This post is a bit of a departure from my usual ramblings. After teaching people the benefits of a whole foods, plant-based diet up and down the Eastern Seaboard and showing them how to actually cook it themselves, I have accumulated a few testimonials that the diet does indeed work, which I would like to share with y'all.

This month's featured guest (but not the first success story) is Rabbi Steve Shaw. I first met Steve after a screening of Forks Over Knives a few years back. I was doing a Q-and-A after the film and Steve was a bit curious of the diet and how to get started, would it work for him, etc. He is not really a lover of cooking as much as he is a lover of food, so he was unsure how to proceed when I invited him to attend a series of my Food for Life Cooking classes. Needless to say, he eventually did attend, last October. Here is a note I received from Steve shortly after the class series ended:

Mimi

I find it remarkable that I've lost over eight pounds in less than four weeks--without really dieting or obsessing over portion sizes. You've taught me to consider both the GI and the kinds of carbs I eat--and that's made all the difference. My primary care physician--Dr. Minda Gold--someone I really like, arranged for me become part of a diabetes nutrition program at Miles Hospital--just around the time I decided to take your class. The contrast in approaches is dramatic and except for measuring my blood glucose levels on a regular basis, I've concluded that your approach is far superior to theirs when it comes to how and what I eat. However, I'd like to reserve my final judgment for another two months--after I've taken an A1c test and had my cholesterol levels measured. In the meantime, I want to thank you again for what you've taught me. Frankly, as you saw, I was skeptical of taking what I thought was a cooking class and almost didn't register. However, after eating the delicious food you prepared each week, watching the really well done videos explaining Dr. Barnard's methodology and then reading his book on reversing diabetes, I think I'm becoming a "true believer". I've spent much of my life thinking that vegans were strange people who'd joined a crazy cult. Now, I'm embarrassed to say that I'm almost one of them!

Thanks again for all you've taught me,
Steve

And a month later...

Mimi

I'm sending you a link to the article about broccoli which was the cover story in the Sunday NY Times Magazine on November 3: Broccoli’s Extreme Makeover. It begins by saying that "broccoli is about to get a serious makeover--and maybe, just maybe, be a model of how to persuade Americans to eat better..."

Had I not taken your class, I probably would have ignored it. Now I want to share it with all my friends--since it's so full of vitamins, fiber and other miracle-like substances....

Thanks again for helping to change my life (hopefully...)

Warm regards,
Steve

And again in January:

Mimi

I just wanted to let you know about the results of the blood test I took recently. My A1c number is 5.8 (6 or below is no longer considered diabetic). Previously my number was somewhere around 6.2--not bad according to my doctor, but she was really impressed with the most recent results and I told her something about the diet that you'd recommended.

MY LDL cholesteral was an amazing 44--less than 70 is considered safe, but some cardiologists believe that a score close to 40 is ideal. Perhaps this is due in part, at least, to the bowl of oatmeal which I religiously eat almost every morning (along with rye toast) and other aspects of the diet and exercise that I've been following. In any case, as an experiment, my doctor has permitted me to reduce my Lipitor dosage by half (from 80 mg to 40) and reduce my metformin from 850 to 500. I'll know within a month about the LDL numbers, but it will take another three months to know about the A1c.

Again, thanks for all you've done to help me look at food differently--now what I have to do is continue on the road you've laid out for me--something that;s not always easy.

I hope you're well.
Steve

Steve is a graduate of the University of Michigan, where he studied both philosophy and forestry. He spent five years at the Jewish Theological Seminary of America, where he completed master’s and rabbinical degrees. He later served for many years as the director of the Seminary's Department of Community Education. Most recently, he spent much of the last six years before coming to Maine three years ago, working with Bedouin Arabs in Israel's Negev desert. Steve also has extensive experience as a consultant to small non-profit organizations. He currently is on the faculty of the Coastal Senior College and lives in Warren. Steve was lovingly dubbed "Oatmeal Steve" by my fantastic assistant, Karen Quinn, probably because Steve's journey into cooking his own plant-based food started with a shift to daily oatmeal, which may have been partially responsible for lowering his cholesterol. Beans soon came along and so did broccoli, salads, etc., but we liked the sound of Oatmeal Steve. (We hope you don't mind Steve!)

Here's to you Steve! Best success in the future - keep us posted.

Sláinte! (slahn-chə) is a word literally translating as "health" in Gaelic

This morning I needed a fantastic “Welcome home, Honey!” kind of breakfast without too much fuss. I managed to pull it off with these scrum-dilly pancakes made mostly from odds and ends leftovers I had in the fridge.

I am the queen of reinventing leftover food (among other things) and as we were heading out of town, I would not be going to the grocery store for any ingredients. I took a look in the fridge and found the following items:

1/2 apple
1/3 can organic pumpkin
1/3 small bottle Maine Maple Syrup
1 cup cooked steel cut oats with coconut

These were items left from my demo at the 10th annual Victorian Tea and Breast Health Fair. I immediately knew what to make...Gluten-free Pumpkin Oatmeal Pancakes for my sweetie and me!

Wait, out of non dairy milk. Not to worry, have almond butter, dates, vanilla and water, so into the blender with that.

I also found a partial bag of gluten-free flour blend left from a birthday cake order so into the bowl it all went. These were the most delicious pancakes I've ever made, and I do not love pancakes. Here's the recipe, as best I can estimate, because I really did throw it altogether .

Gluten-free Pumpkin Oatmeal Pancakes with Apple and Cinnamon

Ingredients:

1-1/2 cup GF Flour blend
1/4 cup Pumpkin
1/2 Apple, diced small
Egg Replacer for 2 eggs (flax or Ener-G)
1 cup Non-dairy milk
1/3 cup Leftover, cooked steel-cut oats
1/2 Tbsp. Cinnamon

Method:

• Mix it all together but do not over mix.
• Thin or thicken with oats or more non-dairy milk to your desired consistency.
• Drop onto heated non-stick pan using a 1/4-cup measure. Flip when bubbling and edges are brown.
• Enjoy with maple syrup and pumpkin, apple, oatmeal garnishes.

It's what keeps him coming home, I'm sure. Tomorrow we'll have a Mexican-style burrito breakfast with tofu, OK Honey?

MiMi McGee resides in Appleton with her husband, David, and doodle dog, Rosie. She is a private chef, health coach and plant-based nutrition specialist. MiMi is a member of Chefs Moves to Schools and American Association of Drugless Practitioners, and is certified as a Food for Life Cooking and Nutrition Instructor through the Physician's Committee for Responsible Medicine, as well as Weight Management Leadership from The Cooper Institute. Email: mcgee.mimi@gmail.com. Website: www.mimicgee.com. Blog: www.leafycafe.com.