Health Immersion Post #7:Recipes!

by columbus, October 22, 2009 | Permalink

As promised, here are some of the recipes that we enjoyed while here!

Almond Milk

1 part whole raw almonds

3 parts water

 

In a high speed blender, blend all ingredients until smooth. Pour mixture into a nut milk bag or cheese cloth over a pitcher or bowl. Squeeze out liquid. Adjust proportions of almonds and water to create the desired texture. (The nut pulp can be dehydrated and ground into nut flour for future use).

 

Bechamel (Basic White Sauce)

4 cups raw cashews, soaked or soft tofu

2.5 cups onions, sweated

6 cloves garlic, minced

3 soy or hemp milk

3 cups vegetable stock or fresh celery juice

½ bottle dry white wine

2 tablespoons white miso paste

4 tablespoons nutritional yeast

Salt, pinch, optional

White Pepper to taste

Ground Nutmeg to taste

Coconut water or vegetable stock or water

 

Sweat the onions with garlic in coconut water in a medium saucepan. In a high speed blender, blend cashews, soy milk and vegetable stock. Add blended mixture to sauce pan. Bring to a brisk simmer and reduce. Season with salt and pepper as necessary. Sauce can be frozen for future use.

 

Alfredo & Pasta

1 shallot, minced

¼ cup Coconut Water

1 cup Bechamel Sauce

1 Tablespoon Basil, chopped

1 cup whole pasta, cooked

 

Sweat the shallot in coconut water. Add béchamel sauce (recipe  above) and pasta to heat thoroughly. Add basil and stir. Serve immediately. Variation: add any pre-cooked veggies like asparagus, sundried potatoes or peas when you add pasta.

 

Tofu Ricotta Manicotti

1 block extra firm tofu

1.5 Tablespoons Tahini

2 cloves garlic, minced

3 tablespoons nutritional yeast

½ tablespoon white miso paste

Squeeze of a lemon

Sea salt, pinch (optional)

Cracked Black Pepper

2 tablespoon shallots or chives, minced

2 tablespoons parsley, minced

1 cup steamed spinach, chopped

4 sheets lasagna pasta, cooked

 

Preheat oven to 325 degrees. In a small mixing bowl, crumble tofu and hand mix in the remaining ingredients (except pasta) until thoroughly combined. Fill each pasta sheet with ¼ of the ricotta mixture and place on parchment paper on a baking sheet. Bake for 10 minutes or until thoroughly heated. Top with marinara (recipe below).

 

No Oil Marinara

1 cup white onion, diced

4 cloves garlic, minced

1 serrano chile or ½ tablespoon chile flakes

1 cup vegetable stock or coconut water or water

6 cups roma tomatoes, diced 

2 tablespoons tomato paste or blended sundried tomatoes

2 tablespoons balsamic vinegar

1.5 tablespoon maple syrup or date sugar or raisin paste or currant paste

3 tablespoons fresh basil, chiffonade

2 tablespoons oregano, minced

Pinch of Sea salt, optional

Black Pepper to taste

 

In a large sauté pan, steam “fry” the onion and chile in vegetable stock for 4 minutes or until the onions are transluscent. Add garlic and “fry” for 1 minute longer. Add tomatoes and cook on low-medium heat for 8-10 minutes, tossing occasionally. Add tomato paste, balsamic, maple syrup, fresh herbs, salt and pepper. Stir. Remove from heat and serve.

 

Wild Mushroom Gravy

¼ cup coconut water or vegetable stock or water

3-6 cloves garlic, minced

1 large white onion, diced

1.5 cups wild mushrooms (such as beech or trumpet), chopped

¼ cup low sodium soy sauce

3 cups vegetable stock or fresh celery juice

¼ cup merlot or marsala wine

½ cup spelt flour

¼ cup nutritional yeast

3 sprigs rosemary, minced

2 tablespoons thyme, minced

¼ teaspoon ground black pepper

Pinch of salt, optional

 

In a small stock pot, steam “fry” onion on medium heat in the coconut water for 3 minutes or until transluscent. Add garlic and “fry” for an additional minute. Add mushrooms and fresh herbs. “Fry” for 3 minutes. Add red wine. Simmer for 3 minutes. Add vegetable stock and stir. Bring to a simmer. In a separate bowl, combine flour, nutritional yeast and soy sauce to make a slurry. Slowly add to the pot while stirring. Bring the gravy to a boil, stirring constantly. Add pepper to taste. If the gravy is too thin for your taste, add in and stir one tablespoon at a time of flour or cornstarch until you reach your desired thickness. Use a wire whisk to eliminate any lumps. Serve and enjoy!

 

Seitan

Wet Ingredients

¼ cup low sodium soy sauce

2.5 cups mushroom or vegetable stock or fresh celery juice

2.5 Tablespoons maple syrup or date sugar

½ cup Marsala wine

1 tablespoon Vegetarian Worcestershire Sauce

6 tablespoons ketchup or tomato paste

 

Dry Ingredients

½ teaspoon chipotle powder

1.5 tablespoon onion powder

1 tablespoon garlic powder

2 cups vital wheat gluten

¼ cup nutritional yeast

 

Preheat oven to 375 degrees. In a bowl, whisk together all wet ingredients until well blended. Set aside. In a large bowl, combine all dry ingredients. Add half of the wet mixture into the bowl with the dry ingredients. Hand knead for 3 minutes or until the ingredients are mixed thoroughly and have created an elastic-textured dough. Stretch dough so that it is 1.5 – 2” thick. Place into a baking pan. Pour remaining liquid into pan. Bake for 40 minutes, turning the loaf after 20 minutes. Allow loaf to sit at room temperature and become firm before use. Shred, grind or mince for recipes. You can adjust the softness of the seitan by adding or removing liquid (more liquid = softer seitan, less liquid = firmer seitan).

 

Sweet Apple, Sage & Fennel “Sausages”

1 ½ cup vegetable stock

3 tablespoons marsala wine

2 tablespoons tomato paste

2 cups vital wheat gluten

¼ cup nutritional yeast

2 tablespoons date sugar or raisin paste or currant paste

¼ cup dried apples, finely diced

½ tablespoons garlic powder

1 ½ tablespoon onion powder

1 teaspoon chipotle powder

1 ½ tablespoon fennel seeds, toasted

½ tablespoon oregano, minced

1 tablespoon sage, minced

2 tablespoons chives, minced

 

Whisk together wet stock, wine and tomato paste. In a separate bowl, mix dry ingredients. Hand mix wet and dry batches. Knead for 3 minutes until all is mixed thoroughly and the dough has an elastic texture. Cut dough into 6 pieces. Roll each piece in parchment paper to a typical sausage length and size. Roll in cheese cloth and tie one end with cooking twine. Hold the untied end and twist until the “sausage” is fairly tight, secure with cooking twine. Cut excessive cheese cloth off each end. Steam for 40 minutes. Once cooled, remove from cloth and parchment. Sear or grill to reheat. Enjoy!

Health Immersion Post #6

by columbus, October 22, 2009 | Permalink

10.22.2009

I am sad that today is our last full day. We have learned so much and now will face the barrage of processed foods and confections and peer pressure and media outside of the confines of our immersion. Living this way would be easy if I lived in a box. Fortunately, the AMAZING team at Eat Right America, are providing us with a ton of support after today. So it would seem that we cannot fail. Eat Right America won’t let us. Hope partnered with support is a beautiful thing!

Today, we built up our take-home arsenal by watching a cooking demonstration by Chad Sarno, the Whole Foods Market® Global Team’s Healthy Eating Chef. We made some rockin’ stuff! I’ll be sure to post them in a subsequent post for everyone to try!

Today’s Menu

Breakfast:

Same as Monday –Wednesday

 

Lunch:

 Salad and Fresh Fruit

Cauliflower Soup

Steamed Green Beans

Apple, Fennel & Butter Lettuce Salad

Seitan Shepherd’s Pie

 

Dinner:

Salad and Fresh Fruit

Brown Rice Sushi

Wild Rice Stuffed Sole with “Bechamel”

Braised Tempeh with Mushroom Gravy

Chocolate “Custard” with Raspberry Coulis

Health Immersion Post #5

by columbus, October 21, 2009 | Permalink

10.21.2009

Another day full of tons of info! It was great. Many of us are suffering from headaches, but Dr. Fuhrman assures us these are natural withdrawal symptoms of eliminating caffeine, animal protein and sugar from our diets. It should subside within a day or two. He strongly advises against medicating ourselves to mask the symptoms.

Here’s an interesting observation: when we first got here, we were all loading into the two (super slow) elevators. As the week has progressed, nearly everyone takes the stairs up and down…could it be the food making us feel more energetic? Could it be positive peer pressure from the newly created culture of wellness? No matter, it’s better!

Today’s Menu

Breakfast:

Same as Monday –Tuesday

 

Lunch:

 Salad and Fresh Fruit

Pumpkin Soup

Steamed Kale

Lentil Dal “Burgers”

SW “Burgers”

Bean Salad

 

Dinner:

Salad and Fresh Fruit

Red & Green Cabbage Salad with Thai Dressing

Green Curry with Eggplant, Snow Peas and Peppers

Green Bamboo Rice

Poached Salmon

Coconut “Cream”Pie

Health Immersion Post #4

by columbus, October 20, 2009 | Permalink

10.20.2009     6:05 p.m.     Resting my brain

I’m a Sagittarius. I’m not sure I really believe in astrology, but I think it’s fun to read and my mom forwards the really good ones to me. Here’s the one she sent for today:  Envision what you can accomplish … create a crystal-clear picture in your mind of what you want. Focus on that image and try to emulate it with your actions. In a sense, you’ll be giving yourself a road map to follow for the future. From working up the nerve to talk to that amazing person who makes your heart go aflutter to marching into your boss’s office and asking for that overdue raise, you’ll find the courage you need by picturing the scenario.

 

You know what they say, “Momma always knows…” because this couldn’t have been a more appropriate prediction of my day! Dr. Stoll, another partner with Eat Right America gave an amazing presentation, encouraging us to determine our “why” for being here. I came up with my list:

1.       I’m tired of being a hypocrite.

I work for a company that sells the healthiest food on this planet! However, I am not a living a truly healthy lifestyle and I’m not being an ideal representative of WFM.

2.       I am worried about Jake’s well being.

Jake is an amazing little boy! However, there was a day a couple weeks back when, by dinner, all Jake had eaten was a donut, some cheesy potatoes, cake, ice cream, some cookies and a couple juice boxes. Oh my! This child has eaten NOTHING OF NUTRITIONAL VALUE. How embarrassing! And what a failure of parenting! He deserves to be set up for success and the life lessons that I am helping to teach him are doing far more damage than good. My little buddy deserves more.

3.       I’m worried about Eric’s well being.

I want for us to grow old together. I want us to spoil our grandchildren together. I am so scared to think that my time with him is potentially cut short because we aren’t caring for ourselves today.

4.       I want to look smokin’ hot in my wedding dress.

OK, so this is a short term “why” that doesn’t have sustaining power, but I would like to make Eric’s jaw hit the floor. That would be fun.

 

9:57p.m.   Settling in for the Night

 

Another truly spectacular day! I feel like I earned a degree from the Cliffs Notes School of Medicine after today’s program! Dr. Fuhrman is truly amazing with his information and his ability to relay that info with passion and clarity. I now know how our diet can create or can eradicate diseases like diabetes, heart disease, osteoporosis, and sarcopenia. I am convinced.

 

And I am so proud to be a part of this “revolution”.

 

Of course, I can’t forget all of the delicious food:

Breakfast:

“California” Tofu Scramble (spicy & yummy!)

Egg Whites with Wild Mushrooms

Whole Grain Porridge

Ezekiel Toast with Nut Butter

Fresh Fruit

 

Lunch:

Thai “Sauteed” Broccoli

“Water-Fried” Bok Choy

Soba Noodles w/ Pure deliciousness

Miso Soup w/ a fun “condiment bar” of fresh cut veggies

Salad and Fresh Fruit

 

Dinner:

Assorted Veggie Pizza with Soy Cheese on Whole Wheat Crust

Wheat Orzo with Roasted Veggies

Beet Salad w/Walnut Chutney

Cauliflower “Risotto”

Salad and Fresh Fruit

Health Immersion Post #3

by columbus, October 19, 2009 | Permalink

10.19.2009     10:15 p.m.     In Bed

What a long day! We started with breakfast at 7:30 a.m. this morning and just finished up moments ago with Ballroom Dancing! The agenda was packed with an intro to Eat Right America and our program. Then we had a presentation by motivational speaker, Sean Stephenson. Sean is author of Get Off Your ‘But’, a book focusing on eliminating excuses and ridding people of their insecurities.  Wow! We were all moved.

Dr. Fuhrman spoke next. Essentially, he covered what I consider the “where we are now” scenario. When you lay out the numbers, like 60% of calories consumed in America are from white flour, sugar and oil or that our vegetable consumption as a nation totals only 5% when you remove white potatoes from the count, it’s easy to understand why we  all look and feel the way we do. It comes down to a basic fact: we are facing nutrient deficits that lead to overeating and cancer and obesity. Dr. Fuhrman’s theory is that when we eat a diet rich in micronutrients, we naturally consume less junk food because it is no longer appealing to us. This concept is so simple and straight forward, but may be one of the hardest things that we ever undertake! Our food additions are incredibly powerful and our internal dialogue can damage or discourage progress.

The evening was spent sharing great food followed by dance lessons and a show by professional ballroom dancers! It was so fun (and it was exercise)!

Today’s Menu

Breakfast:

“California” Tofu Scramble (spicy & yummy!)

Egg Whites with Wild Mushrooms

Whole Grain Porridge (I made up this name because I have no idea what was in it, but it was tasty)

Fresh Fruit

 

Lunch:

Mock Tuna Salad Wrap

Seitan and Veggie Wrap (AWESOME!)

Salad and Fresh Fruit                                                             

Spinach Stuffed Tomatoes

Smoky Lentil Soup

 

Dinner:

Salad and Fresh Fruit

“Sauteed” Chard with Onions

Charcoal Grain Salad with Asparagus

Tofu Manicotti

Assorted Truffles (Lemon Coconut, Goji Berry, and Chocolate)

 

Again, the food was outrageous. All catered by the Whole Foods Market in Princeton. Kudos to their team for an amazing job!

 

Time for bed…yoga is at 6:30 a.m. tomorrow!

Health Immersion Post #2

by columbus, October 18, 2009 | Permalink

Disclaimer

I am a Whole Foods Market team member who has been given a tremendous opportunity to share my experiences while I’m on my Health & Wellness Immersion Program. I am voluntarily providing this information so that others may benefit from my experiences. The thoughts shared here are my own and do not necessarily represent those of Whole Foods Market, their employees or their affiliates. Thank you for reading!

10.18.2009

 

 

9:09 p.m. In my room

Dinner and conversation was awesome! What an experience to meet Team Members from California, Colorado, Texas, and Georgia (and that was just at my table)! We’re all from different backgrounds, have our own story and reason for being here…I am so excited about the camaraderie!

The food was really fantastic. We all were surprised, I think. But really, why should we be? After all, it was catered by Whole FoodsJ.

Here was the menu:

·         Butlered Hors D’oeurves of Tofu Spinach Cakes with Mint Chutney, Tropical Tofu Skewers, Rye Crackers with Cashew “Cream Cheese”, and Tofu “Ricotta” Stuffed Peppadews

·         An enormous salad bar with grains, beans and some unusual veggies

·         Wild Mushroom (and tofu) Risotto

·         Veggie Antipasto Salad (the marinated beets rocked!)

·         Kale Salad with Creamy Avocado

·         Steamed Broccoli Rabe

·         Seitan “Meatballs” with Gigande Beans

·         Coconut Apple Cake

 

We could tell that the food was super fresh and had been prepared without salt. And the real unexpected kicker for me was that there was NO SALT on the tables! Interestingly, I didn’t even miss it and I actually feel really great! Not stuffed and lethargic like my usual post-dinner food coma. Looking forward to tomorrow…still thinking about the next meal.

-Angel

Health Immersion Post #1

by columbus, October 18, 2009 | Permalink

Disclaimer

I am a Whole Foods Market team member who has been given a tremendous opportunity to share my experiences while I’m on my Health & Wellness Immersion Program. I am voluntarily providing this information so that others may benefit from my experiences. The thoughts shared here are my own and do not necessarily represent those of Whole Foods Market, their employees or their affiliates. Thank you for reading!

10.18.2009

 

 

12:04 p.m. On the Plane

Parting from Eric and Jake at the airport was tough. Way tougher than I imagined. [Yes, those were tears in my eyes.] Our ride there was pretty quiet although rushed; I am always rushed. Eric and Jake were wolfing down cold waffles that I had made this morning. I had decided to use applesauce instead of the vegetable oil that the recipe on the package of mix called for. Why not start off on the right foot with the healthy eating thing, huh?. Wonder what will I eat for breakfast next Sunday? What will I feed Eric and Jake?

Actually, I couldn’t get my mind off of food all week. Well, that’s not all that unusual, my thoughts typically revolve around “what’s for my next meal?” quickly followed by “when is my next meal?” But this week, thinking of food had far more poignancy.  I had started reading Dr. Fuhrman’s Eat For Health books so thoughts of food were naturally front-of-mind. What was more pronounced was the emotional nagging at my heart when I thought about French fries or a bowl of ice cream or delicious brie en croute! There is a physical ache when I consider that I may never eat those things again. Dr. Fuhrman wrote about the emotional connection that people have with food and I’ve always known this, but being faced with my imminent experience, I am clearly able to see how dependent I am on food for comfort, release and entertainment.  Going into this I am facing fear of loss and perhaps more importantly fear of failure. I can’t imagine my life as Dr. Fuhrman describes, but I am going to give it my best shot.

2:45 p.m.

Deplaned

I ran into some other WFM folks at the shuttle bus stop. It’s good to know I’m not alone. On the way to the hotel we all swore that we could smell something fried. Jan from Central said, “I think it’s fried chicken.” It smelled more like donuts to me. I could go for either. I’m starving.

-Angel

Whole Foods Market Sends Team Members to Health Immersion Program

by columbus, October 18, 2009 | Permalink

Disclaimer

I am a Whole Foods Market team member who has been given a tremendous opportunity to share my experiences while I’m on my Health & Wellness Immersion Program. I am voluntarily providing this information so that others may benefit from my experiences. The thoughts shared here are my own and do not necessarily represent those of Whole Foods Market, their employees or their affiliates. Thank you for reading!

Program Background

Here’s the scoop on this blog and why it’s even being written.

I am a Whole Foods Market (WFM) team member and have been so for over seven years. I am deeply connected with the culture of the company and truly believe that it is one of the smartest, most thoughtful, most revolutionary businesses in the world. So, my thoughts here will be biased. Let’s be clear. I love Whole Foods. I plan to retire from this company one day.

Several months ago John Mackey, our CEO, and the team from WFM’s global office introduced a seventh core value: educating our stakeholders on healthy eating. Now, our other core values are very literally the guiding statements upon which every one of our business decision are made. I know this because I see it every day in what we do: from the products we sell to our recycling in the cafés to the employee benefits I receive to our community and vendor partnerships that each of us help to nurture and beyond. WFM and its team members don’t just talk the talk, we walk the walk.

So, what’s this new core value all about? Here’s my summary: it’s about going back to our roots as a company. WFM was founded by John and his buddies when they realized that their community needed a place where people could buy good-for-you, wholesome, whole foods. They stocked their shelves with truly all natural foods, lots of organics, and more and all of it was fresh and presented in its natural state, just as it was grown on this earth. Core value number seven comes at a time when our society is in turmoil. We are all touched by diseases and afflictions that we ourselves cause through eating poorly. John believes (and I do too) that WFM can affect change in our society if we recommit ourselves to educating our customers and to selling honest-to-goodness wholesome food.

All of that is a whole lot easier said than done, but WFM has faced great challenges before and we have succeeded. WFM’s first step is to educate our team members. To facilitate this, WFM Global offered a voluntary immersion program where team members from across the nation could learn more about the role diet and nutrition plays in creating a healthy body. It didn’t take any convincing for me; this is an opportunity of a lifetime! To successfully fulfill our seventh core value, I needed to learn to walk the walk. The following blog entries are my experiences during my 5-day program with Eat Right America and Dr. Fuhrman in Princeton, New Jersey.

Thanks for reading,

Angel