Two weeks into 2019, it’s time to check up on those resolutions. A common aspiration for the New Year is to eat healthier and become more conscious of the food we’re consuming. Enter Jonathan Adams and his healthcare advisor Dr. William Duffy. Jonathan Adams, AKA Johnny Mac, co-owner of Rival Bros. Coffee, showed our guests how to eat clean without sacrificing flavor during his vegan brunch class. William Duffy, MD, Clinical Assistant Professor of Internal Medicine at the University of Pennsylvania, aims to teach people how a plant-based diet can contribute to the prevention of disease, and lead to a healthier lifestyle. Read on to see the gorgeous food that Johnny created and learn more about Dr. Duffy’s plant-based, whole foods focused initiative, Food As Medicine!

It doesn’t get much healthier than salad, however many perceive the leafy dish as boring. Johnny put that notion to rest with his vibrant kale salad – packed with beets, avocado, chickpeas, grapefruit vinaigrette and finished with smoked salt. Winter provides the means for a fresh and zesty vinaigrette due to the seasonality of citrus. Although it may seem odd that citrus fruits are abundant during the cold weather, much of them come from Florida and other warmer locations where the winter months are the ideal temperatures for them. The juice from citrus fruits such as oranges, grapefruits, pomelos and meyer lemons can make for a delicious vinaigrette, while the zest provides a zing of freshness to any salad.

Dr. Duffy explained that eating a whole foods, plant-based diet is the best way to get in shape along with exercise. “Eating this way is a process, it takes time,” said Dr. Duffy. You can start by reducing a few things at a time, such as your dairy intake. Milk alternatives have increased in popularity recently. Whether you’re going vegan, or the whole milk in your latte is upsetting your stomach, it is nice to have a reliable source of oat or nut milk. It can be expensive and difficult to find a milk substitute that you enjoy and isn’t filled with sugar. As someone running a coffee business, Johnny can attest to this problem, which is why they started to experiment with creating their own milk substitutes for Rival Bros.’ cafes. Johnny shared his pre-release oat and sesame milk batches with our guests and demonstrated how to recreate them at home!

The process is simple:

• Soak your oats or sesame seeds in a glass container with 4 parts water to 1 part oats or seeds.
• Let them sit overnight in the fridge.
• Strain the water and rinse the paste that has formed.
• Add the paste and 4 parts water to a blender and puree.
• Strain again and push the mixture through to extract all the water.
• You’ll be left with your “milk” substitute as well as a creamy ricotta-like spread that is a fantastic cheese alternative!

Johnny then went on to use the sesame ricotta mixture in his third course. The seasoned sesame ricotta was spread onto toasted multigrain bread, topped with pickled cherry tomatoes and za’atar (a Middle Eastern spice blend). The creamy, nutty and light sesame schmear melded with the tart pickled cherry tomatoes while the za’atar literally spiced things up. This toast exemplified how a vegan diet does not mean sacrificing flavor!

As a special treat, everyone went home with a little Rival Bros. Black Top – nitro cold brew in a can! This stuff pours so smoothly and has a great creaminess to it. You can find it at all Rival Bros. locations.

If you’re interested in more information on plant-based, whole food dieting, check out Dr. William Duffy’s Food As Medicine seminar. The conference will be held at the Arthur H. Rubenstein, MBBCH Auditorium of the Smilow Translational Research Center on April 6th, from 8 am – 4 pm, and will include informative data, a great lineup of speakers and, yes, food!