- Firemen put their bodies and their lives at risk
for people every single day.
That any moments notice they have to go
and save someone's life.
They need to be in the best shape possible.
- But they're not fueling their bodies
in a way where they're respecting that.
- It's little wonder that the number one cause
of in the line of duty deaths for firefighters,
is heart attacks, there's another way to eat
that can allow these guys
and gals to not have to go down the same path.
- My name is Kevin Curry
and I am the founder of FitMenCook.com.
FitMenCook.com is this online community,
it's an opportunity to really share my health and wellness
and what's worked for me with the entire world.
A couple years ago, a buddy of mine tagged me
in his Facebook photo and that was my aha moment
because when I saw myself I had no idea
that I had kinda just let myself go like that,
I had no idea that I had gained that much weight.
I went through this period where I was trying
to lose weight, one thing that I have learned is,
that you can't out train a poor diet.
- Hey.
Kevin.
- What's up Rip?
- Hi.
- Very nice to meet you.
- Good to see you.
- I'm here today, meeting Rip
because I wanted to learn a lot more
about the plant-based diet.
What Rip is doing with these firemen
across the nation, really inspired me.
- My name is Rip Esselstyn
and I was a professional firefighter for the city
of Austin, Texas.
I am here at the LA County Fire Station in 161,
to educate these guys on the merits of the engine two diet,
a whole food, plant-based diet.
The genesis was we discovered that one
of my fellow firefighting brothers was a heart attack
waiting to happen, and so we immediately sprung into action
to start eating a plant strong diet
and the results were insane
when it came to weight loss, cholesterol droppage.
Don't let anybody dissuade you from doing the right thing
and doing the healthy thing, that's right for you,
and for your families.
- When I'm on cooking duty, my go to,
is kinda the meat and potatoes
and the most unhealthiest potatoes you can think of.
- Chicken enchiladas, I do ribs.
- Like a tri tip, pastas.
- Tri tip, sweet potatoes.
- There's another way to eat that can allow these guys
and gals to be the best firefighters that they can be.
You don't have to be another victim to heart disease.
- Being heavier, obviously I haven't mastered diet
and I'm always trying to improve.
I have a four year old at home,
he is my biggest inspiration.
One of my biggest fears,
it kinda centers around my health,
and not wanting to cut time with my son short.
- Mark is one of the best guys that I know.
My biggest fear for Mark is just the battle that he goes
through with his weight, down and back up.
- This isn't a bunch of salads, it's not rabbit food.
We're talking like muscular, man-tastic meals,
that like stick to your ribs.
Roasted potatoes and brussel sprouts, you know,
and tempe in there.
- Just hearing Rip talk about food the way he does,
I want that same enthusiasm about food, about diet.
- Let's go hit the kitchen.
- Let's go.
- You ready?
- Let's go.
- We got a lot of hungry men out there,
so what are we gonna do?
- We can't let these guys down can we?
- No.
- Right.
- We can't.
- One of my biggest challenges when I come into fire houses,
is I am fighting a culture,
where if you don't have a big slab of meat,
you don't have a meal.
Chili right, is a fire house favorite.
- So today we are whipping up some
of this amazing three bean chili,
that Rip has this recipe for.
I've never put fruit into my chili before,
but, I'm willing to make a few concessions,
since it's plant strong.
Plant strong is plant strong.
This three bean chili, this super nutrient dense,
and a little bit of spice, little bit of heat there.
- Two tablespoons of the chili.
- That's a lot of heat.
- Do we want to measure pour or dirty pour?
- No, dirty.
- Dirty? Alright good.
- This is a fire house, right?
- There we go.
- I'm gonna be doing this big green salad,
this is a super fine and buttery lettuce.
It grows in some parts of Texas, but how flavorful is that?
- A little nutty.
- We're gonna finish up with some dark chocolate brownies,
but we're not using any eggs, or any dairy whatsoever.
- So I guess my biggest fear would be cooking this amazing,
tasty, plant-based meal,
and then having the firemen look at me like oh.
- It's hot.
- Alright.
- Chow time.
- Woo.
- So when we brought out that meal,
the only thing on my mind was, don't disappoint.
The moment of truth.
- You need to get some of that.
- Yeah.
- What's your secret man?
- It's super good.
- Their reaction was incredible, you know,
seeing them scrape the bottom of the bowl and finish it,
was definitely a compliment.
If you can get six hearty firemen to eat this then,
I think that you can probably get other people to do it too.
- If you were to put this in front of me
and not tell me it was plant-based, I wouldn't guess.
- So what about like a meatless Monday then?
Just one day out of the week?
- Yeah.
- That would work.
- Try and do that.
- Plant strong.
- Eat something like that and then you think,
this is a lifestyle, I could could be committed to,
for my son to see me cook and prepare food a certain way,
and eat a certain way,
that's something I want to pass along to him,
if I do it right, he'll be more likely to follow that.
- If I can connect and change the life
of one of these firefighters, today has been worth it.
- We have in our society,
just put animal products as the star of the dish,
I don't think it has to be that way,
but your body's not gonna fall apart,
it's actually better for you.
- Do a little uh.
- Becoming more plant dominant
in your diet is much easier than you think.
There are a lot of simple and easy, delicious meals,
that you can make to become plant strong just like Rip.
And just like I did, you can start small
and ease your way into it.
I am teaming up with Panera Bread,
to kick off Meatless Mondays.
- SoulPancake