More people than ever are eating a whole-food, plant-based diet. Studies show that it is better for our bodies and better for the planet–but it isn’t always easy.
If you’re looking to make healthy changes in this direction, let A Plant-Based Life be your guide.
Whether you’re taking your first steps on this path to wellness or recommitting yourself to success with a plant-based diet, this easy, 5-step program enables you to set your own pace and stay the course–without relying on willpower.
And with recipes like these, the journey will be more satisfying than you ever imagined!
Everyday Oats
Serves 1
The beauty of raw oats, besides super-fast preparation, is that you can eat a lot of them, which means you’ll easily feel full well into lunchtime.
Ingredients:
1 to 1½ cups thick rolled oats
Blueberries, raspberries, or sliced strawberries (optional)
Raisins or dried cranberries (optional)
Dried dates or figs, chopped (optional)
Walnuts, almonds, or pecans, chopped (optional)
1 tbsp. chia seeds or ground flaxseeds (optional)
½ to 1 cup plant milk, such as oat, soy, almond, hemp,
hazelnut or rice milk
Instructions:
Pour raw oats in a bowl.
Add various toppings, as desired.
Top with plant milk, and enjoy!
Pioneer Gingerbread
Serves 10 to 12
As a child, I was a big fan of Laura Ingalls Wilder’s Little House on the Prairie series, and some of my favourite parts of those books are the descriptions of what they ate. Almanzo’s childhood culinary recollections in Farmer Boy are particularly vivid. It sort of sounds like a nonstop year-long dinner party! A few years ago I was fortunate to come across on the Internet a letter Laura, at that time in her 90s, sent to a friend in 1953, enclosing her recipe for gingerbread. It’s been a labour of love to create a healthier version of this pioneer treat that still does justice to the original flavour, but leaves out the eggs and lard.
Ingredients:
3 cups whole-grain flour (I like spelt)
1 tbsp. each: baking powder, baking soda, ginger, cinnamon and allspice
½ tsp each of: nutmeg, cloves and salt
1 cup maple syrup
½ cup applesauce
¾ cup molasses
2 tbsp. white vinegar
Instructions:
Preheat the oven to 375ºF. Whisk the flour, baking powder, baking soda, ginger, cinnamon, allspice, nutmeg, cloves and salt in a medium bowl.
Put the maple syrup, applesauce, molasses and white vinegar in a second medium bowl. Bring kettle of water to a boil. Once boiling, remove from heat and add 1 cup hot water to the wet ingredients, and stir.
Slowly add the dry ingredients to the wet ingredients while mixing, but be careful to not over-stir. The mixture should be quite thin.
Transfer batter to a 9 x 13–inch glass pan, and bake for 35 minutes. Serve and enjoy!
Simple Split Pea Comfort Soup
Serves 2-4
Curl up on the sofa with a good book and a great split pea soup to stay warm. The world offers many delicious versions of split pea soup to try, however, this comfort soup is absolutely delicious as is. If you’re feeling adventurous, you can use this as your basic starter recipe and branch out in any number of interesting directions. Soup doesn’t get any simpler than this.
Ingredients:
1 cup split peas
1 medium onion, diced
1 medium carrot, diced
1 medium celery rib, diced
1 medium potato, diced
1 tbsp. vegetable stock base
Salt and freshly ground black pepper to taste
Instructions:
Soak your split peas for 4 to 6 hours, or even longer, if possible, to ensure a shorter cooking time.
Drain the split peas, and place them in a large pot in 8 cups water without salt. Cook over high heat for 15-20 minutes or until boiling. Reduce heat to a simmer, partially covered, for 20 minutes or until peas are tender.
Add remaining ingredients and return to a boil. Reduce heat to a simmer, partially covered, for 15
or until vegetables are tender.
Plant-based diet recipes reprinted with permission from A Plant-Based Life: Your Complete Guide to Great Food, Radiant Health, Boundless Energy, and a Better Body by Micaela Cook Karlsen (author), with a foreword by T. Colin Campbell.
