Forks Over Knives Winter 2019

One of the great things about traveling overseas is having the opportunity to try new foods and, in the process, experience a wide variety of exciting flavors and textures. Whether it’s the curries of Sri Lanka, an English shepherd’s pie, or the noodles and spices of Thailand, I’m often surprised to discover how many regional dishes are easily adaptable to a whole-food, plant-based lifestyle. Forks Over Knives chef and culinary projects manager Darshana Thacker is all about bringing these exciting flavors to our audience in a healthy way. In this issue, we feature an exclusive preview of recipes from Darshana’s brand-new book, Forks Over Knives: Flavor!, a collection of her best plant-based riffs on traditional favorites from around the world (page 26). This issue also features Darshana’s innovative approach to vegetarian…

1 PUT STARCHES AND FRUITS AT THE CENTER OF YOUR PLATE. Enjoy nonstarchy and leafy veggies in generous amounts, but look to carbohydrate-rich whole grains, beans, fruits, and starchy vegetables to provide enough calories to get you through your day. 2 YOU’LL LIKELY EAT MORE FOOD, NOT LESS. Whole or minimally processed plant foods are dense in nutrients, not calories. As you adjust to this way of eating, you may find you feel a little hungry shortly after a meal, but over time you’ll get a sense of how much to eat to stay satiated. 3 FOCUS ON PLEASURE. The best whole plant foods are the ones you enjoy enough to stay on a healthy path. So have that veggie chili, whole grain pasta, tacos, mashed potatoes, and whatever else hits the spot. 4 SAY NO…

Alona Pulde, MD, and Matthew Lederman, MD Drs. Pulde and Lederman created the medical program used in the Forks Over Knives documentary and all Whole Foods Market Medical & Wellness centers. They also co-authored The New York Times best-selling The Forks Over Knives Plan and The Whole Foods Diet: The Lifesaving Plan for Health and Longevity. Doug Lisle, PhD Dr. Lisle is the director of research for TrueNorth Health Center and serves as the psychologist for the McDougall Wellness Program, both located in Santa Rosa, California. He is the coauthor of The Pleasure Trap: Mastering the Hidden Force that Undermines Health & Happiness. Darshana Thacker Darshana Thacker is chef and culinary projects manager for Forks Over Knives. A graduate of the Natural Gourmet Institute, Darshana is the author of the new Forks Over Knives: Flavor!…

MEAL PREP 101 BUILD A SALAD BAR IN YOUR FRIDGE Not just for salads, a salad bar is a genius source for quick-fix meal ingredients, and it's easy to build one at home. On your next supermarket trip, stock up on your favorite salad fixings. As soon as you get home, take 20 minutes to clean and prep your salad bar ingredients, and transfer them to glass containers so you can easily see your options. Having fresh, colorful ingredients visible and ready to go makes it easy to get creative at mealtime: You can quickly assemble salads, and you can add these items to things like stir-fries, pasta dishes, Buddha bowls, tacos, and burritos. For a well-rounded DIY salad bar, be sure to include greens, beans, and grains, plus three or four more fresh…

1 DON’T GO HUNGRY: Because you’re eating foods that are less calorie-dense, you may feel hungry more often than you expect. Don’t hesitate to eat more food, because it can be tougher to make healthy choices when you’re hungry and blood sugar levels are low, explains Micaela Karlsen, author of A Plant-Based Life. “Plan ahead and bring snacks so you can avoid feeling ‘hangry’—the moment when you’re most likely to veer off course,” she says. 2 PICK YOUR PACE: Some people decide to make a radical switch overnight; others prefer a gradual shift. For instance, you might start with one daily meal, like breakfast: Eat plant-based every morning for a week or two before adding plant-based lunches and then dinners. Or you might go plant-based one day a week, gradually adding days until…

“My joint pain lessened. My eyes improved; I no longer had signs of retinopathy. I was utterly amazed.” Plant-based eating was not a part of my family’s traditional culture. Growing up Dominican, all I knew was rice, beans, chicken, pork, and beef. At age 9, I was diagnosed with type 1 diabetes. I was taught about medication, not nutrition. I believed that as long as I took my insulin, I could eat and drink whatever I wanted. I was so wrong. At age 26, I had my son two months prematurely. I was diagnosed with hypertension and hypothyroidism. I had high cholesterol by age 30 and diabetic retinopathy by 35. At 40, I was diagnosed with rheumatoid arthritis, osteoarthritis, and diabetic gastroparesis. I’ve had my gallbladder removed; bone spurs in my heel, shoulder,…