[jimbo2012]

The following is recipe is from Rip Esselstyn’s new book My Beef With Meat. It is a #1 New York Times bestseller and was released May 14, 2013.

This was a shocker: My mom does not like tofu, ketchup, sauerkraut, pickles, rye bread, or tempeh. So, when Brian made her a reuben on rye with tamari-roasted tempeh, tofu, ketchup-based Thousand Island dressing, and sauerkraut, she was shocked to find she not only like it but ate four halves!


Ingredients:

8 oz. tempeh

½ cup tamari

8 oz. silken tofu

1/3 cup ketchup

1/3 cup pickle relish

1 cup fresh spinach

1 jar sauerkraut (your favorite brand)

Rye bread, one loaf


Instructions:

1. Preheat oven to 350ᵒF.

2. Slice tempeh in half vertically and then horizontally, thus making four, thin square patties.

3. In a shallow dish, pour tamari over tempeh and marinate for a few minutes, time permitting.

4. Place tempeh in a nonstick pan or on parchment paper and bake for 15 minutes.

5. In a bowl, mix tofu, ketchup, and relish until it looks like a tofu-based Thousand Island dressing.

6. Toast rye bread until desired crispiness.

7. Spread with tofu-based Thousand Island dressing.

8. Add a layer of sauerkraut, then tempeh, then spinach.

9. Cut the sandwich in half and serve.



*To make this lower in fat, use portobello mushroom strips and light silken tofu.

*To make this gluten free, use gluten-free bread and use gluten-free tamari.



Rip Esselstyn is a mission-driven man. As a swimmer at the University of Texas at Austin, he was a three time All-American. As a professional athlete, he was one of the premier triathletes in the world for more than a decade. As a firefighter for the Austin (TX) Fire Department, he helped people and saved lives. As a friend to other firefighters, he transformed the way Austin’s Engine 2 ate to save firefighters’ health. Now, as the author of The Engine 2 Diet, he is teaching people the irrefutable connection between what they put in their mouths and their ability to reach their ideal weight and their ideal health. Recently, he has teamed up with Whole Foods Market as a Healthy Eating Partner to raise awareness for Whole Foods Market team members, customers, and all of America about the benefits of eating a Plant Strong diet composed of fruits, vegetables, whole grains, legumes, nuts, and seeds.

Rip comes from a family steeped in medicine. His great-grandfather, George Crile, co-founded the world-renowned Cleveland Clinic, where his father, Dr. Caldwell B. Esselstyn, Jr., was chief of the breast cancer task force and completed one of the most extensive studies ever conducted on the relationship between the heart and diet--proving that a plant-based diet can stop, prevent, and even reverse heart disease.

Rip serves on the Board of Directors for The Wellness Foundation, EarthSave’s Meals For Health Program, and the AllergyKids Foundation.