Rhode Island Monthly April 2020 | Page 48

Learn From the Pros Healthy plant-based cooking and wellness classes. Jumpstart Your Health with Plant Docs From the best places to dine and bakeries that produce cruelty-free treats to fellow vegans to follow and cooking classes to take, our guide will get you hooked on the whole wide world of veg.  Plant City Julians and Pizza J Four vegan restaurants and a food market under one roof cover every non-plant-based craving with its veggie equivalent: If we could eat this way every day, we would. Go for Mexican at Bar Verde where the heaping butternut queso-topped nachos, hearty cauliflower tacos and a roasted mushroom quesadilla one up meaty counterparts, or choose Italian at Double Zero, where vegetable-and-cashew-cheese- topped pizzas, decadent Italian bolognese and meatless meatballs will satisfy the fiercest carnivores. Fix together a build-your-own lunch bowl at Make Out or settle in for a Beyond Meat burger at New Burger. You won’t miss the meat after experiencing these feasts. 334 South Water St., Providence, 429-2029, matthew kenneycuisine.com/plant-city-pvd Julians was one of the first on the scene to begin catering cuisine to vegans more than a decade ago with vegan brunch options like French toast with pomegranate and pear jam, toasted coconut and vegan blueberry whipped cream, granola pumpkin-spiced pancakes and vegan Benedict with fried tofu. Pizza J followed suit with a whole restaurant dedicated to pies. They will substitute a gluten-free crust for any pizza, and guests can also ask for the free vegan cheese substitution. Our personal favorite, the Tony Clifton, involves housemade vegan ricotta, roasted potatoes and red peppers, garlic, onion and olive oil. Julians, 318 Broadway, Providence, 861-1770, julians providence.com; Pizza J, 967 Westminster St., Providence, 632-0555, pizzajprovidence.com >> 46    RHODE ISLAND MONTHLY l APRIL 2020 Meatless Monday (On A Wednesday) at Professor Chef Professor Chef, the husband-and-wife duo that teaches cooking classes out of their North Providence kitchen, offers lessons in everything from regional Italian cuisine to cooking like Julia Child. Their Meatless Monday classes — which, in fact, happen on Wednesdays — offer instruction on easy-to-make plant-based recipes like creamless cream of broccoli soup, edamame stew, quinoa risotto and carrot osso buco. professorchef.com Healthy Eating Classes at Newport Cooks Contrary to its name, Newport Cooks is actually in Middletown — but that doesn’t change the fascinating lineup of world cuisine cooking classes that happen in Mary Weaver’s kitchen. Weaver offers an ever-changing lineup of healthy eating classes, like Grain Bowls — Thai, Indian and Mexican — which teach guests to use different ingredients to make balanced, flavorful meals that you can prep once and eat all week. newportcooks.com —Julie Tremaine CLOCKWISE FROM TOP: Plant City’s Jumpstart Your Health by Plant Docs healthy eating program. Professor Chef’s Meatless Monday cooking classes. Newport Cooks plant- based cooking classes.  Denotes an all-vegan restaurant. Plant-based is all the rage, and Rhode Island is front and center on the craze. Plant City isn’t just a plant-based restaurant — it’s a community resource for learning better habits. Case in point: Jumpstart Your Health by Plant Docs, which is a month-long program that helps you transition to a plant-based diet in a way that gives you solid proof of the benefits. Medical doctors take your blood work at the beginning of the month, and then show you how far you’ve come at the end. Support comes from five group sessions with Plant Docs and Food For Life nutrition educators, recipes, cooking demos, meetings and market visits. plantdocspvd.com