Why Vegan Cuisine?

Our Philosophy

Humans are omnivores, not carnivores or herbivores, and in order to achieve balance in our modern-day diets, vegetarianism is essential. We believe that every person’s position on vegetarianism is to be respected, but also challenged. Vegetarianism is no longer simply an animal rights movement or special diet. It has emerged as a respected animal-free cuisine and a pathway back to our dietary roots as omnivores. Humanity is actually able to live and thrive exclusively on a plant based diet. By embracing a vegan plant-based diet either for health reasons or for environmental and economic reasons, we can achieve sustainability in our human diet, our environment, and the culinary world.

Though, as omnivores, we were built to chew and digest meat, we now have the dietary knowledge and food capability to thrive on a plant-based diet. Our bodies function best on a high complex carbohydrate, high fiber, low protein, and low fat diet, which is quite the opposite nutritional profile of meat; therefore, meat and animal products should ideally be a small to nil percentage of a human’s diet. In fact, we believe that no less than 75 percent of our diet should be plant-based as the foundation of a healthy diet. When we say plant-based cuisine, we are talking about food that is free of all animal products and byproducts (i.e. diary and eggs). At least 50% of our diet should be fresh produce, with whole grains and plant proteins, including pulses (beans, peas, & lentils), and legumes (soybean proteins), comprising the remaining fifty percent.

From a culinary perspective, we focus on vegan cuisine because it covers all categories of customer needs and preferences, is the healthiest form of vegetarianism, and is essential to mastering vegetarian cuisine. At Eco-Cuisine, we focus on translating classical cuisines and the foods we cherish to plant-based options as a bridge to vegetarian cuisine. Plant based cuisine, properly prepared, will inspire humanity to embrace it. Our products, combined with our cookbook and services for food service professionals, help bridge that gap and further our mission to provide affordable access to delicious, healthy, and sustainable plant-based food-options. We are currently working with the Colorado Dry Bean Council, the United Nations Food and Agricultural Organization, and American Natural Foods to advance plant-based eating around the globe.

https://www.coloradodrybeans.com/

Eco-Cuisine is proud to work with the Colorado Dry Bean Administrative Committee to promote the Colorado dry bean industry through research and marketing. Dry beans have been identified as a meat alternative by the USDA My Plate food guidance system, providing balanced nutrition in the form of fiber, carbohydrates, protein, and fat. One cup of cooked pinto beans supplies 25% of the daily recommended protein for a 150 lb. person.

SOUTH WEST SMOKED BLACK BEAN LOAF & GEEK LENTIL LOAF.JPG

Additionally, the United Nations Food & Agriculture Organization has declared 2016 the International Year of the Pulse and February 10, 2019 the International Day of the Pulse. With government and nonprofit policy centers intersecting with new agricultural concerns, bean-based protein nutrition may soon be resurrected as a natural solution to meet humanity’s need for protein.

American Natural Foods

American Natural Foods is a 501(c)(3) nonprofit organization whose mission is the culinary education of professional chefs and foodservice operators in the diverse disciplines of preparing plant-based vegetarian (vegan) cuisine.

There is a significant culinary divide between passionate natural foods cooks who know how to cook with natural vegetarian ingredients but don’t know classical cuisines and professional chefs who know classical cuisine but generally don’t know many vegan ingredients, plant-based protein options and dairy/egg substitutes. The ANF’s goal is to bridge this gap through its educational endeavors while simultaneously continuing to develop recipes for plant-based culinary competitions and foodservice production. The result of this achievement will bring vegetarian cuisine into the realm of consumer expectations while addressing the constraints of foodservice operators.

The ANF has competed in the International Culinary Olympics with plant-based cuisine over a 20 year period, and has been awarded with bronze, silver, and gold medals for their vegetarian, plant-based dishes, a feat that never before had been accomplished.