Chef AJ Shares her Top Tips for Plant-Based Eating

Star plant-based Chef AJ share her personal success story of healthy living, as well as her tips on how to create delicious whole plant-based foods in your own kitchen.

I am so excited to have Chef AJ on my blog today! I have been following Chef AJ’s work for years and am was so thrilled to be asking her a few questions about her own plant-based journey. Chef AJ has been devoted to a plant-based diet for almost 40 years. She is the host of the television series Healthy Living with CHEF AJ, which airs on Foody TV. With her comedy background, she has made appearances on The Tonight Show Starring Johnny Carson, The Tonight Show with Jay Leno, The Late Show with David Letterman and more. A chef, culinary instructor and professional speaker, she is author of the popular book Unprocessed: How to Achieve Vibrant Health and Your Ideal Weight, which chronicles her journey from a junk-food vegan faced with a diagnosis of pre-cancerous polyps, to learning how to create foods that nourish and heal the body.

Based in Los Angeles, Chef AJ teaches how to create meals to transform health, how to deal with cravings and food addiction and addresses the emotional side of eating. She is the creator of The Ultimate Weight Loss Program, was the Executive Pastry Chef at Sante La Brea Restaurant in Los Angeles, creator of Healthy Taste of LA and the YouTube cooking show The Chef and the Dietitian. Chef AJ holds a certificate in Plant-Based Nutrition from Cornell University and is a member of the American College of Lifestyle Medicine.

A Chat with Chef AJ 

Question: What inspired your plant-based journey?

Chef AJ: I always wanted to be vegetarian but my Mom wouldn’t let me, so when I Ieft home at 17 to attend the University of Pennsylvania to become a veterinarian I became a vegetarian. The first day on the job working for a veterinarian he asked me to cut the heads off a tank of live salamanders. I did it once and have never eaten an animal since. That was September of 1977.

Question: Can you share a few of your favorite tips for people who want to get started eating a whole foods plant-based diet but just don’t know how? 

Chef AJ: I would suggest that instead of thinking in terms of deprivation and what they have to “give up”, try thinking about what they can add? For examples, eating more fresh fruits and vegetables. Think about having a salad every day or if you are eating, say, processed cereal for breakfast, think about swapping it out for a green smoothie. If you aren’t yet meatless, think about having a few meat free meals each week or dining out at a vegan restaurant. Having an electric pressure cooker like the Instantpot makes health food preparation a breeze. If you mention my name, AJ, you can get $50 off at www.instantpot.com.

Question: As a chef, what are the challenges to cooking up plant-based foods? What are the joys?

Chef AJ: I think the main challenge is the misinformation that the only way to get adequate protein is from animal sources so when cooking for others, it is sometimes difficult to get them to accept a meatless meal as nutritionally adequate, despite how delicious it is. The joys are in creating delicious food that does not harm your body, the planet or other sentient beings.

Question: Tell us about some of the exciting things you have coming up! 

Chef AJ: The last 2 weeks of the year I participate at the Holiday Cooking Extravaganza at True North and in 2016 I look forward to presenting at the annual Holistic Holiday at Sea cruise and the Healthfest in Marshall, Texas. I just filmed 7 more episodes of my TV show Healthy Living which airs on Foody TV. You can watch the first 6 episodes here.

Check out this easy recipe for Smoky Lentil Chili here.

Question: What are some of your favorite easy dishes to prepare when you have a particularly busy day?

Chef AJ: I especially love my Red Lentil Chili and am happy to share the recipe. If you have a pressure cooker it takes only 10 minutes to cook. Even “regular” people love it and it’s great served over brown rice or a Yukon Gold potato.

Question: What are the five foods that you just simply cannot live without?

Chef AJ: Believe it or not, there is only ONE food that I couldn’t live without and that is potatoes, especially sweet potatoes. I love the Hawaiian and Japanese ones the best, but I never met a tater I didn’t love!!! I’m also a huge fan of Kabocha squash, brown rice, Sugar Kiss Melon and all vegetables.

Check out my segment on Chef AJ’s Cooking Show here.

For more chats with experts, check out the following: 

Fight Cancer with Your Fork
Eating for IBS on a Plant-Based Diet
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