B00AG0VMTC EBOK (18 page)
Authors: Rip Esselstyn
People always ask me how I was able to get a bunch of burger-munching, ice cream–scarfing, milk-guzzling Texas firefighters to eat a healthy, whole-food, plant-strong diet.
The answer is twofold. First: I used all the arguments that you’ve now read in the first part of this book. When you really know your plant-strong stuff, you don’t lose an argument because the facts are all on your side. Firefighters love to argue, so believe me, we talked about food and nutrition more than we talked about almost anything else!
However, some people don’t respond to facts. So in those cases I resorted to the second part of my strategy (and this book): I fed them delicious burgers, scrumptious pizzas, amazing fajitas, filling “meat” loaves, and extraordinary desserts—all of which were plant-strong. The guys didn’t miss their old foods because these new versions taste sensational and make them feel great. And they couldn’t argue anymore because their mouths were filled with seconds and thirds and, yes, fourths.
Think about it. If a firehouse full of good ol’ boys in Austin, Texas, can do this, any house, and I mean
any
house, can do this. It’s all about
making and eating kickass food that everyone from housewives to firefighters, from kids to seniors will truly love!
My first book,
The Engine 2 Diet
, featured 125 recipes. Since it was published, I’ve been traveling all over the country pushing plants, and it seems as though everywhere I’ve gone E2ers have shown up with wonderful recipes. So when I decided to write this second book, I knew I wanted to include as many of them as possible.
To help me get it right, I recruited my amazing sister, Jane, to captain this section of the book. Jane is married to the great Brian Hart; together, they have three children, Bainon, Crile, and Zeb. Jane is also a registered nurse, a sex education teacher, a wellness instructor, and a plant-strong presenter and cook. Like me, Jane runs full throttle on that rocket fuel we call plants!
Together we put out the call to E2ers far and wide seeking even more great recipes. Holy Kale! The next thing we knew we were inundated with hundreds upon hundreds of suggestions. Eventually, Jane and I culled through the recipes submitted by enthusiastic friends, strangers, chefs, comedians, bloggers, vegans, raw foodies, vegetarians, librarians, nurses, academicians, doctors, family members, cookbook authors, and even firefighters!
It wasn’t easy, but we finally narrowed the field down to 140 that best represented the Engine 2 criteria of being delicious, satisfying, simple, and, of course, plant-strong.
Then, over the past two years, Jane poured her heart, soul, and kitchen into testing each and every one of these recipes. I am 100 percent confident that you will not just like these dishes, you will love them! And in the true spirit of love, this food will love you right back, helping to guide your health into the stratosphere. Plant-strong all the way!
Note:
All of the recipes in this book follow these guidelines:
- They are plant-strong! One hundred percent plant based, they contain no animal products or by-products.
- They contain no added extracted oils.
- They use little to no salt.
- They use minimally processed sweeteners (predominantly pure maple syrup or dates).
- They are simple and easy to prepare.
Savory Shiitake and Cheesy Oats
The Bouldin Creek Spicy Scrambler
Dinosaur Gingerbread-Buckwheat Pancakes
Cranberry-Polenta French Toast
Start Your Engines!
By Rip Esselstyn
I pledge allegiance to the plants
that come from Mother Earth,
and to the Big Bowl, for which it stands;
one breakfast, hearty, heaping, and whole,
with health benefits for all.
Prep time: 5 minutes • Serves 1
½ cup old-fashioned oats, raw and uncooked
½ cup Ezekiel 4:9 cereal (or equivalent; Kashi or Grape-Nuts brand)
½ cup bite-size shredded wheat
1 tablespoon ground flaxseed or chia seeds
1 small handful walnuts
1 small banana, sliced
cup blueberries (frozen or fresh)
A handful of raisins
Almond milk, as much as you prefer
The night before, place the oats and other cereals in a bowl and seal with a lid. In the morning, add the ground flaxseed or chia, walnuts, banana, blueberries, raisins, and almond milk. Grab a spoon and go—you are invincible!
Variations:
Add cherries, strawberries, grapes, mango, pomegranate seedpods, fresh grapefruit wedges, or pecans for variety and fun!
By Maria Torres
Our super-nanny, Maria Torres, made this for Kole and Sophie one morning. I was blown away by its simplicity and tastiness.
Prep time/cook time: 8 minutes • Serves 2 to 4
2 cups water
1 banana, peeled and smashed
1 cup old-fashioned rolled oats
While heating the water for the oatmeal, stir in the whole smashed banana. Once the banana is incorporated uniformly, add the oats. Cook until the oatmeal is the desired consistency and serve.
Variation:
Try this with fresh strawberries, raspberries, or the fruit of your choice.
By Debbie Kastner
If you haven’t checked out
Happy Healthy Long Life
online, you need to! It’s written by Debbie Kastner, aka the Healthy Librarian, and she has the most incredible website, featuring up-to-date research delivered in layman’s terms as well as plant-strong recipes like this powerhouse of a breakfast. A double dose of nitric oxide and vessel-boosting power from oats and spinach—it’s crazy how much nutrition is in this breakfast bowl!
Prep time: 20 minutes • Serves 2 to 4
1 cup steel-cut oats
2 cups water or vegetable broth
1 cup unsweetened non-dairy milk
2 tablespoons nutritional yeast
2 dashes ground turmeric
1½ teaspoons Cajun or Southwest seasoning of choice
Freshly ground black pepper
Pinch or two chipotle powder (optional)
1 ounce julienned sun-dried tomatoes
5 dried shiitake mushrooms, broken into pieces (or other dried mushrooms you like)
2½ ounces fresh baby spinach per serving
In a medium pot, mix the oats, water (or broth), non-dairy milk, nutritional yeast, turmeric, seasoning, black pepper to taste, chipotle powder, if using, sun-dried tomatoes, and mushrooms. Watching carefully, bring to a boil, reduce the heat, and simmer for about 10 minutes. Cook until all of the water is absorbed, leaving the oats nice and creamy.
When the oats are done, microwave 1 serving of spinach briefly until soft but not mushy, about 30 seconds. Top each serving of oatmeal with a portion of the softened spinach, mix, and enjoy. Store the remaining oatmeal in the fridge—it is easy to reheat in the microwave or on the stove top.
Variation:
Instead of sun-dried tomatoes, substitute 3 times the amount of dried shiitake mushrooms. Serve over a bed of cooked kale with Jane’s Dancing Dressing (
here
).
By Rip and Jane Esselstyn
Quinoa is a high-protein, nutty-flavored ancient Incan grain. Prepare your quinoa the night before to save time in the morning. It can even be made in a rice cooker! Be sure to rinse it well
to remove the natural
sopanios
, which can taste bitter or soapy. Other than that—
Any berries will do.
Any color quinoa will do.
Any nut butter—a little dab—will do.
Prep time: 5 minutes • Serves 1
¾ cup quinoa (red, white, or black), cooked
1 handful fresh blueberries, other berries, or fruit of choice
1 teaspoon peanut butter, almond butter, or nut butter of choice
Prepare the quinoa as directed on the package. The ratio is usually 1 cup quinoa to 2 cups water. Place the warm (or cold) cooked quinoa in a breakfast bowl and add the berries on top. Stir in the nut butter of choice.
Tip:
If you are a big breakfast eater, use more quinoa and add a sliced banana to the mix.
By John Mercer, head prepared-foods chef at the Park Lane, Texas, Whole Foods Market store
My first experience with grits was at a summer camp when I was in the seventh grade. I took one spoonful of the warm, gelatinous mixture and thought I was going to lose it. I tried them again in college with a very similar reaction. Now that I have a much more sophisticated and discerning palate, I appreciate and devour these spicy grits!
Prep time: 20 minutes • Serves 4
1 small yellow onion, diced
1 tablespoon garlic, minced
¼ cup green chilies, diced
1 chipotle pepper, chopped
2 cups vegetable stock
½ cup yellow grits
3 tablespoons nutritional yeast
Juice of ½ lime
½ teaspoon salt (optional)
1 teaspoon freshly ground black pepper (optional)
In a medium pot over high heat, sauté the onions, garlic, green chilies, and chipotle pepper with 2 tablespoons of the stock for 5 to 7 minutes. Add the remaining stock and bring to a boil. Whisk in the grits and cook over low heat for 5 to 7 minutes, whisking occasionally until thick and well absorbed. Stir in nutritional yeast and lime.
Taste and adjust the seasoning to your liking, add the salt, if using, and serve.
Tip:
This is fantastic for dinner served with Grilled Thai Kale Salad (
here
) on top!
By Leslie and the Bouldin Creek Café staff
The Bouldin Creek Café is an ultra-cool, newly renovated, totally badass, plant-based restaurant in South Austin. This scrambled tofu is one of their signature dishes, and a favorite when my wife, Jill, and I decide to go out for plant-strong fare. We always ask them to top our salads with it. The owner, Leslie, was kind enough to share her most beloved secret recipe.
Press time: 30 minutes • Prep time/cook time: 10 minutes (plus 30 minutes press time for tofu) • Serves 3 to 4
One 12-ounce block firm tofu
1 to 2 teaspoons low-sodium tamari sauce or Bragg Liquid Aminos
½ jalapeño pepper, finely chopped
½ serrano pepper, finely chopped
1 garlic clove, minced
½ cup chopped fresh cilantro
1 teaspoon curry powder
¼ teaspoon salt (optional)
¼ teaspoon ground turmeric
½ teaspoon freshly ground black pepper
1 cup nutritional yeast
Wrap the block of tofu in a dish towel and place it in a colander over a bowl. Press it for at least 30 minutes using something heavy, like a brick or carton of non-dairy milk. (This is an important step or your tofu will come out gummy!)
In a small bowl, create the spicy mix. Combine the jalapeño and serrano peppers, garlic, and cilantro. Combine the curry powder, salt, turmeric,
black pepper, and nutritional yeast in a heated nonstick pan. Crumble the tofu with your hands into jagged, bite-size pieces—it will look like scrambled eggs! Add a splash of tamari or Bragg Liquid Aminos and stir to incorporate. Add the tofu to the dry mix and stir until uniformly coated—it may look like there is too much dry mix—just keep stirring it around and it will all cling to the tofu eventually. Add the spicy mix and sauté until the peppers and tofu are heated through.
Serve warm on its own, or use as a filling for breakfast tacos, burritos, or enchiladas. Also try it in a shepherd’s pie, or paired with greens like kale or Swiss chard!
By Jane Esselstyn
Real flapjacks come from the United Kingdom and they are simple as can be. They are not flour-based or pan-cooked like American pancakes; they are more like sweet oat squares. According to my sister, Jane, who is obsessed with Scotland, “This is a real Scottish breakfast for ye wee lads and lassies. Pack a stash in your sporran and they’ll keep yer stride long all day o’er the highlands, and to the bonnie, bonnie banks o’ Loch Lomond.”
Prep time: 5 minutes • Cooking time: 25 minutes • Cooling time: 10 minutes • Makes 12 oat squares
cup raw cashews or walnuts
2 tablespoons water
cup pure maple syrup
1cups old-fashioned rolled oats
½ teaspoon vanilla extract
¼ teaspoon ground cinnamon
cup total: dried cranberries, raisins, dried cherries, pistachios, almonds, or pecans (optional)
Preheat the oven to 350°F. Line a shallow 9 x 11-inch pan with parchment paper.
Place the nuts in a food processor with the water and grind, scraping the sides down if needed, until it forms a big clump.
Add the maple syrup, vanilla, and cinnamon and process until well combined. Hand mix or gently pulse the oats into the mix. Add the optional ingredients, if using, at this stage. Press the oat mixture into the lined pan until flat and about ¼ inch thick. Bake for 25 minutes, or until golden around the edges.
Remove from the oven and, while still warm, score the surface to mark 12 or 16 pieces. Set aside to cool. When cooled completely, about 20 minutes, cut with a sharp knife. Serve crispy, crunchy, and cool.
Tips:
Use this mixture as a crumble topping over Apple-Cardamom Flapjack Crumble (
here
). Also, use as a piecrust by pressing into a pie plate and baking as above.