Father Steps Up His Game!

You are in for a real treat! Not only will you get to learn about Kip Baumann, one of my incredible students from Cosumnes River College, but you will get my recipe for Seasoned Black Beans that I published in my cookbook!  Next month, you will hear from his kids (Q & A style) and we’ll be sharing a recipe for one of their favorite desserts! Enjoy this article in Kip’s words…

My daughter Faye was born in June 2009 and a few weeks later she was diagnosed with a progressive life-threatening liver disease called biliary atresia.  Medical bills for hospitalizations and surgeries over the next 5 months exceeded $750,000!  Thankfully my out-of-pocket costs maxed out near $2000, so health insurance covered the remainder.  Although I had considered myself to be quite healthy for the majority of my life, the very real possibility of me becoming a living liver donor to my daughter committed me even further to optimize my health.  The human body is so amazing that it only takes about 8 weeks to fully regenerate after removing up to 60% of the donor’s liver!

My journey towards Whole Food Plant-Based eating launched in January 2014 after flying home with a nagging cold.  As the plane descended, pressure increased in my left ear until my eardrum burst due to severe congestion.  Upon seeing my primary doctor, he indicated that my eardrum had a micro-tear and should heal on its own.  In passing, my doctor also referred to “The China Study” which I never heard of previously.  Shocked about my lack of awareness, my doctor’s eyes lit up and he spent extra time excitedly sharing some details of the book with me.  I immediately ordered the book on Amazon and remained glued to it every evening before bed.  No other book has had more impact on my life and I immediately dropped my daily intake of dairy. This was a huge change for me since had been consuming Cheerios with organic non-fat dairy milk, yogurt, and cheese nearly every single day. While I was intrigued by the science and was taking these steps to care of my future health, I ended up experiencing some immediate benefits that were quite unexpected!

I had been competing in the local badminton club and interestingly enough, this change to my diet elevated my game beyond my wildest expectations.  Among the half dozen or so players I frequently played singles with, I previously won about 65% of the time and only had the stamina to play 2 good matches per evening.  After dropping the dairy without any other lifestyle changes, I went undefeated for about 3 months while frequently playing 5-6 matches per night AND had energy left to spare!  As a competitive person, easily winning so many matches certainly encouraged me to keep my new eating habits.  The athletic performance benefits of eating plant-based are now becoming widespread news around the world – Rip Esselstyn (triathlete/swimmer), Rich Roll (ultra-endurance), Novak Djokovic (tennis), Venus and Serena Williams (tennis), Scott Jurek (ultramarathon), Alex Honnold (Free Solo rock climber), James Wilks (MMA), and the list goes on and on while growing at an exponential rate…

While I was clear about my decision to avoid dairy products, due to my confusion about appropriate nutrition, fueled by the doubt generated by the powerful food industry, I waffled a bit on periodically eating salmon, sushi, and eggs for a couple of years.  Sadly, some doctors/websites even convinced me to add coconut oil and eggs to my daily routine for several months before finally discovering their physiological impact from Dr. Greger’s terrific, evidence-based https://nutritionfacts.org/ website in early 2016.  In fact, I used to get sick 8-12 times per year, resulting in missed workdays and doctor visits, but now I’ve only succumbed to a total of 2 viruses in the past 5.5+ years! My health had been betrayed by the healthcare industry, big food industry, big pharma, and government, all in the name of profits.  I have found it incredibly empowering to take back control of my health through education and action.

During the summer of 2017, I took my then 8-year-old daughter Faye and 5-year-old son Kai on a cross-country road trip adventure.  Under my direction, we ate 100% plant-based while mostly camping during our nearly 7-week long, 10,285-mile long road trip!  Frequent meals included oatmeal, cereal with soy milk, pasta, lentil soups, and snacks like hummus, guacamole, fruit, berries, and various veggies.  After returning home, Faye continued to primarily eat plant-based.  I searched out opportunities to join local vegan groups and at one of my first monthly potlucks, I heard about someone named Timaree teaching a plant-based nutrition course at Cosumnes River College.  To help optimize my nutrition knowledge for the benefit of my whole family, I immediately enrolled in her nutrition course along with the adjacent sustainable agriculture course as part of the then newly created Plant-Based Nutrition and Sustainable Agriculture (PBNSA) Certificate program.  Soon after Timaree’s first lecture began, she played a couple of videos from one of my favorite nutrition websites https://nutritionfacts.org/.  Although already plant-based for a few years before Timaree’s classes, the education she provided me greatly reinforced and improved my food choices while also helping me explain those choices to others.  This class (Nutrition 303) along with her corresponding cooking class (Nutrition 331) were the two most important courses of my entire life and both should be mandatory at all colleges world-wide and adopted for high schools to catch kids earlier in their lives.

Now, I thoroughly enjoy educating others on eating plant-based for their own health, animal welfare, the environment, and saving money.  I am pursuing my passion to promote healthier lifestyle choices, potentially saving some of the 85% of lives lost to chronic disease caused by poor lifestyle choices.  Every single life I change for the better makes all my effort entirely worth it!  I recently started a website and listed a few of my favorite tips/resources at: http://www.plantbasedsaver.com/tips/

As a single father raising two energetic elementary school children, quick and easy meals are necessary and my kids’ favorite meal is a slight modification to Timaree’s Seasoned Black Beans as described in her excellent The Foodie Bar Way cookbook.  We all love garlic so I mince a whole head of garlic and leave out the chipotle due to Faye’s over-sensitivity to spicy food.  We then use it for topping brown rice and quinoa.

Timaree’s Seasoned Black Beans

Recipe by The Nutrition Professor, Timaree Hagenburger, MPH, RD, EP-c (www.TheNutritionProfessor.com) and published in The Foodie Bar Way: One meal. Lots of options. Everyone’s happy. available at www.FoodieBars.com

These black beans come together in a hot minute, are a great “go-to” food to have in your fridge all week long and even freeze well!

Ingredients:
3 cups of cooked black beans
1 small red onion, diced very small
2-3 cloves garlic, pressed/minced*
1 chipotle in adobo*, whole or seeds removed and finely chopped (optional)
1-2 tsp ground cumin
1-2 tsp ground coriander
½ tsp smoked paprika
1 ½ cup ripe tomatoes, chopped or 1 can fire roasted tomatoes with garlic

Procedure:
Steam “fry”* the onion in a saucepan on medium high heat, adding a few tablespoons of water or broth when they begin to stick and brown. When onion has softened and started to caramelize, add garlic and cook for 30 seconds more. Add chipotle pepper (if using chopped up), cumin, coriander, and smoked paprika and cook for 30 seconds, stirring throughout. If using chipotle whole (will be taken out at the end and result in a more mild dish), add chipotle, cooked black beans, and tomatoes. Simmer for 5-20 minutes (as much time as you have to spare).

The Nutrition Professor’s Shop Smart, Prep Smart, Cook Smart Tips:

• Steam frying is a wonderful technique to maximize flavor without using oil!
• Press or mince the garlic at least 10 minutes before using to maximize nutrient content of the finished dish. For garlic lovers, like the Baumann family, feel free to use a whole head of garlic!
• Chipotle peppers in adobo sauce can be purchased at the supermarket in a can or jar. They can be quite spicy, so be sure to remove the seeds if you like mild flavors, or use the peppers whole and remove them after simmering the beans, but before serving. I freeze individual peppers with a few teaspoons of sauce in small zip-top bags, as I have never found a recipe that uses an entire can!

Kip’s daughter Faye absolutely loves these beans! 

Timaree Hagenburger, a plant-based registered dietitian nutritionist (RDN), certified exercise physiologist with a master’s degree in public health, has over 20 years of experience as a nutrition professor. She is a sought after speaker, media personality and author, who works with private clients, and in corporate wellness, has contributed to several cookbooks and published her own cookbook, The Foodie Bar Way: One Meal, Lots of Options, Everyone’s Happy (www.foodiebars.com)! Timaree is also the founder of an incredible online membership community, The Foodie Bar Way of Life, that makes loving the food (and living a life) that loves us back… simple, satisfying, sustainable AND FUN! You can contact her about working with her through 1:1 dietitian nutrition coaching, for hands-on cooking instruction and to inquire about arranging a speaking engagement.