UU Plant-Based Eating Club
Welcome!
Welcome to the website page of the UU Plant-Based Eating Club! While we are housed at FUUSN, we welcome anyone who is UU or aligned with UU principles as reflected in the shared values and who desires to learn about and eat nutritious and delicious plant-based, whole food meals.”
Enjoy a plant-based, whole foods meal with us at an upcoming Potluck Dinner! Attend one of our upcoming events! See Upcoming Events section for more information.
Send an e-mail to uu-plant-based-contact-us@googlegroups.com to join our e-mail list, get more information, and/or sign up for an event.
OUR MISSION: We promote and model whole-food plant-based eating by sharing meals, recipes, and evidence-based information in joyful community.
OUR VISION: We envision a healthful, compassionate, and environmentally sustainable world in which people choose to eat a whole-food plant-based diet.
OUR VALUES:
Joy in the pursuit and practice of a whole-food plant-based lifestyle.
Reverence for the interdependent web of life of which we are all a part.
Community by which we encourage and support one another in our efforts to eat plant-based foods.
Respect for each other, including by welcoming others who are interested in plant-based eating no matter where they are in their journey.
Informed by the best available nutritional and environmental science.
Gratitude for each other, our food, and all the good things in our lives.
OUR CODE OF CONDUCT:
We ask all club members and participants in our events to respectfully follow the PBEC Code of Conduct.
- We are a group of congregants and friends who desire to learn about and eat more nutritious and delicious meals together using plant-based whole foods.
- Members are primarily interested in learning how to prepare truly delicious, plant-based, healthy meals and sharing the joys of eating with others from our local UU community. We are all exploring the powerful ways food can sustain and improve the health and vitality of people and the planet.
- You are welcome to join us no matter what your dietary practices are, as long as you are interested in supporting other group members in their pursuit of a whole food, plant-based lifestyle and are considering it for yourself whether in whole or in part. Any food items brought to our community dinners should comply with the principles set forth below (e.g., no animal products of any kind and ideally limiting the use of highly refined ingredients).
- Potlucks – We gather monthly (except August) for a plant-based meal, each bringing a dish to share with the group (including the recipe so others can recreate it later). We are following prevailing COVID19 safety protocols when gathering together or when necessary, are meeting via Zoom.
- Educate – We present and discuss information about healthy plant-based eating during our regular potlucks and periodic events such as film nights, cooking together sessions, and Rescue Diet cohorts. We also periodically provide vegan options at UU congregation events.
- Explore and connect – We explore and connect with the broader plant-based eating community through meals at vegan restaurants, attendance at local food conferences, and links to organizations/blogs focused on vegan eating.
- Socialize – We provide a supportive small group community for like-minded eaters to get to know each other and share their passion for whole food, plant-based eating.
Please join us for one or more of these upcoming events sponsored by our group:
Potluck Dinners – 6 to 8 pm Eastern Time, usually on Sunday evenings, adjusted as-needed for holidays
- Requirements: attendees must be vaccinated and boosted for COVID.
- Plan to bring a plant-based, whole foods dish to share (no animal products/ingredients including eggs, cheese, dairy).
- Small group gatherings in homes typically include up to 10 attendees.
- Small group gatherings are currently scheduled for:
- September 22, 2024
- November 10, 2024
- December 15, 2024
- January 12, 2025
- February 9, 2025
- May 4, 2025
- June 15, 2025
- Dates larger group gatherings:
- October 20, 2024 First Parish of Waltham
- April 6, 2025 FUUSN
- Summer 2025 picnics (several homes): July 12 and July 13
Movie Nights – usually virtual via Zoom, usually 7 to 8:30 pm, details to follow via e-mail to the group list. Some sessions may be offered in person.
- Format – attendees watch movies on their own (individually or in small groups at watch parties hosted in members’ homes) and then meet on Zoom for facilitated discussion.
- Months for moving nights: TBA!
Other Activities – Stay tuned for more info as plans unfold! Sign up for club’s e-mail list to stay current on emerging events!
- Cooking Together sessions lead by club members – 2024/Nov 17 Holiday Cooking (location FUUSN kitchen) 2025/Exploring Tasty Grains (date and location TBA).
- FUUSN community gatherings/plant-based menu options and sampling table: 2024/Sept 15 community breakfast, Sept 22 Committee Expo
- Coffee hour/plant-based information and food samples
- Lending library with books focused on plant-based eating (see Resources – Books section below).
Nov 2024 Potlucks – two homes, delicious food, lively conversations!
Oct 2024 Group Potluck – First Parish Waltham – 35+ attendees including ministers from FUUSN and First Parish!
Sept 2024 Potlucks – Delicious food! Lively participants!
July 2024 – 7 Day Rescue Diet Group Food Swap!
UUPBEC July 2024 Summer Potluck at FUUSN! 30+ people and so many different dishes!
UUPBEC Potlucks in June 2024 at members’ homes! 20+ attendees! Delicious food!
UUPBEC Potlucks in May 2024 in members’ homes! Tasty food and lively conversations!
UUPBEC Large Group Potluck at FUUSN April 2024 – 45 participants! Delicious food! Vegan humor! Climate change trivia game!
    |
|
 |
UUPBEC at Green Newton’s Earth Day Event 2024 – standing with Newton’s Mayor Ruthanne Fuller!
UUPBEC April 2024 Tasty Grains Workshop and Lunch
 |
 |
|
 |
 |
|
 |
 |
UUPBEC Feb 2024 Potluck – two homes, 19 people, yummy menus, lively gatherings!
UUPBEC Jan 2024 Potluck – three homes, 22 people, delicious food, fun conversations!
UUPBEC Dec 2023 Small Group Potlucks at members’ homes – 20 people, delicious food, & lively conversations!
UUPBEC Nov 2023 Large Group Potluck at First Parish in Waltham – 42 attendees, delicious food, wonderful connections & conversations!
UUPBEC Steering Committee members and First Parish congregants, Brenda Asis and Andy LeCompte, organized and hosted the event!
UUPBEC Nov 2023 Cooking Together Session – Product Sampling at FUUSN
UUPBEC July 2023 Picnic – 38 attendees, delicious food, wonderful hosts!
UUPBEC Events from 2021 to June 2023 –
Click UUPBEC Photos 2021 to June 2023 for access to pictures from previous events.
Whole food, plant-based (vegan) eating:
- Plants, no animal products – We strive to eat only plants in their whole form or with minimal processing. Plant-based or vegan eating eschews eating all animal products including meat, dairy, and eggs.
- Whole food, minimally processed – Plant-based eating is often referred to as a vegan diet although a vegan diet can also include highly refined plant products such as soy protein isolate, white flour, sugar, and vegetable oils. Potato chips and soda are vegan but certainly not healthy. Our choices are guided by the growing body of peer-reviewed, scientific evidence of the ways in which whole plants promote good personal and planet health while animal products and highly refined plant foods detract from it.
Healthy vegan food includes:
| * Leafy green vegetables | * Whole grains |
| * Other vegetables | * Fruits |
| * Legumes/beans | * Mushrooms |
| * Nuts and seeds | * Herbs and spices |
This does not include:
| * Meat | * Fish |
| * Dairy | * Eggs |
| * Other animal-based products (honey, gelatin, etc.) | |
Many members of our group strive to limit the use of highly refined plant foods such as:
| * Sugars |
| * Salts |
| * Flours (especially white flour) |
| * Oils (yes, even extra virgin olive oil) |
| * Highly processed foods, including meat substitutes such as Beyond, Impossible,etc |
Alcohol: Some members also enjoy wine or beer during our community meals.
Common Acronyms:
*WFPB – whole foods, plant based
* SOS – salt, oil, sugar
- Multiple reasons – Each member of our group is pursuing a whole food, plant-based lifestyle in accordance with that person’s values, which may or may not be the same.
- Compassion for animals – Some members are guided by compassion for animals and have a deep ethical commitment to reduce animal suffering. We respect and admire such strong ethics and are happy that our plant-based eating habits reduce animal suffering, but this is not a primary driver for everyone in our group.
- Environmental sustainability – Many of our members recognize the tremendous burden livestock farming places on soil and water resources, as well as the significant contribution livestock makes to greenhouse gas emissions and climate change. The science is clear; plant-based eating promotes planetary health. For more information, check out this Sierra Club MA Plant-Based Fact Sheet Jan 2023.
- Personal health – In general, the members of our group are very interested in the positive health impacts of a whole foods, plant-based diet. The science is clear; plant-based eating promotes personal health. Refer to Kaiser Permanente and Physicians Committee for Responsible Medicine
for more information about the health benefits from two reputable organizations. - UU Principles – In general, our dietary choices are guided by our shared Unitarian Universalist values, and particularly the seventh principle of respect for the interdependent web of all existence of which we are a part. These choices are also consistent with the 2011 UU Statement of Conscience on Ethical Eating: Food and Environmental Justice.
There is considerable diversity among members as to where we are in our individual plant-based eating journeys. Some of us have been at this for several years and are quite knowledgeable regarding the nutritional science and meal preparation. Others are “dipping a toe in the water” to explore new tastes and ideas, and hoping to cut through the confusing nutritional messages promoted by food corporations and reported in popular media. We do not mean to be purists nor police each other’s eating habits. We simply try to select food that is both delicious and nutritious based on the best available evidence, and enjoy it with each other.
As noted above, you are welcome to join us no matter where you are on your journey – even if you are just at the first step of considering whether this is for you – as long as you are interested in supporting others on their journey towards a whole food, plant-based lifestyle and are considering it for yourself whether in whole or in part.
Below are information sheets on topics of particular interest to UUPBEC members.
COOKBOOKS
Below is a list of a few of our favorite cookbooks for delicious plant-based meals!
- How Not to Die
- Cookbooks for Beginners
- China Study Family Cookbook
- Isa Does It: Amazingly Easy, Wildly Delicious Vegan Recipes
- Engine 2 Cookbook
- The Engine 2 Seven-Day Rescue Diet: Eat Plants, Lose Weight, Save Your Health
- Vegan Planet
- Plants for You
RECIPES
Some delicious plant-based recipes!
- Sample Plant-Based Recipes
- Forks Over Knives
- NutritionFacts.org
- Center for Nutrition Studies
- Plantstrong.org
- Simple Veganista
- Bad Manners
- Whole Foods Market
- Vegan Huggs
- Vegan Planet Kitchen
RESTAURANTS
Some of our favorite local and regional restaurants that serve whole-food, plant-based menu options!
- Eater Boston, map and list of popular restaurants in area
- Happy Cow, guide to restaurants in US
- Boston Vegetarian Society, guide to restaurants in area
- Shiva’s Kitchen in Newton
- House of Tandoor in Newton Center
- Boston Vegan in Newtonville (food manufacturer and store)
- Clover Food Lab in Newtonville and elsewhere
- Inna’s Kitchen in Newton (takeaway)
- Pressed Cafe in Newton and elsewhere
- Pink Carrot in Chestnut Hill and Boston
- The Red Lentil in Watertown & Sharon
- Pizzeria Enzina in Waltham
- Masao’s Kitchen in Waltham
- Rhythm ‘n Wraps, in Boston/Allston
- Life Alive in Boston, Cambridge, Somerville, Dedham, and elsewhere
- Veggie Galaxy in Cambridge
- Koshari Mama in Somerville
- Taco Party in Somerville
- Plant City in Providence
- Like No Udder , vegan ice cream, Providence
Lending Library
- Our Club maintains a library of books (including cookbooks!) about plant-based eating.
- Click PBEC Books as of Oct 11, 2024 for more information about the available books and the lending process.
Books (some of our favorites)
- How Not to Die by Michael Greger M.D. & Gene Stone – Dr. Gregor pleads his case for a plant-based diet as the way to prevent and reverse numerous diseases through well-cited research.
- The Omnivore’s Dilemma: A Natural History of Four Meals by Michael Pollan – Follows four meals from the origins of the ingredients to a dinner plate, revealing how food is made and intertwined with our culture, environment, politics, and economy.
- In Defense of Food by Michael Pollan – Pollan answers the question of what we should eat with seven simple but liberating words: Eat food. Not too much. Mostly plants.
- Food Matters by Mark Bittman – Shows how simple dietary tweaks can help you lose weight, slow global warming, reduce environmental degradation, help stop cruelty to farm animals, AND save money.
- Food Rules by Michael Pollan – This handbook lays out a set of rules for eating wisely, one per page with concise explanation.
- Diet for a Hot Planet by Anna Blythe Lappe – Offers a vision of a planet-healing food system based on seven principles for a climate-friendly diet and success stories from sustainable food advocates around the globe.
- The China Study: The Most Comprehensive Study of Nutrition Ever Conducted and the Startling Implications for Diet, Weight Loss and Long-term Health by T. Colin Campbell & Thomas Campbell II.The book examines the link between the consumption of animal products and many chronic illnesses based somewhat on the China–Cornell–Oxford Project, a 20-year study which looked at mortality rates from cancer and other chronic diseases in China.
Movies and Videos
- Forks Over Knives – Follows a few chronically ill people as they learn how to eat a plant based diet.
- The Game Changers – Interviews with pro athletes about vegan diet and results.
- Fast Food Nation – Looks at history of fast food and its impact on health and culture.
- Food, Inc – Investigation into corporate food production, distribution, and consumption.
- A Life on Our Planet – David Attenborough’s reflections on devastating environmental changes and how to address them.
- Seaspiracy – Looks at environmental impact of fishing; advocates for ending fish consumption.
- Cowspiracy – Looks at link between meat industry and ecological disaster including carbon emissions, water shortages, deforestation, and climate change.
- Live and Let Live – Follows stories and experiences of former meat industry workers and their transition to plant based diets.
- Peaceable Kingdom: The Journey Home – Explores farmers’ crisis of conscience about their way of life and animal exploitation.
- PlantPure Nation – Story of three people spreading message of plant-based eating.
- Code Blue – Features the practice of lifestyle medicine to prevent, manage and reverse chronic diseases.
- Milked – Exposes the environmental impacts of the powerful dairy industry in New Zealand.
- Eating You Alive – Documentary revealing the relationship between health and food.
- Eating for Tomorrow (link to trailer) – Documentary addressing the environmental and health aspects of our food policy and dietary choices.
CSA (and other) Programs with Local/Regional Farms
Nov 2023 Buy Produce from Local Farms!
Vegan Starter Kits
- Animal Outlook: FREE Vegan Starter Guide
- In Defense of Animals: FREE Vegan Starter Guide
- People for the Ethical Treatment of Animals (PETA): FREE Vegan Starter Kit
- United Poultry Concerns: Go Vegan Booklet
Organizations
- Unitarian Universalist Animal Ministry Empowers individuals and congregations to build justice and compassion for animals.
- Physicians Committee for Responsible Medicine Dedicated to saving and improving human and animal lives through plant-based diets and ethical and effective scientific research.
- Boston Vegetarian Society Provides education, community, and outreach to encourage healthy plant-based eating for the benefit of animals, the environment, the climate, and public and personal health.
- Unity Farm Sanctuary Farm in Sherborn dedicated to the lifetime and loving care of a limited population of ill, disabled, senior, orphaned or surrendered farm animals.
- Unitarian Universalist Association Ethical Eating: Food & Environmental Justice 2011 Statement of Conscience.