prepared baking sheet. Using a rubber spatula, spread it toward one end of the pan, pushing it into the corners and then to the edges, covering about two-thirds of the pan in an even layer. Let cool at room temperature until set, about 1 hour.
4. Preheat your oven to 400°F . Invert your pan.  Remove the top sheet of parchment and cut the polenta into strips about 1⁄2 inch wide and 4 inches long. Using a spatula, transfer the strips to a clean rimmed baking sheet, spacing them about 1⁄2 inch apart. Once on  the baking pan, sprinkle with freshly squeezed lime juice, then cover generously with added nutritional yeast.  This will coat the “fries” and add some crunch.
5. Bake in a 400 degree oven until the fries have developed a crust and the edges are golden, about 30 minutes. Let cool slightly.  Serve with your favorite condiment.  You should have about 60-70 fries.

If you are going to make “freezer fries,” flash freeze your fries on a cookie sheet.  After about an hour remove them, and pack them into freezer bags, say 10-12 per bag.

Cooking in bigger batches is the best way I know to save time.  After a long day’s work, you can have dinner in about 10-15 minutes with a salad, a veggie burger, and polenta fries.  On your journey to wellness, being prepared keeps you safe-guarded in the kitchen at all times.

You are going to LOVE these fries.

CHAR NOTE:  You may want to start off with a few tablespoons less of the water and non-dairy milk.  I find that less water will give you a studier sheet of polenta to cut into fries.

Rip is on the board of a program called “Earth Save“. Earth Save is committed to helping and serving families in need through the “Meals For Health” program. Over the weekend, Meals For Health started up in Oakland, CA and I had the amazing opportunity to be a part of it! I wanted to share some photos and thoughts about the weekend.

In my 20′s I had the opportunity to be involved with organizations in Washington whose purpose was to help underserved communities, especially children. It was something I absolutely loved doing, I always felt that there were people that needed someone else to go and fight for them, someone to stand up and make sure they were heard. It’s a passion of mine, because I grew up in a family in which we desperately needed assistance. Despite my father working multiple jobs, all hours of the day, we just couldn’t make it. We were homeless a lot, we struggled a lot, we went without, a lot. This was our way of life. We did however have a wonderful community of people that helped in so many ways without those people in our lives, I do not know what would have happened to our family. Growing up in poverty is not easy, and it often means that you do not have access to healthcare or healthy food. It is a huge problem.

A couple of years ago I heard about Meals For Health through my friend, John Robbins who asked me if I’d go and tell my story to a group in Sacramento. I went up for an afternoon and got to see it in action. Now, 2 years later Meals For Health is right in my back yard, Oakland, and I get to be a part of the amazing program.

I got to spend the weekend with an amazing group of people, all who are ready to jump into healthier living. Meals For Health goes into underserved communities, and for a month provides them with medical care, education, food coaches and food.

I wish I could bottle up the energy and love that the people participating in the program have and give it away. Seeing about 60 people who had absolutely NO prior knowledge as to what any of this was all about, who all embraced it, who were all so thankful, who were all so hungry for change? It was incredible. It’s something that I think many of us lose when we are doing this for a while. The simplicity of it all, is astonishing. Eating like this is so simple, so inexpensive, so doable, and yet there are those who want to complicate matters time and time again. It does not have to be complicated. The message is simple, clear and it works. Eat a diet that is starch-based filled with vegetables, fruit, whole grains beans and get well. That is it. No counting, no special formulas, no super foods, no powders, no pills, no fads, just real food. And with just real food, no fancy gimmicks, people get well. They reverse diseases they have had for years, their blood pressure gets lower, they go off meds for T2 diabetes, they lose weight. It works, 100% of the time.

Every person who is involved with Meals For Health, does it as a volunteer. All of the speakers come out, and participate for no charge. The speakers for this years program are:

Dr. Michael Klapper (True North Health)

Dr. Milton Mills (DC area Doctor who also does work for PCRM)

Dr. Forrester (Sacramento area Doctor who is doing all of the medical care for the month!)

Dr. Doug Lisle (True North Health)

Jeff Novick, MS, RD

John Pierre (personal trainer)

Dr. Gracy Yuen (True North Health)

John Robbins

Emily Webber

Jeff Nelson (Head of Veg Source, who puts on the program)

and myself (Natala)

There are also 8 food coaches who volunteer their time for an entire month. As well as a wonderful plant-strong woman, Amy who is running the exercise program for the entire month. The food coaches help each participant get through the month.

This team is truly incredible, and I think deserve recognition  for what they are each doing to make this possible. This program needs to be in every city in the United States, it runs completely on the kindness of others. I believe that this program alone can change the landscape of this country in a powerful way. Imagine if people in our communities struggling the most, became our most health citizens. What would happen to this country? How much would things like health care change?  Imagine the precedent that would set for entire communities.

This weekend, I saw how this movement could truly change things for the better. If you are interested in learning more about Earth Save or donating to help bring it to other communities, you can check out their website. I think this is a cause and idea worth spreading.

I had the pleasure of traveling with the Kansas City Golden Gloves Boxing Team as they attended the 2013 Golden Gloves Tournament of Champions in Salt Lake City, UT this past week.  Nine athletes, coaches, members of the KC Golden Gloves organization and me: den mother – food coach – official team photographer.

My weight has always fluctuated as a child and well into my mid-twenties. I’m the youngest of four children and my mother was a single parent. I was fed a conventional diet with the traditional Sunday “brunch” special consisting of the oversized French bread stuffed with mayonnaise, ham, bacon, eggs, cheese and chocolate milk on the side. Growing up Hispanic, I was no stranger to fried foods, meat and dairy. After many attempts of failed diets and point counting I decided to watch “Forks Over Knives” and “Engine 2 Diet”. After watching the documentaries, it made complete health sense to transition to a Plant-Based Diet.

Within my department, I am viewed as physically fit and very active. I graduated from the Fire Academy at 175 pounds and managed to reach 214 pounds at my heaviest because I succumbed to traditional Firehouse meals and snacks.  After transitioning to a Plant-Based diet, my dietary habits carried over into the firehouse. My shift mates progressively became interested in what I was eating. As I became much leaner, much more active and routinely cooked food for myself that would make anyone salivate, people began taking notice. This didn’t come without ridicule and aggression due to the automatic prejudice of the unknown. I had to educate myself on what a Whole Foods Plant-Based Diet was because I was constantly being challenged. Tradition, like in most cultures stands strong within the Fire Department. Change is rarely accepted and most of anything a Firefighter does doesn’t come without humility. I enjoy constant challenge and welcomed all debates while continuously educating myself.
What initially won the stomachs of my shift mates, family and friends were my Plant-Based oil-free baked goods. Who doesn’t love sweets? The more I learned how to cook and prepare Plant-Based meals according to Engine 2 guidelines, the more accepting my dietary lifestyle became to those around me. I’ve found that the key to opening minds is good food. I learned to focus on what I can eat instead of focusing on what I can’t eat. Using that logic and the use of before and after photos of myself, I’ve manage to inspire many people who want to make a change but have never had insight on eating plants. My crew and many others crews within my department now have 2 menus to choose from, Plant-Based or conventional. In my Firehouse, the demand for me to prepare Plant-Based meals every shift is very high. Although some don’t share common interest in my dietary lifestyle, the change within my crew and other crews are clear. I feel it is my responsibility to spread the word of good health because I am not afraid to stand up for what is right. Due to the lifestyle change I’ve made, I am now healthier, leaner, stronger and faster than I’ve ever been.

My husband and I have been watching the series, “Mad Men”. Thank goodness for Netflix! I have a fascination for this time in our history. Some of the people I admire the most in life were young adults during that time, and I loved listening to their stories. I would ask my Grandfather tons of questions about what it was like during civil rights, or during the wars, or what it was like in NY. My Grandmother was a Columbia student, involved with protests in the 60′s, she was drenched in fighting for the rights of others, and I could never stop listening.

I know Mad Men is not an exact interpretation of that time period, but non the less, it fascinates me. The fashion, the dialect, the changing pulse of an American culture that seemed to be drastically moving forward with each passing year.

If you’ve ever watched Mad Men, the thing that more than likely stands out is the smoking. It gets less as the show progresses, but it is woven into the very fabric of society. Nearly every scene includes smoking. Smoking in offices, smoking while pregnant, smoking in cars with children. Smoking, as it seemed, was like drinking water, it’s just something that you did, maybe even to pass time.

We have come such a long way in our collective mind-set when it comes to smoking. I can’t think of one person who I have ever had a conversation with that thinks that there is even ONE health benefit to smoking. It is looked down upon in our society now. We do not allow it in buildings, places to eat, or even 500 feet within certain places of business. There are no more ads, there are no Doctors who would ever recommend it. And it was not that long ago when smoking was just a way of life, even recommended by Doctors.

I believe that our modern day collective take on nutrition is much like our former take on smoking. We have come a long way, in our thinking, however plant-strong is looked at by many as something completely far-fetched, completely ridiculous. After all, even doctors recommend eating meat and dairy! There are TV celebrities doing commercials pushing milk. Billions of dollars are spent in order to get people to believe in a misguided, often dangerous message of how to eat.

Tonight, my husband and I were watching an episode in season 4 of Mad Men. In it, one of the advertising executives, Don Draper takes out a full page advertisement in the NY Times. He writes why is he is quitting tabacco.

The words struck me as deeply poignant in what we are facing today. Switch out the words tabacco for “meat” or “dairy” or “eggs” or “processed food” or “oil”.

“Recently my advertising agency ended a long relationship with Lucky Strike cigarettes, and I’m relieved. For over 25 years we devoted ourselves to peddling a product for which good work is irrelevant, because people can’t stop themselves from buying it. A product that never improves, that causes illness, and makes people unhappy. But there was money in it. A lot of money. In fact, our entire business depended on it. We knew it wasn’t good for us, but we couldn’t stop.” – Don Draper (From Mad Men)

How eerily fitting for the crisis we are facing today in nutrition. With the release of “My Beef With Meat” I have seen first hand some of the hesitancy, some of the backlash, and some of the fear that many have in regards to our message. The message that Rip has so boldly gone forth with is that what many of us have been taught about nutrition is flat out wrong. The message is courageous, a similar message decades ago regarding the harm and detrimental consequences of smoking were more than likely met in the same way. This message is shocking for many.

And yet, what we are up against is a an industry that peddles products that are harming the health of millions, the products do not change, but they know something about their products, they are addictive. People are hooked. The marketers and manufactures know this about our collective conscience regarding what we eat. They add more sugar, fat and salt, and people buy more.

Worse yet, the food industry understands that most of us are looking for good health. So they have learned to use healthy buzz words to sell more products, that are just as dangerous. Maybe even more so because people are fooled by words like “organic”, “gluten free”, “vegan”, “healthy” , “added protein”, “all natural”, “grass-fed”. They buy these products because they seem to make promises of health, and they still get hooked, and they still get sick.

Isn’t it time we experience a revolution in regards to our food choice? Rip likes to say that he believes that everyone has the right to know the truth. There are a lot of people out there who are trying hard to make sure the truth never see the light of day. This message should make you angry. Angry enough to fight for your health, and fight for the truth. We are the only ones who can change things.

The truth about smoking is that WE changed it, together. People learned the truth, they stopped buying the product.

Stop buying the product, take back your health. Go plant-strong.

Click here to view the embedded video.

If you were reading our blog posts back in September, you might remember that we wrote about being plant-strong athletes, and specifically covered Tara and Craig’s triathlon race.  Last week, they took on their next athletic endeavor: the marathon!

For the past four months, Tara and Craig had been training for their first marathon.  As you may have read in our recent morning workout post, we prefer to exercise with, or before, the sunrise.  Tara and Craig were up at 6am every day doing hill workouts, mile repeats, fartleks, distance runs, and pool workouts.  Sunday, May 5, (right smack dab in the middle of finals week), was the day they had been eagerly anticipating all semester. RACE DAY!!

They loved it.  Running a marathon was the most exhausting physical exertion that they had ever put their bodies through, but also one of the most fun and definitely the most exhilarating things they have ever done.  As the saying goes, “pain is temporary, but pride is forever”—totally true, totally worth it.  After three hours and forty nine minutes of running through the “City of Bridges,” Tara and Craig crossed the finish line, plant-powered victors.  The notorious 26.2 had been conquered

Both Jenna and Craig’s dads also ran the Pittsburgh marathon that day! Craig’s dad, Roy, was also a first-timer to the race, and finished with an awesome time of 4:16!  Jenna’s dad, Gary, was the experienced marathoner of the bunch.  But this was his first time running a race since going plant-based, and he PR-ed with a (boston qualifying!!) time of 3:19!!  WOOHOO plant power!!!

You’re all probably wondering what we ate to fuel for the race.  During training, we just ate our typical plant-based meals and snacks (no extra protein or special “superfoods”), and based our intake levels on appetite.  During distance runs (longer than 15 miles), we fueled with either medjool dates or bananas.  The night before the race, we had “E2 black beans and rice extravaganza” (swapping out water chestnuts for diced mango) to power up for the big day, and in the morning we had big bowls of oatmeal topped with fresh fruit!  During the marathon, we passed by all of the “gu” and Gatorade stations and went for the water, and carried a few dates along that we had packed from home.

For the race, Tara and Roy both wore their “No Meat Athlete” shirts to sport their plant-passionate enthusiasm This was really fun because not only did it promote the plant-strong lifestyle, but it also enabled others in the plant-based community to come together and support one another.  They both got lots of shout-outs from the crowd, and from fellow runners as well!

Overall, the race was an exciting and exhilarating experience, and an amazing accomplishment.  And we’re already looking forward to the next big race!

You don’t need animal-products to be a good athlete.  In fact, by fueling with plants, you can be an even better athlete!  Plants provide optimal nutrition, no exceptions. Don’t let anyone tell you otherwise.  Case closed

ALL HAIL THE KALE!

-The College Greens

This week Jeff continues his series all about getting healthy this summer! Each week he will have advice, tips and insights into helping you get to your ideal weight! As always, leave a comment to win one of Jeff’s great DVD’s! This week tell us if you have applied the principles of calorie density in your life, if so what were the results?

A Common Sense Approach To Sound Nutrition ©Jeff Novick, MS, RD

Calorie density, is the simplest easiest approach to healthy eating. It is easy to understand and follow and I have outlined the principles here. It is the most common sense approach to sound nutrition.  In addition, by  following the principles of calorie density, you will also meet all our other needs including vitamins, minerals, fiber, protein, essential fats, etc.  The basic principles of calorie density are simple and outlined below.

However, for those of you who still want to think about food groups, servings sizes and amounts of servings, I have provided an “old school” approach to this way of eating from that perspective.  In the end, the food you eat, and the amounts, will be the same.  The calorie density approach just provides the simplest easiest road to get there.

Remember, these are just guidelines expressing the principles and not exact recommendations.

1) The Calorie Density Approach

Principles of Calorie Density

- Hunger & Satiety

Whenever hungry, eat until you are comfortably full.  Don’t starve and don’t stuff yourself.

- Sequence your meals

Start all meals with a salad, soup &/or fruit

- Don’t Drink Your Calories

Avoid liquid calories.  Eat/chew your calories, don’t drink or liquify them. Liquids have little if any satiety so they do not fill you up for the calories they contain.

- Dilution is the Solution

Dilute the Calorie Density of your meals by filling 1/2 your plate (by volume) with intact whole grains, starchy vegetables and/or legumes and the other half with vegetables and/or fruit.

- Vegetables vs Fat/Oil

Vegetables are the lowest in calorie density while Fat/Oil is the highest.  Adding vegetables to any dish will always lower the overall calorie density.  Adding fat and oil will always raise the overall calorie density.

- High Calorie Dense Foods

Limit (or avoid) foods that are higher in calorie density (dried fruit, high fat plant foods, processed whole grains, etc) and when consumed incorporate them in meals made up of low calorie dense foods and think of them as a condiment.  (ie, add slices of avocado to a large salad, walnuts or raisins in a bowl of oatmeal and fruit).

 The Calorie Density Scale

2) The Six “Old School” Food Group Approach

Fruits (Apples, berries, oranges, etc)

- Calorie density is ~250 cal/lb

- A typical serving is 1/2 cup fresh/frozen

- 60 calories per serving

- 4-6 servings per day

Vegetables (broccoli, kale, cucumbers, etc)

- Calorie density is ~100 cal/lb

- A typical serving is 1/2 cup cooked, 1 cup raw

- 25 calories per serving

- 10-16 servings per day (this includes 2-4 servings of cruciferous vegetables)

Starchy Vegetables (Sweet potatoes, yams, winter squash, etc)

- Calorie density is ~500 cal/lb

- A typical serving is 1/2 cup cooked

- 80 calories per serving

- 5-7 servings per day

Intact Whole Grains (Brown rice, oats, millet, quinoa, etc)

- Calorie density is ~500 cal/lb

- A typical serving is 1/2 cup cooked or 1 oz dry

- 80 calories per serving

- 5-7 Serving per day

Legumes (beans, dry peas lentils)

- Calorie density is ~600 cal/lb

- A typical serving is 1/2 cup cooked

- 110 calories per serving

- 1-3 serving per day

High Fat Plant Foods (nuts, seeds, avocado’s, peanut)

- Calorie density is ~2800 cal/lb

- A typical serving is 1 oz nuts, seeds, peanuts; 1/2 avocado)

- 175 calories per serving

- 1-2 servings per day

A 2000 Calories “Old School” Sample Meal Plan (for reference only)

Breakfast:

Intact Whole Grains (2 cups) 320 calories

Fresh Fruit (1 cup) 120 calories

Nuts (1 oz) 175 calories

Lunch:

Starchy Vegetable (1 cup) 160 calories

Intact Whole Grains (1 cup) 160 calories

Legumes (1/2 cup) 110 calories

Veggies (3 cups of salad, soup and/or steamed veggies) 150 calories

Fruit (1/2 cup) 60 calories

Dinner:

Starchy Vegetable (2 cups) 320 calories

Legumes (1/2 cup) 110 calories

Veggies (3 cups of salad, soup and/or steamed veggies) 150 calories

Fruit (1/2 cup) 60 calories

Nuts/Seeds (1oz) 175 calories

This equals:

- 6 servings of Starchy Veggies/Whole Grains and 480 calories

- 6 servings of Intact Whole Grains and 480 calories

- 2 servings of Legumes and 220 calories

- 12 servings of veggies and 300 calories

- 4 servings of fruit and 240 calories

- 2 servings of nuts/seeds and 350 calories

Total 2070 Calories.

For those of you avoiding nuts/seeds, you can just leave them out and increase the number of servings or fruits, veggies, starchy veggies and/or legumes to equal 350 calories.

Summary

Calorie density really is the simplest easiest approach to healthy eating. It is easy to understand and follow and provides the simplest easiest path to good health. It is the most common sense approach to sound nutrition.  By following the principles of calorie density, you will also meet all our other needs including vitamins, minerals, fiber, protein, essential fats, etc

Have another great week, and remember…

Your Health Is Your Greatest Wealth!

Jeff Novick, MS, RD

We highly recommend picking up Jeff’s DVD on calorie density !

Today I wanted to talk about something that is very important. As it turns out…Size does matter! The size of your salad that is! Growing up, salad was on a little plate, with ice berg lettuce a wedge of tomato and a shred of carrots with Italian dressing. Later Salad was a dinner plate covered in romaine lettuce, with tons of meat and cheese and blue cheese dressing. Now? My salad is a mixing bowl with a box or bag of greens, loaded with veggies and a plant-strong dressing. Yes, a BIG mixing bowl. Yes, a WHOLE bag/box of greens. You can also use the box as a to-go box for packing lunches, just add in your extra veggies and dressing and replace the lid

One of my favorite blends is the Five happiness Blend from Organic Girl good clean greens. It contains: baby bok choy leaves, baby red chard, tango, mizuna, baby arugula, baby spinach, baby green chard, baby green romaine, baby green oakleaf lettuce. This box is 5 oz. Take a look at the nutritional information:

Total calories for the ENTIRE box? 30

That’s right. Thirty calories folks. Building a mixing bowl salad loaded with veggies is a great way to have a really filling low calorie density lunch, dinner or snack. I like to load in some kale, sweet peppers, jalapeños, shredded cabbage, shredded beets, shredded carrots and diced green onions. This is probably my favorite salad in the world. The one pictured below has an entire cucumber and an entire green pepper in addition to the greens, cabbage and kale.

This is chopped salad in my favorite mixing bowl…it’s almost as big as my 13 inch macbook.

For the folks who say: salad isn’t satisfying…I challenge you…make it BIGGER! You will be full and nourished. For those that say…I couldn’t eat that much salad. I say, give it a shot! What would you be eating otherwise? This week, show me your plant-strong MIXING BOWL SALAD! Post your photos on Engine 2′s Facebook page or on Plant Based Adventures Facebook page! Show Engine 2 that you have a Beef With Meat and that you aren’t afraid of going BIG with veggies!