Maribeth Abrams is a nutritionist, cooking instructor, public speaker, corporate chef for Vitasoy USA and spokesperson for the North American Vegetarian Society. She is also the author of the cookbook The 4-Ingredient Vegan. We recently had the opportunity to do an interview with Maribeth.
As a nutritionist, where would you say most vegans go wrong in their diets?
When vegans come to me for nutrition counseling, it’s usually for one of two reasons. Either everything seems fine for them or they want to just confirm that they are on the right track, or it’s because they want to lose weight. For those who want to lose weight, I see a pattern in their diet: heavy reliance on high glycemic, high fat, low fiber or otherwise processed foods throughout the day (e.g. pasta, bread, rolls, cereal, bananas, dried fruit, fruit juice, corn chips, french fries, faux meats). In these cases, I show people how to cut back on these foods while significantly increasing non-starchy vegetables (especially broccoli, cauliflower, kale, Brussels sprouts and cabbage) and beans. The result is weight loss and an improvement in feelings of well-being. By the way, for those vegan people seeking confirmation that they are eating properly, the important points are taking a B12 supplement regularly and keeping the percentage of vegetables in one’s diet very, very high.
What is a whole-food vegan diet as you mention in the book?
I define a whole foods vegan diet as one comprised primarily of foods that are not processed. In other words, a diet based on fruits, vegetables, whole grains and legumes rather than potato chips, soda, white rice and vegan donuts. (But once in a while, vegan donuts sure are good!)
What was the concept behind using only 4 ingredients in the book as opposed to just a few more?
My goal was to get the ingredient list down to as few items as possible while at the same time being able to create a sufficient number of good, delicious dishes. Four was the magic number.
A surprising amount of the recipes in this cookbook are “from scratch” (i.e., the Berry Turnovers) why did you choose to include these types of recipes in the book?
The cookbook has a good balance of recipes using all “from scratch” ingredients and recipes that use convenience items such as salsa, vegan mayonnaise, and store-bought vegan pesto. I think it’s good for people to see that even completely “from scratch” recipes can be made with very few ingredients.
Why didn’t you have “recommended ingredients” in the book as most authors have the tendency to do?
There is a section in the beginning of the book called Stocking Your Kitchen that includes a list of recommended ingredients. Brand names were not mentioned in keeping with the publisher’s policy.
How do you feel about the use of “mock meat” in the vegan diet?
In my opinion, there is a place for mock meats in the vegan diet. For example, they are great for people transitioning to veganism, for kids who want their lunches to look like their friend’s lunches, and for anyone wanting to enjoy the vegan version of a dish they enjoyed prior to becoming vegan. However, I do not recommend mock meats as a three times a day — or even an every day – staple. They are processed and oftentimes contain ingredients that may hinder our health goals if eaten in excess such as salt or gluten. In general, I have seen that the more mock meats one eats, the less variety of legumes – and often vegetables – one eats.
How can people “embrace food for both physiological and emotional nourishment”?
This is a concept that I feel very strongly about. When we as humans are given fiber-free and/or processed and/or salty foods, we have the capacity to eat huge amounts of that food without ever feeling satisfaction. For example, if we are given a bag of potato chips, we could eat that whole bag – even if we don’t want to – but never experience satisfaction on an emotional or physical level so we oftentimes still want more. So, even though we “indulged,” we don’t feel satisfied or better on any level as a result of doing it. In fact, we usually feel worse. Compare that with eating a giant salad of greens, cauliflower, cucumber, toasted nori, nutritional yeast flakes and avocado. When we finish it, we feel done; we simply don’t want any more. We have received not only physiological nourishment, but also emotional nourishment. Our desire for more food has simply vanished. We feel complete. That feeling of completion is rare when we regularly consume foods that lead only to wanting more and more and more, while eating those foods makes us feel worse and worse and worse. I talk with my clients about this on a regular basis, pointing out that people who indulge in the potato chips at a party don’t really benefit from that indulgence in any way, shape or form because they don’t reach a point of satisfaction by doing so.
What advice can you offer to people who say that they are “too busy to cook”?
Get in the habit of making a crock pot stew a few times a week using a variety of vegetables and beans. Beyond that, get into big, easy salads and check out The Four Ingredient Vegan. Most of the recipes take less time to prepare than the time it takes to dine out, are cheap to prepare, and yield leftovers for lunch the next day.