Jane and Ann Esselstyn live fiercely, stay bold, and eat delicious with their plant-based cooking.
Jane and Ann Esselstyn live fiercely, stay bold, and eat delicious with their plant-based cooking.
Ann and Jane Esselstyn, the whole food, plant-based queens, are a dynamic mother-daughter duo with a wealth of expertise in a whole food, plant-based diet. They’ve been plant-based since Ann’s husband, Dr. Caldwell B. Esselstyn’s pioneering research revealed that a plant-based diet not only prevents heart disease but reverses it, too. Their latest cookbook, “Be A Plant-Based Woman Warrior: Live Fierce, Stay Bold, Eat Delicious,” launched in 2022, features more than 100 fantastic, user-friendly recipes and is a testament to their knowledge and experience.
From start to finish, this book is beautifully designed with gorgeous, rustic-looking photography, soft-touch coating on the covers, and printed on exquisite uncoated paper. It features a plethora of oil-free, plant-based recipes, from breakfasts to sauces and dressings to quick sandwiches, salads, and appetizers to one-bowl meals, all intended to improve our well-being. There’s even a dessert section. But what really revved my heart were the testimonials of countless people who follow this way of eating.
Plant-based eating is a family business for the Esselstyns, which includes Dr. Caldwell and Ann’s firefighter-turned-plant-based diet activist son, Rip Esselstyn. He’s behind the Engine 2 Diet phenomenon and the founder of the Plantstrongbrand of plant-based products.
While their work can be found by searching for vegan cookbooks online, they intentionally distance themselves from the term ‘vegan’ in their teaching material and cookbooks. They point out that ‘vegan food’ often relates to today’s packaged and heavily processed products that don’t contain meat. However, they focus on whole foods: whole fruits and vegetables, legumes, whole grains, and raw, unsalted nuts and seeds. This distinction enlightens those looking to understand the nuance of plant-based eating.
Processed foods, packaged foods, prepared foods, and take-out food incessantly tempt us with their chemically achieved bliss point of sugar, salt, and fat. Bottom line, that food is prepared for you not by you. And no matter what the box boasts or the commercial claims, they are not looking out for your health, writes Jane Esselstyn in chapter two’s “Food as Medicine” section.
The rise in chronic diseases related to an unhealthy, mainly processed-food diet (The Standard American Diet) coupled with climate change awareness in this century are the main reasons why veganism and vegetarianism have skyrocketed. I attribute much of this awareness to the advent of the internet, digital, and social media. The Esselstyns have taken full advantage of all these tools, creating a sense of connection and community as they spread their plant-perfect gospel organically.
Food-conscious documentaries emphasizing the reversal and prevention of health issues by switching to a whole food, plant-based diet also play an integral role in popularizing this way of eating. I wouldn’t have understood the gravity of our food toxicity when I sought a diet to lower my high blood pressure if it weren’t for documentaries such as Forks Over Knives, Fat, Sick and Nearly Dead, and Crazy, Sexy, Cancer, to name a few. Today’s food-related documentaries range in themes from the microbiome to mental health, and they all allude to the direct relationship between a whole food, plant-based diet and good health.
“Be A Plant-Based Woman Warrior” may be Ann and Jane’s second cookbook collaboration, but they’ve been developing recipes for decades. Open this book, and you’ll find a wealth of information, from cooking your food to storage tips. They’ve also included a quick plant-based woman warrior guideline: no meat, dairy, or added oils, and minimal salt and sweet (they don’t use sugar but replace it with maple syrup, so minimal of that). This comprehensive approach supports and guides you on your plant-based journey.
So live fierce, stay bold, and eat delicious with this incredible cookbook.
For more insight into their way of cooking, you can catch them on their YouTube channel every week and follow Jane on Instagram. They put a unique spin on cooking demonstrations with their quirky mother-daughter banter.
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Jane Esselstyn RN is a fresh, charismatic voice for plant-based eating who brings her perspective and passion as a nurse, researcher, mother, and teacher to the forefront of the movement. She presents her work, research, and high-energy demos nationwide. Her annual conference, Well, Now! Camp for Plant-Based Women Warriors focuses on the power of a plant-based approach to eliminate heart disease, the #1 killer of women, and other preventable, lifestyle-related diseases. Jane claims, “Prevention is the New Cure!” — and the most powerful, relevant, and protective medicine we have is a plant-based diet.
Jane is not just a health advocate, but also a creative force in the world of plant-based eating. She is the inventive designer of plant-strong recipes and the co-author of The Prevent and Reverse Heart Disease Cookbook. She created the recipe sections in the #1 NYTimes bestseller Plant-Strong and The Engine 2 Seven Day Rescue by Rip Esselstyn. She is also the co-author of The Engine 2 Cookbook. Jane’s presentations, cooking demonstrations, and cookbooks are infused with her infectious energy, clarity, hilarity, and a can-do attitude.
She and her husband, Brian Hart, live in Cleveland, Ohio, with their three plant-based children. Jane graduated from the University of Michigan and competed as an All-American swimmer and varsity rower.
