Dr. Eben Davis is a chiropractor with an office in San Francisco. I have been writing for Dr. Davis’s newsletter/blog for at least a couple of years. His goal is to help his patients gain all aspects of health.Here the story of how and why he started pressure cooking.
A couple of months ago, Davis asked me about my pressure cooker ecbookbook, The New Fast Food. He sent a bunch of questions about making the recipes and I answered them. On his first solo trip to Whole Foods to shop for recipe ingredients,, it took him 2 hours. (I did not make this up. He truly did not cook until he started using his pressure cooker.)
He also told me that his wife was going to be very happy that he was cooking – as in actually getting into the kitchen and making meals. He told me, “My wife says, “Knock yourself out.” Davis now uses his pressure cooker daily.
Davis watched my DVD, Pressure Cooking: A Fresh Look, Delicious Dishes in Minutes and made the Spiced Red Rice with French Green Lentils for his first pressure cooker dish. He sent me a message that read “Presto”. I could tell that he was proud. He told me how he ground the herbs (which are truly spices but still…) and everything.
Now, here’s the story about why he started pressure cooking and what he has to say about it.
What is your interest in pressure cooking?
Dr. Davis says:
I was first introduced to plant based nutrition and the McDougall Program about 22 years ago while in Chiropractic College. I knew at that point that I wanted to adopt a plant-based diet. Since then I have been teaching patients about the health benefits of plant based nutrition and referring patients to Dr. McDougall’s program. However, I never learned how to actually shop for and cook the foods I wanted to eat.
I was eating vegan but it entailed many trips to the Whole Foods salad bar and vegan restaurants. I stuck to cooking simple foods like rice and potatoes that I could cook in the microwave. One of my goals in life was to learn how to cook vegan.
About 3 years ago, I came across The Veggie Queen when I was searching for a vegan cooking expert in the San Francisco Bay Area to write articles for my patient newsletter. I began to look forward to receiving Jill’s articles and started to become really interested in pressure cooking. When Jill’s new eBook came out, I bought it. I read it and thought to myself “I can do this”. It took about a month but finally I decided that I would be better able to express my health potential if I dove in. After all…all I needed was a pressure cooker. I watched some snippets of Jill on YouTube and decided to buy her DVD.
The other reason I wanted to cook was that I also wanted my 5-year-old daughter…who has never tasted meat or dairy to expand her palate and learn that there is more to plant-based nutrition than our limited selection of foods.
It’s been about 2 months now and I use the pressure cooker at least once per day. I love it and so does my family. The health benefits are numerous: more energy, less body-weight, smoother skin, better sleep, less joint pain, and sharper thinking…to name a few.
What do you like most about pressure cooking?
I love the fact that I know exactly what is going into my mouth (and my family). You just never know what they put into foods to make them taste good…even at the Whole Foods salad bar. Also, the food tastes incredible. It’s like magic when you put all the ingredients into the pressure cooker and it comes out perfect…every time.
The pressure cooker is easy to clean. I use a powder called “Bartenders Friend” when stuff sticks to the cooker. It’s pretty much all good.
How often do you use your pressure cooker?
I use the pressure cooker at least once per day. I usually prepare a large meal for dinner and get leftovers for the next day. I make breakfast such as Quinoa and Steel Cut Oats frequently also.
Why do you think that other men, non-cooks and cooks alike, would like pressure cooking?
I think that men that already cook would be very surprised at what pops out of that pressure cooker when the yellow button goes down. In general, most people think that vegans eat bean sprouts all day long. They don’t think you can get full. I have already converted a few friends to pressure cooking. They are meat eaters, but are now eating way more plant foods because of the pressure cooker.
For those that are already cooks…some think that pressure cookers blow-up and can hurt you, or are surprised they are even around anymore. My mother-in -law is a great cook and recently visited…she could not stop eating everything I made and could not believe I was making this stuff. I plan on buying her the Veggie Queen DVD and pressure cooker.
What has been the favorite dish (or a few dishes) that you have made in the pressure cooker?
My favorite dishes to make in the pressure cooker are Curried Rice and Lentils, Brazilian Brown Rice and Black Beans, Mixed Vegetable Curry, Purple Thai Sticky Rice and steamed vegetables, Steel Cut Oats, Quinoa, Black Beans, Garlic Mashed potatoes.
Please feel free to add anything else at all that will get people interested in pressure cooking.
If you have a desire to see just how healthy you can be and how good you can feel, then pressure cooking just might be for you. You get the benefit of eating pure, whole, natural foods, without all the prep time of conventional cooking methods. In addition, I now have the knowledge and tools to empower others. As a primary health care provider and health resource to thousands of blog and newsletter readers, this information is priceless.
Dr. Davis was so excited about using his pressure cooker that he posted this on his website.
He finished by telling me, “I’m rolling with this pressure cooking.”
He finished by telling me, “I’m rolling with this pressure cooking.”
Check out Dr.Davis’ two websites at https://www.executiveexpresschiro.com and https://www.sfbackpaindoctor.com.
The Duo combi, or any other, set with 2 cookers is a great idea. Thanks for sharing Dr. Davis.
If you are going to purchase a pressure cooker…I would buy a combo set so that you can cook 2 dishes when needed (like rice and beans) at the same time.