Vegan Healthy Homemade Hummus from Rip Esselstyn's "Engine 2 Diet" book. Colin Campbell (The China Study) on Real Time with Bill Maher.

Vegan Standby.  Hummus from Rip Esselstyn's "Engine 2 Diet" Book.

While I have a zillion and a half books, do love the addition of Engine 2.  There's no junky food in it & that's refreshing because usually I have to sift through recipes to avoid stuff that has sugar or flour (tend to avoid both a bit for daily eating) to find the healthy stuff.  Rip's recipes are also made for "real people" so he doesn't have you going to buy kilos of Goji Berries from the Mountains of China or Argentine Mesquite Powder (although I did just buy this one on sale!).  The food tends to be normal for people who don't eat an eccentric diet.  After all, he got his fellow firefighters in Texas (gasp) to eat this way & it probably saved some of their lives.  Rip not only wrote "The Engine 2 Diet" book, but was also featured in the "Forks Over Knives" movie & book.  His father, of course, is Caldwell Esselstyn, uber important Heart Doctor.  He has his own website, Heart Attack Proof.

Engine 2 Diet.  Rip Esselstyn.

Talk about recession food.  I used DRIED chickpeas & cooked them in the slow cooker.  Which works out great in this disgusting sweltering heatwave in the Midwest.  Also, organic chickpeas cost pennies and a tub of Whole Foods brand hummus (I don't even think it's organic), costs 4.69, as of today.  So I am thinking I can get over 2 lbs. dried chickpeas for 4.69.  Organic at that.  My  hubby is the guilty verdict of the tubs of hummus.  It's easy.  No mess, no fuss.  But, their Hummus does actually  have tahini in it also, which if you are avoiding oil, doesn't work so well.  So the Engine 2 Diet Hummus has no nut/seed butters.  Just chickpeas & flavors.

Of course the amount of garlic is always a "suggestion" as some people are garlic whores (me), and others meditate daily & avoid garlic & onions because it disturbs the stillness of the mind.  I think my Yerba Mate & my Speed Freak Smoothies (recipe to come) probably already do that, so garlic & onions are not going to further f**k up my monkey mind.

Make sure you use Gluten Free Tamari if you have a GF guest eating!  Lots of people forget that there is gluten in regular soy sauces.  They usually have wheat ingredients.  However, it is pretty standard to find GL soy/Coconut Aminos/et.... substitutes easily.

You just put in your almighty food processor & go until it is your desired texture.  I like to leave a few beans just slightly chunky.  I actually loved this hummus recipe and could not stop eating it which resulted in a stomachache shortly after.  The rest of you probably aren't addicted to beans, so you will most likely avoid that problem.  :)


Rip is featured in this post also, "More Forks Over Knives" Dr. Oz show & how plants may help cure cancer, diabetes, heart disease & more.  There is a video of him on "The Today Show" on this post.



Why Americans are Fat, Sick, and Nearly Dead. And why Politicians are Douchebags.
Another post featuring Rip.  This time there is video of him on "Good Morning America".



And on the "Forks Over Knives" Movie Post.  Rumor (the "news") has it that he & CEO John Mackey (Whole Foods) are going to come out with a line of foods that meets the "Forks Over Knives", "Fire Engine 2", "China Study" kinds of diet principles.  Should be interesting.  And of course if you don't eat "cooked" hummus, check out the Raw Vegan Hummus I made from Zucchinis from the "Raw Food Made Easy for 1 or 2 people book".



Raw Vegan Hummus.


Super easy "Raw Food made Easy for 1 or 2 people"!  Great for virgins. (ha.)


And a little treat.  Bill Maher (my friend's future ex-boyfriend as although he is witty & wise, he may not be a chic's best pick for a man!)   But Mr. Bill did have Colin Campbell, author of "The China Study" on his "Real Time with Bill Maher" show!!  Yeah!







Just wondering how many of you are familiar with all of these books.  Is there anyone reading that doesn't know the ideas behind the "Engine 2 Diet" or are not familiar with "Forks Over Knives" or "The China Study"??  Also, please keep a Mother & Daughter in your thoughts.  Jess & her mom are fighting cancer & going au natural (standard treatment quit working on Jess, well, they would have done more, by chopping her arm off).  She has a donation link on her blog & all money donated goes to helping pay for the materials they need to do "The Gerson Therapy".  Please read my post about "The Groovy Gerson Girls"  & then go to Jess's blog, "The Wellness Warrior" to keep up with them.  Jess writes inspirational & honest posts about what this whole experience has been like.  Jess is in her twenties, not when ya expect to have to being doing this sort of thing.



Norwalk Juicer.
image source

Raw Vegan Zucchini Hummus from "Raw Food Made Easy for 1 or 2 people" by Jennifer Cornbleet

Ingredients for:

Zucchini Hummus from "Raw Food Made Easy for 1 or 2 people" by Jennifer Cornbleet

                                                                  Raw Food Made Easy

Ingredients in Food Processor.  Push Go. Done. And for you "Forks Over Knives" fans, this is pretty the only fat this has is from the tahini so either this Raw Vegan Hummus or Normal Chickpea Hummus would probably fit the bill for that.  Just don't add Olive Oil!!

I have had her book for years and I think it paid for itself in a week because of the Brownie Recipe made with Walnuts, Dates & Cacao and also for the Chocolate Mousse made with Avocado, Dates, and Cacao.  Of course these types of recipes are all the rage now & ubertrendy but nearly 5 years ago, this wasn't the case!!  The great thing about her book is that it really doesn't require the traditional raw food "tools".  You don't have to have a Vitamix or an Excalibur, or even a spiralizer.  Of course, some sort of tool to make the veggie noodles makes it easier, but you can make the zucchini pastas in her book with a veggie peeler as well.  (Buy the Spirooli though!).  For this hummus you replace chickpeas with zucchini and there is a little tahini involved as well.  I wish I loved this hummus as much as "real hummus" but I miss the fat & creaminess of the chickpeas.  I have a major tendency to binge on beans though (although Whole Foods one Day Organic Cherry Sale has me binging one at least 15 lbs. of cherries for the next few days!!), however weird that is, so I thought I would try this style again.  Think the night before I made a vat of chickpea hummus, and well, there is NONE left.  This hummus is still in the fridge though....waiting to be finished.  

Verdict:  Zucchini Hummus is good & if ya want to make it creamier than just up the tahini content.  If you are newish to raw foods or just like easier dishes to prepare, then get this book.  It isn't ovewhelming in information and it doesn't include flax crackers & 48 hours of dehydrating.  Staple recipes in it include her kick-a** Cashew based Sour Cream and Chive Dip and her Marinara Sauce for the Veggie Pasta.  And of course all of the desserts.  I wasn't crazy about the Key Lime Mousse made with Avocados as the lime didn't really conceal the avocado like the cacao.  I adore avocados but think in that dish it freaked me out a bit, but then my avocados probably weren't perfect either!

For a recipe similar to this one (Polly's has more tahini! YUM.), go to Polly Noble's Site and see her Homemade Hummus Recipe.  Polly is also beating the f**k out of the Big C and making some delicious recipes while doing it.  She is not doing Gerson, in which case she wouldn't be eating tahini (I don't think).   Alissa Cohen has a Raw Vegan Zucchini Hummus Recipe as well. 

You just put ingredients in the food processor.  Couldn't be easier, really.

Raw Food Made Easy

Guess she has a DVD to go with her book.
Jennifer Cornbleet's Dvd

And if you didn't get a chance already, please check out my last post about a mother & daughter team juicing themselves to health.  Jess, a very young gal, who had to hit the carrots after chemo didn't work and her mom who was just dx with cancer from the Wellness Warrior blog need your help.  I am still curious to hear other people's stories of natural or integrative healing. 

 I personally am not so sold on just doing "Flax Oil" or  Magnetic Therapy, etc....but I am very intrigued by The Gerson Therapy & Hippocrates Health/Ann Wigmore and wondering if other people have immersed themselves in either of these therapies for any type of illnesses.  

Does anyone else have Jennifer Cornbleet's book & if so what are your favorites or flops from it??

My faves are the Brownies, Cacao Avocado Mousse, Walnut Pates, Cashew Dip/Sauce.

Closest to being a "flop" was a one time attempt at "Lime Avocado Mousse" which could have been due to an imperfect avocado.  Or just that I was new to the whole idea.  I think if I tried it again that it would be a different story this time around.