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.
Quarterly Recipe!
Spring 2024: See all past recipes and share yours in the Recipe Forum below!
Kick-off the spring cleaning season with a zero-waste 3-ingredient gnocchi recipe care of The Zero Waste Chef, who will be at the City's Earth Day event 11-12:30on Sat. April 20 cooking on an induction stove! Pair your gnocchi with plant-based pesto for a refreshing Spring meal!
3-Ingredient Gnocchi
Ingredients
Gnocchi:
• 1¾ cups all-purpose flour
• ½ teaspoon salt
Instructions
1. Scrub potatoes and place in a pot of water. Boil water and cook for 20 to 30 minutes. Remove potatoes and save the water for cooking the gnocchi.
2. If using a ricer or fork, first peel the potatoes with a vegetable peeler. While warm, mash potatoes on a wooden board until smooth. Sprinkle the salt onto potatoes.
3. A small handful at a time, work flour into the potatoes to make a dough. The dough shouldn’t be sticky. If it is, add a bit more flour. Don’t overwork the dough.
4. Divide dough into four even pieces and form the gnocchi with the first piece. Cover the remaining dough with a clean dish towel. Roll dough into a long ¾-inch thick rope. Cut the rope into ¾-inch pieces. Indent each piece with the back of fork by pushing with your thumb as you roll it down the board. Repeat with remaining dough.
5. Add 2 teaspoons of salt to the pot of water you saved and bring the water to boil. Cook gnocchi in batches, adding only as many as can fit without crowding. Once gnocchi float, cook for 30 seconds longer. Remove the gnocchi with a slotted spoon and transfer them to a bowl. Toss immediately with your plant-based pesto. Repeat with remaining gnocchi.
Pesto
Ingredients
• 1 bunch basil leaves (2 cups packed)
• 2/3 cup walnuts
• 2 cloves garlic, crushed
• 3 tablespoons nutritional yeast
• 2/3 cup olive oil
Instructions
1. Put basil, walnuts, garlic, nutritional yeast, and salt in a food processor. Pulse until well combined.
2. With the food processor running, slowly pour in olive oil. Process until smooth. Add pesto to cooked gnocchi and store leftovers in a glass container in the fridge.
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
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Jam Making and Preservation Workshop feat. Induction Cooking
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You’re invited to participate in our workshop on jam-making and preserving seasonal produce!
Learn how to preserve vegetables and walk through the jam-making process live with Lindsey R. of Bonny Doon Berries and Jams on an induction stovetop. Plus:- Take home a 2 oz. jar of ginger pear jam that is created in front of you
- Enter our raffle with prizes that support your sustainable plant based eating journey
- Enjoy plant-based snacks
- Learn about induction and electric cooking
- Take home jam/”canning” recipes
Free! - Registration is required.
- Take home a 2 oz. jar of ginger pear jam that is created in front of you
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Past Event: 2023 Plantiful Fall Challenge!
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Join your neighbors, City of Mountain View employees, and Acterra to do the Plantiful Fall Challenge! Choose your goal diet that is "climate friendlier" than your current way of eating, track your progress, and make a difference! Find out more and sign up at any point during the program at Acterra's Plantiful Fall page.
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Past event: Meatless Meatup
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Meatless Meatup: A plant-based tasting & workshop focused on tasty "meats" made from plants.
The City of Mountain View joined forces with Acterra and Clorofil to offer this one of a kind plant-based tasting & workshop focused on tasty "meats" made from plants. This event was for anyone who's ever been curious about how to make easy meat substitutes using ingredients such as tofu, mushrooms, and tempeh.
- Discussion and tasting opportunities of various plant-based meat alternatives
- Quick cooking demos
- An overview of plant-based foods that you can find at your local markets that are protein rich
- Free resources that provide recipes, and information about food choices and climate change.
Look for similar events in Fall 2023.
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Past Event: Community Garden Workshop - Sunday March 6th
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As part of our plant-based eating series, the City of Mountain View was proud to host our first community gardening event. This in-person workshop instructed participants on how to start their own garden, no matter their gardening experience or the size of their space. Home gardens allow you to take full advantage of Mountain View’s unique climate, where you can grow your own fruits, vegetables, and herbs year-round! The workshop covered planting seasons, water-conscious gardening, how to make the most of your space from container pots to garden beds, and a hands-on planting activity. The event took place at the Soil & Water Garden, a learning-focused community garden at Heritage Park.
Learn more about the Soil & Water Garden.
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Past Event: The Positive Environmental Impacts of a Plant-Based Diet
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For the third event in our plant-based eating series, Monica Chen, Executive Director of the Factory Farming Awareness Coalition, shared about the environmental impacts of our food choices. Through an engaging and informative presentation, Monica shared how to make a big difference for the environment and your own health by including more plant-based foods in your diet.
The Factory Farming Awareness Coalition is an educational nonprofit that contributes to the eradication of factory farming through a range of educational programs. Every year they educate and empower thousands of people about the social justice, health, and environmental impacts of our food system.
You can watch a recording of the event here.
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Past Event: Plant-Based Eating Cooking Demonstration
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As part of our Plant-Based Eating program, the City of Mountain View hosted our first plant-based eating cooking demonstration on September 7th. You can find recipes from the event here.
We were grateful to be joined by chef Alex Bury. Alex was trained as a classical (non-vegetarian) chef at the world-renowned Culinary Institute of America. In 2001, she opened a restaurant in California called Sparks with an entirely plant-based menu. Sparks quickly became well-known for its outstanding food, even among non-vegans. Alex is now a professional fundraiser and serves as Vice President of Development for the international organization Vegan Outreach. When she’s not raising money to change how animals are treated she jumps back into the kitchen: She has taught healthy cooking techniques and recipes at Whole Foods Market, for the McDougall Program (a nationally renowned preventative health program), and for local groups and companies since 2000. Alex is now based in Anchorage, Alaska, where she enjoys pancakes with wild Alaska blueberries and searching for the best soy cappuccino in the 49th state!
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Past Event: City of Mountain View x Food Empowerment Project
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The City of Mountain View kicked off our new Plant-Based Eating initiative with the founder of the Food Empowerment Project, Lauren Ornelas. The Food Empowerment Project seeks to create a more just and sustainable world by recognizing the power of one’s food choices. They encourage healthy food choices that reflect a more compassionate society by spotlighting the abuse of animals on farms, the depletion of natural resources, unfair working conditions for produce workers, and the unavailability of healthy foods in low-income areas.
By making informed choices, we can prevent injustices against animals, people, and the environment. Food Empowerment Project also works to discourage negligent corporations from pushing unhealthy foods into low-income areas and empower people to make healthier choices by growing their own fruits and vegetables. In all of their work, Food Empowerment Project seeks specifically to empower those with the fewest resources.
You can watch a recording of the event here.
