Vegan MoFo #21: Lunchtime Seminar by Ripe

I work in the Texas Medical Center, the world's largest medical and research center. The density of medical professionals and research scientists make it an incredibly interesting place to work. I recently saw that the TMC Library was hosting Stephanie, the owner of Ripe Cuisine. I was very surprised to see a speaker giving a talk on whole foods, plant-based nutrition. I went to the seminar for the food, but the talk itself was very useful. Most of the two dozen people were curious about where to start to eat more plants and asked some great questions. I only chimed in when someone asked a question about soy (the phytoestrogens in soy are very weak, the main one is genistein and it's 1000-fold less potent than the estradiol your body makes). I can't wait to check out the Ripe pop-up cafe at the Sunday farmers' market! Her lunchtime menu included a tempeh bacon, lettuce, and tomato sandwich with a ranch-style spread, spiralized noodle salad with dressing (possibly this recipe), and black bean brownies.