Ramses Bravo - Bravo!: Health Promoting Meals from the TrueNorth Health Kitchen

B r a v o !

Other books by Alan Goldhamer, DC
The Health Promoting Cookbook

with Douglas J. Lisle, PhD
The Pleasure Trap

INTRODUCTION BY

ALAN GOLDHAMER, DC

DIRECTOR, TRUENORTH HEALTH CENTER

2012 TrueNorth Health Center, Inc.

Photos 2012 Book Publishing Company

All rights reserved. No portion of this book may be reproduced by any means whatsoever, except for brief quotations in reviews, without written permission from the publisher.

Cover and interior design: Scattaregia Design
Cover and interior photos: Warren Jefferson
Food styling: Barbara Jefferson

ISBN 13: 978-1-57067-269-9

18 17 16 15 14 13 12 1 2 3 4 5 6 7 8 9

Book Publishing Company
PO Box 99
Summertown, TN 38483
888-260-8458

Library of Congress Cataloging-in-Publication Data

Bravo, Ramses.
Bravo! : vegan recipes from the Truenorth Health Center / Ramses Bravo ; foreword by T. Colin Campbell.
p. cm.
Includes index.
ISBN 978-1-57067-269-9 (pbk.) -- ISBN 978-1-57067-941-4 (e-book)
1. Vegan cooking. 2. Vegans. I. Title.
TX837.B756 2012
641.5636--dc23

2011051704

Printed on recycled paper

Book Publishing Company is a member of Green Press Initiative. We chose to print this title on paper with 100% postconsumer recycled content, processed without chlorine, which saved the following natural resources:

For more information on Green Press Initiative, visit www.greenpressinitiative.org.
Environmental impact estimates were made using the Environmental Defense Fund Paper Calculator edf.org/papercalculator.

On the front cover: Hawaiian Salad,
On the back cover: Breakfast Potatoes, , and
Oven-Roasted Tomatoes with Arugula,

Lulu, I love you... never too much.
Logan, I hope to meet and play with you in heaven some day.
April, thank you for all the great memories.
Mom and Dad, thank you for all your support and encouragement.
Mama Rosita, you are the reason I have a passion for cooking.

I SPEAK BOTH FROM A PERSONAL AND A PROFESSIONAL PERSPECTIVE regarding this book, Bravo!, and TrueNorth Health Center. I have spent time at the center on three separate occasions, and several of my family members, friends, and acquaintances have also visited. In addition, my colleagues and I have analyzed the centers data on hypertension that led to two coauthored, peer-reviewed publications.

The food and health information offered at the center is as good as it gets. I have eaten the food, attended many of the lectures, read their material, and now feel confident that I know quite well the basis of their information. There is none better. The center is a very professional institution founded on very sound science, and it shows at every level.

I also have learned much from the TrueNorth staff professionals, especially in their understanding of the bodys ability to heal itself, if the right nutrition, resources, and experiences are provided. Conventional allopathic medicine fails to acknowledge this exceptional activity, both in the medical research laboratory and in the practicing clinic. The medical staff at True-North, under the leadership of director Alan Goldhamer, has developed a fairly unique food-based treatment strategy for their patients and has demonstrated exceptional health restorative benefits. This strategy, which begins with a variable period of medically supervised water-only fasting for many patients, culminates with the consumption of food that restores and maintains health.

Although this is a provocative approach for many professionals trained in conventional medicine, it is time that it be aired. Providing people with the kinds of recipes that achieve the amazing benefits that are routinely produced at TrueNorth is a great way to get this information in the hands of the public.

I highly recommend this book and its recipesthey can save your life.

T. Colin Campbell, PhD

PREPARING AND SERVING FOOD ARE HALLOWED TRADITIONS ALL AROUND THE WORLD. Every nationality has its own recognizable cuisine, made up of unique foods and recipes. Sometimes these recipes are more of a tribute to human ingenuity than optimal nutrition. Traditionally, people simply made the best meals they could with whatever was available in their climate and region. And, considering these limitations and the limited capacity for storage and importation, they did a pretty tasty job of it.

Today, people are beginning to realize that there is more to a good diet than mere tastiness. We want our meals to be healthful too, but that can be a challenge. How do you make foods that look and taste good without adding unhealthful oil, salt, and sugar? That important question is what inspired me to write this book. I decided to create delicious, easy-to-make, wholesome recipes so people wouldnt have to choose between tasty foods and healthful foods, meal after meal.

I created almost one hundred vegan recipes for this book to help you prepare and enjoy delicious meals and get (and stay) healthy. I wrote this book with the goal of providing the very best, most healthful recipes for people who want to transform their lives, so all my recipes are vegan.

If you are not healthy, if you lack vigor, if you are overweight, or if you just need a positive change in your life, this book is for you. The recipes and food tips will make your dietary transition as easy as possible. I planned it that way. Why? Because not too long ago, like many hardworking chefs, I was run-down, overweight, and out of sorts myself. Let me explain what happened.

I always loved to eat, and as a young boy I spent endless hours in my grandmothers kitchen. I relished the chance to help her prepare meals, especially chiles rellenos, my favorite. When she made chicken soup, I gobbled up the boiled chicken skinand not only the skin from my bowl but also the skin from everyone elses bowls. Does it surprise you to learn that I was a chubby kid?

While still in high school, I decided to turn my passion for food into a profession. After graduation, I enrolled at City College in San Francisco and received my degree in hotel and restaurant management in 1998. Afterward, I worked at a number of exclusive resorts, including four years as executive chef at the Kenwood Inn and Spa in Kenwood, California. I was steadily achieving professional success. Unfortunately, my waistline was growing steadily too. Like most chefs, I worked in restaurants and hotels where healthful meals were not a priority. I ate anything and everything. When I left my last hotel job, I was out of shape, overweight, and exhausted from the long work hours. On my days off, instead of enjoying time with my family, all I wanted to do was rest.

Fortunately, I learned about a remarkable place, TrueNorth Health Center in Santa Rosa, California, where only the finest and most healthful food is served. They were looking for an executive chef, and I was looking for a new challenge. And I knew that this would be a challenge. In fact, I came very close to not taking the job. I thought I would be signing up for an impossible task. How could I prepare meals all day long without all the ingredients I was used to? Wouldnt the food be too bland? In the end, I decided to take the job, but I wasnt entirely optimistic. I thought maybe Id learn something, and if it didnt work out, I could always find another job. Im happy to say it has more than worked out: it has changed my life.