May 18, 2017 by Danny Prater Publishedby

Whether it’s for the animals, the environment, or your own health, going vegan is easier than ever, and word is getting out. The Academy of Nutrition and Dietetics asserts that eating vegan is “appropriate for all stages of the life-cycle” and that plant-based foods are “healthful, nutritionally adequate, and may provide health benefits for the prevention and treatment of certain diseases.” Now the Kaiser Permanente Fresno Medical Center in California is giving its doctors, nurses, and other medical staff the information and tools that they need in order to help themselves—and via extension, their patients—make the switch to delicious, healthy plant-based meals.

By attending cooking demonstrations and nutrition classes, health professionals at the medical center will gain useful skills and knowledge about vegan eating that they can then pass on to their patients, helping the entire community eat healthier and lower the risk of developing many common diseases. The program even includes a 21-day vegan challenge to help people change their habits.

Kaiser Permanente staff members have already learned that one useful tool for getting into vegan cooking is jackfruit, which has a “meaty” texture that makes it a perfect meat replacement in many dishes.

Tip: You can find seasoned, prepackaged jackfruit in many stores.

The staff is practicing what it preaches: One nurse says that she has already lost 14 pounds since jumping into the program. She told reporters, “If I’m trying to teach my patients how to eat, I need to be doing the same thing.”

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