Forks Over Knives Spring 2022

I am notoriously hard on blenders. In my 20s, I inadvertently murdered at least three basic blenders making soups, sauces, and party drinks. After jumping on the breakfast smoothie train in the late ’90s, I went through three $30 Cuisinart Smart Sticks before concluding that a base-model immersion blender just can’t handle my business. I finally met my match in 2011, when I got a high-speed blender (the Vitamix 7500, if you’re curious). I use it several times a week, treat it with care, and believe it just might last me a lifetime. Still, if it broke tomorrow, I’d buy another Vitamix without hesitation. A Vitamix is expensive but worth it—but not everyone is willing or able to spend several hundred bucks on a blender. The good news: Very good high-speed blenders…

LOAD UP ON THESE Fruits (bananas, blueberries, oranges, strawberries) Vegetables (broccoli, carrots, cauliflower, kale, lettuce) Tubers and starchy vegetables (corn, green peas, potatoes, winter squash) Whole grains (barley, brown rice, millet, oats, quinoa, wheat berries) Legumes (black beans, chickpeas, lentils, pinto beans) ENJOY IN MODERATION Plant-based milks (almond, cashew, hemp, oat, rice, soy) Tofu and tempeh Whole grain flours and breads Whole nuts and seeds, nut/seed butters (almond butter, pumpkin seeds, tahini, walnuts) AVOID OR MINIMIZE Bleached flours, white bread, and white pasta Dairy products Eggs Meat, poultry, and seafood Oils Refined sweeteners White rice For a more detailed primer on the FOK diet, visit forksoverknives.com/what-to-eat…

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 power 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…

DARSHANA THACKER Thacker is chef and culinary projects manager for Forks Over Knives. A graduate of the Natural Gourmet Institute, she is the author of the Forks Over Knives: Flavor! cookbook, recipe author for the book Forks Over Knives Family, and recipe contributor to The New York Times best-selling book The Forks Over Knives Plan. MICHAEL GREGER, MD, FACLM Greger is a physician and author of The New York Times best-selling books How Not to Die and The How Not to Diet Cookbook. His videos on 2,000-plus health topics can be viewed at nutritionfacts.org. LISA ELAINE HELD Held is a Baltimore-based journalist who reports on the food system with an eye toward sustainability, equality, and health. Her stories have appeared in top publications including The Washington Post and The New York Times, and she is…

According to USDA estimates, 30 to 40 percent of the U.S. food supply goes to waste. On an individual level, that translates to 219 pounds of wasted food per person per year. Here are seven things you can do to make sure more of the food you buy actually gets eaten. 1. STORE LEFTOVERS WITH CARE. Pack them in transparent containers so you can see what’s inside, and label them with the date they went into the fridge. (We like using painter’s tape and a Sharpie pen for labeling.) Keep a dedicated spot in the fridge for food that needs to be eaten soon, positioning the most perishable items up front. 2. REVIVE LIMP VEGETABLES. Got droopy salad fixings such as greens, carrots, or celery? Give them a five-minute soak in cold…

TROPICAL TREAT Spring is high mango season, when most commercially grown cultivars reach maturity. Native to India, the sweet and ultra-juicy fruit is now grown in frost-free regions around the world, including Florida, California, and Hawaii. WOW FACTOR Mangoes’ sunset-hued flesh and sweet fragrance make them exotic additions to fruit-forward recipes. And they’re not just for sweet dishes! Try adding diced mango to salads and grain bowls, or use them in place of tomatoes in your favorite salsa recipe. SELECT AND STORE Look for mangoes with smooth skin and no dark blemishes or bruises. A perfectly ripe mango will have a heady scent and a slight give when gently squeezed. Underripe mangoes can be ripened at room temperature for three to four days. After that, the fruit should be stored in the…