Recipes, Suggestions On How To Switch Diet to Plant-Based

by RunTex Staff, 5/3/2005

Editor's note: When Dr. Caldwell B. Esselstyn spoke at RunTex on April 20th as the first speaker in the RunTex Speaker Series, he spoke of the need to change age-old eating habits and switch to a plant-based diet as protection from coronary artery disease. His wife-Ann Crile Esselstyn-also spoke and said she would post on www.runtex.com, some of her recipes and simple ways to change nutritional habits. Here are her suggestions and recipes that you can print and save.



Recipes, Suggestions On How To Switch

Diet To Plant-Based



By Ann Crile Esselstyn



At first, it seems so overwhelming to change eating habits and give up eating beloved foods. But your tastes change as you eliminate the fats from your diet. Salads with oily dressing or pizza thick with cheese won't taste good any more.



For breakfast and lunch, the best plan is to make those meals as simple (and the same) as possible everyday is helpful. For breakfast, try commercial rolled old fashioned oats uncooked plain or topped with grape nuts for crunch and/or another cereal like Grainfield's Raisin Bran. Or any no sugar added shredded wheat is fine. Instead of milk, use Multi Grain, Oat, or no fat soy milk. Top it all with raisins and a banana or other fruit. Apple juice, cider, orange or grapefruit juice (include the sections) instead of the milks on cereal are also delicious. Pancakes with whole-wheat flour, no eggs and no oil are delicious.



Try to keep lunch to soup and bread, salads, or sandwiches. Spread a no fat wrap (Ezekiel makes an easily available one) with lots of a zero fat hummus (there are two we have found, one made by Oasis Classic Cuisine the other by Sahara Cuisine or you can make your own without tahini using chick peas, lemon, garlic as a base.) then put chopped cilantro, chopped green onions, shredded carrots, cucumbers, tomatoes, peppers, thawed frozen corn, maybe beans, rice, cooked broccoli, mushrooms, etc. and top with lots of spinach or lettuce. Roll it up into a sausage like shape, cut in half, put on a baking sheet and bake in a high oven about ten minutes at 450 until the wrap is crisp.



Reading labels and the ingredients on the label is key. For example, Pacific used to make a fat free plain and vanilla rice milk with no added oil which they have now stopped making. They also still make low fat plain or vanilla rice milk that has "expeller pressed canola oil" in it. Avoid it. The fat free and low fat boxes looked identical so even if you meant to get the fat free version, it was easy by mistake, to pick up the low fat version with added oil. Most soy or rice dream products have added sugar and oil. If you are buying soy milk, be sure it is fat free since soy is 40 percent fat.



Be careful not to get complacent about a product. Grape Nuts are free of oil, so why shouldn't Grape Nut Flakes be also? But they have coconut oil in them. Avoid the Grape Nut Flakes.



Glycerin, hydrogenated or partially hydrogenated, mono and diglcerides are all forms of hidden fat. Avoid them. Snackwell's Devil's Food fat free cookies say 0 g of fat, But the first ingredient is sugar then corn syrup, fructose, skimmed milk, and glycerin. Barbara's Mashed Potatoes have mono and diglycerides. Avoid these sneaky fats by reading the labels for ingredients.



Beware of Fat Free! Kraft Zesty Italian Fat Free Dressing and Wishbone Fat Free Ranch, for example, both have soybean oil. Because the portion sizes are small, these products meet the zero fat per portion government standard of less than 0.5 percent gm of fat per serving. You can make your own delicious salad dressings. See suggestions ahead and above all be creative to find what you like.





Be creative. Although it is possible in a pinch to order no cheese pizza, the sauce and crust almost always contain white flour and oil. Best of all make your own crust or use pita bread as a crust. You can also find in the frozen section of a health food store Nature's Hilights Brown Rice Pizza Crust. Load the crust with a no fat pizza sauce and any vegetables: corn, peppers, onions, broccoli, mushrooms, artichoke hearts, etc.



Eat only whole grain products, but it is difficult to figure out which grains are whole and which are not. Look for 100 percent "WHOLE." Color is not a clue. The bread could contain molasses or caramel food coloring. Oats which are a whole grain, are light in color. Multigrain, cracked wheat, seven grain, stone-ground, 100 percent wheat, enriched flour, degerminated cornmeal aren't whole grain. Pumpernickel is made with rye and wheat flours, but is seldom whole grain. There are many whole grains: whole wheat, bulgar wheat, whole oats, whole rye, barley, buckwheat (kasha or buckwheat groats) whole corn. cornmeal, wild rice, brown rice, popcorn. There are also less well known whole grains: kamut, quinoa, amaranth, millet, spelt, teff, triticale, grano, faro.



There are many wonderful whole grain pastas, but you need to look for them. Again be sure that the ingredients say whole wheat and not just wheat flour or semolina, neither of which are whole grain. Hodgson Mills makes excellent whole wheat pastas that are in most grocery stores. Deboles pastas are also good. There are brown rice pastas made by Lundburg. Be especially careful in restaurants that your pasta is whole wheat or rice based and does not have oil or eggs in it.



Bread is also a challenge, especially to find whole wheat or whole grain you like that doesn't contain oil. Great Harvest Bakery makes all sorts of breads that are perfect. Most grocery stores carry some 100 percent whole wheat breads but they usually have oil. Many grocery store rye breads have no oil. Just read the ingredients. If you have trouble finding bread, you can use pita bread, but again read the ingredients to be sure the bread is whole wheat or whole grain and oil free.



Ezeikel 4:9 breads are in most health food stores and come in many forms from sliced bread to wraps and delicious hamburger or hot dog buns. The Ezeikel bread is especially good toasted. Of course, you can always make your own bread.



Most bagels are not made with oil and are mainly white flour. Alvarado Street Bakery makes a variety of whole grain bagels (white flour is the second ingredient) in the frozen foods sections of health food stores. Question the ingredients in bagels you eat. Don't count on the color to be your guide.



Pasta sauce can be a challenge. Millina's Finest had wonderful no oil pasta sauce but was bought out by Walnut Acres and now there is olive oil in the sauce. Avoid it. Muir Glen makes a portobello mushroom and a mushroom marinara that are oil free and available in many grocery stores. Garden Valley organic has a fat-free sauce in health food stores. There are others; just read ingredients.



It is easier than you think to make your own sauce and you can add all the vegetables you wish to make it even better. Surprisingly, diced tomatoes straight from a can is a rather good sauce, or heat a jar of no oil pasta sauce then add a bag of frozen spinach and you have a fast, healthy pasta topping when you are in a hurry.



If you are famished and need a fast, healthy meal, there are always no fat hot dogs (Smart Dogs by Light Life, Yves Veggie dogs) or the veggieburgers (Yves Garden Vegetable Patties, Morningstar Better'n Burgers, Lightlife Smart Menu All Natural Veggie Burger, etc.). Gnocchi made by Ferrara or Delverde (70% potato) is a quick meal topped with a no fat pasta sauce. Polenta which comes in a sausage like roll (Frieda's organic polenta or Nate's 100 percent organic are two but read the labels) is delicious sliced and fried (no oil) in a no stick pan until the desired crispness then top with a no fat pasta sauce or eat plain. Couscous (whole wheat) cooks in a minute and is excellent with no oil pasta sauce and thawed frozen peas.



Another quick meal is brown rice topped with any fresh chopped vegetables like tomatoes, green onions, peppers, celery, carrots, thawed frozen corn or peas, drained, rinsed and warmed beans. Put spinach in the bottom of a bowl. Then add hot rice and pile on the vegetables. Use low sodium Tamari or salsa on top. This feels quick since only the rice is really cooked



Nore (rice, seaweed, vegetables) is available in many grocery stores. Sometimes it is even made with brown rice in health food stores like Wild Oats. Request the brown rice. You may also request that they make your's with just carrots and cucumber to avoid the avocado. It is also surprisingly easy to make your own nori, but use short grain brown rice, which is stickier than the long grain and then have fun with the ingredients : carrots, cucumber, asparagus, lettuce, mango, artichoke heart, etc.



Sweet potatoes/yams are sweet and filling and so easy if you remember to put them in the oven early enough since they take at least an hour to bake. See a recipe ahead for sweet potatoes.



Tofu is 40 percent fat so beware. However, Mori-Nu makes a lite extra firm or firm silken tofu, which makes excellent sauces or desserts and is wonderful sliced thin and baked with low sodium tamari on it, but remember that even the lite is high in fat so it should be an occasional treat.



No fat broth makes a good base for things like soups, rice or stir-frying. Kitchen Basics makes a Roasted Vegetable Stock, which has some good recipes on the side if you leave out the nuts and oil. Pacific makes an organic fat free vegetable and mushroom broth. Health Valley also makes a fat-free vegetable broth. All of them are high in sodium so ideally you should make your own, but sometimes that is just not possible so these are excellent alternatives.



Portobello mushrooms baked in the oven or on the grill with any barbecue sauce or low sodium tamari and a little balsamic vinegar are wonderful and look like a piece of meat. They are great as burgers on whole wheat bread or in the Ezeikel buns.



Try your own old favorite recipes and just leave out the oil. In baking replace oil with prunes, applesauce, or bananas. Instead of egg use egg replacer or see the recipe for making "egg whites" from flax seeds and water at the bottom of the Best Banana Bread recipe ahead.



Many recipes call for 1 Tablespoon of olive oil to fry the onion. But that oil is not necessary. Any liquid works just as well: vegetable broth, wine, beer, water, orange juice (or any juice), vinegar, and tamari. A stir-fry with all your favorite vegetables does not need a drop of oil to be delicious.



Fat free hummus without tahini (Oasis Classic Cuisine, Sahara Cuisine or make your own with drained chick peas, lemon, garlic, perhaps a little balsamic vinegar or cumin) is excellent as a sandwich spread. It is also good on vegetables and makes it easy to eat lots of Brussels sprouts or any vegetable. Use also as a salad dressing mixed with lemon, lime or vinegar and a little mustard.



Try to steam a few vegetables each night with your dinner. Asparagus in the spring, corn, sliced tomatoes with balsamic vinegar and basil in the late summer, squash in the fall should fill your plates along with broccoli, cauliflower, green beans, snap peas, zucchini, Brussels sprouts, etc. They are all good plain or with lemon or a little balsamic or rice vinegar sprinkled on top. Save the steaming water and use as a base for soup or to stir fry.



There is no reason to have desserts every night with meals, but something sweet at the end of dinner can be satisfying. Banana "ice-cream" made from frozen sliced bananas mixed in a strong blender is fabulous. You can also use frozen mangoes or frozen berries. Try freezing grapes and snack on those when you want a sweet, cold treat. Sliced frozen fresh pineapple or bananas are also good! Sorbets on occasion are delicious. Sherbets have milk in them so avoid them. Dates and figs also satisfy the urge for something sweet. It's Only Tomatoes makes delicious dried fruit and vegetables that quickly quench a sweet tooth. The bananas are especially sweet.



If you are limiting salt, know the following sodium levels:



Sea salt- 1 teaspoon 2360 mg sodium

Reduced Sodium Tamari- 1 teaspoon 700 mg sodium

Bragg Liquid Aminos- 1 teaspoon 233 mg sodium

South River Sweet White Miso - 1 teaspoon 115 mg sodium



Suggested Supplement:



Calcium (over 50) 1000 mg. daily

(over 60) 1200 mg. daily

Vitamin D (over 50) 800 IU (international units) daily

(over 60)1000 IU daily

Omega 3 1 tablespoon flaxseed meal daily

Vitamin B-12 500 mcg daily

1 multivitamin daily



Remember, if you have heart disease: Never eat oil. If you have heart disease, avoid nuts. A few sesame seeds on bread and such are fine. If you have heart disease, don't eat avocados, coconut or coconut milk. If you have heart disease, eat tofu.



The best thing is to eat is a huge salad. Start as many meals as possible with salads. Add all the vegetables you can. It is important to find a salad dressing you like so spend time experimenting.



Taste changes slowly, but it does change. Now we even like just vinegar or lemon on salad. In fact, we even like bread dipped in vinegar. Who would have thought 20 years ago?



look at additional pages for continuation of Ann Crile Esselstyn's article....

