VB6 (Vegan Before 6:00)--A Diet That Is Yummy and WORKS For Me! About This Page:

[Her Dotness]

I'm a big fan of Mark Bittman anyway, and I'm tellin' ya his weight loss diet WORKS and, better still, is simple and adaptable. No bother with counting calories, points or portioning (except at dinner when you eat as you wish but must eat less than you ordinarily would if you want to lose weight and keep losing).

You can, however, pig out or go out with friends and indulge in a regular restaurant meal occasionally. Bittman is realistic about cheating. You just eat lower carb for breakfast and lunch for a few days to compensate. He gives you lists of fruits and veggies that are lower in calories and carbs so you can easily choose without knowing anything much about nutritional this-and-that.

All you do is eat vegan-style--no dairy, meats or seafood--for breakfast and lunch then eat less of whatever you like for dinner.

Bittman includes dinner recipes he calls "flexitarian" because they're still largely veggies with some dairy, meat or seafood. These could easily be adapted for vegans as can his lunch recipes by adding some dairy, seafood or meat for your flexitarian dinner if you do want to follow his VB6 diet.

Bittman provides a 28-day meal plan if you find it easier not to have to plan meals.

There are 60 recipes in the basic diet book VB6: Eat Vegan Before 6:00 along with a lot more nutritional info and theory than most people likely need or want. I'd look for it at the library if you're not as big a cookbook junkie as I am. You can buy the VB6 Cookbook and get twice that many recipes, each one having suggested variations. Several of the recipes are later versions of those in VB6 or simply duplicates, and Bittman explains the basics of the VB6 diet in this book, too.

Anyway, some fabulous vegan recipes that are generally pretty easy to make. He gives directions for cooking dried beans or using canned ones as a timesaver. So, it's really an adaptable diet for just about anyone.

RAVE! RAVE!

[revral]

Sounds like a great concept & cookbook. If I wasn't considering getting rid of my cookbook collection I'd seriously consider getting the cookbook.

[Her Dotness]

I saw the cookbook at Barnes & Noble over the weekend, so you might want to flip through a copy to see if it would be more useful than you might think. The several variations for most recipes make it a more versatile healthy cookbook than is typical.

Since virtually everything is made from basic raw ingredients or minimally processed ones such as rolled oats or whole-wheat flour, a reasonably experienced cook can use the book mostly for inspiration.

I made his portabella fake bacon today, and it is DEEEElish. Thinly sliced portabellas sprinkled with smoked paprika, salt & pepper. Amazingly, it tastes rather like crisp bacon thanks to the smokiness of the paprika. (PLT Sandwich is the recipe.)

The Tofu Jerky is pretty good, too. Three strips of that make a very filling mid-morning snack for me.

[revral]

Fake bacon made with mushrooms that tastes like bacon? You might have just sold me just by mentioning that. I adore & love bacon however it's definitely not anywhere near healthy.

[Her Dotness]

It really does resemble bacon! I was amazed. I bet the sandwich would really be tasty. I just ate several of the too-thin strips off the cookie sheet fresh out of the oven.

Did discover that I need to sprinkle the smoked paprika more evenly and slice the mushroom caps slightly thicker. Recipe says whole mushrooms, but I bought 3/4 lb. of those huge portabella caps so the strips might seem more bacon-like. Worked great otherwise.

[revral]

Could you put the seasonings in a ziploc bag then add the prepped mushrooms, close the bag & shake well? It distribute the seasoning more evenly. Of course mushrooms are a bit on the delicate side so the shaking may not be the best idea. Maybe put it all in a bowl & stir for a minute or two, would be better. I think I need this book. I'm actually contemplating totally winging it & trying to create my own version, now that the idea is firmly lodged in my bacon loving mind.

[Her Dotness]

I doubt your method would work for the reason you indicated. And, as moist as mushrooms are, you'd have to dump a lot more paprika in the bag to get a fairly even coating than you want or need on them. Yanno?

It actually would have been okay just shaking the smoked paprika evenly onto the laid out slices had I not been in too much of a hurry to stick something into the jar to break up clumps. Silly Dot!

I'm estimating about 1/8" thick slices are an optimal width to give it somewhat the texture of crisp bacon. Bittman said slice as thin as you can, and some of them were paperthin by the time they'd baked the moisture out. Didn't capture the texture of crisp bacon as well.

Also, I should have used more than the called for Tbsp. of olive oil to prevent sticking. You smear that over foil-lined cookie sheets to bake the slices.

[Teresa]

Originally Posted by Her Dotness

Also, I should have used more than the called for Tbsp. of olive oil to prevent sticking. You smear that over foil-lined cookie sheets to bake the slices.

Use parchment paper. No oil, no sticking. I use that for almost everything.

[Her Dotness]

Originally Posted by Teresa

Use parchment paper. No oil, no sticking. I use that for almost everything.

Yes, parchment paper would work for the sticking issue, I agree, but you'd still need the olive oil for flavor and probably also somewhat to produce the bacon-like texture.

Given sufficient thickness and oil, about 2/3 of my slices released easily from the foil on their own which the recipe said was supposed to happen if all things were as they should be.

[revral]

Try the nonstick foil by Reynolds. It's truly nonstick so you wouldn't be depending on the oil to keep the slices from sticking.

[Her Dotness]

Currently lunching on a sizable bowl of this soup. Absolutely yumlicious!

I jazzed it up a bit with a little sugar and about 1/4 cup chopped cilantro that was headed toward "compost heaven" if not used soon.

Strips from my newly potted basil as garnish, and it is about the best tomato soup I've ever had.

So glad I laid out about $60 for a really good variable speed immersion blender. That made pureeing the soup after breaking the silken tofu into it as easy as could be. It began to look like a creamed soup almost immediately I revved up the blender.

More raves!

[KimmyAnn1147]

Fun thread! I'm not following this plan, but currently am focused on low fat and high veggies content for meals, since keeping track of portions is ever-eluding me.

Tonight I'm going to make a bunch of meatballs to freeze. These are about 3/8 ground beef, 1/8 soy protein (don't know if this is healthier but it's cheaper) and 1/2 finely diced (food processes) veggies by volume. I do throw some green olives and spices in for flavor, and add an egg and a bit of flour so they stick.

This is a way to eat that works for me. Very high produce content and let the rest take care of itself.

[revral]

The more you post about this book Dot, the more convinced I become that I need it. I went to the spice store for the smoked paprika & $20 later walked out with sweet smoked paprika, hickory smoked sea salt, himalyan pink sea salt & a four peppercorn blend, all of which are wonderful tasting. Tomorrow when I go grocery shopping I'm planning getting some mushroom so I can make my own version of the mushroom bacon.

[PrincessHi]

I'm actually vegan full time but I'm intrigued by some of these recipes.. The 'bacon' mushrooms sound yummy!

[Her Dotness]

What I appreciate is that Bittman focuses upon tasty combinations and is not trying as so many vegan cookbooks do to simulate dairy or meat-laden dishes. His mushroom bacon is a definite exception.

Having been both a lacto-ovo and strict vegetarian at different times, I understand the purpose of cookbook authors providing fake dishes to ease the transition for the hesitant. Myself, I found such imitations suffered so much in comparison that I preferred to say the heck with it and eat the real thing.

There are so many delicious combinations that aren't trying to imitate dairy or meat dishes that I concluded a person probably isn't cut out for the vegan lifestyle if you're wanting substitutes.

Okay, mini-rant over.