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Last week, The World Health Organization (WHO) revealed that one in eight people in the world is obese. In 2022, that totaled more than one billion people worldwide.
We all know there are many reasons for excess weight in today’s world, but one thing is clear – the Standard America Diet (SAD) is not working; in fact, it’s probably the root of what ails us. Studies show your best response is the simplest – learn more about cooking and eating. We all need to know how to quickly prepare delicious plant-filled meals with less animal products and highly processed flours and sugars.
Well, how do I get there?
Enter Global Plant Forward Culinary Summit, hosted by the Culinary Institute of America (CIA). A ground-breaking leadership summit of cooking, tastings, and culinary strategy —based on the Menus of Change principles.
Same as it ever was, the CIA has used this framework to build better meals for years and so can we. Joining forces with institutes of higher education (including Stanford University), fast-food companies and food manufacturers, the goal is improve quality and health of cafeterias and restaurants and packaged foods. One of the most significant culinary mega-trends from this work is plant-forward; meals where vegetables, whole grains, beans, fruits, seeds, and nuts take main stage, with animal products sides and seasonings.
We Food Partied! at this innovative school, and participated in their future-of-food programing many times:
2022: Plant Forward Future with the Culinary Institute of America Part 1
2022: Plant Forward Future part 2
2017: Soil – A Thing of the Past?
2014: reThink Farming – Planet Enemy #1?
2023’s Culinary Plant-Forward Summit pushed hard for us to consider whole grains as produce – not just carbohydrates. When left whole, grains supply important nutrients and feed our microbiome. Watch out limiting whole grains long-term; brains run on carbos and gut bacteria does too. They eat plant fibers we can’t digest and if we don’t feed them…get this – they start munching on the carbohydrate-rich mucus lining of our intestine. So do take care about that.
There are many grains; wheat, rice, emmer, teff and hato mugi to name a few. Look for sorghum, commonly used in packaged foods, a highly nutritious and climate friendly addition to your diet. Also Kernza, unique as a perennial grain (most are annuals). Kernza’s root system grows 12 feet down into the soil; very climate friendly.
Baking Tip: Whole grain flours (with bran and germ) absorb more liquid than white flours, so when replacing in a recipe, cut back 10% on the flour, or increase your liquid 10% by weight.
This April, Global Plant-Forward features sessions such as Meat in a Plant-Forward Future, Attracting Next Generations with Dynamic Global Flavors, and Building Bold Vegetable-Forward Dishes: Science and Culinary R&D. The 3-day program is designed for food industry professionals and if that’s you, consider attending for a professional development booster. No matter, Plant Forward offers inspiration to everyone. After all, cooking is all about tips, and the more you know, the faster, more delicious, and more exciting your food and cooking will be. The public can enjoy free webcasts of the conference online, and the website is packed with cooking videos and recipes for you to learn more and practice. Additionally, if you are in the Napa region, consider taking a cooking class in their state-of-the-art kitchen. Click here for upcoming events.
Global Plant-Forward Culinary Summit
The Culinary Institute of America
500 1st St. Napa, CA
April 16 – 18, 2024
Food from past CIA receptions:
photos courtesy of LSIC