Chef AJ has followed a plant-based diet for over 33 years. She works as a chef and culinary instructor in Los Angeles. She is also the creator and co-producer of http://www.healthytasteofla.com/index.html an annual event in Redondo Beach, California where the finest in plant based cuisine meets the best in nutritional science. I recently had the opportunity to catch-up with the busy Chef for this interview. She is also the co-author of the book Unprocessed: How to achieve vibrant health and your ideal weight.
Was choosing Unprocessed as a title to draw attention or to set your tone regarding whole foods approach?
I chose UNPROCESSED as the title for my book because that’s what I have been teaching in my classes for the last several years. Many people (mistakenly) believe that “if it’s vegan, it’s healthy”. NOT. Organic sugar, coconut oil, olive oil, agave, and all the fake meats and cheeses are vegan but they are the antithesis of health food. I always think of Jack La Lanne who used to say “If God made it eat it, if man made it, don’t eat it”. If you want to regain your health, don’t eat processed food. It’s as simple as that.
Do you agree that incorporating tastes; sweet, sour, savory, spicy…into their unprocessed food can leave one satisfied more-so than a person who approaches whole foods dishes in context of how they fixed their traditional dishes/fare?
We have taste buds on our tongue for sweet, salty, sour, bitter and pungent. In our natural environment, these served us well. For example, we were able to differentiate between poisonous berries and non-poisonous ones. We were never designed, by nature, to be eating such an unnatural diet, vegan or not. It takes over 3 feet of sugar cane to make ONE TEASPOON of a refined sugar, and over 16 ears of corn to make one tablespoon of corn oil. We were meant to eat food WHOLE. Whenever you process a food make it more calorie rich and more nutrient poor. No one eats 3 feet of sugar cane or 16 ears a corn, but how much sugar and oil are they eating in their food? It’s shocking!!! The reason that whole, natural food like fruits and vegetables don’t satisfy them is because their taste buds have been hijacked by this unnatural concentration of sugar, oil and salt that is in just about everything they eat. Abstaining from these toxins for at least 3 weeks (or undergoing a fad) will reset their palate so that a banana or even a plain baked potato will taste good. It takes a little longer for their brain chemistry to adjust. Most people are addicted to sugar, fat and salt (which I call “The Evil Trinity”) but just won’t admit it. The way to tell if you are addicted to a food is to stop eating it immediately and see if you experience discomfort.
How has your background in comedy prepared you for skeptics in your career as a whole foods inspired chef?
I used to be a comedian and was even on The Tonight Show. It prepared me to be “in the moment” which is great because I really don’t plan anything when I teach or speak. Humor is great for getting people to pay attention to you, but if the food wasn’t great it wouldn’t matter what I did to get their attention.
What dish you completely own enough to say you’re world-class at it?
I think I am a pretty good pastry chef. I don’t really know any other chefs out there who never use oil, sugar or salt and can create the kind of desserts I make like German Chocolate Cake and Peanut Butter Chocolate Cheesecake.
Do you have recipes for your companion animals that you might include in a future project?
I actually have been making vegan dog biscuits for the past 25 years. I even personalize them with the dog’s name. I once made 600 – 9 inch bone shaped biscuits that said “Dog Whisperer” for Cesar Millan. I had tendonitis in my hands for month! I would love to sell them but I would need a dough rolling machine first. (LOL)
Do you incorporate any of the dishes from Unprocessed in your own personal kitchen? What is your favorite dish?
What I love about having a cookbook is that all of my recipes are right there. I never measure anything when I make food (except for desserts) so now I can just follow the recipe, even if it is my own!!! My favorite recipe in the book is the lasagna on page 100. I do the kale/bean version. I think it’s the best lasagna I ever had, and I don’t say that about all my food. I even served it to Dr. Colin Campbell and Dr. Caldwell Esselstyn when I cooked for them. My Hail to The Kale salad is pretty good too. They even sell it at the Whole Foods in Pasadena. Sweet Potato Nachos were contributed by my friend. I just change the shape of the “chip’ to circular. That is a very popular recipe that we make all the time. I serve it with my Smokey Chipotle Salsa. I also make the Spicy Peanut Noodles with Broccoli a lot because peanut butter and broccoli are two of my favorite foods. And there are always peanut butter fudge truffles in my freezer.
You have social ventures that you’ve championed related to Diabetes. What have you learned that you’d like to share from your own personal insight about your fight against Diabetes misconceptions?
People need to understand that there is a difference between Type I diabetes (an immune disease) and Type II diabetes, which is totally preventable and largely reversible with diet and lifestyle. I volunteered as a culinary instructor at The Braille Institute and most of the students went blind due to type II diabetes. The food they served them was deplorable, the kind of food that contributed to their disease and made it worse. Type II diabetes used to be called adult diabetes, but now that kids as young as 8 years old are getting it they had to change the name. Just being vegan does not protect you against this, or other diseases. I know fat vegans who have diabetes. What protects you against disease is eating a WHOLE FOOD plant based diet of fruits, vegetables, whole grains, legumes and some nuts and seeds with NO PROCESSED FOOD. (And remember, sugar and oil is highly processed and has no fiber or nutrients.) In fact, they could be considered anti-nutrients. Most people think this is extreme. I think losing your foot or eyesight to diabetes is far more extreme. But most people, vegan or not, won’t be able to do this. They are too addicted to their ___________ (fill in the blank) with coffee, sugar, wine, cheese etc. If everyone read “The Pleasure Trap” and “The End of Overeating” they’d understand this, but still, very few people will actually do it.