Plant-Based Tips
Living a plant-based lifestyle is a journey. No matter what anyone says, the vegan you are in year one is not the vegan you are five years down the road because you learn so much along the way. For me, going plant-based was very gradual (I never thought I could give up cheese on my bagel or real milk in my coffee) but once I started feeling so much better without dairy in my body, I became more committed to reading and learning more about the health benefits of a plant-based diet (thank you NutritionFacts.org).
Over the past few years, there are several important things I learned that I wish I knew way back then so I pass this information along and hope it helps anyone who is trying to gradually move towards a plant-based diet or who just wants to make their plant-based life easier. Read more 
Chocolate Chip Cookies (Vegan)
Before I went plant-based one of my favorite indulgences was a Levain Chocolate Chip Cookie which really was a Chocolate Chip Walnut Cookie (they just didn’t advertise the walnuts). A monstrous thick cookie, the Levain Chocolate Chip Cookie was huge and chunky (about 6 ounces) and very gooey on the inside – the way a chocolate chip cookie should be (although I realize that’s debatable). But when I changed my diet, I had to figure out a way to have a thick, rich, melt-in-you-mouth cookie without the dairy and eggs. Read more
Bean Salad
In my quest to eat at least a cup of beans a day, I created this recipe that combines beans with vegetables, fruit, and fresh dill to make a delicious bean salad, worthy of any lunch or dinner plate. Easy to make, Bean Salad takes about 15 minutes to put together and easily serves four, but you can keep it all to yourself and snack on it throughout the day.
Crunchy, creamy, and delicious, the beauty of this salad is in the different textures, flavors, and nutritional content. Full of fiber, this salad also fills you up leaving you very satisfied. Read more
Kale and Mushroom Pita
Kale and Mushroom Pita is a super easy way to get that all important dose of greens and fiber in your diet. Whenever I don’t feel like spending a lot of time cooking, a Kale and Mushroom Pita is on the menu.
With just 4 ingredients: dark green lacinto kale, mushrooms, nutritional yeast, and whole grain pita bread, the Kale and Mushroom Pita takes about 10 minutes to make. The biggest time sap is cleaning and cutting the mushrooms and kale which can be done ahead of time (or buy pre-washed baby kale), covered and refrigerated until later in the day. Read more
Powerballs
Powerballs are moist, nutty delicious bites made from eight ingredients: dates, walnuts, dried apricots, sprouted sunflower seeds, goji berries, hemp hearts, flaxseed meal and cinnamon. Sweet and scrumptious, Powerballs are the ideal snack or dessert that satisfies those sweet cravings we all get from time to time.
Inspired by the recipe for Superfood Breakfast Bites in the How Not To Die Cookbook, Powerballs are heavy on the dates, apricots, and walnuts but its the seeds, berries, hemp, and flaxseed along with the cinnamon that make these treats so special. Read more
The Best Ever Corn Muffins (Vegan)
Making a moist and flavorful corn muffin without butter, oil, milk, refined sugar, or eggs used to be a challenge until I was inspired by a recipe for Double Corn Muffins in the Forks Over Knives Flavor cookbook by Darshana Thacker. Her recipe is excellent but I want a lighter muffin so I use whole grain spelt flour or Hayden Flour Mills all purpose flour (instead of whole wheat flour which is a heavier flour), medium grain cornmeal (instead of coarse) and add a teaspoon of baking soda and a teaspoon of apple cider vinegar to help leaven the muffins more than by using baking powder alone.
Whereas most corn muffins taste like corn but are often dry, these corn muffins are moist and delicious because fresh off-the-cob kernels are used along with medium coarse cornmeal and almond flour that provides just the right amount of granular texture. The result is best described as “the best ever corn muffins, period.” Read more
Roasted Sweet Potatoes, Beans and Veggies
Roasted Sweet Potatoes, Beans, and Veggies is a catch-all name for an entree that has it all: potatoes, beans, greens, carrots, and mushrooms. Although the star of the show is the sweet potato (three different kinds), the other vegetables and beans add a lot of flavor (and nutrients) to the dish.
Two helpful hints: don’t skimp on the seasoning. Although the vegetables are delicious together, a few teaspoons of dried spices can really add a lot of zip to this dish. Read more
Is There Anything More Beautiful Than A Dragon Fruit?
To me, a Pitaya – also known as a Dragon Fruit – looks like a fruit worthy of the fanciest fruit salad. With a fluorescent magenta and green outer skin covering a slightly sweet juicy interior that tastes like a melon, the Dragon Fruit is both beautiful to look at and scrumptious to eat.
In fact, it’s so beautiful to look at, that I often use a few as a center piece on the table until ripe (note: as the fruit ripens, the pink color gets brighter and brighter). Then, I place the fruit in the refrigerator to chill for a few hours or overnight because the flavor is best when chilled. Read more
The Double A BCD Salad
The Double A BCD Salad is a crunchy, colorful, nutritious and delicious salad that takes about 10 minutes to make. Made with 5 primary ingredients: apple, avocado, beans, celery, and dill, the Double A BCD Salad is full of nutrients, fiber, and flavor. So on those days when you don’t have a lot of time for food prep, consider making this amazing salad for lunch or supper. For an added boost of nutrition, serve the salad on a bed of greens. Read more
Proteinaholic
It’s been said that we don’t change when we see the light, but when we feel the heat.
Those are the words of Dr. Garth Davis, MD – a board-certified surgeon – who specializes in bariatric surgery in Asheville, NC. Prior to moving to Asheville in 2018, Dr. Davis was the medical director of the Davis Clinic at the Methodist Hospital in Houston, Texas. A graduate of University of Texas in Austin, and the Baylor School of Medicine, Dr. Davis completed his surgical residency at the University of Michigan. Read more
