Forks Over Knives Winter 2022

The new year is a great time to renew your commitment to healthy eating habits. While some find the prospect daunting, we like to view it through a very simple lens: Eat within the categories of fruits, vegetables, tubers, whole grains, and legumes, loading up on the foods you enjoy most! Focus less on single nutrients and more on finding healthy meals you love. Toward that end, in this issue you’ll find plenty of recipes for nourishing winter comfort foods, including incredible soups and stews (page 50), winter salads featuring hearty whole grains (page 30), and delicious dumplings from around the world (page 70). Finally, keep in mind that when we dive into healthy eating, we often have a strong desire to bring along close family and friends, which can backfire. “Seeds…

WHAT TO EAT ON A WFPB DIET 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 LASTING CHANGE: 5 KEYS TO SUCCESS 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…

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. CYRUS KHAMBATTA, PHD Khambatta is a co-founder of Mastering Diabetes, a coaching program that reverses insulin resistance via low-fat, whole-food, plant-based nutrition, and co-author of the best-selling Mastering Diabetes: The Revolutionary Method to Reverse Insulin Resistance Permanently in Type 1, Type…

ARE SOME WHOLE GRAINS HEALTHIER THAN OTHERS? Whole grains provide about half of the world’s protein and fiber. They are rich sources of B vitamins, vitamin E, minerals, phytochemicals, and antioxidants. But how “whole” are the whole grains in your pantry? In general, the more a grain is processed, the lower its nutritional value and the higher its glycemic index (a measure of how a food affects blood sugar after eating) will be. Read on for a breakdown, starting with the gold standard, intact whole grains. THE WHOLE GRAINS HIERARCHY INTACT WHOLE GRAINS Grains such as barley; kamut; spelt berries; wheat berries; quinoa; wild rice; brown, red, or black rice; and buckwheat groats are the most nutritious options. These are kernels or seeds with the bran, endosperm, and inner germ intact. Sprouting these grains…

BULBOUS BEAUTY One of the loveliest vegetables around, especially when the stems and fronds are intact, fennel is a mainstay in Mediterranean cuisines. The delicate-flavored and incredibly versatile bulb can be boiled, roasted, and braised like a root vegetable, or chopped and thinly sliced for salads and raw recipes. And that’s just the bulb! MEAT SUBSTITUTE Large pieces of cooked fennel have a fork-and-knife firmness that makes them a perfect meat substitute. Give it a try by boiling quartered or sliced fennel bulb for 15 to 20 minutes or until tender, then draining and using it in recipes that call for tofu, tempeh, or jackfruit. TOMATO LOVER The mild anise flavor of sautéed fennel bulb lifts the rich tang of tomatoes to new heights in sauces, soups, and stews. Raw fennel adds…

THE QUINOA COLOR WHEEL Quinoa varieties are interchangeable in most recipes, including the ones featured here, but each color has its own distinctive characteristics. BLACK Small and firm with a distinctive taste that’s both bitter and sweet. WHITE Larger seeds that are mild and creamy with grassy flavor notes. RED Slightly smaller than white quinoa, with a nutty flavor and chewy texture. TRICOLOR A colorful mix of white, red, and black with a balanced flavor profile. 1 GRAINS, GREENS, AND GRAPEFRUIT SALAD In a large bowl stir together 1½ cups cooked quinoa, ½ cup cooked chickpeas, ½ cup dried cranberries, ¼ cup finely chopped red onion, ¼ cup grapefruit juice, and 1 tsp. minced garlic. Fold in 1 cup baby arugula. Top with quartered grapefruit slices. Makes 3 cups. 2 QUINOA AND RED LENTIL SOUP In a large saucepan…