Kitchen Culinary For The Healthy Life - Gadgets Every Plant-Based Foodie Must Have

At the time I started my transition to a healthier, plant-based lifestyle back in 2009 there were really only two key items I couldn’t live without—a pizza stone and an oversized cereal bowl. Tombstone® pizzas, Cocoa Pebbles, and Marie Callender’s® frozen dinners were pretty much the norm for me. I didn’t need a lot of kitchenware at my disposal because of this, and so I stuck to the basics of bachelorhood. While I still use my pizza stone and cereal bowl today, I’ve found that a few modern-day kitchen appliances make living a plant-based lifestyle much easier. Today I’ll show you how to save time and energy by stocking your kitchen with the essentials to make your transition to this healthier lifestyle much easier. Remember, spend only what you can afford, prioritize your needs as you proceed forward, and keep a wish list for everything else.

Must Have Kitchen Appliances

There are a few kitchen tools/appliances that are on my must have list when it comes to successfully adopting a plant-based diet. Yours may be different and that’s ok. My list includes a blender, a chef’s knife, a quality cutting board, and a nice line of cookware.

Maximize Those Nutrients!

by guest blogger Jody Perrecone

The American Cancer Institute for Cancer Research conducted an analysis of over 7,000 scientific studies on food, nutrition, and physical activity as it relates to cancer.  Amazingly what they found was diet and nutrition are responsible for up to 40% of all cancers.

Fruits and vegetables contain phytochemicals that fight cancer cells.  Here are some methods of cooking that will retain the highest amount of these cancer fighting compounds.

1)  Tomatoes have a cancer fighting antioxidant called lycopene.  Cooking tomatoes will increase our body’s absorption of lycopene.

2) Chopping garlic and onions releases the compound allicin, which boosts our immune system - important in fighting cancer. Let chopped onions and garlic sit 5-10 minutes before using to maximize the effects of the allicin.

The Plant-Based Pharmacist's Favorite Recipe Sites

For approximately three years I've been writing on the science and health benefits of plant-based diets. This kind of information is very important for understanding why you should follow a plant-based diet. However, many people (especially newcomers to the plant-based world) are left wondering how to "do" a plant-based diet. They need ideas for meals and recipes to make it happen. To help with this, I've compiled my list (in no particular order) of favorite whole foods, plant-based recipe sites for you to check out. I hope you find them useful. Go ahead, indulge a little!

Whole Food, Plant-Based Recipe Sites

1) Straight Up Food - Cathy Fisher is a certified nutritionist who works closely with Dr. John McDougall providing cooking classes at the McDougall Program. She also currently teaches cooking classes at the True North Health clinic in Santa Rosa, CA. Her recipes avoid all animal products as well as oil, salt, and refined flours and sugars.

2) Happy Herbivore - Lindsay Nixon is the author of 3 books including The Happy Herbivore Cookbook. Her site includes fabulous whole food recipes with no added fats (including oil), refined flours, or sugars. She has a number of easy to make plant-based recipes to choose from.

Mark Bittman - What's Wrong With What We Eat

There was a young boy who once grew up just like you and me.  He came from a household where mom was the go to person for all the family's nutritional needs.  She did the grocery shopping.  She made the daily menu.  She packed the lunches.  She even did the final preparation and cooking of the evening meal that found it's way onto everyone's dinner plate each night.

Mark Bittman was this little boy and he's now a grown man with a very inspiring message.  He grew up on the All-American diet of a large helping of meat, mashed potatoes, and fruit salad that originated out of a can just like you and I did.  He never tried a bite of spinach or broccoli until he was 19.  He also never learned how to cook from his mother.  You'd think that he'd have fallen into a life of fast food, microwave dinners, and Chinese take out but nothing could be further from the truth.  Mark Bittman turned into one of the greatest food writers ever known to man.