The idea that plant-based nutrition is healthy is old, very, very old. But the bedrock of serious nutritional science to back it up is T. Colin Campbell's book "The China Study." That book, and his course, which is available at the T. Colin Cambpell Center for Nutritionstudies are the foundation. Aside from that there are many other good sources, but Campbell's idea of Whole Foods, Plant-based nutrition is the solid bedrock on which this whole new understanding of nutrition and health is based. The Easy Way: The paradigm is defined in two ways: limit your food to only whole foods, all of a plant origin, with minimal processing. Whole Foods, Plant-Based, or #WFPB for short. SOS means: moderatate salt intake, no oil, moderate or eliminate refined sugar. Instead of surag, use fruits or fruit sugar like date sugar, which is really just ground up dates. The point is the sugar is not separated from the fiber. Another good guideline is the 80/10/10 rule: We get: 80% of our calories from unprocessed carbs, e.g. brown rice, Whole Wheat, and so on 10% of calories from naturally occurring oils and fats (beans, avocado). 10% of calories from proteins, and remember even spinach gives you 50% of calories from protein, or rice or potatoes, about 11%. The obsession over protein is entirely misplaced, unless you eat cardboard all day long. #WFPB is purely about good nutrition. By contrast: Veganism is secular ethics: concern for the planet, concern for animal welfare. Vegetarianism is religious ethics: ahimsa, thou shalt not kill, etc. The upshot is you can be vegan and eat unhealthy: Potatochips (cooked in vegetable oil, not beef tallow!) and beer (as long as it does not have isinglass), are vegan, but not recommended for a staple diet. Vegetarianism still allows for dairy and (unfertilized) eggs, which can be very unhealthy. Removing dairy often leads to massive health improvements. I have my father to remind me, for he was vegetarian, but he ate cheese by the ton, and predictably died of a stroke at age 63.

Please introduce yourself when you join. Preferably post a picture of a workplace or a dish you made. List your favorite dish (you can always change it, if your tastes change). Take some time to explore the structure, and please understand it is still a work in progress.We will try to maintain some useful structure. The foundation is #WFPB nutrition in the tradition of The China Study and the T. Colin Campbell Center for Nutritionstudies, but the focus is on creating great food. This is where most people stumble. Cooking methods become such ingrained habits, it is hard to change them, and you want and need flavorful meals. That is what this program is all about. We appreciate if we all stay nice and professional around here, and if you get upset about something, try some forgiveness, it may help.

Most folks have trouble with the switch to a Whole Foods, Plant-Based (#WFPB) lifestyle primarily because they are not handy in the kitchen. On side of that is tools, everything from the right pots and pans, to the right knives, but a lot of it is about understanding what makes flavor. Especially the idea of not going overboard with salt is hard for people, eliminating oil is relatively easy, limiting sugar is not hard either. But how to arrive at truly delectable food seems to be a challenge. It should not be. This site is a community learning project that discusses ingredients, some natural, some commercial, and methods, to arrive at flavorful plant-based food. You'll be surprised. I will start out with creating a number of threads, I will number them sequetially U... and so on. Time will tell which treads gain the most traction.