Vegan without going whole hog
COUNCIL BLUFFS — Thirteen students sat attentively in Looft Hall on the Iowa Western Community College campus, learning about the science of food: carbohydrates, fiber, starch, enzymes, DNA strains.
Instructor Jillian Mahl, wearing a white chef’s shirt from her days at the French Culinary Institute of New York City, discussed the makeup of rice and barley, bananas and apples, broccoli and carrots, and how to take this knowledge and apply it to cooking.
Cracking jokes and engaging the “continuing education” class, Mahl made the subject matter interesting.
“It’s about knowing why ingredients act the way they do. Anyone make mashed potatoes and they get gluey on you?” she said, prompting head nods.
“When starch and hot water mixes it can create a paste,” she continued before discussing remedies.
Mahl, of Council Bluffs, is a classically trained chef who brings vegan principles to her teaching, spreading the word that a plant-based diet isn’t the end of good food.
Veganism. Vegans. No meat. No animal products. Many shudder at the thought.
But people often have misconceptions about a plant-based diet, Mahl said.
“It’s for hippies, leftover from the ’60s, ’70s, vegans are eating grass and roots,” the 22-year-old said the uninitiated believe. “But there’s so much flavor to be had in a vegan diet.”
Baby potato salad with caramelized onions and vinegar, butternut squash bake, and mushroom ravioli with creamy spinach basil sauce are among the many dishes Mahl points to as vegan but flavorful.
The benefits of a plant-based diet include oxygenation of tissue, toxin cleansing and a boost in metabolism, leading to weight loss, Mahl said. Vegetables, grains, fruits, legumes, nuts and seeds make up the majority of the diet.
Carol Reeder, a dietitian at Jennie Edmundson Hospital, said the key issue for vegans is protein consumption.
“It’s a little more challenging than being a vegetarian. They really have to focus on getting that protein,” she said, mentioning beans, peas and lentils as protein sources.
“If someone chooses to go that way, I think it’s great,” Reeder said. “There are a lot of health benefits.”
Mahl said she became a vegan about a year-and-a-half ago because of the health benefits. A relative newbie herself, she isn’t pushing veganism on anyone. The chef simply states why she made the choice and the benefits she’s found.
“I’m not a vegan, never thought about it,” Katie Craig of Council Bluffs said before Mahl’s class started. “But Jillian’s taught me how using some vegan techniques can extend your budget and is a more healthy option. I like the comparison she offers, traditional versus non-traditional cooking.
“I’ve learned you can look at food that seemed gross in a different way,” Craig continued, citing tofu as an example. “I’m not a big fan of tofu, but she’s used tofu in a way I enjoy and will use myself at home.”
The ideas of veganism, not necessarily becoming a vegan, are things everyone can use, Reeder said.
“I’m not an expert. I still eat meat,” she said. “But I definitely think we all need to focus on more whole grains, more fruits and vegetables.”
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