Well, it’s Sunday again, and that means it’s time for this week’s interesting tidbits out there in the REAL FOOD world. What’s better, it’s Super Bowl Sunday. Here are a bunch of cool stuff I saw that would be awesome to make for the party!

Super Bowl Sunday Party Food

• If you have a big crowd today, check out Michael Ruhlman’s tips on cooking for a large crowd.
• Looking for an awesome dip for the Super Bowl game tonight? Check out this Slow Roasted Tomato Dip.
• Perhaps a Paleo Super Bowl party? Check out Robb Wolf’s site.
• Apple chips would be a cool, healthy alternative to potato chips. Plus they are super easy to make.
• How about an awesome White Bean, Kale, and Prosciutto bruschetta?

• For a more robust meal, and something different than the old chili – Cooking from the Pantry: Chicken with Artichokes, Garbanzos and Tomatoes

• Finally, Gluten Free Sticky Toffee Pudding for dessert.

Your turn!

What are you having for your Super Bowl party? Let me know in the comments!

Connect with me!

I am never far from that sucky string called the Interwebs. You can get a hold of me many ways:

• Follow @Jason_Sandeman on Twitter.
• Like the Well Done Chef! on Facebook.
• Subscribe to the Well Done Chef’s YouTube Page
• Add the Well Done Chef! to a Google+ page.
• Ask me a question from my Ask the Chef! page.

Subscribe to the Well Done Chef by the RSS feed or subscribe to Well Done Chef! by email.

Taking the day off – there is an important birthday in my family life that will take center stage. Meanwhile, I need to prepare a Vanilla Mocha cake.

See you all tomorrow!

Hello folks! Today is Fight Back Friday, and as a special treat, we are going to dig into a controversial topic – our right to give dietary advice. Just how far can we go? Stick around and let’s see if we can make our way through this thorny issue.

The Situation:

This post grew out of a problem that Steve Cooksey is encountering over at Diabetes-Warrior.net. He is currently being investigated by the NCBDN (North Carolina Board of Dietetics/Nutrition) for giving dietary counselling without a license to practice.

Of course, my favorite renegade Richard Nikoley has a superb post over at Free The Animal with a comment section that is eating me alive. You know that I am not a person that is always status quo, but I agree with the NCBDN that Steve Cooksey has gone too far.

My Experience on This Matter:

Okay, for those of you reading my blog a long time now, you know how I was diagnosed with diabetes. You know that I went through a struggle with my sugars, and you know that I went and passed off what I found to you. How can I say that someone else can’t give dietary counseling without a license?

I quickly found that you can find a lot of information online about the disease. A lot of it is shit. People come off like they are an authority on the subject because they are doing something that appears (for now) to be working for them. It’s a nice gesture, they are trying to pass off that information to others.

I stopped doing that because my wife once asked me, “Who do you think you are?”

That question really threw me for a loop. I don’t have credentials, I have absolutely no stake in getting someone better. In fact, (as I see in a lot of blogs out there,) I could easily just turn around and say, “Oh, N=1! Sorry!”

Let’s examine why you need a license to practice medicine or give dietary advice to someone with a medical condition:

• N=1 is fine and all. You can for sure tell me what you have done, and what works for you.
• What works for you may not work for me. What gives you the tools to dispense advice is clinical experience?
• When you start dispensing advice to take care of a chronic condition, you are entering into a relationship with the person, who may have adverse responses to your counsel.
• Like it or not, you also need protection that a license gives you, and so does the patient. If the advice you are giving ends up damaging the patient, there needs to be a consequence.
• The license is granted by a board under the understanding that you will follow the guidelines laid out as requirements of that license.
• Your advice should be on the back of data present, not a snake oil remedy, or a pseudo-science. Lives are at stake here.
• Do we really want to go back to a day where there are no licenses, so you have no guarantee that the advice you are given is grounded on solid evidence? If Ethel tells the village that in order to cure cancer, everyone should eat their tulip bulbs, do we all give that a try? That was what medicine was like before licensing, and science to back it up.
• By most laws, you are allowed to give nutritional advice to someone who is healthy, and with no medical condition. Once that person is diabetic, or with another medical condition, and seeking individual nutrition information, it is up to the advisor to direct their questions to a medical professional. This is nothing new – all current Paleo/Primal superstars do this – either by a healthy disclaimer, or by simply stating you should see a physician before starting their program.
• The advice given on most famous sites like, Mark’s Daily Apple, Robb Wolf, and others are very much generalized information. They are at the edge of what is allowed, but notice they don’t cross that edge.

Conclusion

You need to be careful about the advice that you solicit to people. The words, advice that you use can have consequences that you are not able to deal with. This is why almost everyone who gives any advice in the Paleo/Primal field, or in any dietary or nutrition book will ALWAYS preface their advice with the standard legal disclaimer that you should consult your physician before starting a protocol or fitness program.

The problem may come from the so-called “Conventional Wisdom,” but I suggest that fighting the dietician is not the way to solve the problem. What we need are real clinical trials and data so that we can change that conventional wisdom.

Giving dietary advice that is unlicensed is NOT the way forward, it is the way backwards. Indeed, in the case of Steve Cooksey – it further fuels the notion that Primal dietary regiment is on the fringe, not a viable alternative to the standard practices.

Why is that? Because Steve Cooksey is not a licensed dietetic, who IS dispensing advice as if he were. To quote my wife, and many other diabetics, “Who does this guy think he is? Why should I trust him to give me dietary advice over the doctor?”

I have no problem with him telling us what works for him, but to come off like he knows what is best, and is the authority on the matter? I’ll pass thank you – I have my life to worry about.

Your turn!

You may think I am totally off my rocker, many people do. What do you think? Should a person be required to have a license in order to dispense dietary advice to a patient with a medical condition? Let me know in the comments!

Connect with me!

I am never far from that sucky string called the Interwebs. You can get a hold of me many ways:

• Follow @Jason_Sandeman on Twitter.
• Like the Well Done Chef! on Facebook.
• Subscribe to the Well Done Chef’s YouTube Page
• Add the Well Done Chef! to a Google+ page.
• Ask me a question from my Ask the Chef! page.

Subscribe to the Well Done Chef by the RSS feed or subscribe to Well Done Chef! by email.

You might be asking yourself, Why would someone who is trained in the classical arts of cooking need a book like this? By the end of this post, I’ll have told you why I think this book needs to be on your shelf.

Sure, I spend a lot of time in the kitchen. People look at how I cook these days, and they think that there is something magical going on. (I am not trying to toot my horn here, just give you the impression that I see.)

The irony is that while I can pull off some decent creations, I got to my skill level by screwing up a LOT. In fact, I even had someone on the apprenticeship board look at me, and tell me, “You’ll never be a chef.”

See, cooking to me is like a huge library – with all sorts of volumes you could peruse. Interesting books, filled with technical terms. There was a lot to learn, and I am a natural researcher. It’s what I live for. I could tell you until I was blue in the face what needed to be done, but not necessarily be able to actually execute it.

How does this tie in with Ruhlman’s Twenty?

Part of my culinary training was indeed the theory lessons. I would say it was maybe 10-15%. The other 80-90% was all about the practical part. What did those classes, (where I cooked like I was actually working,) teach me? How to think in the kitchen. A regular response from my chef instructors to any question was, “What do you think?”

That’s exactly what Michael Ruhlman is doing with this book. First, you need to be thinking of what you are doing. Mise en Place. From there, the book unfolds – but the base is always back to the thinking.

The Review:

The Good:

Oh my, the pictures are awesome in this book. Everyone knows I am a sucker for pictures. They are beautifully styled, and most show the finer points of the technique Ruhlman is trying to show.

Easy Chicken Stock – I love how he slips this one in. I have already given you a couple posts about how to make it on your stove, or even in your crockpot. Bonus points for this alone. Just don’t put tomato paste in your chicken stock – it’s all I ask.

The cooking fundamentals are broken down into the core basics. The ones I learned in school were a bit different, but almost match Ruhlman’s to a T. They are: THINK, SALT, WATER, ONION, ACID, EGG, BUTTER, DOUGH, BATTER, SUGAR, SAUCE, VINAIGRETTE, SOUP, SAUTE, ROAST, BRAISE, POACH, GRILL, FRY, CHILL.

The Bad:

In the section “WATER,” Ruhlman states that, “One of water’s most important attributes is that it boils at 212°F/ 100°C.” – I wish he would have put the phrase “at sea level” there. Again, a stupid nitpick, but as a chef who cooked high in the mountains of Jasper, Alberta, I can tell you there is a difference – especially when you are sous vide cooking. This goes back to the “THINK” aspect. Water boils at a lower temperature at higher altitudes, (96.8°C or 206.2°F,) so you may not just want to blindly follow a recipe for sous vide.

A bit of a gripe – this book is NOT for novices. I found it in a cookbook section – but that is more the Store’s fault. I talked to 3 people that said they were confused while reading the recipes inside, and felt that there was no rhyme or reason. Once I explained the point of the book to them, they got it. While there is a foreward in the book telling the format, it still wasn’t obvious to people.

Sous Vide – Honestly, I take a bit of exception to the point of sous vide cooking replacing a traditional direct or indirect approach. Sure, you might take the guesswork out of how your steak is cooked – but something is just different about sous vide compared to tradition.

The Ugly:

There is no ugly in this book. I tried to find it, I really did. There are a few nitpicky points I don’t agree with, (like tomato paste in chicken stock,) but that’s not a deal breaker for me.

Conclusion:

This book belongs on your shelf. I have a copy, plus an electronic copy for my iPhone. Why would I have it? Even a chef can learn something from this fantastic tome. You can tell a lot of thought was put into it, the presentation, the layout, and the execution.

Is it the only book you’ll ever need? No.

But what it will do is make you think, using a set of core fundamentals as your base. You’ll never look at another recipe the same way again – and you will have freed yourself from the conventional recipe. You will be able to execute a recipe based on technique, and how you think it through, verses whether someone can write a recipe dumbed down enough for you to execute exactly.

At that point, recipes become a list of ingredients, nothing more. That is how the professionals think – and that’s the best thing I have heard in a long time when it comes to cookbooks.

Your Turn

What is your favorite cooking fundamental from the above list? Let me know in the comments.

I have links for the book reviewed that link to my Amazon store. If you were to buy a book through that link, I could get about a half a cup of Timmy’s! Thank you!

Last week I talked about setting your goals for the upcoming gardening season. Now that you are done that, where do we go from there? Today we are going to take a baby step closer to our goal of having a functional, practical kitchen garden. We are going to plan out a set of action steps to accomplish for February.

My Past Routine, and What’s Different This Time

If you are like me, just throw a bunch of stuff in the garden, which ends up costing more in the long run.

Without a plan, there is a lot of waste in the garden. Plants may not grow, bugs may eat half of your crop, you may even get really lucky and have too much produce, and not enough family or friends to give it to!

My garden was okay last season, despite a lack of planning and a pile full of neglect. This year I decided that by having a step by step plan will help the execution of the garden – sort of like a road map

February’s Action Steps:

• Read Mel’s All New Square Foot Gardening. The method I will use is almost exclusive to the award winning program.
• Decide what I want to grow – and why. I already know what I want to grow for the whole family, but for the purposes of this blog, we will have ourselves a poll. That’s right, I’ll grow what you like!
• Decide where to plant, Design a garden. We will be drawing out the spaces for planting, using  the guidelines in Mel’s book. I will be working off my notes from last year, but if this is your first year, working with your goals will give you what you need.
• Order seeds. I have a bunch of seeds I saved from last year. I plan to order some others. I will put a few links at the end of this post.
• Make new soil mix. I will be using the formula for Mel’s mix.
• Start seeds – I will be starting these out in a couple of weeks. It will be the first time I have ever grown from seed, so it should be interesting.

Some resources to get you started:

• Mel’s Book The All New Square Foot Garden (link goes to my Amazon Store)
• Organic Gardening Magazine
• Seed Starting Sites: Vesey’s Canada, or Vesey’s USA

Your Turn

Here I have my first ever poll on WDC. Tell me what you want to grow! Once I figure out how to put the poll in the side over there, you’ll be able to vote there too.

I love this time of year. Yes, I know, weird, right? Not so. January is the month of citrus, cold weather, and warming soup. Now that I have shown you all how to make your own chicken stock, (or even in the crockpot,) now is a good time to start using that beautiful elixir to warm those bones after a hard day out in the cold.

The trick with soups is to pick a few flavors that go well together, and showcase them. I have talked before about the Flavor Bible – it really should be on any serious cook’s shelf. (Link goes to my Amazon Store.)

Carrots are in season now, same with oranges. What goes well with them? A quick glance in the Bible tells me that fennel seeds or cumin works. Cumin would be an interesting choice, but my son might object to the adult flavor, so fennel it was. A great addition to this dish is freshly chopped parsley. I didn’t have any, and my son would object to the green “floaties.” Sometimes you have to know your crowd.

The great thing about this soup is that it is gluten-free, has less than 30 carbohydrates per serving, and the recipe can feed 8 people. A lot of pre-made soups use gluten or corn starch as a thickener. We will be using the natural thickening power of the carrot’s body, and a bit from the addition of a small potato.

It makes a great side dish, or a great starter to a more substantial meal. I can tell you it is definitely kid-friendly; my son had three servings!

Carrot Fennel Orange Soup

Serves: 8

Ingredients:

• 2 tablespoons butter
• 2 pounds carrots
• 1 small onion
• 1 clove garlic, minced
• 1 teaspoon grated ginger
• 1 teaspoon fennel seeds
• 2 lemon peel strips
• 1 small potato, diced
• 4 cups chicken stock
• 1 bay leaf
• 2 cups orange juice
• to taste Salt
• to taste Pepper

Method:

1. Melt butter in a medium saucepan over medium heat. Add onions and carrots; sweat until the vegetables start getting soft.
2. Add garlic, ginger, fennel seeds, lemon peel strips, and bay leaves. Cook for a minute more to release the oils.
3. Add potato, chicken stock, and orange juice; bring to a boil.
4. Reduce heat and cover. Simmer for 30 minutes, or until the vegetables are completely soft.
5. Remove bay leaves; puree with blender or stick blender until smooth. If necessary, add a little more orange juice if the soup is too thick.
6. Season with salt and pepper to your taste.
7. Serve up in the biggest bowl you can; it won’t last long.

Nutrition Facts: Calories 145, Fat 4.62g, Saturated Fat 2.26g, Cholesterol 11.25mg, Sodium 1085.72mg, Total Carbohydrates 22g, Fiber 2.5g

Well, it’s Monday again, and I’m here to answer your questions. Let’s get started.

Alexandra Nicholson asks:

I would like to make natural homemade baby food – not really a question but i figure you can help.

Well, you won’t hear any argument from me on that. While it is easier to buy canned baby food, one has to wonder what actually goes into it. Couple that with all the scares we have been having lately, I don’t blame you.

Back when my son was born, I was all gung-ho about making our own food, and searched a lot of places. I finally came across a book (from a dietician here in Montreal no less,) that I feel has the best information, instructions, and book out there.

You can buy the book here through the link in my Amazon store. I put it up there for you or anyone who is interested in making your own baby foods. The best part is that it is really straight forward – nothing too hard.

Michelle Bertrand asks:

If you’re looking to dumb a post down for the layperson (like me lol)… how to pair herbs and spices with meat and veg. I never know what goes with what or what combinations might taste good unless it’s in a recipe, so I usually tend to do the same ol’ same ol’

Ah! This is one of those times that the Flavor Bible comes in handy! When I look up my favorite herb, Rosemary, I find a lot of things:

It goes especially well with Lamb, Grilled fish, Chicken, Garlic, and grilled meats in general. It pairs well with potatoes, peppers, beans, and olive oil. A lesser known pairing could even be apples and apricots.

If you are interested in playing around with herbs, I suggest giving the Flavor Bible a try. In the meantime, I will definitely have some herb related posts for you coming up in the next few weeks!

Tony Kuriger asks:

How to make things better using vinegar. Matching variety to purpose.

This is a good one. There are so many types and varieties of vinegars, it’s really hard to answer this one. How you use a vinegar really depends on what you are trying to accomplish.

For example, a tomato soup may taste a bit flat. The addition of acid to the soup may brighten the flavors a bit. Before you rush off to grab any old bottle of vinegar, you need to think about the profile of the soup. I would never put white vinegar in the tomato soup, it would be too pungent and strong. Balsamic vinegar would be good, or perhaps an aged balsamic drizzled on top would be even better.

If you are looking for a delicate touch, a few drops of champagne vinegar would make a fish dish taste more ethereal.

Perhaps you are eating a foie grass dish – in that case a ice wine vinegar would rock the boat.

Do you have a question for me? You can contact me through the Ask the Chef! page, my Facebook Fan Page, my Google+ account, my YouTube Channel, or my Twitter account.

It has been a while since I last did an internet tasting session here. You would almost think that I don’t read anything on the internet anymore. My goal is to do this every Sunday, barring a disaster. The following links take you to this week’s interesting tidbits out there in the REAL FOOD world.

First off, good news! Fat Head is available on iTunes again. I reviewed the movie before, and it’s a good watch to get you the information about low carb lifestyle.

Super Bowl Snacks

Looking for a healthy snacks for the upcoming Super Bowl?

Try out these Kale Chips for a chip alternative. They are addictive, so make sure you have a lot of kale. Funny how we used to use it to garnish plates and buffets, only to end up in the garbage. Who knew?

Do you like pickles? How about a nice, naturally fermented pickle that is totally awesome?

Craving Comfort food?

When it’s cold outside, a nice cauliflower bisque that will do the trick. Or, a classic lamb chop dish that is sure to please. Or, a lovely butternut and black bean soup will warm you up.

When you are back from a day of skiing, Ginger and scallion fried rice is always nice. Or, if you have ever had a bunch of Thai basil, you know that it will turn bad very fast. Solve that problem by making a bowl of Thai Basil Chicken Fried Rice

So you all won’t think that I am totally against veganism, or vegetarianism altogether, here is a nice dish using organic tofu, miso, and a winter squash.

Who doesn’t like buttermilk fried chicken? Your waistline, that’s who! Instead of frying, try roasting it. You might miss the crust, but the chicken will be tender as ever!.

Crockpot Meals

Fire up the Crockpot and give this Lamb Rendang a whirl. You won’t be disappointed. Worried about the cost of going Paleo? Are you a student? A budget crockpot recipe to the rescue!

Are you sick?

If you are sick and looking for something homemade to take the cold or flu to the curb, how about a Hot Toddy? Of usual, my favorite blogger Richard has some strong opinions about what to do when you’re sick.

And Now For Something We Hope You’ll Really Like!

Have you ever wanted to learn how to butcher a wild bird? If all you are looking for is the breasts of the bird (without the fat,) then here is a quick video for you.

Robbie Burns Day just passed. Okay, so most people think haggis is revolting. I’ve had it before. While it’s not something I rush out to order at a fancy restaurant, those of Scottish Heritage will appreciate it. It’s not so bad when you don’t think about what you are eating… Kudos to the Leftover Queen!

Last Kitchen 101 post showed us the method traditionally used to make a chicken stock. I  can hear what most people jump to when they see a post like that – “I just don’t have time to spend fussing over something as complicated as that.”

That statement blows my mind. Mind you, I am a chef by trade, so most of my lessons in the kitchen began in a “professional” establishment. I have no problem spending a day skimming a sauce, or preparing pasta from scratch. It’s fun for me.

Thing is, I don’t normally slave over a preparation, unless there is a need for it. In the case of my post on stock, there is one skimming, (in the beginning,) that’s it. It’s easier that way. I am not a person to fuss over a preparation. I like things to take care of themselves, with a minimum of hassle.

This recipe is the answer to that. With around 30 total minutes of actual kitchen time, you can have your beautiful stock. The trick is to set it, and (almost) forget it. It will take a good 20 hours, but the results are worth it. Best yet, it can be set overnight before bed for the first step, then the second step can be done before you head off to work. Once you get home, your stock is ready to be strained.

Before We Begin

Before we start, let’s recap some previous posts for a head start on today’s task.

• Butchering a chicken. Once you have your chicken cut up, use the carcass for the stock – the perfect way to stretch your dollar. If you don’t have a chicken to cut up, the bones from a demolished roasted chicken will work fine.
• Secret Laws of Stock Making. We will be following those concepts here shortly.
• Check out the traditional method for making the chicken stock here.

Making Chicken Stock in the Crock-Pot

Ingredients:

• 1 chicken (or turkey) carcass (about 2 lbs.)
• 1 gallon (4 liters) cold water
• 2 teaspoon cup white wine vinegar (or red wine if you prefer.)
• 1 small sized onion, peeled, chopped into 1 inch slices
• 1 carrot, peeled, cut into 1 inch chunks
• 1 rib of celery, chopped into 1 inch chunks
• 1/2 inch of ginger, sliced in half
• 1/2 bulb garlic, chopped in half
• 2 bay leaves
• 1 teaspoon black peppercorns
• 1/4 bunch thyme

Method:

Here we are pulling a bunch of bones from the freezer. This is my main tip; save those roasted chicken or turkey carcasses. Once they start flying out of the freezer door at you, it’s time to make stock.

Get the main tools needed for stock making in the crockpot. This is all you are going to need. A crockpot, and some bones.

Fill the crockpot, pack the bones in there. The manufacturer suggests that the crock pot not be filled past the 3/4 mark. As you can see here, I totally ignored that. I would find out later the impact of that decision.

Add cold water. Make sure the water is cold! The reason for that is the cold water softens the gelatin for better extraction. If you put hot water in there, you will make your life harder here. See the Secret Laws of Stock Making.

Add a splash of vinegar, cover, and set for 10 hours of cooking.The vinegar helps the extraction of the calcium in the bones. It also makes the stock taste a bit more acidic, which brightens the flavor a bit more.

Cut the Aromatics for chicken stock. We have here carrots, celery, onion, garlic, and ginger. These are known as aromatics. Keep the vegetables large, so they don’t break down while the stock is simmering. Some people will argue that carrots don’t belong in a stock. The choice is personal. I like carrots. So there.

Add bay leaf, peppercorn, and thyme. The thyme is dried, but fresh will work well if need be.

After 10 hours, add the vegetables, cover, and set on low for another 10 hours. You don’t add the vegetables until later because they would just turn to mush and discolor your stock.

See – it’s too full, and you can see that the liquid spilled out. I learned my lesson… it was too full, and I lost at least 2 cups of awesome goodness. You can tell the stock is fantastic by how long it takes to get the paper towel off the stove. Gelatin is a great glue. You heard it here first!

Finished stock – look at the loveliness. After 20 hours of very slow cooking, your house will smell fantastic, the kids will ask what you are making, and you will be ready for the next step.

Set up a strainer, grab some oven mitts, and strain the mixture. Make sure you pull the works slowly so you don’t have your bones and vegetables falling into your strained stock.

Throw out your waste. Be sure to double bag the waste – it will be hot!

Here is what the strained liquid looks like. Now, you aren’t going to win a culinary competition with this stock – but the gelatin content is second to none!

Here you can see I only get about 3 quarts (liters) worth here. That’s because I lost at least 2 cups on the stove from filling the crockpot too much. This recipe should give you at least 3 liters in the end.

Conclusion

Okay, so that is how you can make your stock hands-off. A little bit of work, (around a 1/2 hour worth,) will get you a nutrient-rich stock for pennies compared to a purchased broth. I’ve shown you that it can be done with a minimum of work, so get to it – show me what you can do with it!

Your Turn!

So, what do you think of this hands-off method of creating stock? Which method do you prefer, the traditional way, or this hands-off approach? Let me know in the comments!

This week Nick over at Macheesmo posted a recipe for Spicy Orange Greens that caught my eye. The noodle salad was spot on; it was what was referenced in that post that caught my attention. Nick prefaced his recipe by stating he had watched the movie “Forks Over Knives.” The salad had been inspired by it. I decided to watch the documentary that day, and I am going to tell you how I think it fits into the REAL food movement.

While I watched the movie, I found myself yelling at the computer. (Of course, there was no one around, except my very accepting cats and a dog that thinks I am crazy.) What drove me to yelling? If you have ever seen someone on the internet that thinks someone else is off-base, then you saw me that day.

I had to see more. I went to the book store and checked out the companion book/cookbook. What I read floored me.

Now, you know what I think of vegetarianism. Honestly though? To each his own. I just hate it when someone pushes “veganism” as a “healthy” way to cure all the diseases known to man, backed up by crappy, shoddy science.

To be fair, I actually gave the movie a shot. The companion book was a little harder, but I did skim through it. Read below for what I think of both the movie and the companion book:

The good

• The movie starts off with focusing on what eating processed food does to you. You have to figure that out for yourself, but it’s not that hard to equate KFC with processed food. More on how this is bad later.
• The message is that if we eat whole, minimally processed food, we will all be healthier. I can’t agree more.
• We have the power to change our health, and even reverse chronic diseases with what we chose to eat. This is shown at the start of the movie with the reporter getting his blood work done. By the end of the movie, his numbers have significantly improved.
• A plant-based diet is a conscientious way to eat, to feel better about how your food got to your plate. Again, nothing wrong with a whole foods diet. Knowing how your food is produced is key to making conscientious choices for your health.

The bad

• The science is lacking, without any mention of references. An example? Talking about how the rate of cancers in places like Kenya are lower that that of the United States. Instead of saying it’s a correlation, it is implied that because they don’t eat as much animal products as we do, they don’t have cancer. Thing is, how does that correlate? Could it be because they also don’t use agricultural products that are known to cause cancer? There are too many variables to definitively state the correlation is causation.
• Whole grains are processed, so technically they are not a whole food. In the companion book, they describe them as “lightly processed.” That’s still not a whole food. Organic apples? There is a whole food.
• While the documentary implies that whole plant based foods are better for you, there is nothing looking at how that food is produced. Sure, there is a lot of rhetoric against meat producers, but non-existent for plant producers.
• Why can’t they just come out and state the documentary is about veganism? I get that the word “vegan” is loaded… but why not just wear your badge proudly? I get that you don’t want to alienate people, but do you really think people are that stupid? Oh, wait… see below!

The Ugly

• From the get go – the documentary focuses on how bad animal products are for you – while only showing people eating processed and fast food “animal” products. Where is the free-range chicken? Where is the fresh seafood? Pastured beef? Free-range eggs? Are we to believe that all animal products come from a fast food joint?
• We hear about World War II, how the Germans occupied Norway, confiscated all the “animal products,” and after liberation, the heart attack deaths skyrocketed. They make the correlation that the decrease in deaths from heart attacks are from the decrease in eating animal products. The data used for the documentary actually shows that the Norwegians ate less sugar, butter, fruit and meat. Did you know that the average person in Norway ate more twice as many vegetables, and fish and seafood instead?
• Forks Over Knives seems to imply that there is some magic “single way of eating” to solve the problems of obesity and chronic diseases like heart disease, cancer, and diabetes. We all know there isn’t, otherwise we would have instinctively figured it out millennia ago. Wait… we did. Is this documentary suggesting that evolution and nature made a mistake?
• A good portion of the “science: is based on the China study. In fact the scientist responsible for the study, (Dr. Campbell,) is the main doctors pushing the Forks Over Knives diet. Denise Minger has a better post debunking the science behind the study.

The Very Ugly

• In the companion book, there is an unfair reference to food warning labels, with a bias towards plant verses animal products. It is here where the bias really shines.
• “A platter of tree nuts, legumes, alliums (onions and garlic), vegetables, fruits, and grains might carry this warning label:” There is a small list of things to watch out for, like – “Contains tree nuts, legumes (peanuts and soybeans), and the grains wheat, rye and barley (which contain gluten, a protein composite),” or, “Peels, shells, and other biodegradable materials.” There is no mention of herbicides, pesticides, environmental destruction, GMO products, or the systematic enslavement of people to produce the plant products. Take tomato production for example.
• Plant products “promotion of good health…. may reduce the risk of some forms of cancer, heart disease, stroke, obesity, diabetes, high blood pressure, constipation, osteoporosis and other diet-related chronic diseases.” Of course, there are no references to back it up, nor any warnings about consumption of foods with the products mentioned above.
• A platter of meat, fish, and dairy, on the other hand, would carry a more extensive label – with a huge list under headings like, “Allergens, Ask a doctor before use if you have, Biological agents, (bacteria, parasites, prions, viruses, chemical and other ethological agents, bio-accumulation in animal tissues, other risk factors, global public health risks”
• Also, curiously missing is the food-borne bacteria in plant products. Need I remind anyone about bean sprouts, cantaloupe food poisoning from Listeria (which was NOT from animals, but spread through human contact – most likely from the failure to clean the machinery in the plant,) lettuce and spinach, almonds (in which the source of Salmonella was never found,) greens onions, (a hepatitis A outbreak, no less!)
• Farming and animal products – the thought that plant based products are cheaper/better for the environment – nothing about the impact of mono cropping, pesticide use, wholesale devastation of lands for farming practice for soy, wheat, corn – all of which are used in the “whole foods” diet..
• Most disturbing is a doctor who has the BALLS to call poor people “not equipped” to make the “right choices.” This is implying no money = they’re stupid. I take issue with that. People aren’t stupid, unless they continuously make the same mistake without learning from it. Like, implying that poor people are stupid. Wonder how his practice is going?
• In fact, you can’t just simply watch the movie – there’s even “Guide” to help you for when you watch the movie with your families, friends, or doctor. (The site even implies in the text that a doctor doesn’t know what they are talking about when it comes to nutrition. I agree – but they also think the doctor needs to be educated as much as the poor, stupid folk.)

Conclusion

The documentary attempts a very good thing; get the watchers to switch to a whole, real foods (vegan) diet. Unfortunately, they are blinded by their vegan dogma. What could be a ground-breaking opportunity to show people that food is the way to good health is lost through junk science, outright misrepresentation of the facts, and anecdotal evidence presented as if it were actual science.

If you want to see the movie – I have added it and the companion book to my Amazon store for you all to check it out, and decide for yourselves. I might get a small commission if you buy it from this website. (About enough to buy me a tea bag or so.)

Your Turn!

Have you watched Forks Over Knives? What did you think? Let me know in the comments below.