229: Best Tips to Veganize The Most Iconic Italian Dishes With Vegan Chef Leslie Durso

Ah, Italy! The pizzas, the pastas, the wine, the gelato…. But what if you’re vegan? Well, let’s bust a myth right now: it’s a total misconception that travelling to Italy if you’re vegan, or gluten-free for that matter, is difficult. We’re used to the American versions of Italian foods, where it’s all about cream and cheese. Truth is, traditional Italian specialties, particularly in the South of Italy, are just about fresh produce done in a healthy way. Real Italian food is a whole other world - and it’s super vegan-friendly.

How do we know this? Because we’ve travelled throughout Italy and sampled the best vegan options! Like our Italian Getaway last year, where we went to the best restaurants Ravello has to offer. Check out Episode 211 to hear what previous guests thought of the experience.

But let’s go back to veganizing for a moment. Today is about how can you veganize Italian dishes at home, reduce the calories and make them healthier. Vince, our talented producer for the day (and mixing & mastering engineer) is Italian, but intolerant to dairy. Here are some of Leslie’s go-to Italian classics made plant-based.

Vegan Alfredo sauce:

• Boil cauliflower in vegetable broth until it’s tender.
• Place cauliflower, vegetable broth, roasted garlic, nutritional yeast, cashew nuts and caramelized onion in a blender.
• Blend until smooth and pour over pasta. Best. Sauce. EVER.

Chicken Milano:

• Substitute the cream with a vegan cashew cream: Boil and rinse cashew nuts, drain them, and blend with a little water, nutritional yeast, salt and pepper.
• Substitute the chicken with seitan or breaded & fried zucchini steaks.

Eggplant parmigiana:

• Thinly slice eggplant lengthwise, sprinkle on salt and leave for 10 mins.
• Pat dry, then pop them into flour and oil to fry.
• Make a parmigiana by blending cashew nuts, caramelized onion, roasted garlic, nutritional yeast, salt and pepper.
• Layer the eggplant in an oven dish with tomato sauce, whole basil leaves, and the parmigiana sauce.
• Bake until it bubbles. This dish will change your life.

Easy vegan gelato:

• Place a couple of frozen bananas with your flavor of choice (cacao, berries, maca, etc.) in a blender.
• Blend until it’s super smooth and super thick.
• Place back in the freezer for an hour or two - this firms it up so you can scoop it.

Alli’s super-fast chocolate mousse:

• Place avocado, cacao powder, plant mylk, and vegan sugar in your blender.
• Blend until smooth.
• Leave in the fridge for chocolate mousse or place in the freezer for chocolate ice-cream. The perfect remedy for a sweet tooth.

How to make lemon olive oil:

• Peel an organic lemon or orange (just the top layer, without the rind)
• Put the peel in the olive oil
• Leave it for a few days and voila! Zesty olive oil that’s delicious drizzled on salads and soups.

These are just some of the dishes you could learn at our next Italian Getaway. That’s right, we’re going back to the Amalfi Coast! And we’d love to take you with us! This is not a large tour-bus type holiday - it’s an intimate retreat for like-minded women. We will fully immerse ourselves in Italian culture. We’ll sample the most exquisite food and wine, go shopping, hiking, and sailing. Leslie will teach you how to make healthy vegan meals so you can bring a taste of Italy back home with you. But that’s not all you’ll take back - this is a life changing retreat, where you will make connections that will last a lifetime.

Go to www.foodhealsnation.com/italy to find out more. Right now, the price is set, but prices go up in January 2019. If you want to reserve your spot, all you need to do is put down a deposit (it’s fully refundable by Jan 2019)! There are only a few spots because we want to keep the group small and intimate. This year’s Getaway sold out so fast, so book your spot today!

Being hailed as “Sex and the City for Food,” The Food Heals Podcast brings together experts in the field of nutrition, health and healing to teach you the best-kept natural secrets to being a hotter, healthier, happier YOU!

The Food Heals Podcast is hosted by Allison Melody and Suzy Hardy – two self-proclaimed natural chicks who will rock your world and change your beliefs about health! This sexy, savvy duo provides eco-friendly advice on a variety of issues including the healing power of nutrition, living authentically, turning your passion into your career, choosing the best natural health and beauty products, the benefits of a plant-based diet and so much more!

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