In a meat and potatoes world, group focuses on plants and whole foods
Plant-Based Pittsburgh South focuses on plants, whole foods
Maybe Mom was on to something when she said to eat your vegetables.
Plant-Based Pittsburgh South offers information and support for people looking to incorporate whole foods, vegetables and grains into their diet and avoid animal proteins.
A whole-food, plant-based diet refers to whole foods that are minimally processed including whole grains, fruits, vegetables, legumes (beans, peas and lentils), nuts and seeds.
Co-leaders Terri West and Naomi Herman host monthly meetings open to anyone, from those who are curious about eating more plants to those who are following a plant-based diet.
People choose a whole-food, plant-based lifestyle for different reasons including health, weight loss, environmental concerns and animal ethical issues.
“A lot of times, those of us who came across health issues, in researching how we can best take care of ourselves, discovered the plant-based way of eating. There’s a lot of information out there about it now, but it requires support because it’s not the common way of living anymore in our society,” West said.
“It requires a different way of living besides going to a fast-food place or making food last in your life … we are offering ways in which you can make it a part of your lifestyle including where to shop, how to prep, and things that you can cook, everything from entrees through desserts,” West said.
West and Herman embraced a plant-based diet after walking through their own health concerns. For West, 61, following a high-risk breast cancer diagnosis with precancerous cells, online research led her to a meet-up group led by Herman some seven years ago.
Herman, 81, met Dr. Sally Lipsky, founder of Plant-Based Pittsburgh, about eight years ago. Lipsky founded Plant-Based Pittsburgh in 2008 following her treatment for late-stage breast cancer. At the time, Herman was leading her own meet-up group for people interested in eating whole-food, plant-based and eventually became the leader of the Plant-Based Pittsburgh South and pulled West in as the co-leader.
Herman came across plant-based eating when she was interested in losing a few pounds. “I started looking at various posts and websites, and it just made sense to me. As I started reading everything, just intuitively, it made sense.”
Both West and Herman have their T. Colin Campbell Certificate through eCornell for plant-based nutrition, and West serves on the board of directors for Plant-Based Pittsburgh.
The meetings include speakers, cooking demonstrations and even potluck meals.
Bill Singer and his wife, Carmella, try not to miss a meeting.
As Bill tells it, his son came home in 2012 and said, “Mom, I’m going vegan. And she said, ‘What the hell is that, and what am I supposed to make for you?'” Their son also urged them to take better care of themselves. The couple went from vegetarian to pescatarian to vegan and transitioned to a whole-food, plant-based diet six years ago.
“My PCP would say, it’s not if you get diabetes, it’s when you get diabetes. So it was for health reasons in the beginning,” Bill said.
He’s now 73 and believes, “I probably wouldn’t be sitting here talking to you if I wouldn’t have changed my diet because my dad had several heart attacks. And I got off every single medication I was on. I lost 65 pounds.” Bill became certified to teach nutrition classes.
Hank Mader, 89, started with physician Dean Ornish’s low-fat, vegetarian diet program to reduce heart disease in 2004 after undergoing quadruple bypass surgery in 2002. He’s still following a whole-food, plant-based diet.
“I have a reason for following the whole-food, plant-based diet. It’s called survival. I’m convinced it’s a much healthier way of eating,” said Mader. “I think I probably wouldn’t be here if I was trying to eat a standard diet.”
Spinach and mushroom lasagna is his favorite meal.
West and Herman acknowledge the importance of protein. “You still have to be mindful of that,” West said, “just as you would have to be mindful about, am I going to eat a hamburger, or chicken, or pork? We teach how to do that. Instead of the meat, we’re thinking about whole grains, tofu, tempeh, and lentils, those types of things, so you still get enough protein.”
People vary in their degree of adherence.
“We aren’t the food police,” said Herman. Their aim is to support people who want to make changes.
West said they are also not anti-modern medicine. “We are looking to just also take care of ourselves properly,” said West.
That means staying as close as possible to the whole food to retain the nutrition and trying to eat as highly nutrient-dense as possible. “So it would be akin to, if you think about taking care of your flowers and your trees, you wouldn’t pour Diet Coke on it and expect it to grow,” said West.
For the Singers, a whole-food, plant diet based means no sugar, oil, or salt. “We’re probably 95% whole food, plant-based. At home, it’s 100%,” Bill said.
“Not everybody’s vegan, not everybody’s whole-food, plant-based. Some come out of curiosity. A lot of people are, you know, there to try to improve their health,” said Singer.
Angela Cheng, 49, of Brookline, was trying to regain her health after a diagnosis of stage three melanoma. She combined conventional medicine and integrative medicine which included juicing, whole-food, plant-based and raw eating as part of her healing journey.
“A couple of different people said to me, as part of your healing from cancer, look at reducing your inflammation and reducing sugar intake. And that led me on a rabbit trail to transitioning to whole-food, plant-based,” Cheng explained.
Cheng said she will be in remission for five years this fall. Being part of a group has given her extra support.
“Whenever I’m at the Plant-Based Pittsburgh community meetings, it’s a great wealth of new recipes, new websites. It’s free, and it’s a way to get to know new people,” Cheng said of the multi-generational group.
“It’s just a beautiful blend of people that you normally wouldn’t bump into. And there’s no judgment for where you are in your food journey,” said Cheng.
Plant-Based Pittsburgh South meets every third Monday at 6:30 p.m. at Sunnyhill Unitarian Church in Mt. Lebanon. For more information, visit the Plant-Based Pittsburgh South Facebook page, or PlantBasedPittsburgh.com for more meeting information.
Whole Food Plant-Based Recipes provided by Terri West, Plantfully Pittsburgh, Mentoring and Hospitality Consulting.
Veggie Chili
Serves 6
Ingredients:
4 multi-colored bell peppers, medium-size dice
1 large onion, medium-size dice (any large variety of choice)
1-2 bunches green onions, sliced from whites to greens, optional
½ bag frozen corn kernels, or equivalent
*Optional, can also add other veggies, see note below
3-4 cans beans, drained and rinsed (typically combination of black and red kidney)
1 small can chopped chilis
2 cans stewed tomatoes (fire-roasted adds heat!), chopped with scissors in pot
2 tablespoons tomato paste
1 cup jarred, low-salt, thicker salsa (Love Paul Newman’s black bean/corn variety for this)
1.5 to 2 cups low-salt vegetable broth and/or beer of choice
1-2 tablespoons ground cumin
1 tablespoon ground coriander, optional
1-2 tablespoons chili powder
1 teaspoon white pepper
1 to 2 bay leaves (remove before serving)
Salt: only added to individual servings, if desired
Directions: Add and mix ingredients together in a slow cooker. Cook on high for 4 hours or lower setting for 6 hours depending on the temperature of your appliance. Can also make in an InstaPot.
* Note for precooked optional additional veggies: They should be medium-size diced/cubed, seeds removed. Adding any of the below raw would add a good amount of cooking time and/or water down the final product and become mushy. Can par-cook.
Add additional veggies of choice, if desired. Starchy vegetables add bulk and contribute to satiety.
Non-Starchy: Zucchini, yellow squash, mushrooms
Starchy: White/gold potatoes, sweet potatoes, butternut squash
Note for variety:
For pumpkin chili, sub a half-can pure pumpkin puree for the tomato paste and add 1 to 2 teaspoons cinnamon and maybe 1 teaspoon nutmeg. Especially good when adding butternut squash and/or sweet potatoes. Try topping any variety with blueberries for a fun flavor contrast.
Cowboy Caviar
Add amounts suitable to your taste; amounts shown are suggested. Great as a meal or to have on hand for snacking – quite craveable!
Ingredients:
3 Bell Peppers (can sub or include chopped roasted peppers), small-diced
2 cups baby tomatoes, diced
3 cans black beans, drained and rinsed (can substitute any bean you prefer or combination)
1 bag organic or nonGMO edamame
1/2 bag frozen corn, thawed
1/4 onion, finely diced or sliced, preferably red or sweet Vidalia
Mango, fresh or frozen, diced
1 avocado, diced (reduce or omit to lower calorie density)
Fresh cilantro, chopped, if desired
3 limes
Directions: Combine all the ingredients, except limes, into a large bowl.
Juice the limes over the mixture and stir through. Best to consume after it sits a few hours for flavors to meld but can eat immediately.
To add more protein and satiety, add quinoa and/or rice (black or purple rice is especially colorful) to either main bowl or to individual servings. Can eat in a bowl as a meal/snack or as a dip with crackers.
When serving, you can add additional lime juice to freshen, pinch of salt if tolerated, and flavored thickened vinegar for additional flavor. Otherwise, it is excellent serving as it is.
Pumpkin muffins
Makes 12 muffins without add-ins; up to 18 with add-ins
Dry ingredients
2 cups oat flour
3 tablespoons powdered peanut or cashew
2 teaspoons baking powder
1/2 teaspoon baking soda
1/8 teaspoon salt
1 tablespoon ground cinnamon
1/4 cup ground flax seed
Wet ingredients
1/4 cup unsweetened plant milk plus 2 tablespoons apple cider vinegar (mix and rest 5 minutes before adding) – do first
2 bananas, mashed and fork whipped
1 cup pure pumpkin, canned
1 cup unsweetened applesauce
1 teaspoon vanilla extract
2 tablespoons date or maple syrup
Directions: Combine wet and dry ingredients. Do not overstir so batter does not become pasty.
Fold in add-ins of choice, but not necessary: diced apple, berries, nuts, chocolate chips, dried fruit.
Rest batter 10 minutes and then give a quick stir.
Pour batter into parchment-lined muffin tin. Alternately, dollop onto parchment-lined cookie sheet for muffin tops and follow baking instructions below.
Bake at 350 degrees for 40 minutes.
Tofu Scramble
(Inspired by NoraCooks)
Ingredients
1 medium onion, small-dice
1 to 2 cups other vegetables, small-dice: choose from peppers, zucchini, mushrooms, artichokes, greens
1 16-ounce package organic super firm tofu, crumbled directly into the pan
1 can black beans, drained and rinsed, optional
1/2 to 1 teaspoon Kala Namak (black salt), to taste
1/4 teaspoon turmeric
1/8 teaspoon black pepper
2 tablespoons nutritional yeast, if desired for cheesiness
2 tablespoons plant milk, unsweetened and unflavored or water
Instructions: Water-sauté the onion and other Vegetables in pan of choice until softened to your liking. Crumble the tofu directly into the pan with your hands. Sauté by stirring frequently (3 to 4 minutes) until the water from the tofu is mostly evaporated.
Add the seasonings, and nutritional Yeast if using. Sauté and stir constantly for another 5 minutes. Stir in the black beans, if using. Mix in the plant milk for creaminess. Serve when mixture is evenly warm.
Can serve on its own or as a burrito.