The missing link? A framework to streamline the meal-preparation process. Enter A Grain, A Green, A Bean, Hamshaw’s new cookbook, built around a simple formula designed to help home cooks create palate-pleasing, nutritionally balanced meals without stress or decision fatigue.

Hamshaw drew on her educational background (she holds a master’s in nutrition from Columbia) and her love of food to develop more than 80 pared-down, grain-green-bean recipes, livened up with flavors from Japan, Mexico, Korea, and beyond. Readers will also discover a helpful grain-cooking primer and an everything-you-ever-wanted-to-know-about-soybeans section in the introductory chapter of this vegan cookbook. (A note for our oil-free readers: Many recipes in A Grain, A Green, a Bean call for a small amount of oil; in most cases, you could easily adapt these recipes using classic no-oil sauté and roasting methods.)

In anticipation of the book’s April 15 launch, we spoke with Hamshaw about big-picture eating, cooking affordably, and her number-one tip for saving time in the kitchen. Read on for the full conversation, and be sure to check out the Maple Mustard Lentils, Sweet Potatoes, and Herbs recipe from the new book!

This is your fifth cookbook, and you’ve also got a popular blog, The Full Helping. How did your passion for food and cooking begin?

Gena Hamshaw: I got interested in cooking at around the same time I became vegan. I live in New York, but back then, it just wasn’t easy to go into any restaurant and get a great vegan entree. And there were fewer products available, too. And so as I became vegan, I really felt like it was time for me to teach myself how to cook a little more capably.

What are some global cuisines that lend themselves particularly well to the grains-greens-beans formula?

GH: It’s not specific to a culture. This is a way of thinking about building a plate of food that can be mapped onto almost any cuisine that comes to my mind. There are certainly culinary traditions around the world that have relied more on legumes and grains than others. I’m thinking about many Southeast Asian and South American cuisines, where beans and grains have always played a prominent role in people’s diets. But I wanted to present this principle of a grain, a green, a bean as something that people can adapt to their own culinary life, their own culinary traditions, their family cooking traditions, and also their culture of origin.

You can’t help but embrace the bean after reading this book. Have you discovered any ways to minimize the flatulence they’re known to cause?

GH: I think it’s about adjusting expectations, meaning, when you eat beans—and the same goes for crucifers and really big portions of vegetables—it’s a lot of fiber. And the fiber in beans is particularly tricky for us to break down. That will create some gas and some flatulence. It’s not inherently harmful. It’s just uncomfortable. And you can make a decision about the right portion size and frequency that works for you. And just know that they’re giving your body great nutrition, whether they make you a little gassy or not.

Readers might be surprised to discover that bread, including wraps, tortillas, and pita, counts as a grain in this book. Are some breads healthier than others?

GH: I think that “healthy” is really a matter of overall dietary patterns, and this is something I feel pretty strongly about. I think you can have conversations about which breads are higher in fiber, which breads have more protein. If you are eating a diet that’s rich in plant proteins, rich in fiber overall, because you’re getting a lot of fiber-rich foods, there’s space for you to eat some baguette, which might have a little less fiber than a piece of whole grain bread.

What are some ways we can save money by eating the plant-based foods you include in the book?

GH: [Frozen vegetables] are a great way to save money, because they’re often inexpensive. There’s no risk of them spoiling, which is fantastic. You keep a bag of frozen broccoli florets or green beans in the freezer and you can always dip in when you need them. And of course, they’re as nutritious as fresh vegetables, sometimes more so. And beans and grains are still a good bang for your buck. A bag of lentils is still pretty inexpensive.

Do you have any favorite time-saving tips for home cooks?

GH: Meal prep is the number one, and batch-cooking. There is never a time midweek where I’m not grateful to have [already] done some of the work. And one thing I’ve learned is to be less ambitious about my batch-cooking and my meal prep. It’s great if I have time to make lasagna over the weekend, but it’s also fine if I roast some sweet potatoes, cook a couple batches of rice, maybe make a quick stir-fry with some seitan or some tofu, and just leave it there. If you have a couple of great sauces in your fridge, you can dress up very simple meals and have them still taste great.

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After adopting a plant-based diet and convincing his dad to do the same, London-based Federici—then a university student—began chronicling his personal food journey, posting photos of home-cooked meals alongside brief nutritional analyses. He kept it up as a hobby for five years, slowly building a following, but things ramped up after he posted a video of himself and his Sicilian-born nonna (italian for “grandmother”), Marianna, cooking pasta sauce together.

Practically overnight, Federici’s audience quadrupled, and he and his nonna began fielding invites to radio shows and morning TV programs, and even landed a meet-and-greet with King Charles and Queen Camilla. Now, two years and more than a million followers later, the duo is celebrating the launch of Italian Cooking with Nonna, a colorful, photo-rich cookbook featuring more than 80 vegan versions of Italian classics, many of which spotlight the foods that helped Federici’s dad beat cancer: fresh vegetables, whole grains, and plenty of pasta and tomato sauce.

In anticipation of the book’s launch, we spoke with Federici about the virtues of eggplant, how to stock your pantry like an Italian, and the one recipe he’d recommend to a vegan newbie. Read the interview, then try Federici’s Pasta con i Broccoli recipe for a taste of the new book!

How did your nonna react when she first tasted your updated renditions of her recipes?

Giuseppe Federici: A lot of the food that my nonna has grown up on is accidentally vegan—things like minestrone, which is just a vegetable soup, and pasta with aubergines (eggplant). So, it wasn’t really, “Here’s the first time you’re ever going to try something vegan,” because she’s been eating vegan foods for most of her life.

You’ve included a handy list of pantry staples and fresh foods that make it easy to pull together a delicious Italian-inspired meal on the fly. What are some items you recommend that we always keep on hand?

GF: I’m thinking about what nonna is never without: [canned] tomatoes and dried pasta. With tomatoes and pasta, you can make one of the most delicious Italian staple dishes, my nonna’s Pasta with Tomato Sauce. It uses simple ingredients that can stay in your cupboard for months and months.

What misconceptions about Italian food have you encountered on your culinary journey?

GF: You have the concept of it being super indulgent and heavily filled with cheese and cream, and there are some aspects to Italian cuisine that involve that, but that’s more of the commercialized [contemporary] view of it. [Historically] Italians have had access to [and relied on]—especially lower-income households—“cheap” foods, which are the pulses (legumes), the vegetables, the grains. And so naturally, a lot of Italian food—especially Sicilian food, where my nonna comes from—lends itself very favorably to a plant-based diet.

The majority of the recipes in Italian Cooking with Nonna are centered on seasonal produce, including the often-misunderstood eggplant. What would you say to someone who “doesn’t like eggplant”?

GF: Eggplant—or aubergine, as we call it over here across the pond—is definitely an underrated vegetable. I think the reason people don’t like it is because they don’t know how to cook it. If you don’t do it well, it can turn into this soggy bit of vegetable. But in Italian cooking, there are so many different recipes, and quite a few in the book really do champion eggplant. We’ve got the eggplant parm, almost like a lasagna, but instead of pasta, you have eggplant coated in breadcrumbs. Once that absorbs the tomato sauce, it’s a really nice, almost meaty texture. Try it different ways, because you might not like it in a pasta dish where it’s a bit softer, but you might like it when it’s nice and crispy.

You mention some Italian-cuisine-specific cooking tools in the book—gnocchi boards and cannoli molds, to name two. What is the one cooking tool or gadget you find indispensable in your everyday cooking?

GF: A mandoline is my favorite gadget in the kitchen. Obviously, it’s dangerous if you don’t concentrate on what you’re doing, but it’s a great way to quickly slice anything. What I love to do is put it straight over a pan. I’ll mandoline a whole zucchini into a pan in a minute, which is great. You can just use it in so many creative ways.

What one recipe from your book would you steer a newbie vegan or plant-based eater to first?

GF: My Walnut and Mushroom Ragú is a great way to introduce a meat eater into the realm of whole-food plant-based dishes. It’s super healthy, high protein, full of plant-based fiber and healthy fats, and it’s essentially a ragu made of soaked walnuts, chopped and blitzed mushrooms, and soaked sunflower seeds. When you blend it all together with some seasonings into a tomato sauce, it creates a delicious ragu that can be used either with pasta on its own, or I also love to incorporate it into a lasagna.

You mention in your acknowledgements that you’ve experienced imposter syndrome as a fledgling cookbook author. What words of advice would you offer a burgeoning chef?

GF: Imposter syndrome is definitely something many people face, especially when trying something new or if you get a lot of success in something quite quickly like I have. But I’ve learned that being a great cook and inspiring people to cook isn’t about having particular training, or having a particular background, or having qualifications of being a Michelin star chef, because I have none of those things. It’s about passion, curiosity, and the willingness to do better and learn and improve yourself time and time again, and take inspiration from other people. Embrace the journey; give it a go. You don’t have to be perfect.

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Yelp’s in-house trend expert Tara Lewis suggests that plant-based restaurants’ shift toward whole foods is motivated by consumers’ two-fold desire to improve personal health and be kinder to the environment. “Sustainability and plant-based foods go hand-in-hand,” says Lewis, “and choosing to eat unprocessed foods is a mindful way for consumers to play their part.”

Top honors went to Lil’ Vegerie, in Redondo Beach, California. In addition to being vegan, gluten-free, and soy-free, the takeout restaurant has a strong whole-food focus. “We avoid processed ingredients every chance we get,” they state on their website.

Just 15 miles north, in Culver City, is Yelp’s No. 4–ranked vegan restaurant, Hey, Sunshine Kitchen, which also boasts a menu where vegetables, grains, and minimally processed ingredients are the focal point.

“Our bowls are the most popular menu item, specifically our Mediterranean Chickpea Bowl with Sunshine Rice,” says Heather Golden Ray, who co-founded the fast-casual restaurant with her sister, Jenny Engel, in 2023. Reviewers call the top-selling dish “delicious,” “flavorful,” and even “perfection.”

At smoothie bowl destination Boomchia in Montclair, New Jersey—No. 5 on the list—diners rave not just about the naturally sweetened acai and chia pudding bowls piled high with fresh fruit, ancient grains, and hemp seeds, but about the friendliness of the staff and the bright, clean atmosphere.

“Boomchia is a whole vibe,” says the cafe’s owner Josh Baek. “We’ve created a space where people can eat healthy without missing out on the fun or flavor. Our customers come in for the same excitement you’d expect from eating dessert, but they walk out feeling great, knowing they’ve had a meal packed with nutrients.”

Interest in Vegan Dining on the Rise

The rise in popularity of healthy plant-based foods tracks with Yelp’s annual food trend forecast, which suggested that foods prepared without animal ingredients would find a growing fan base in 2024.

To pinpoint dining trends, the Yelp team analyzes searches on their website and compares them to the previous year’s data. The latest analysis revealed a 12% increase in searches for “vegan food” in 2023 compared with 2022. “This data-driven approach allows us to uncover what users are loving and helps us predict what will continue to shape dining choices,” says Lewis.

Wondering if your favorite vegan restaurant made the cut? Check out the complete Yelp Top 100 Vegan Restaurants list here.

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Australia-based Cobacho, the co-founder of the popular online community Plantbaes, grew up in the South of France with a father who ran his own restaurant, and weekends meant time in the kitchen as a family, chopping vegetables, making homemade pasta, and slow-cooking tomato sauce. “It was our love language,” says Cobacho.

As an adult, her father’s cancer diagnosis spurred Cobacho to reevaluate her own lifestyle, prompting some big changes. “I went down a rabbit hole, started looking into nutrition, into how I could become healthier, and learned a bit more about veganism,” says Cobacho.

Ultimately, she earned a degree in nutrition and paired her newfound knowledge with her passion for food to create Plantbaes, which she launched in 2022 with her partner Cam Crawley, who served as photographer for The Ultimate Plant-Based Cookbook.

Today, more than 1.5 million social media followers turn to Plantbaes for how-to videos and ultra-healthy recipes that brim with flavor, texture, and color. We spoke with Cobacho about the new book, her viral one-ingredient bread recipe, and her top 10 pantry staples for creating nourishing meals at home.

The recipe photos in The Ultimate Plant-Based Cookbook are so tantalizing, thanks in part to your partner Cam’s photography skills. As a recipe developer, what is the secret to making healthy, nourishing food that’s also visually appealing?

SC: It starts with nutrition. I want to make sure I get enough fiber, enough protein. I want to have a bean component, a grain component, and a veggie component, and nuts and seeds. From there, I choose beautiful vegetables. The plants shine for themselves.

Since launching Plantbaes in 2022, you’ve gained a substantial following on social media. What feedback have you received from the Plantbaes community?

SC. So many people tell me about how this has completely transformed their family’s health. That’s the biggest joy in my life—especially when they’re telling me they’re getting their kids to eat vegetables. It’s a great honor to be able to contribute just a little bit to that journey.

Your viral one-ingredient buckwheat bread recipe is included in The Ultimate Plant-Based Cookbook. Why do you think this simple recipe is so popular?

SC: I love bread. I’m French—I grew up on bread. But especially in the U.S. and other places, there’s a lot added to it. I think this recipe really resonates with people because it’s simple, it’s easy, and it makes you feel amazing, but it’s still a very familiar food.

What are a few recipes from the book that you might pull together for a nourishing weeknight meal with your bae?

SC: The Fiesta Bowl (p. 63) and the Rice Noodle Salad with Mango Red Thai Curry dressing (p. 64) are two of my absolute favorites. And my Chickpea Cookie Skillet (p. 161) is amazing—something everyone has to make from the book. I insist!

For those avoiding added oil, you’ve suggested adding nuts to some dishes. Can you explain a bit about why we need some natural fats in our diet?

SC: Some vitamins need a little bit of fat to be better absorbed. We absolutely do not need oil, but we just need to make sure to have a little bit of nuts, seeds, or avocado. It can be a teaspoon of sesame seeds or tablespoon of crushed walnuts added to the dish. I’m a big fan of walnuts.

Sarah Cobacho’s Staples

We asked Cobacho for the indispensable ingredients that she always keeps in her refrigerator and pantry. She shared her top nine.

1. Legumes (beans, lentils, chickpeas, tofu)—all great sources of protein, fiber, and minerals.
2. Whole grains (quinoa, brown rice, oats, buckwheat)—complex carbohydrates that provide sustained energy and fiber.
3. Fresh fruits and vegetables—as diverse as possible, with a daily intake of berries and green leafy vegetables.
4. Nuts and seeds (hemp seeds, chia seeds, flaxseeds, walnuts)—a minimum of two tablespoons a day to keep up with our omega-3 requirements on a plant-based diet.
5. Nut butter (almond butter, peanut butter, tahini)—a great source of healthy fats and a delicious addition to sauces for salads or stir-fry.
6. Spices (turmeric, cumin, paprika, garlic powder)—not only do they make food fun and exciting, but they are packed with antioxidants.
7. Fresh herbs—they’re nutrient-packed, count as a serving of greens, and will really elevate your cooking to the next level.
8. Nutritional yeast—a cheesy-tasting addition that’s high in B vitamins and protein.
9. Soy milk—preferably fortified in calcium and vitamin D.

For a taste of the new cookbook, check out Sarah Cobacho’s Creamy Dill Potato Salad!

The post Sarah Cobacho of Plantbaes on Her New Cookbook, and the 9 Foods She Always Keeps in Her Kitchen appeared first on Forks Over Knives.

The competition, held in Washington, D.C., on August 15 before an audience of 400 health care professionals, capped the first day of the three-day International Conference on Nutrition in Medicine, hosted by Physicians Committee for Responsible Medicine. Thirty-two entrants threw their chefs’ hats into the ring, and three finalists—all culinary professionals working in institutional health care settings—were selected to compete in person for the top prize: $6,000 and the title of Top Healthy Hospital Chef.

Shifting the Paradigm

The standard American diet, with its foundation of meat, dairy, and highly processed foods, has long been reflected in the fare served to patients in hospital settings, despite strong evidence linking it to negative health outcomes, including Type 2 diabetes and obesity. While some health care institutions have acknowledged the importance of nutrition in the healing process and have adopted more nutritionally sound policies, bacon, ice cream, and hot dogs are still widely available options. The Healthy Hospital Chef Challenge hopes to shift that paradigm.

“The competition was created to highlight chefs and food service workers who are making efforts to serve flavorful, nutrient-dense plant-based food in their institutions,” says Dustin Harder, the Physicians Committee’s culinary specialist and the competition’s emcee. “The goal is to inspire and motivate attendees to go back to their organization or local hospital and share about the exciting food they saw come to life in the competition.”

On stage, finalists Skylar Flynn, Anthony Burns, and Chad Wisner prepared their nutritious plant-based entrées using fruits, vegetables, leafy greens, whole grains, legumes, and—if they were inclined—tofu and tempeh. Each dish had to contain at least 5 grams of fiber and be low in fat and sodium. All three chefs ran with the challenge, using novel techniques and ingredients to enhance the flavor and nutrient profiles of their dishes.

Tricks of the Trade

Flynn, a food operations manager from San Diego with degrees in culinary nutrition and the pastry arts, served roasted sesame chickpeas with zesty quinoa and a creamy sriracha sauce that featured aquafaba for rich texture. Wisner, an executive chef at a senior living residence in Maryland, served up a barbecue jackfruit sandwich with a tangy coleslaw. And Chef Burns, the culinary lead at St. Luke’s Medical Center in Milwaukee, showed the audience how to create the unique spice blend that gave their dish—jeweled rice and sautéed vegetables with a harissa-mint sauce—a delicious depth of flavor.

Each chef, with the help of a kitchen assistant, was still roasting, steaming, and sautéeing until the last possible moment, plating and serving their dishes just before time was called. After deliberating, guest judges Shawn Matijevich of the Institute of Culinary Education, Beets by Brooke creator Brooklynne Palmer, and Emmet McDonough of Sodexo NYC Health + Hospitals crowned Burns and their flavorful rice dish the winner.

A Winning Proposition

Burns’ entrée hit every criteria for a winning dish, including ease of preparation, health benefits, taste, and presentation. Channeling the flavors of the Middle East, the basmati rice was infused with aromatic Persian spices and studded with almonds and raisins, while the accompanying melange of chickpeas and vegetables were napped in a piquant harissa sauce.

Wisner and Flynn, who earned second- and third-place titles, respectively, took home cash prizes and a surprise gift of stainless steel cookware sets.

For at least one chef, simply getting to participate in the event was a win in itself. “Plant-forward dishes are the future of feeding patients flavorful meals while providing fuel and function to their bodies,” said runner-up Flynn. “It is an honor to be part of this competition with like-minded people who see the importance of bringing plant-forward dishes into hospitals.”

Anyone who wants to recreate the winning dish or either of the two runners-up can find them in the Physicians Committee’s Healthy Hospital Program Patient Recipe Book.

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Findings from the report, co-authored by a team of academics and published by Harvard Law School’s Brooks McCormick Jr. Animal Law & Policy Program, are based on a survey of 210 climate scientists, researchers, and food system specialists from 48 countries. They agree that to meet Paris Agreement targets—including rolling back greenhouse gas (GHG) emissions to pre-2019 levels by 2030—an accelerated shift away from animal agriculture and toward low-carbon, plant-based alternatives is imperative, and must be approached on a global scale.

“This transition is crucial, as livestock production contributes significantly to greenhouse gas emissions,” says William J. Ripple, Ph.D., professor of ecology at Oregon State University and one of the report’s four co-authors. “Since this is a crisis, it only makes sense that any major shift involves all parties in high-income and middle-income countries including individuals, governmental policymakers, and corporations.”

Animal Agriculture and Climate Change

The livestock industry is implicated as a primary contributor to climate change in areas that include feed-crop production, the development of grazing land for cattle—the world’s leading cause of deforestation—and methane emissions produced by the animals themselves. Government agricultural subsidies that favor animal products are partly to blame, making an overhaul of global food-subsidy policies integral to reducing GHG emissions from animal agriculture, according to the report.

Given the volume of animal products consumed in high-income countries including the United States, the potential to drastically cut GHG emissions is vast, if decisive actions are implemented quickly. The report also identifies restructuring targets that include providing technology and resources to low- and middle-income countries, and facilitating transitions from livestock farming into the plant-based sector.

“We need to change the incentives of the producers and the prices that consumers face,” says report co-author Paul Behrens, Ph.D., a professor at Leiden University in the Netherlands specializing in food, climate, and energy systems. “Perhaps even more importantly, it will require a shift in the way big agribusiness operates in the food system, away from the more damaging animal-based foods towards more plant-based foods.”

Plant-Based Diets and Planetary Health

The report suggests that plant-sourced foods, because of their lower carbon footprint, should be prioritized in institutional food purchasing policies, particularly if they lead to better health outcomes than animal-sourced foods. Adopting this “Best Available Food” (BAF) approach—a system for identifying the healthiest foods with the lowest environmental impact—is also cited as a tool that can assist consumers in transitioning away from animal-based diets.

Growing fruits, vegetables, and grains for human consumption—instead of growing crops for animal feed—also makes sense from a global economic perspective, considering 67% of all food calories produced in the U.S. are earmarked as feed for animals. Phasing out feed crops, which comprise 43% of the world’s farmland, has the potential to feed twice as many people worldwide, compared with current livestock farming systems, and would shore up food security infrastructure.

One vital component that can’t be underestimated, says co-author Behrens, is the role of the individual consumer in the success of reaching our collective climate change mitigation objectives. “Consumers are a big part of this transition,” says Behrens. “From research, we know that meat-eaters will eat more plant-based meals if those options are available to them. It should be a story of exploration of new foods, not of abstinence.”

The report is not the first time that climate experts have urged consumers toward more plant-forward diets. In an editorial published last month in the journal Nature Food, an international team of researchers called on the United Nations to recognize the environmental imperative for a global transition away from animal-based foods. In 2019, more than 11,000 scientists signed a paper calling for the reduction of animal products as a critical step that governments and individuals can take to mitigate the worst effects of climate change.

In addition to generating fewer greenhouse gas emissions, plant-based foods require significantly less land and put less strain on the water system than animal-based foods.

To learn more about a whole-food, plant-based diet, visit our Plant-Based Primer. For meal-planning support, check out Forks Meal Planner, FOK’s easy weekly meal-planning tool to keep you on a healthy plant-based path.

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The Power Foods Diet proposes a 21-day “immersion” centered on foods that support weight loss. What are some of the changes one might expect in those initial three weeks?

Neal Barnard, M.D., FACC: The first is physical. You’ll start to lose weight, and the weight loss usually begins on Day 1. It can be modest at first, but you’ll see it is happening. But the beauty of it is that it’s happening without ramping up exercise, without limiting calories. People with digestive issues, they’re often getting dramatically better. And people feel mentally clearer quite often. And that’s because [the] blood is less viscous, and so the brain oxygenates better. If you continue, you’ll discover lots of other things, like migraines that are less frequent, and menstrual periods are less intense.

Readers might be surprised to read that it’s possible to achieve Ozempic-like weight loss results merely by eating the right foods. What can you tell us about the appetite-suppressing compound GLP-1?

NB: GLP-1 is a natural substance made by your intestinal tract, and it’s an appetite signal. How does your body know that you’ve eaten enough and that you should stop? Part of it is that your stomach expands and you might feel full, but [another part is that] when food goes down your digestive tract, it releases GLP-1. The GLP-1 turns off your appetite. The drug manufacturer sells what they would call an “analog” or an “agonist” of GLP-1, called Ozempic, also marketed as Wegovy. It has various side effects, but your body will make GLP-1 naturally.

Another thing readers might be interested to discover is that carbs are not the enemy of our weight-loss intentions. How did so many of us come to believe that they are?

NB: I’m going to blame Robert Atkins, who was a well-meaning, but maybe not the best-informed person. He said if you stop eating carbohydrates, you’ll lose weight. True, because carbohydrate is 50 or 60% of what everybody eats. And he [popularized] the idea that carbohydrates were bad for you. However, biochemists have always been skeptical of this because carbohydrate just means starch. It has only four calories in a gram, but fats have nine calories in a gram. So they started to suspect—and it turned out to be true—that what is fattening about bread is that when it comes out of a toaster, you smear it with butter. In the same way as when the potato comes out of the oven, we put on butter and sour cream and cheese and bacon bits. The fatty toppings were always the issue.

French Toast with Cinnamon Blueberry Syrup from The Power Foods Diet

Besides recipes, the book also includes food-prepping tips to make healthy eating easier. What’s your personal favorite tip?

NB: Think big. When you shop, buy extra. When you cook, cook extra. That way, you will have what you need now, and will be set for tomorrow and the next day, too. You will also be ready when family members dig in a bit more than expected. If you think big, you’ll never end up with empty shelves. That’s important because empty shelves—and the inevitable trips to convenience stores—are one of the biggest reasons people stray from a healthful diet.

The book suggests that we can still eat out at restaurants while trying to shed some pounds. What are some of the dishes we can enjoy that won’t interfere with our weight loss goals?

NB: Think international. So when you’re going to your favorite Italian place: minestrone, pasta e fagioli, all fine. When your angel hair pasta comes, top it with the arrabiata sauce. Chinese restaurants: rice dishes, tofu dishes, vegetable dishes, soups. Japanese: Have the cucumber roll, the asparagus roll, the sweet potato roll, the miso soup, the edamame. Mexican: Veggie fajitas, bean burritos, beans and rice.

You propose enlisting a friend or family member to join in this new way of eating. How might that help?

NB: You can do it by yourself, but our friends and family are the people we eat with. They’re the people who support us, and they’re also the people who are going to get in our way. If you have a family member who’s smoking and you’re smoking, it’s harder to quit than if they decide to quit with you. If you’re improving your diet and somebody says, “Let’s do that together,” that’s great. You could share the shopping, the cooking, and the credit when other people in the household say, “Wow, your Southwest chili was great!” or “Your wild blueberry muffins were fantastic!”

Barnard’s new book, The Power Foods Diet, will be released March 26, 2024, and is available for preorder now.

Forks Over Knives may collect a small share of sales from some of the links on this page, though it doesn’t influence our product picks.

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1. Serving free vegan lunches to students

In public school cafeterias across New York, Fridays mean roasted adobo chickpeas with sofrito rice, black bean and plantain power bowls, tomatoey sweet potato gumbo with kale, and other produce-packed vegan lunches. Since launching in 2022, Plant Powered Friday has given students throughout the Big Apple access to meals that are nutritious, sustainable, and culturally relevant every week. The initiative is just one part of the city’s broader plan to reduce carbon emissions from municipal food purchases by 33% by 2030.

2. Reducing availability of sugar-laden drinks

Studies show that consuming even one sugary drink per day can increase our risk of developing chronic disease, and for nearly two decades, NYC has mitigated some of the potential health hazards by introducing limits on the size and accessibility of sweetened beverages. Building on those efforts, the city updated its Food Standards in 2022, effectively eliminating all drinks with added sugars from vending machines on city-owned properties. A ban on high-calorie drinks and those containing artificial sweeteners, flavors, and colors has also been introduced at public schools and other sites accessible to children 18 and younger.

3. Revamping public hospital menus

Since 2023, plant-based “chef’s choice” meals have been the default lunch and dinner options for patients at all 11 hospitals in the New York City public hospital network. Besides being high in nutritional value, these new-and-improved meals reflect the hugely diverse population represented within the health care system. “Nutritious, healthy food should be available wherever New Yorkers are, but especially in institutions that are meant to restore health,” says Ashwin Vasan, ScM, MD, PhD, commissioner of the city’s Department of Health and Mental Hygiene. To build on the momentum, when they’re discharged, patients are offered a booklet of plant-forward recipes to support their recovery and long-term health at home.

4. Democratizing access to healthy food

New Yorkers experiencing food insecurity now have access to whole plant foods and healthy, ready-made meals at no cost, thanks to the city’s Community Food Connection initiative. This $53 million program supports food pantries and soup kitchens with funding to serve nutritious meals to anyone in need, with the goal of reducing diet-related inequities and preventing lifestyle-driven ailments that affect vulnerable communities. New mandatory requirements for emergency food providers include replacing white sandwich bread with whole grain slices, introducing at least one plant-based entrée option, and phasing out all processed meats by 2025.

5. Offering holistic support to outpatients

For New Yorkers trying to manage their high blood pressure, Type 2 diabetes, and other lifestyle-related diseases, there’s a beacon of hope: a nine-month outpatient program with a curriculum that emphasizes plant-based nutrition, exercise, and stress management to treat and reverse chronic health conditions. Launched in 2019 at NYC Health + Hospitals/Bellevue, the Lifestyle Medicine Program will expand to a total of six public hospitals in 2024. In addition to fitness classes and one-on-one counseling from a team of physicians, dietitians, and psychologists, the program will begin offering free deliveries of in-season produce. “Our pilot program [at Bellevue] has already demonstrated positive outcomes in [patients’] blood sugar, blood pressure, weight, and cholesterol,” says Michelle McMacken, M.D., executive director of nutrition and lifestyle medicine for NYC public hospitals. “I used to think each and every meal had to have meat in it,” says Skyler Myres, a New Yorker who credits the Lifestyle Medicine Program with helping her reverse Type 2 diabetes and lose more than 60 pounds. “But now I’ve learned another way. If you had told me months ago that I would be mostly plant-based I never would have believed you. But now meat is something I hardly even miss.”

6. Empowering New Yorkers to make healthy choices

In 2023, the New York City Department of Health and Mental Hygiene launched the “Eat A Whole Lot More Plants” campaign, designed to get locals of all ages to put more greens, grains, and legumes on their plates. Beyond just television and print ads, the campaign offers New Yorkers free digital resources for healthier living, including recipes, meal-planning resources, and seasonal-produce shopping tips in more than a dozen languages. “Food is so important to our physical and mental health,” says Anne Williams-Isom, deputy mayor for Health and Human Services. “Putting more plants into the mix can help both your health and help us meet our environmental goals.”

7. Training health care pros in lifestyle medicine interventions

The average med-school student in the U.S. receives fewer than 20 hours of nutrition education throughout their academic career, despite diet being a top risk factor for mortality. To fill the void, the Lifestyle Medicine Training Program—which launched in 2022 in partnership with the American College of Lifestyle Medicine—offers NYC health care professionals free training to help them treat, reverse, and prevent chronic illnesses. Coursework includes “Food as Medicine” modules centered on risk reduction and longevity, with the aim of building a more sustainable and equitable health care system throughout the five boroughs.

To learn more about a whole-food, plant-based diet, visit our Plant-Based Primer. For meal-planning support, check out Forks Meal Planner, FOK’s easy weekly meal-planning tool to keep you on a healthy plant-based path.

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