58 people attended this event featuring Dean Ornish-certified Executive Chef Jason Withers.  Chef Withers prepared a wonderful display of food including fresh fruit and marinated, grill vegetable platters for each table.  Garden tomato soup  followed the appetizer platters.  The buffet held black bean stuffed Roma tomatoes with wilted spinach, country style redskin potatoes with mushroom gravy, and a delicious three bean salad.  All of this was topped off with a refreshing fruit sorbet.

An important component of a healthy lifestyle is minimizing or eliminating added oil.  Jason shared with us some of his secrets for cooking without oil and creating tasty meals by intuitively combining the plant-based ingredients we have on hand in our kitchens.

It can be difficult to adhere to a lifestyle change, especially if you feel like you're the only one struggling against the destructive behaviors encouraged by our culture.  I plan to hold similar events to help you along your journey and to create a community of those walking the same path.

Raw Vegan Pesto with Zucchini Noodles

From Tracy Russell, www.incrediblesmoothies.com

This is a phenomenal yet easy-to-prepare recipe.  I love pasta and could probably eat an entire pound if it was placed in front of me.  Even though pasta is a healthy component of a low-fat, plant-based lifestyle, it is easy to overeat.  These zucchini noodles satisfy my pasta craving while I receive all of the wonderful nutritional benefits of zucchini.

The sauce is a delicious way to be able to enjoy a pesto sauce guilt-free as there is no cheese and no added oil.

I hope you love this recipe as much as I do!

Serves 1

0.5 cup fresh tomatoes

0.5 to 1 clove minced garlic

0.5 teaspoon nutritional yeast

juice from 1 small lime

dash of sea salt (or to taste)

0.25 cup fresh basil

0.25 cup raw pine nuts

4 pieces of sun dried tomato

1 medium zucchini

Add the tomatoes, garlic, nutritional yeast, lime juice, sea salt, basil, and pine nuts to your blender or food processor and blend until creamy.  Once finished, set aside while you wash the zucchini and remove the ends.

Using a spiral slicer, turn the zucchini into "noodles".  If you do not have a spiral slicer, you can use a julienne or mandoline slicer (with a julienne blade).  If you don't have any special slicers, you can use a simple cheese grater.  Simply shred the zucchini lengthwise to create long, flat noodles.

Once the zucchini is turned into noodles, toss with the pesto sauce and top with chopped sun dried tomatoes, mushrooms, or the topping of your choice.

Are you looking for a new and interesting way to present your vegetables?  Well, I think I have the answer you've been looking for...a spiralizer.  An inexpensive new addition to my kitchen, this tool has enabled me to make "noodles" from fresh, whole zucchini.  I add my new favorite sauce, described below, and I have a quick new summer meal to serve to my family.

I purchased the spiralizer recommended by Fat Free Vegan Chef Susan Voisin.  It was inexpensive and works really well.  You can find it at the following link:

The directions suggest experimenting with potatoes, cucumbers, eggplants, carrots, radishes, apples, turnips, cabbage, onions, and butternut squash.  It seems the possibilities are endless.  Look for additional ideas as I experiment this summer and feel free to share your successes with me too.

Health Insurer Suggests That Physicians Recommend a Plant-Based Lifestyle to All of Their Patients