Edition #1 ..

Greetings!

This is the first of my Tuesday posts on Whole Food Plant-Based (WFPB) eating. Why are you receiving this? Because 1) you’ve expressed your interest in preventing or reversing chronic disease, and/or 2) I know you want to reduce your pollution and climate impact, and/or 3) I know you find factory farms abhorrent, and/or 4) you’ve volunteered the past to be part of my Cornell WFPB projects, and/or 5) I care about your health and well-being and would love to see you thrive throughout your lifetime.

I will not be delving into the many reasons for you and your family to embark on this lifestyle venture. If you have questions about the rationale, feel free to ask me. However, I’m going to assume that you believe the solid science showing the benefits of a WFPB diet and that you are ready to begin optimizing your health today.

My focus? Healthy food with minimal prep time…i.e. Healthy Fast Food.  I think I’ve explained the concept best in a little book I wrote in 2020 called Batch-It Crazy that you’ll find HERE. Several of you have already seen this, but I think it’s a good place to start. It assumes you have a 6 Quart Instant-Pot. If you have an 8 Quart version:

The minimum liquid requirement for an 8-quart Instant Pot is 2 cups, whereas for a 6-quart model, it’s 1 cup. This is because the larger pot needs more liquid to generate sufficient steam and reach pressure.

Pressure build-up time is longer in an 8-quart due to its larger volume, but once at pressure, the actual cook time remains the same.

If you have no pressure cooker, of course, you can stand by the stove and babysit your food OR buy canned or frozen versions. For simplifying life, I’m a big Instant Pot advocate. When you start using an Instant Pot, you’ll be amazed at how it’s like you just hired a cook and you can go off and do other things around the house while your Instant Pot cooks for you! Note: Pressure cookers have come a long way over the years. They are no longer the scary, run-for-your life variety.

Those of you with digestive issues may want to soak your beans overnight and use a bit of Kombu (sea vegetable) when pressure cooking. You’ll want to reduce your Instant Pot times accordingly as shown HERE. As you try different beans/peas, you may want to make your own cheat-sheet of cooking times unless, unlike me, you have a stellar memory. HERE are Instant Pot times for grains and HERE are times for several vegetables.

Whether you want to do a Meatless Monday or dive right into full time plant-based eating, I’m here for you.

Important: If your plan is to reverse an already diagnosed disease process, such as high blood pressure, heart disease, or type 2 diabetes, please 1) go easy on nuts, seeds, avocados, and oils, and 2) ask your doctor to monitor your blood levels and medications because your medication requirements can quickly diminish, leaving you seriously over-medicated.

That’s a wrap for Edition #1.  My goal is to distribute 8 Editions, which will take us through the end of March.

Question: Would you like receive future editions each Tuesday? Please let me know. I’d also love to respond to your questions and concerns.

The email subject line in future weeks will be Healthy Fast Food.

Interested friends and relatives? I’m happy to add them. Feel free to send them my way or forward my emails.

To Your Plant-Powered Health,

Gerri