Eating Healthy

Karl Shewry, a chef educator with Turn Compost, showed that taste does not have to be a casualty to eat healthy during a cooking demonstration held July 11 at the UTA Central Library.  

The tasty alternatives that chef Karl cooked up included creating a vegan spaghetti carbonara topped with vegan Parmesan cheese. Karl took the class through the entire process, from raw ingredients to a tasty final product.  

“As someone who has a plant-based diet, I look for good substitutions of dishes that were formally meat-based and are actually very delicious,” Karl said. “Pasta is something that everyone can make. It is easy and good. You don’t have to spend a million dollars.” 

Karl stated that Carbonara is known for its richness, egg yolks, cheese and bacon. He shared that it is possible to take those three key ingredients out of the recipe and put healthier substitutions in its place.  

The transformation of the classic Italian recipe first started with using smoked tofu bacon, known as Bakon. As it was cooking, the Bakon frying smell was close to the genuine article and had a similar flavor profile when added to the dish.  

Other substitutions to the recipe include using aquafaba as an egg replacer and almond milk to give the dish its creamy sauce. The recipe also called for sea salt, pepper, turmeric and liquid smoke.  

Topping off the dish was vegan Parmesan cheese that was composed of nuts and seeds, yeast flakes, salt garlic and onion powder, which was ground together in a food processor. All together, the recipe took about 30 minutes to assemble.  

Since going to a plant-based diet, Karl shared that it has given him some added health benefits. Karl noted that this lifestyle change helped him after becoming diagnosed as a type two diabetic.  

While on the surface, it might seem that a plant-based diet is limited and restrictive, Karl shared that this is not the case. Healthy and tasty alternatives are plentiful.  

“There are options out there like this recipe that you can find that are simple and easy to do at home. You don’t have to sacrifice your health for it,” he said. “Google is your friend. There is a huge plant-based family on the internet that will take you down really good paths to very good food.” 

People interested in chef Karl Shewry's culinary creations can visit his website at  https://www.greatgalettes.com.  

Information about Turn Compost can be found online at www.turncompost.com.