Crave, Eat, Heal: Plant-Based, Whole-Food Recipes to Satisfy Every Craving

INTRODUCTION

Cravings

I know a little something about cravings. I was the kid who curled up on the couch with a book and a stash of Jolly Rancher candies, a pack of bubble gum, and a few chocolate Kisses just in case. I was the young adult whose dinner was often a bag of buttery microwave popcorn followed by a pint of double chocolate chip ice cream; and I was the adult who, without fail, rewarded herself after her daily workout with a bag of M&M’S or a Twix bar.

As you can see, my cravings tended toward the sugary variety, but cravings come in all varieties: salty, sweet, tart, spicy, and so on. After many years of guilty feelings about my intense food desires, I realize that cravings are my body’s way of telling me it needs something: more water, healthy fat, stress-relief, comfort, or exercise. But now instead of reaching for sugar-heavy, processed candy, I treat my body to nutrient-rich, plant-based whole foods.

In this book, I give you recipes that will satisfy your own forbidden food desires with healthy, whole food, plant-based recipes that cover the spectrum from sweet to savory. And—bonus!—these recipes include foods that do double duty. While they are taming your sweet (or your salty, tangy, spicy) tooth, ingredients like ginger, chia, cacao, garlic, greens, nuts, seeds, spices, and citrus will provide your body with the complex vitamins and minerals that it needs to heal, to grow, and to function at its best.

My Food History & Philosophy

Like many women, I have a complex and troubled past with food. I was a slightly picky toddler whose tastes gravitated toward the sweet, coupled with an obsession with peanuts and peanut butter. As a teenager, I got into the bad habit of depriving myself of food for most of the day. The thought of breakfast made me nauseated, and at lunchtime at school, though ravenous, I usually turned up my nose at the sandwich and fruit my mother packed for me to eat. I did, however, always eat the cookies. Then I’d get home from school and grab a bag of chips or dip a big spoon straight into a jar of Jif. By the time dinner rolled around, I was a cranky, starving mess! Needless to say, this is a terrible way to treat a growing body.

Once I was on my own and responsible for stocking my own shelves and refrigerator, I would load up on boxed macaroni and cheese, salty crackers, cookies, and processed baked goods. When I wanted to treat myself, I bought a cheese- and chili-covered Coney dog and followed that with a handful of Oreo cookies. Coca-Cola was my beverage of choice.

This diet seemed to have no ill effect on me (aside from the sugar highs and lows I inevitably experienced throughout the day) until I neared thirty. That’s when I realized that if I didn’t change my habits, I could kiss my slim figure goodbye; it didn’t cross my mind that I was also setting myself up for heart disease, high blood pressure, and Type II diabetes.

Spurred on by my expanding waistline, I made small—very small—changes over a long period of time. I’m talking years. First, I started jogging. I hated every painful step, but I stuck to it, and now can’t imagine life without it. The better running made me feel, the more I sought out other ways to improve my health. I added strength training, yoga, and Pilates to my routine. This led to making small changes in my dietary choices; it’s almost inevitable that one healthy habit leads to another.

Books and movies led me to make bigger changes. After watching Super Size Me, I went cold turkey on fast food. Then, I gave up refined sugars. Meanwhile, I began reading about nutrition and the role that food plays in how our bodies function. After reading Fast Food Nation by Eric Schlosser, I again went cold turkey—this time on turkey and all meats. I wasn’t quite ready to kick my good friends, cheese and fish, to the curb, however.

Then in 2010, my brother learned that he had terminal brain cancer. That’s when my research into food and nutrition went into overdrive. I was hoping to find a way to positively impact his treatment, tame the side effects of the chemotherapy, and slow down the progress of his disease. To better understand the connection between consuming animal products and cancer, I read The China Study by T. Colin Campbell, and afterwards said goodbye forever to fish, seafood, and dairy. So long yogurt, milk, cheese, shrimp, and salmon. At the same time, I severely curbed my intake of oils and processed fats. I learned that the key to disease prevention comes from what we put into our bodies. Plants are packed with powerful phytonutrients that work with our body’s own defenses to protect and heal. Unfortunately, this wisdom came far too late for me to help my brother, but for many of us, it’s not too late. It’s not too late to reverse the damage we’ve done to ourselves through our food choices, to prevent future ailments, and to provide our bodies with what it needs to function pain- and illness-free.

At its most fundamental, food is what fuels our minds and bodies, but its most important role is that of uniting and bringing family, friends, and sometimes strangers together. We plan our holidays and celebrations around what we are going to eat. Food encourages conversation, sharing, and love. And in the case of vegans, it sometimes sparks philosophical debates and heated arguments and causes bruised feelings. All of this makes food and our food choices as personal as our political and religious beliefs. I often find myself saying to those who find my choices extreme that it’s just food. Well, it is and it isn’t. It is in the sense that meals come down to ingredients and if those ingredients, when combined together, taste good—then does it really matter if there are no animal parts in them? And it isn’t just food when one takes a few moments to reflect on what certain food once was: living, breathing, thinking, feeling beings whose freedom was taken and lives were ended for a filet, a nugget, or a burger on a plate. For me, that choice is difficult to justify when my body can be healthy and thrive with food made from plants rather than flesh.

I started my plant-based recipe blog, An Unrefined Vegan, out of the sheer joy and wonder I felt with my new diet. I wanted to share the incredible food I was discovering—the endless possibilities of flavors, textures, and variety that can be found in good, plant-based food. Like many vegans whom I know, since going plant-based, my food world has expanded far beyond what now seems a very limiting animal-based diet.

It didn’t occur to me until I started writing this book that I no longer experience intense cravings unless I’ve overindulged in heavy, carbohydrate-rich foods—and then that craving is for green, fresh, raw foods. Okay, okay, I admit it. I still absolutely adore peanuts and peanut butter. But I no longer mindlessly dip my spoon straight into the jar, and I only eat natural, unsweetened nut butters. I no longer worry about calories and my weight has stayed the same for years now. Believe me, I’m not perfect. I’m never going to be perfect and that’s okay. The key for me is recognizing when I’m starting to head off of the rails into a serious sweet crash and to ask myself why. Am I feeling particularly stressed out? Am I angry about something? Bored? More often than not, the answer to that craving is an emotional need and not a physical one.

And now, just as I no longer reach for a candy bar when I want a treat, instead of taking over-the-counter medications and pain relievers when I’m feeling under the weather or have aches and pains, I bump up my intake of super-healing foods like ginger, green tea, and turmeric.

I’m not a nutritionist or a dietician; I’m just a regular person who slowly learned through self-education and trial and error the importance of giving my body the kind of nourishment it needs and, yes, craves. Your diet may not look like exactly mine, and in fact, it shouldn’t. Each one of us has unique emotional, spiritual, and physical connections to food. We all have different health goals and requirements. The purpose of this book and of these tummy-, tooth-, and soul-satisfying recipes is to give you inspiration.

And please, don’t buy into the idea that you can’t change. That’s just nonsense. Look at me: a former sugar-junkie, meat-eating, cheese-loving, cola-addicted couch potato who now exercises every day and dives her fork into a huge, veggie-loaded salad for dinner each night. You can change, too. And you can heal yourself in the process.

Being Vegan, Eating Plant-Based

It took me a while before I understood and appreciated the difference between what it means to be vegan and eating a plant-based diet. I used the terms interchangeably. But there is an important difference.

My transition to a 100% plant-based diet began with the desire to create as much distance between me and doctors, hospitals, and medications as possible. I’d watched family members struggle with major health issues and lost a brother to brain cancer. I was motivated to try almost anything to stay healthy for as long as possible, and eating whole plant food seemed like the best way to do that.

On my journey to better health, however, I picked up a few traveling companions: compassion, perspective, and understanding. Like most humans, I considered myself to be an animal lover—in that disconnected way we, as pet-owners, can have. We adore them for their loyalty and company, for their warmth and furry smell; we’re happy when they’re happy; we are worried when they are ill or injured, devastated when they leave us forever. And yet, I felt almost nothing for the millions of creatures hauled in from the sea or for animal babies ripped from their mothers or for the innocent beings locked in small cages and prodded, poisoned, and mutilated for the benefit of improved shampoos and eyeliners and medical therapies that rarely correspond to improved treatments for humans. I saw no discrepancy between eating a juicy hamburger coated with cheese and taking every step necessary to assure the health, safety, and long life of my dog.

For me, now, being vegan and eating plant-based are completely intertwined. I went for the health benefits and stayed for the animals.

WHAT'S IN THIS BOOK AND WHAT ISN'T: HOW TO USE THIS BOOK

Chapters

I’ve done away with traditional cookbook chapters because cravings don’t stick to times of day or planned meals. Sure, you’ll find breakfast foods, soups, crisp chips, and luscious desserts, but you’ll find them in chapters like Salty, Comfort, Crunchy, and Chocolate.

Before you dive into the recipes, keep in mind that this book isn’t a diet. It is not about low-fat eating or deprivation. It is neither a meal plan nor a 30-day program. It simply offers whole food, plant-based recipes designed to healthfully satisfy whatever kind of craving sneaks up on you, no matter what time of day it is.

The Photographs

There is no one but myself to either credit or blame for the photographs that accompany the recipes in this book. My aim was to keep them simple and clean and to highlight the food rather than pretty props (though I do love pretty props) or complicated techniques. I’ve used my limited skills as photographer and food stylist to try and convey what the typical results will look like when my recipes are prepared. When I acted as hand model, my husband, Kel, stepped behind the camera. Everything you see here was devoured shortly after being photographed.

Sugar, Oil, Gluten & Other Stuff People Worry About

Besides being an animal product–free cookbook, you’ll soon notice that there are other familiar ingredients missing—or nearly missing—from these pages. Below is a sampling of some of those along with explanations as to why they are excluded or limited.

White Sugar

As you learned from the introduction to this book, my eating habits have evolved slowly over time as I learned more about what my body needs—craves—to function at its best. One of the first ingredients to fall out of my favor was white sugar. I first eliminated it out of vanity. I wanted to get a flatter stomach. But as I read more about refined sugar, I came to view it—despite its sweet and sparkly allure—as a truly dangerous ingredient.

Have you had those moments during the day when your brain screams, I need something sweet right now!? And after consuming something sugary like a candy bar or soda or a frosted doughnut, did you then feel temporarily contented, as if that inner lion had been tamed? If so, then you might recognize the signs of addiction. Sugar is a highly addicting substance—on par with cocaine. If you don’t believe me, go cold turkey on sugar and notice that you suffer from headaches, irritability, fatigue, lightheadedness, and the jitters. Sounds like detox to me.

Sugar also contributes to dangerous belly fat and overall weight gain. Even more frightening, sugar consumption is linked with cancer and rapid cancer growth. It’s also linked to the premature aging of cells—from skin cells to brain cells. If you are like me, as you get older, you want to hang onto as many brain cells as possible! Sugar can adversely affect our sleep patterns, create toxicity in our livers, and suppress the hormone that tells our bodies that it's had enough to eat, leading to overeating and weight gain. It also contributes to mineral depletion and fatigue.

The sad thing is that the deck is stacked against us. Big food companies, restaurants, and fast food joints have perfected the science of addiction—trapping our minds and bodies—with unhealthy ingredients like fat, sugar, and salt to assure that we keep coming back for more. When you begin reading ingredient lists you’ll see sugar, salt, and fat lurking in the most unlikely places. Even common table salt has sugar in it! In many cases, sugar is listed as the first ingredient because it makes up the largest percentage of the total content.

What about other kinds of sugar? There are many other types of sugars and sweeteners out there: agave nectar, maple syrup, brown rice syrup, stevia, coconut nectar, coconut sugar, date sugar, xylitol, and so on. If a sweetener has been extracted from a whole food and condensed, then my way of thinking is, it’s on par with white sugar. This is why I’ve eliminated most sweeteners from my diet. I’ve limited sweeteners in my home and in this book to these: fruit, dates, stevia (both in powder and liquid forms), and maple syrup (for more on maple syrup, please read An Explanation of Ingredients Used in This Book on page 10).

My personal sweetener rule of thumb is adopted from Michael Pollan. I only eat sweets on days that begin with S. Unless, of course, my birthday falls on a weekday, in which case—I’m treating myself to something decadent!

Oil

Oil was one of the last items to undergo my scrutiny. Partly because I couldn’t imagine being able to cook and bake without it, but also because I loved the taste of olive oil. I’d dip big chunks of ciabatta into it, pour it over salad greens, and add copious amount of it to fresh basil pesto. I believed what I’d read: olive oil was heart healthy.

This all changed when I learned that oil was just concentrated fat with zero nutritional value. No vitamins, no minerals, no fiber. All it was doing was damaging my arteries, leading me down the road to heart disease.

Okay, Annie. ’Fess up. What about the current wonder substance, coconut oil? You’ll see that I use coconut oil sparingly in this cookbook. If you’ve researched coconut oil even a tad, you’ve found conflicting information about what it does for the body. It’s either a miracle food or worse than guzzling a liter of olive oil. Whatever healthful properties it may have, such as aiding in digestion, preventing candida, facilitating calcium absorption, and on and on, it is best to keep in mind that it is still 100% fat. Go lightly!

Oil vs. Fat.

This is not a fat-free cookbook. However, the fats found in these recipes are from whole foods—nuts, seeds, avocados, whole grains—and are accompanied by fiber, vitamins, and minerals. Your body needs healthy fats to function optimally and to absorb and process the vital nutrients found in plants. I recommend treating certain foods in this book as occasional treats rather than daily nosh.

Cooking and Baking without Oil

It took me some time and practice to be able to successfully prepare some foods without a big shot of olive oil. Sauté, roast, and bake without oil?? Is it even possible? It is! Please see Equipment & Techniques on page 28 for a full explanation on how to do it.

Cooking Spray

You’ll also notice that on a few occasions I use cooking spray. Nothing makes me crazier than a loaf of bread that sticks to the pan or pancakes that get scrunched on the griddle. My solution is a very light spritz of cooking oil that I then wipe with a paper towel to distribute it evenly inside the pan or muffin tin.

Guest Recipes

You can read more about the Guest Recipes later in this chapter, but briefly—I asked some of my favorite bloggers to contribute recipes to this book. Because they don’t all cook the same way that I do, their recipes may contain oils that I do not use, or different kinds of non-sugar sweeteners. I’ve left their recipes intact with comments about how to make them oil-free or how to swap stevia or maple syrup for other sweeteners.

Gluten

While my body is not gluten-intolerant, I appreciate that many folks out there are opting to exclude it from their diets. First of all, what is gluten? Gluten is a combination of proteins found in certain grains (especially wheat) that produces that familiar chew in baked goods. The reason that yeasted bread dough is kneaded is to develop the gluten which gives the final product that spongy-soft texture. And it’s the reason you don’t want to stir cookie dough, quick bread, or cake batter too long. Doing so creates a dense product instead of a light, fluffy one. No one wants a spongy