I try to follow WFPBD to the teeth, but if there is a point I fail, it is Dark leafy vegetables or Greens.

How do you come about it? Do you buy fresh spinach at your store, or what do you buy?

And am I seeing it wrong, but isn't this the most expensive ingredient in this WFPBD?

I am looking for some easy tips and tricks. I am located in Eastern Europe (not Russia) so money and availability play a role in my decision.

Thank you.

At the end of a busy day, what’s your favorite meal to make in 15 minutes or less?

Lately mine has been quinoa with frozen peas and broccoli and air fried tofu. (I get the broccoli, quinoa and tofu at Costco, so I always have lots on hand.)

First attempt at cooking hull-less barley. It came out gloppy, even though I did drain as much excess water as I could after it was done (used Instant Pot). Do I just need to adjust how I cook it or is gloppy the expected barley consistency?

I also make brown basmati rice and emmer farro and neither of those end up gloppy.

I’ve been exploring muffin and waffle recipes online but even the “healthy” options still seem to have a lot of added sugar.

Has any found a food blogger / website that has more whole foods plant based baking recipes?

https://preview.redd.it/1wdyh3bq6gfe1.jpg?width=981&format=pjpg&auto=webp&s=d7d28d170a1988cd306bc3cc188649791ec92789

All home made. Pretty much whipped up with leftovers and veggies that were about to turn.

Dumplings:
dough:
about 1/2 c whole wheat flour w/ 1/2 c hot water, kneaded until smooth; take about a nickel-sized ball and roll into a thin disk
filling:
about 1/2 c diced carrots, cabbage, mushrooms sauteed with a little soy sauce, rice vinegar, siracha, and a touch of maple syrup. Let cool, then place about 1T into disk and fold. Steam for about 15 minutes.

Coconut Curried Peas:
sauté cumin seeds, small diced onion, 2 minced garlic cloves, a diced green or red chili, and 1 tsp grated ginger, then add 1 T garam masala/curry powder and 1 c coconut milk. let simmer for about 10 minutes. Add 1 c frozen peas and 1/4 c grated coconut. Served over quinoa. Garnish with chopped cilantro and green onion.

Spinach with Sesame Dressing:

blanch a lot of spinach in boiling water for 30 seconds, then chop with a scissor. Add a tablespoon of tahini, a teaspoon of soy sauce, a teaspoon of maple syrup, and a teaspoon of rice vinegar. Mix. Sprinkle with Everything-but-the-bagel seasoning and diced red Thai chili pepper.

Hi all, I’ve been trying to get back to a Whole Foods plant based diet but I am struggling to get my brown rice the right texture. It usually comes out stiff and hard, and undercooked. Tried adding more water in a different attempt and it came out mushy and gummy. My ratios have been 2 C water to 1 C rice, cooked for about 50 min. Second attempt 2.25C to 1 C rice, cooked for 50 min.

Any advice?

Has anyone had stomach pains when starting WFPB? It’s been a few weeks now. I gravitate towards stews, soups and curries, so lots of veg stock, lentils and chickpeas. But I’ve been having awful stomach pains across the mid of my stomach after eating my evening meal?

Hello all! I have been a Whole Foods plant based enthusiast since three years ago maybe even four, and I have gone back-and-forth between losing and gaining weight. I do roadshows in Costco, and I can have a rice cooker, and an Insta pot, but I can’t really easily clean them in my booth.

I usually stay at hotels that have a breakfast, and also a kitchen. I have always struggled on how to figure it out, because I am on a limited budget and would like to continue to eat healthier because I have been gaining weight and struggling to stick to a Whole Foods plant-based diet while I was in my relationship with my ex.

Now that I am out of that, I wanna get started again, but don’t really know how and I tend to constantly overeat. Any recommendations on where to start?

Edit: I’ll need to be able to have the food with me in a booth in Costco, an igloo w/ice or a rice cooker lol. It’s frustrating but I eat too much when I’m bored at work.

God damn I love those Old El Paso hard taco shells, but I can't get anything to replace them that hits the same spot. I've tried baked corn tortillas until they become hard but it just doesn't taste right. Any recommendations?

Hi all! I love pasta but so much of it is ultra-processed. I’ve tried some chickpea pasta before but it was mushy and also gritty somehow? I wasn’t a fan. I’m wondering what pasta (brand and type) everyone likes to eat?

I've always counted calories in addition to eating WFPB. Now that I'm NOSOS though and generally not eating highly calorie-dense foods easy to overeat on like nuts, hummus, avocado, nut butters, etc, there really doesn't seem to be any reason to count calories as I'm usually struggling to eat all of the daily dozen checklist daily. So, those of you who don't count calories, do you worry about not eating ENOUGH calories every day or do you only start worrying if you get too thin? I've a lot of weight to lose, so it'll be awhile before getting too thin is an issue for me LOL.

UPDATE: I did soak them for about 7 hours and also added squeezed half a lemon for the juice. This is supposed to neutralize phytic acid (you can do your own research here because I'm still learning). Then I cooked the oat Groats overnight in a crock pot on warm. They came out really nice for my first time. I'll keep experimenting. One of my biggest fears is there's a rock mixed in with the grain (which I have heard can happen).

I'm going to make oat Groats for my first time. I've seen recipes that require an overnight soak and others that just cook them without. Is it necessary?

Golden kiwi, avocado, kimchi, Ezekiel bread.

Not pictured - hard boiled egg (I know, I know - it doesn’t fit plant based but give me a mulligan because it’s a whole food and I have eggs on gym days).

I have been eating Dave’s Killer Bread (and the Aldi version of it). I realize it’s not a whole food. I think Ezekiel is probably healthier. My problem with Ezekiel is that when I store it in the freezer I can’t easily separate the pieces to eat or toast them. Suggestions?

I have this dream of being able to walk into the local Chinese, SE Asian, Indian, or Latin market and confidently buying exotic spices, sauces, fruits, beans, grains and vegetables and then being able to make a complete meal. These stores have such a variety of things I know nothing about but would love to learn about. However, I find the experience overwhelming and would like a cookbook. One with lots of pictures would certainly help as I learn more.

At Target in San Diego.

There have been several threads on meal delivery services for plant-based meals here and on other WFPB subs but they all seem to miss many options. Here's a roundup of every one I could find offering ready-to-eat meals, with a quick good vs bad evaluation of the healthiness of the current menu of each one in terms of conforming to WFPB guidelines (as exemplified by Greger, Ornish, & similar proponents).

This was a big process in which I analyzed the ingredients list & entered the nutrition info for a half dozen or more menu items of each into a spreadsheet to calculate things like fat % and fiber ratio to calories. The most common problems are too much fat, use of oil, added sweeteners, and/or refined grains.

• Whole Harvest: Website shows it as operating again after a recent 2024 pause. Good: Everything no-oil. Most stuff no added sugars. Several SOS-free options (& menu filterable by this). Min 8 items per shipment but can choose all 8 individually (from 16 entree options + 2 breakfast + 2 snacks/desert this week). Bad: Some items have added sugars. Some use refined grains, eg couscous & pearl barley. Ingredients not listed in decreasing order of amount (confirmed with their customer service), so can't tell how much eg refined grains there are if any listed anywhere in ingredients. Some items have more fat and/or protein than recommended by folks like Ornish, Greger, Longo, etc. (This is hard to avoid though, and this service seems to be lower than most.)
• Vegin Out: Can order the weekly vegan menu but not pick individual dishes. This week's has 3 entrees + 4 sides. Good: Mostly oil free, low sugar, low sodium. Bad: Added sugars not broken out separately in nutrition info. Includes maple syrup, refined grains (eg, not-whole-grain noodles) & white potatoes. Costs more for shipping outside of California. All-or-nothing ordering.
• First Seed: Indian. Good: Entirely plant-based. No oil. No added sugars. Low fat. High fiber. Bad: It's really only 6 dishes, 4 of which are mainly legumes (beans or lentils), 1 of which has white (basmati) rice as 1st ingredient. So only 1 has veggies & lacks refined grains, and this one is sold out for the next half-year. The legume dishes are high in protein if judged by themselves but they could be used as sauces with legumes in them by combining them with veggies & whole grains. Indian may not be enough variety of ethnicity for some. Looks like it ships less often than weekly.
• Sprinly: 6 items listed for this week. Good: No refined sugars (narrowly defined, see below). Claims to keep oil to a minimum & has some clearly marked oil-free items. Can see future week's menu items. Bad: Still uses oil. Though no refined sugars, does use near equivalents like maple syrup. Some use of refined grains. Overall fat % higher than common recs and higher than Whole Harvest (several items 20-36% fat), probably mostly due to the oil.
• LeafSide: Freeze-dried meals---just add (hot) water. Just considered the savory bowls. Good: No oil, no added sugars, no refined grains (though white potatoes were used in a few dishes). SOS-free available by request. Bad: Too much fat in most dishes. Freeze-dried food causes bloating for some people.
• Planted Table (SF Bay area): Good: Vegan, natural ingredients. Bad: Incomplete nutrition info (eg fiber not listed, added sugars not listed). Incomplete ingredients lists (eg "creamy salsa dressing" not expanded). Too much fat. (Only checked first 6 menu items, and all had too much except lettuce wraps.) Refined grains & sweeteners (white bread, white rice, molasses). 
• Purple Carrot: Good: Many options. Bad: Lots of oil. High in fat. Low fiber. Lots of use of refined grains (white bread, white rice, refined pasta).
• Daily Harvest: Looked at the "heart healthy" bowls, appropriate for lunch or dinner. Good: Many options. No added sugars. Bad: Lots of oil. Lots of fat. Not enough fiber.
• Thistle: Good: Has plant-based versions of everything. Bad: Not enough fiber. Too much oil. Too much fat.
• Fire Road: Plant-based in the sense of not using meat sourced from animals but most meals still meat-centric recipes using lab-grown meat (eg Beyond) or plant-based meat-substitutes like soy-curls. Seems to lean in a keto / fitness direction philosophically rather than a WFPB direction. Many menu items high fat, and high protein seems to be a goal.
• Methodology: Not entirely plant-based and the vegan lunch/dinner options mostly seem like meat dishes with tempeh or tofu substituted for the meat. Good: They have several vegan options. Bad: Added sugars not specified. Lots of oil. The 1 menu item I looked at had high fat and protein.
• Sakara: Nutrition info not provided for menu items, so can't evaluate. Many aspects sound good: plant-rich, lots of greens, nutritient density, etc. Free of meat, dairy, refined sugars, etc.
• HungryRoot: Can't see menu at all. Tried long quiz but then wanted me to sign up before showing me anything else.
• MamaSezz: No longer seems to provide read-to-eat fresh meals. Only prepackaged snacks now.

I didn't include links to the services but each is easy to find via websearch.

I’m seeing that I will probably need to take B12, but I obviously can’t give a vitamin to my baby. Since I plan to continue breastfeeding until at least 12 months, will she get what she needs from me?

Any experience with this?

hi! so ive been eating mainly wfpb for around 6 months now as a senior in high school along with my mom who has been wfpb for quite some time now. right now we both cook together a majority of our meals as it’s faster & easier with ingredients & stuff. im still fairly new to this but really want to continue my lifestyle like this but am worried i wont be able to keep it up in college due to time, money, & so many places using oils, butter, & who knows what else in foods. would i need to cook / meal prep all my meals in college? and im still a beginner to this & quite a slow &not super experienced cook but am learning. i have a bad feeling the dining hall could be limited to this lifestyle so not sure the best way to go about this. i really want to keep this way of eating up so please let me know your thoughts or if you have any hacks. thanks!

My husband is allergic to, or does not like, everything that makes food delicious.

He developed an allergy to capsicums & chillies (includes dry spices, so paprika, cayenne, chilli powder/flakes), which has now also spread to potatoes. He is extremely mad about this.

In addition he doesn’t like tomatoes & tomato based sauces, eggplant, pumpkin/squash that isn’t soup, zucchini, beetroot.

This is extremely limiting and rules out many world cuisines that are very tomato & capsicum/chilli based.

Any suggestions for legume dishes that don’t include these ingredients? Recipes or links where possible pls!

I was raised on meat and I just recently started to question the validity of the science behind the obsession with animal based protein. I just finished one book from T. Colin Campbell and plan to read his others. So I understand there is evidence that too much animal foods lot of negative effects. However, it sounds like people on WFPB are having to supplement B12 and possibly other vitamins and minerals? I keep thinking that the truly optimal diet would not need any supplements. Is this wrong thinking? Please help me understand.

What are your thoughts on getting B12 from animal sources, but keeping animal foods below 10% of overall intake? (10% was the threshold I saw in Campbell’s rat studies.)

Hello everyone. I don't want die st age 40. I physically sick. I have 17 cm ovarian mass and 6 cm ovarian mass. I been denied surgery for year due to my a1c type 2 diabetes. I got my a1c down to 8.7. I need get it down to 7% or less to get surgery out in Rochester mayo clinic. I desperately need help. I have 3 months to get this down. If I don't optimal for surgery, I going die from complications. I also have polycystic ovarian syndrome and developed cysts on my back that are also getting ruled out for cancer. My ovarian masses are solid and have 10% in each for ovarian cancer. My 17 cm mass size of volleyball ball. I take miralax everyday to poop due to constipation due masess. I live in rural America in small town. I willing to do about anything. I don't want die. Please help. Thank you. I want to get surgery and heal.

***Note, for years I ate SAD diet. I just went vegan and ate a lot processed vegan foods. I morbidly obese. I don't want die. I human and acknowledge my faults in my unhealthy choices over years. I hope I can get optimal to remove these masses. I Been sick for year and live in small town that is hunting and farm based. I don't know any vegans. I want do anything to get optimal.

Would the chopping and freezing process of spinach eliminate their folate Content? The package I have just omits it and chronometer just says it's 0 but that seems kinda strange to me.

Thanks.

Extra firm tofu, broccoli sprouts, chipotle hot sauce, apple cider vinegar, ground flax, and nutritional yeast. So good!

At night, before I close the kitchen lights, I mix 4 ingredients in a large bowl:

1. rolled oats
2. almond milk
3. mashed banana or some other fruit cut/diced. Have ordered Chia seeds also, will start adding them.
4. Jaggery powder as suger substitute.

I mix it well and then keep in fridge.

In the mornings, before I go to take a shower, I take them out of fridge so it can come to room temperature.

If I like, I sometimes add seeds or berries to it. It tastes just as yummy without any additives.

Now I want to know things which are equally easy to make for lunch and dinner also.

What are your suggestions?