Gazpacho recipe (or the healthiest smoothie ever)

Gazpacho (a cold, tomato-based soup) is so refreshing in the summer, especially in the thick South Carolina humidity.  Fresh garden tomatoes and veggies chilled for a cool, refreshing soup to counteract the record high heat in Columbia.  Yes please!

But not only is it great for lunch and dinner (we serve it with "decorated potatoes" (aka baked potato bar) for our Trisha's Healthy Table clients, but my personal favorite way to eat gazpacho?

I love drinking a small cup of this gazpacho with breakfast or any time during the day.  Not only is the taste just so good, it's so insanely good for you!  Move over green smoothies, the healthiness of gazpacho has definitely got you beat.  

This gazpacho is lower in calorie density, and higher in herbs and veggies than green smoothies.  That's what makes it even better for you.  Green smoothies are normally a few types of fruit, one dark leafy green with juice or plant milk.  Gazpacho is all veggies.

Think you won't like it?  We've served shots of gazpacho to 100+ people at the SC State Museum (and repeatedly to our Trisha's Healthy Table clients) and here's some of their shocking feedback.... 

“Your food is great! I didn’t think I’d like the gazpacho — I don’t like tomatoes, but that’s good! And the garden caesar salad is awesome y’all. It’s really good!”

— Victoria Justice, age 56, Department of Justice, Columbia, SC

Gazpacho

By: Trisha's Healthy Table, Chef Erik Hoffman

Ingredients

5 large tomatoes
2 cucumbers, peeled
1 red onion
1 red bell pepper
3 scallions
3 cloves garlic
1/2 c flat leaf parsley
1/4 c chives
1/4 c champagne vinegar
2 T salt
1 T black pepper
fresh lemon juice
sherry vinegar

Instructions

1. Cut veggies into approximately 2 inch pieces and place in a large mixing bowl.
2. Combine garlic and herbs with veggies. Add the vinegar, salt and pepper and toss until well coated. 
3. Cover and marinate for 1-2 hours (though over night in the fridge is ideal). 
4. Once marinated, blend in batches until entire mixture is well blended (we use a high-powered blender to make it extra smooth). 
5. Strain through a fine mesh strainer (you may need to force it through using the back of a ladle to get all liquid through). 
6. Add fresh lemon juice, sherry vinegar and salt to taste.  
7. Chill in the refrigerator. 
8. Once chilled, it's ready to serve.  Be sure to stir the gazpacho right before serving though. It may have naturally separated a bit (which is normal).

Don't have enough time to make gazpacho? Let us do it for you.

Want someone else make gazpacho or other healthy but dang delicious meals for you?  Look no further.  Trisha's Healthy Table makes healthy meals to-go for the nights you just don't want to cook, but don't want to compromise your health with greasy restaurant food.  

Order meals on-line, schedule your pick-up date, then pick-up them up on your way home from work, reheat or assemble at home.  Bing, bang, boom, dinner is done.  Located at 1305 Assembly St., Columbia, SC.

Right now, Trisha's Healthy Table is offering a limited amount of highly discounted meals on pre-sale until September 20th.  Some are already sold out!  Want in?  We hope so!  You can't get these deliciously healthy, plant-based meals anywhere else.  Check out www.THTmeals.com before they'll all gone!

Now it's time to hear from you.

What foods do you crave in the hot summer months?  Or, what would you like to see Trisha's Healthy Table make so you don't have to?

Answer by clicking 'comment' below.

Meet our Clinical and Scientific Advisers

Exciting news -- a Clinical Adviser and a Scientific Adviser have just joined the Trisha's Table team. 

Our Clinical Adviser is a physician who emphasizes a low-fat, plant-based diet to his patients (yay for doctor's who prescribe diet with or without meds!) and our Scientific Adviser -- she's as expert as it gets when it comes to conducting and understanding diet and lifestyle research.  Together with my husband, Chef Erik Hoffman and myself, we make the Trisha's Table Team.  Nutritionist, Chef, Doctor and Researcher.  Loooove it!
 

Meet Swann Adams, PhD, Trisha's Table Scientific Adviser

Swann Adams, PhD has received multiple awards for her research in cancer disparities and diet and lifestyle interventions.  She holds a PhD in Epidemiology.  Her work's been published in leading journals including Cancer; Cancer Epidemiology, Biomarkers and Prevention, and more. She's a federally-funded research investigator having received research funding from the National Cancer Institute, the Centers for Disease Control and many more. She's the Associate Director of the Cancer Prevention and Control Program, the Co-Director of the Center for Cancer Survivorship, and holds a joint, tenured associate professor appointment in the College of Nursing and the Department of Epidemiology and Biostatistics at the University of South Carolina.

She's as expert as it gets when it comes to reading the scientific evidence (one of my personal inspirations).  And, she eats plant-based.  She talks the talk (she talks the evidence) and she walks the walk (and when she dances it's amazing). She didn't want to at first though.  But then, she had to and both her and I are so glad she did.

After a type II diabetes diagnosis at 44, our Scientific Adviser completely embraced a low-fat, plant-based diet.  She's lost 23 pounds in 3 months (without eating less!) and her blood sugar readings are beginning to read in the normal range.  Amen!  She immersed herself in the plant-based nutrition evidence and learned how to implement the diet the right way.  

Dr. Swann is committed to understanding the latest research behind a whole foods, plant-based lifestyle and promoting these evidenced-based approaches to the general public. She is currently beginning work on a research project, that will incorporate a whole foods, plant-based dietary intervention among African Americans who are receiving colon cancer screening.  This further illustrates her commitment to only promoting the best science to promote healthy eating and living.  

Now, she's joined the Trisha's Table team so we can better explain, and stay up-to-date with, the newest nutrition research.  I'm so glad to have her by my side and yours.

Learn more about Dr. Adams at her bio here or listen to this inspirational interview and learn about her health and weight-loss journey here.

 

Meet the Trisha's Table Clinical Adviser, Kyle Homertgen, DO

I had the honor of meeting Dr. Kyle Homertgen, a board-certified family medicine practitioner, when we were on the board of the non-profit, Ten Rivers Food Web in Corvallis, Oregon.  The first thing I heard about him -- he'd started a "Fruit and Veggie RX Program" which gave $25 of farmer's market produce a week for 16 weeks to patients with type II diabetes, along with cooking classes and nutrition education.  Then I meet him and he says he emphasizes a low-fat, plant-based diet with his patients.  "I didn’t go into medicine to just manage disease. My goal is to prevent and reverse.”

We were a match made in heaven and I'm grateful and excited that he'll be sharing his expertise with the Trisha's Table team from afar.  

Read more about Dr. Kyle here.  You can also visit his website www.DrKyle.com.  It's full of plant-based resources so he can better assist his patients.

Take Control Now Question

Answer the below questions and welcome our Advisers by clicking 'comment' below.

1. What's the hardest part about understanding or hearing nutrition information?  
2. What are your biggest frustrations with your doctor (if any)?

3 ways to lose weight when you've plateaud on a plant-based diet

Ever feel like you're doing everything right, by the book, but you're still not losing weight?

You're eating plant-based, feeling better (which is awesome), but the scale hasn't budged and you need it to.  You know you're on the right path but wonder "what am I doing wrong?"  

My friend Kathy feels this way and maybe you do too.  She had this to say commenting on Dr. Brie's interview from last week...

“I’ve been eating plant-based for almost 7 months. A friend and I began together and it’s been a lot of fun sharing recipes and texting pics of what we ate that day. I feel great on this eating plan. I’m post menopausal and even though I’ve been following this diet for 7 months I can’t seem to lose weight. Help!”

— Kathy, Take Control Tuesday friend

Even if you're not post menopausal it can be really frustrating knowing you're on the right path, but not getting the health results you want or expected.  And I've been there.  Multiple times and I know how to get through it.  

To help Kathy, today I'm sharing 3 ways to lose weight when you've plateaued on a plant-based diet whether you're post menopausal or not.

3 ways to lose weight when you've plateaued on a plant-based diet

1.  Make sure you're doing the diet right.  

There's many ways to do plant-based wrong or half-right.  Wrong or half-right won't get you the best results.  Here's an example of doing a plant-based diet wrong:  

Eating a junk-food vegan diet.  Tortilla chips (50%-ish fat), fries, vegan cookies etc. don't contain animal products, but that doesn't mean they're good for you.  Especially on a regular basis. At best, they're treats to be saved for special occasions.

Just because a diet is called plant-based or vegan doesn't mean it's good for you.

You must eat whole plant foods 90-100% of the time.  This includes fruits, veggies, whole-grains, legumes (beans, peas, lentils) and the optional nuts and seeds.  Refined foods (vegetable oils, white flour products and sugar) and animal products are not whole plant foods and should be avoided.  

Another example is eating high-fat plant food such as avocados, coconut, olives, nuts and seeds at every meal or as snacks.  Eating peanut butter out of the jar or peanut butter toast every morning instead of something more filling with less calories like oatmeal and fresh fruit can also prevent weight-loss (see point number two).  

Bottom line:  Learn how to do the diet right.  

Good news is, you're in the perfect place for that.  Sign-up for email updates above and you'll be the first to know when my free 'doing the diet right' crash course comes out in the next 2 weeks.  Or, learn from John McDougall, MD or Pam Popper, PhD, ND.  These are my top two teachers for doing the diet right.

2.  Eat high-fat plant foods as condiments or don't eat them at all.

People love avocados.  I do.  And that's partly because of the high amount of fat that's in them.

By design, fat tastes good so we'd eat it when we were hunter and gatherers.  At that time we needed the extra calories that fat provides because we never knew when we'd get more calories and needed any calories we could get to survive.  

The reason we need to be cautious of high-fat food is because fat has 5 extra calories per gram compared to a gram of carbohydrate or protein.  Carbohydrate and protein both have 4 calories per gram, while fat has 9 calories per gram.  Same quantity, but more calories in fat.  

For example, nuts can be great for your health.  But, if you casually snack through just one cup of almonds throughout the day, that's 838 calories (1).  They're very calorie dense which means their small volume of food is packed with more calories.  Compare that to one cup of a baked sweet potato (same amount) which is only 184 calories (2).  Plus it's really filling so you're more likely to stop eating instead of continually snacking.    

Bottom line:  nuts and seeds should be used as condiments, not snacks to enjoy to their health benefits and flavor, without overdosing on calories.  Or, simply omit high-fat plant foods completely.  

 

3.  Increase the intensity, duration and frequency of your exercise and stick to it!

Most people I've worked with have more trouble sticking to a long-term and challenging exercise regiment than changing their diet.  Once you've hit a weight-loss plateau, it's time to ramp up your exercise.  

You need to continuously increase...

• the intensity (how hard you're working),
• the duration (how long you're exercising for) and or
• the frequency (often you're working out)

for fitness to improve and weight loss to be encouraged.

The optimal goal is 5-6 days a week of exercising in your target heart rate for 45-60 minutes a day.

For post-menopausal women especially, hot yoga is a great way to reach that goal.  If you're in Columbia, SC, try Bikram Yoga or Yoga Masala.  I've been to them both.  Contact me if you want my opinion.

Now I'd love to hear from you.  Share your thoughts by clicking 'comment' below and answer...

Take Control Now Question

Which of these 3 tips do you need to implement the most and why?  

What's going to be the hardest part about getting started?

I can't wait to hear from you in the comments.

Love and Leafy Greens,

Trish

Interview with Plant-Based Nutrition Researcher, Dr. Brie Turner-McGrievy

While doing research for my Master's degree in Finland, I kept reading one woman's plant-based nutrition studies over and over again.  She was doing such cool and meaningful research -- showing weight loss, improved health, increased energy and more, can happen from diet alone. 

And even better (you know I love this part) -- there was no requirement to count calories or eat less to get these amazing results.  And even better still, these results were significantly better than our National agencies' recommendations they were being compared too.  Very impressive.

So, I looked her up -- Brie Turner-McGrievy, PhD, RD at the University of South Carolina, and told myself to reach out to her.  Seven months after "email USC researcher" was religiously scribbled on my to do list, I finally emailed her.  And it was truly was perfect timing.  If it weren't for that email I wouldn't be in South Carolina launching Trisha's Table Meals in just a few weeks.

I'm delighted to share with you my interview with Dr. Brie today.  She's had an invaluable impact on my life and my work.  

She holds a PhD in Nutrition, is a Registered Dietician and she knows what she's talking about when it comes to nutrition and health.  Especially plant-based nutrition.

In today's interview, I ask her many of your top nutrition questions.  Especially around protein and other topics including diets for menopause and the number one step you can take to improve your health.  

Once you've listened to the interview be sure to scroll down and answer today's Take Control Now Question that Dr. Brie and I made together.  Until then, here's her Spicy Black Bean and Tomatoes recipe.

Spicy Black Beans and Tomatoes

• By: Brie Turner-McGrievy, PhD, RD,
• Source: NutritionMD.org/recipes
• Makes 4 1-cup servings

Serve over brown rice or couscous, scoop up with baked tortilla chips, or wrap up in a tortilla.

1/4 cup vegetable broth
1/2 cup chopped onion
2 garlic cloves, minced
2 14.5-ounce cans diced tomatoes, drained
2 tablespoons canned chopped green chilies
2 15-ounce cans black beans, drained and rinsed
1 tablespoon chopped fresh cilantro or parsley
1/2 teaspoon ground cumin
1/2 teaspoon crushed red pepper
1/4 teaspoon chili powder 

Heat broth in non-stick skillet over medium-high heat. Add onion and garlic. Sauté until tender. Add tomatoes and chilies. Reduce heat and cook uncovered 6 to 8 minutes or until mixture is slightly thickened, stirring occasionally. Stir in beans, cilantro or parsley, cumin, crushed red pepper, and chili powder. Cover and cook 5 minutes or until thoroughly heated.

Per 1-cup serving

Calories: 254
Fat: 1.3 g
Saturated Fat: 0.3 g
Calories from Fat: 4.5%
Cholesterol: 0 mg
Protein: 14.7 g
Carbohydrates: 49 g
Sugar: 10.6 g
Fiber: 11.6 g
Sodium: 902 mg
Calcium: 177 mg
Iron: 5.9 mg
Vitamin C: 23.1 mg
Beta Carotene: 269 mcg
Vitamin E: 1.8 mg

Source: Brie Turner-McGrievy, M.S., R.D.

Take Control Now Questions

1.  What's the hardest part about eating a plant-based or healthier diet for the long-term?
2.  What challenges do you face sticking with it?

Answer by clicking 'comment' below.

How USC professor lost 17 lbs in 8 weeks without eating less. An inspirational interview.

Have you ever struggled with your weight?  If so, I want you to keep reading.  And if you haven't, I still want you to keep reading because this is just that good.  

About 8 weeks ago, I had the honor of helping someone who was just diagnosed with type II diabetes.  At age 44.  She has a loving husband, an 8 year old daughter McCullough and a 9 year old son, Thompson.  She has a very successful and rewarding career in academia.  Case in point -- she has a lot to lose and is way too young for diabetes.

Swann Adams, PhD, the Assistant Director of the Cancer Prevention and Control Program at the University of South Carolina, is this amazing person.  She's an Associate Professor in the College of Nursing and the School of Public Health.  She's been published in the American Journal of Preventive Medicine, The American Journal of Public Health, Women's Health Issues and many more (like I said, successful.  This woman is like a super hero).   

But if you asked Swann, there was always one area of her life where she felt like a failure. Her health and more specifically, her weight.  Until now.

Swann had been on and off Weight Watchers for 20 years.  She was even prescribed amphetamines from her doctor to help her with her weight.  After no success, Swann accepted her body and her weight.  She thought this was just her body type.  Wrong.  

When Swann came to see me, she wasn't trying to lose weight (she was confident there was no way she could).  Her concern -- improving or reversing her diabetes diagnosis.  

Seven weeks later, where is she?

Swann has lost about 18 pounds in 7 weeks without eating less.  No carb counting, no calorie counting.  And, her blood sugars are now in the pre-diabetic range.

Swann had this to say celebrating her son Thompson's 9th birthday a few weeks ago...

“For the first time in forever, I felt confident walking around in my bathing suit. I still have a long way to go but just the 15 pounds gone, and how easy it was, makes me believe for the first time that it’s possible to change my appearance. I almost got tears in my eyes I felt so good and positive.”

Today, I'm thrilled to share with you my very first Take Control Tuesday interview (above)... a very personal interview with Swann (and oh yes, we had a blast too.  And we have bloopers at the end of the video to prove it). 

Swann shares some pretty amazing insights (and advice for you) that you won't want to miss....

“This is a way to stop the critical voice in your head that tells you it’s your fault that you’re so fat. It gives you the tools to be able to be in control, take the shame away and to be happy.”

Swann is happy for many reasons, but one of them (and I am right there with her!), is because improved health and weight loss are possible without eating less food.  It's simply replacing foods that promote weight gain and disease, with those that promote health and weight loss that are filling.

For example, here's one of Swann's health promoting and weight-loss promoting meals, a "cheesy meatball" sub.   

The meatballs are made using oats, brown rice, lentils instead of beef and added it to are a bunch of different herbs and spices that have a similar taste and texture as regular meatballs.  It's topped with an onion and pepper marinara sauce, and the whole wheat buns (yes, it's okay to eat wheat and gluten) are lined with mustard and relish.  And the cheese!?  This is one of Swann's favorite recipes.  And I've made it.  It's SO good.  It's a cheese sauce made from cauliflower! Swann also loves it on her whole grain grits in the morning.  Check out this recipe...

---

Cheesy Cauliflower Sauce

Source: Fat Free Vegan Kitchen (all of her recipes are great!)
Ingredients

• 2 cups water
• 2 heaping cups small cauliflower florets
• 1 teaspoon granulated onion powder
• 2 cloves garlic, peeled, or 1/2 teaspoon garlic powder
• 1/4 teaspoon smoked paprika
• 1/4 teaspoon dry mustard
• 1/8 teaspoon turmeric
• 1/4 cup nutritional yeast
• 1 tablespoon mellow white miso or soy-free chickpea miso or a little salt
• 1 tablespoon cornstarch or potato starch
• 1/2 tablespoon lemon juice
• salt to taste

Instructions

Bring the water to a boil in a medium saucepan. Add the cauliflower, onion powder, garlic, paprika, mustard, and turmeric. Cover tightly and reduce the heat to very low. Simmer until the cauliflower is so tender that it easily comes apart when poked with a fork, about 15-20 minutes.

Carefully transfer the contents of the saucepan to a blender. Add all remaining ingredients. Cover and blend, starting on low and increasing the speed until you’re at the highest setting. (Be careful–hot foods can “erupt.”) Blend until you have a completely smooth sauce.

Pour the sauce back into the saucepan, add salt to taste if you like, and heat until it begins to bubble, stirring occasionally. Allow it to cook and thicken for at least another 2 minutes. Serve hot.

---

Swann and I have a Take Control Now challenge for you, to help you implement what you learned on the blog.  Here's what we want you to do...

1.  Try the above cheesy cauliflower recipe.  What day will you make it?  Once you've made it, report back.  What did you think!?

2.  Share some encouragement with Swann.  Tell us what you learned from her story or any other insights from listening to our interview.

Click "comments" below to share your voice.

Love and Leafy Greens,

Trish

P.S. The audio and video quality of today's video is not the best.  But, we did the best with what we have.  And, the content is just that good that it's not worth passing up.