Forks Over Knives Spring 2019

Forks Over Knives head chef Darshana Thacker (my life partner!) and I recently traveled to Costa Rica. There we visited my brother Josh, who loves to grow and cook his own fruits, vegetables, and herbs. One of his favorite ingredients is an underutilized (at least in the U.S.) root vegetable called yuca, also known as cassava. Josh uses yuca in many different ways—mashing it like potatoes, making burgers with it, and adding it to salads to make them more hearty. We enjoyed this starchy veggie so much, it ended up being the centerpiece of about half of our meals on the trip. We were so excited about this experience that Darshana created “Have You Tried … Yuca?” (page 66), a collection of fun and delicious recipes that include yuca soup, fries,…

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 veggie chili, whole grain pasta, tacos, mashed potatoes, or whatever else hits the spot. 4…

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 coauthored the New York Times best-selling The Forks Over Knives Plan and The Whole Foods Diet: The Lifesaving Plan for Health and Longevity. Karen Asp Karen is a journalist and author specializing in fitness, health, and nutrition. She writes for numerous publications, including Better Homes & Gardens, O, and Prevention, and recently published a book, Anti-Aging Hacks. Karen is also a fitness professional certified in plant-based nutrition and a world-record-holding athlete in Nordic walking. Darshana Thacker Darshana 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…

WHAT IS CALORIE DENSITY? It’s the Key to Lasting Weight Loss Calorie density is the measure of calories in a given weight of food, often expressed as calories per pound. High-calorie-density foods pack a lot of calories per pound; low-calorie-density foods don’t. Most whole, unprocessed plant foods are low in calorie density, which means you can eat a lot of those foods, feel satisfied, and still lose weight. You’ll also be getting more vitamins, minerals, fiber, and phytochemicals with every bite. For more weight-loss tips, see page 8. ARTICHOKES SEASONAL SPOTLIGHT: EVERYTHING YOU NEED TO KNOW TO MAKE THE MOST OF A SPRINGTIME DELICACY HEALTH CHECK Beneath their prickly exterior, artichokes provide plenty of fiber (7 grams per medium artichoke) and more disease-thwarting antioxidant activity than any other vegetable. BEST IN SPRING Look for artichokes at farmers…

1 STEER CLEAR OF OILS. Most people who do this find that weight slides off easily, even if they’ve been on a plateau. Why? “Oil is the most calorie-dense food by volume,” says Micaela Karlsen, PhD, MSPH, director of the Lifestyle Medicine Economic Research Consortium in Ithaca, New York, and founder of Sustainable Diet (sustainablediet.com), a distance-based support program to help people transition to plant-based eating. A single cup of oil contains almost 2,000 calories, whereas a cup of brown rice has only about 130 calories. Plus, because oil doesn’t contain fiber, it doesn’t contribute to satiety. 2 LOAD HALF YOUR PLATE WITH NONSTARCHY VEGGIES. Turns out Mom was right in telling you to eat your veggies. “Veggies aren’t only nutritional powerhouses but also the food group that’s lowest in calorie…

Three years ago, I was surrounded by family members with serious health issues and had a closet full of clothes that didn’t fit. Both my parents and my younger sister have type 2 diabetes. My father has heart disease and had triple bypass surgery. As for me, for 10 years I’d been experiencing subtle but steady weight gain, accompanied by insomnia and fatigue. Then one day I read a Forks Over Knives success story written by my coworker David de Hilster. I watched the Forks Over Knives documentary, and it all finally made sense! I committed to a whole-food, plant-based diet that day and never looked back. “Within a few days I could already see my old self returning.” Initially, my friends and family thought I had gone crazy. But within a few…