Here they are:

1. We’re hosting meal and recipe exchanges (Plant-Based Potlucks) starting August 7th, and you’re invited!
2. We’re starting a lending library of cookbooks and health and nutrition books and DVDs!

Plant-Based Potlucks

I like to think that, with the blog and some dinners and events we’ve hosted and brought people to, we’ve shown that plant-based food tastes good. What remains is incorporating it into daily life, and making it less daunting and expensive for everyone to do so. Here’s what I’m proposing!

• You sign up to participate. I then randomly assign you a food category such that all our bases were covered (Soup, Entree, Side Dish, Salad).
• You choose a dish to make (I can provide suggestions, also see below) and prepare enough for everyone to get one serving plus an extra to bring for sampling if you can. I’ll let you know how many servings you’ll need to bring, and you can double or triple the recipe and portion it out in some cheap containers (you’ll have to mark it with your initials to keep track of it!)
  
• You’ll write the recipe on some index cards, print out some copies, or e-mail it to me to hand out
• Show up with your recipe and prepared dishes, exchange them, and then go home with a stack of prepared food and new recipes!!
• Any extra containers brought for sampling will be set out for people to try, along with a few snacks of my own making…snacks like this amazing Mexican Chocolate Pie I’m about to post on!

• So it’s like a potluck but better because you get food for the work week!

I am targeting Sunday late afternoon/early evening for these, with our proposed start date August 7th (because we’ll be in Seattle end of July for Derek’s contest). Perhaps we can host a kickoff on July 24 so people can check out some books to get ready – with snacks? I’m hoping once it gets rolling it’ll be a weekly thing, and once it gets going you can sign up while you’re here as well as through our e-mail and blog calls for participation.

I think so much good can come out of participating: you get community support in moving toward a plant-based diet or at least doing so for a few meals a week, you get to try a variety of recipes with minimal investment and effort, and you save time during the work week.

And, since this is largely for those new to eating whole food, plant-based, I realize that a lot of you don’t have an existing repertoire from which to bust out some potluck dishes. Hence, the following!

Plant-Based Nutrition and Cookbook Lending Library

We are building our own little library of health and nutrition books, and cookbooks, and even DVDs and we want to make them available to our clients and Plant-Based Potluck participants! It’ll be the usual  check out for two weeks, leave your name and number on an index card sort of thing so we can track who has it and make sure everyone gets a chance at everything. So if you’re stumped on what to make for the next potluck, browse the cookbooks, check one out, and choose at your leisure!

Here’s a list of some of the books we’ll have:

• Forks Over Knives: The Plant-Based Way to Health-Dr. T. Colin Campbell and Dr. Caldwell B. Esselstyn, Jr.

• Unprocessed: How to achieve vibrant health and your ideal weight – Chef AJ and Glen Merzer

• Breaking the Food Seduction: The Hidden Reasons Behind Food Cravings—And 7 Steps to End Them Naturally – Neal D. Barnard M.D.
  
  
• Foods That Cause You to Lose Weight: The Negative Calorie Effect – Neal Barnard
  
  
• The Engine 2 Diet: The Texas Firefighter’s 28-Day Save-Your-Life Plan that Lowers Cholesterol and Burns Away the Pounds – Rip Esselstyn
  
  
• 21-Day Weight Loss Kickstart: Boost Metabolism, Lower Cholesterol, and Dramatically Improve Your Health – Neal Barnard
  
  
• Keep It Simple, Keep It Whole: Your Guide To Optimum Health – Alona Pulde MD
  
  
• The Get Healthy, Go Vegan Cookbook: 125 Easy and Delicious Recipes to Jump-Start Weight Loss and Help You Feel Great – Neal Barnard
  
  
• Prevent and Reverse Heart Disease: The Revolutionary, Scientifically Proven, Nutrition-Based Cure – Caldwell B. Esselstyn Jr.
  
  
• Dr. Neal Barnard’s Program for Reversing Diabetes: The Scientifically Proven System for Reversing Diabetes without Drugs – Neal D. Barnard M.D.
  
  
• Appetite for Reduction: 125 Fast and Filling Low-Fat Vegan Recipes – Isa Chandra Moskowitz
  

• The Complete Idiot’s Guide to Plant-Based Nutrition – M.S., R.D., C.P.T., Julieanna Hever

We’ll be posting more on the potlucks as their inauguration draws near. If you already know you’d like to participate or want to know more, feel free to comment here, contact us through the blog, through facebook, twitter, or in person – whatever! I know we’ve already got a few people on board; can’t wait to get started!