Plant-Based Eating

Want to learn more about the many benefits of plant-based eating? Want to support Mountain View’s amazing restaurants? The City’s sustainability team launched a plant-based eating program that will focus on promoting healthy and sustainable food choices, supporting equitable access to healthy food, and spreading awareness of the positive health and environmental impacts of a plant-based diet.

We host quarterly public events, featuring cooking demonstrations, film screenings, and community speakers. Local restaurants will also be invited to promote plant-based eating opportunities here in Mountain View. Finally, the City Council adopted a resolution in support of plant-based eating in 2022.

Recipes!

Welcome to our new series, The Plant-Based Pantry with Grace! November offers up plant-based mashed potatoes and gravy, here's the recipe PDF if you want to follow along with the video.

Mashed Potatoes

INGREDIENTS

• 3 lbs baby dutch yellow potatoes
• 1/2 cup unsweetened almond milk
• 1/4 cup plant-based butter
• 2 tsp each garlic powder, onion powder, salt, and pepper
  
  

DIRECTIONS

• Peel and chop potatoes
• Soak in cold water for 10 mins
• Boil on high heat for 10 mins
• Mash the potatoes
• Add 1/2 cup almond milk and 1/4 cup plant-based butter
• Season with 2 tsp each of garlic power, onion powder, salt, and pepper

Gravy

INGREDIENTS

• 1 quart vegetable broth
• 2 tbsp plant-based butter
• 4 tbsp flour
• 2 tsp each garlic powder, onion powder, salt, and pepper

DIRECTIONS

• Melt 2 tbsp plant-based butter in a pan on medium heat
• Mix in 1 quart veggie broth and 4 tbsp of flour in small amounts, stirring to avoid clumps
• Season with 2 tsp of garlic power, onion powder, salt, and pepper
• Add on top of mashed potatoes and top with parsley
  
  

Enjoy! What other plant-based recipes do you love on your Thanksgiving table?

October's recipe was Veggie and Rice soup, watch the video here or download the recipe PDF.

Send your favorite recipe or plant-based eating tip, including a photo to sustainaility@mountainview.gov and it could be featured here.

Looking for ways to get started?

Recipes:

• Recipes Forum below!
• Vegan baking recipes from Minimalist Baker
• Meatless Alphabet from Acterra
• Zero Waste Chef recipe index
• Veggie burger recipe from Love and Lemons
• 10 African inspired vegan recipes from Afro Eats

Resources:

• Meatless Monday
• Green Monday
• Forks Over Knives beginner's guide
• Acterra's plant-forward eating resources
• Acterra's Healthy Plate, Healthy Planet fact sheet
• What science says about the benefits of a plant-based diet (Discover, June 2020)
• Emissions from the livestock sector (FFAC)
• 10 weeks to vegan challenge & resources
• 10 million black vegan women movement