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MEET THE KROCKS: We are a married couple who started on a life-changing whole food, plant-based weight loss journey in June 2018. To date, we have lost over 300 pounds combined and we aren’t done yet! Read Our Story
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We love getting to know other people in the whole food, plant-based world, and this week we had the privilege of chatting with Chuck Underwood (aka Brand New Vegan)! Chuck is one of the people we found pretty early on in our whole food, plant-based “adventure” and his recipes certainly helped us during the transition from a “standard American diet.”
He is especially good at taking all of the old comfort foods you used to love and making them a whole lot healthier without compromising on flavor! In many cases, I’d even argue his recipes are tastier than the classics. Hint: Try out some of our favorites we’ve outlined below.
When Brian started his podcast (“I’m Losing It!”), Chuck was one of the first people we added to our potential guest list, and last week we finally got around to making it happen! Since so many of you probably know and love Chuck from his blog, YouTube videos and Facebook group, we decided to go ahead and record video for this one as well. So you have your choice of formats… you can listen to it as a podcast HERE or watch the video HERE!
Aside from being an amazing vegan recipe developer, Chuck has a really inspiring story, so I really hope you’ll give it a listen (or watch)! From his decision to switch to a plant-based diet to a recent health scare he had when he suffered a stroke, join us as we dig into his past and present.
Our Favorite “Brand New Vegan” Recipes
When it comes to recipes, Chuck does not skimp on flavor. After trying his carrot dogs, our friend Martin The Great Potato Mage likes to refer to him as the alchemist of whole food, plant-based cooking. He has so many amazing recipes on his blog, and I know it can be tough deciding where to start, so we thought we’d outline some of our favorites below. Let us know if you try them out!
Smoky Vegan Carrot Dogs – Recipe | Video
If you are looking for a great recipe to make while all of your friends and family are gathering around the grill in the summer… look no further! The smell as you take the lid off the Instant Pot will transport you back to the days when you didn’t know any better than to eat that mystery meat on a bun. But there’s no mystery here… just a carrot!
We actually filmed a video of us making these carrot dogs for the first time. Check out our video here! Brian still owes Chuck a hug for this one.
Tofu Feta – Recipe
This is my personal favorite Chuck recipe. I haven’t actually made the full salad with the dressing yet, but the feta is absolutely amazing. I like to use it in salads or Brian’s “Greek Bowl” that he made during our What We Eat In A Week video (recipe coming soon for that). It just adds such a nice punch of flavor. If you are getting sick of salads, I highly recommend trying this out.
Best Damn Vegan Chili Ever – Recipe | Video
Chuck’s favorite of his own recipes is this chili that has actually won several awards, even though he has never entered it into a competition himself! His viewers have sent him photos of trophies they received by entering it into competition and it definitely holds up… even when compared to non-vegan chili recipes!
Amazing Cauliflower Tacos – Recipe | Video
One of the first Chuck recipes we ever made was his cauliflower taco meat. It’s super easy to put together and makes a great addition to your veggie tacos… that is, if you can avoid eating the entire tray by the spoonful when it comes out of the oven.
Vegan Bolognese Sauce – Recipe
Once you’ve got the cauliflower taco meat technique down, you can also make his bolognese sauce, which pairs perfectly with a whole wheat or bean pasta! If you aren’t hungry by this point, I don’t know what else to say.
Amazing Vegan Cheese Sauce – Recipe | Video
If you followed along with our Mary’s Mini, you might recognize this cheese sauce. Made from potatoes and carrots, you won’t believe how cheesy it actually tastes! I’m still not sure it’s not some kind of Jedi mind trick. 🤔
Vegan Steak ‘n Shake Chili – Recipe
If you’re from the Midwest, you probably grew up eating Steak ‘n Shake chili. Prior to switching to a whole food, plant-based diet, I think I would have said their chili was my favorite. When we found out Chuck had a veganized version of it, Brian made an executive decision NOT to try it because he was afraid he’d want to eat it nonstop.
Well, that ends now! We have been talking to Chuck all morning as I write this blog post, and I am SO excited to try this recipe out. I even sent Brian to Steak ‘n Shake this morning to pick up some of their pepper sauce, which is MUST for me. We will report back on how it stacks up to the real thing! 😉
Follow Chuck!
Here are all of the places you can follow along with Chuck:
BrandNewVegan.com
YouTube.com/BrandNewVegan
Facebook Page
Facebook Group (Brand New Vegan Community)
Instagram
More Information On A WFPB Diet
Check out these links for more information on a whole food, plant-based diet:
15 Minute Recap: Exactly How We Lost 335+ Pounds On A Plant-Based Diet
Back To Basics: Weight Loss 101
How We Lost 270 Pounds: Our Whole Food Plant Based Weight Loss Journey
Q&A Session: Our 290 Pound Weight Loss Journey
Q&A: Weight Loss Update, Loose Skin, Advice on Going Plant-Based + More!
Top Ten Tips For Switching To A Whole Food, Plant-Based Vegan Diet
Q&A with The Krocks: “Cheat” Foods, Fasting, Stress Eating, Going Organic, Children + More!
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