The “Must Know” LeafSider Tips

Welcome to the fast growing LeafSide community!

Congrats on your commitment to eating a whole foods plant-based (wfpb) diet, no matter how busy life gets.

LeafSide is the ONLY wfpb meal solution that does it all:

1. Super-Nutritious: leading nutrition science in every meal.
2. Tasty: made by expert chefs, and constantly evolving, based on YOUR feedback!
3. Convenient: the first ever “no work” wfpb meals that goes with you anywhere — just add water!
4. Affordable: $9.99 per full meal, or much less when using our “meal-mods” (see tip #1 below), plus you’ll SAVE 10% on ALL renewal orders!

Tip 1: Value – Make 2 to 8 Meals, with 1 LeafSide Pack!

Yes, just one LeafSide meal pack can make up to 8 different servings.

Either for yourself, or to feed a group.

Say hello to LeafSide “meal-mods”:

LeafSide “Meal-Mods” 🙂

Use meal-mods to feed yourself or your family when you are short on time.

Every meal pack can easily be extended with the simplest of ingredients.

When it comes to meal-mods, there are no rules, feel free to create your own, and let our suggestions inspire you.

Below are two customer favorites, but for even more ideas, check out the printable LeafSide meal plan, and view all our meal-mod videos.

Stuffed Sweet Potato

Makes: 2 to 4 servings (2 whole potatoes or 4 halves)

Step 1: Heat a sweet potato (or regular potato) in the oven or microwave.

Step 2: Prep a LeafSide Sweet Potato Dal (or any other flavor compatible soup / savory bowl).

Step 3: Slice open the potato, add in the Sweet Potato Dal.

Step 4: Add fresh cilantro, fresh plant-based yogurt (we used coconut-yogurt), and a generous squeeze of lime.

Madras Curry Lettuce Wraps

1 Pack Makes: 2 to 8 servings (up to 12 lettuce wraps)

Step 1: Wash, cut, and place butter lettuce on a plate. (single or double wrapped)

Step 2: Prep a LeafSide Madras Curry (or compatible flavor savory bowl)

Step 3: Add Madras Curry onto lettuce wraps as base, in small or large portions.

Step 4: Open and drain can of chickpeas, add onto lettuce.

Step 5: Thinly slice red cabbage, place onto wraps.

Step 6: Add fresh squeeze lime juice, a dollop of plant-based yogurt, and a sprinkle of curry powder (as desired).

Note: to make up to 12 servings, you can use smaller portions of the Madras Curry in each wrap, double wrap the lettuce, and add more chickpeas, cabbage, and yogurt to each wrap)

Browse the Meal-Mod (video) library

Want something for the holidays, or a meal that will impress your guests (without needing hours in the kitchen)?

Check out all the meal-mods in the LeafSide meal plan, and our video playlist.

Tip 2: Easy – Use the right bowl / container for you

Want a bowl that fits all LeafSide meals, and that LeafSiders love?

We’ve got four suggestions:

1.2 Quart stainless steel

The most popular bowl among LeafSiders, and the one that Dr. Greger and many others use when traveling, is this lightweight Miren stainless steel bowl.

1.3 Quart stainless steel

This Green stainless steel bowl is lightweight and is available in a variety of colors!

1 Quart microwavable & lockable lid

For those who don’t have an electric kettle or other hot water source available, you can also add water and microwave the meals.

This 1 Quart Sistema Microwave Safe bowl is popular among our customers.

1 Quart Collapsible Silicon Bowl

If you’re tight on space, this 1000 mL YYCC collapsible silicone bowl is lightweight, thick enough to insulate heat, and strong enough to take anywhere. (Order the 1000 mL size bowl to ensure it is big enough for your LeafSide meals.)

Thermos

As an alternative to a bowl: If you need to eat a LeafSide meal while on-the-go, we suggest getting a sufficiently large thermos (at least 1.2 quart or liter size) with a screw-on or locking lid.

Tip 3: Portable – Relax while traveling, go with LeafSide

Next time you’re traveling don’t compromise.

Pull out one of your LeafSide meals, and enjoy your newfound freedom.

Our soups, savory-bowls, and sweet-bowls can be made virtually anywhere, just add hot water and remember to bring a container with lid.  (see Tip #2 above) 

Tip 4: How do LeafSiders make savory bowls and soups?

Get the Perfect Texture

You can control the softness of the noodles, and the general thickness or wateriness of the dishes by varying both the steep time or the amount of water used.

We recommend starting with the steep times and water amounts on the packaging, and then varying them to get your desired taste & texture preferences just right!

Add 1-2 Teaspoons Vinegar

Some customers have found that adding a small amount of vinegar to a savory meal can help take the flavor to the next level, due to the extra acidity.  We recommend trying apple cider vinegar, balsamic vinegar, or red wine vinegar, depending on which flavor you think pairs best with each respective flavor and recipe.

Bonus: For some people, vinegar can also improve digestion of meals, such as reducing bloating and gas — especially for folks new to high-fiber whole plant foods, whose microbiomes are still adjusting.  It’s not yet clear why or how that happens, but in our decades of experience in WFPB eating, it often makes a noticeable difference.

2nd Bonus: in Dr. Greger’s new book How Not to Diet, he recommends adding 1 to 2 teaspoons of vinegar to meals as an evidence-based weight-loss booster. In particular, a randomized, double-blind clinical study found that subjects lost 1-5 pounds per month on 1-2 tablespoons of vinegar per day, without any changes of diet, compared to a placebo group. Furthermore, the fat lost was the most risky kind: visceral/belly fat, around the organs.

Better flavor, better digestion, and less visceral fat?! Now that’s a sweet package deal!

Set Your Spice Levels

We created our meals to have the right amount of spice for the typical clean-eating American palate. 

Feel free to spice them to taste if you want more, or if you prefer even blander flavors you can add more grains, water, or plant-based yogurt to tamper down the spiciness levels.

Tip 5: How do LeafSiders make smoothies?

Thousands of LeafSiders have already learned the tricks of the trade.

No Fancy Blender Required, Just 800+ Watts

As nice as they are, you don’t need a fancy, expensive blender.  We recommend one with a power rating of at least 800 Watts or more.

In fact, the one we recommend (and personally use at home and for testing) is the Nutribullet Pro (aka 900), which costs $75.

Blending Carafe Size 32+ Ounces

Be sure to have a blender capacity of at least 32 ounces, (i.e. 1 Quart or 1 Liter).  

Easy Container Cleanup

Besides of its ease of use and cleaning, we recommend the Nutribullet Pro because the 32 oz “Colossal container”.

The container it comes with is the absolute perfect size for our smoothies, and you can buy extras for office colleagues or family members so you each have your own container, and they only cost 10 bucks each!

Use a Straw

We highly recommend using an “extra wide” BOBA style drinking straw for the smoothies.  

Some of our recipes were designed to have soft chewy chunks of fruit after blending, to encourage you to drink more slowly and chew, which enhances digestion and nutrient absorption.

Soak Longer

Some LeafSiders report that after pouring a LeafSide smoothie and water into their blender container, a longer soak (5-10 minutes) before blending enhances the texture and taste.

Others tell us there’s no detectable difference between immediately blending, or soaking longer.

The sense of taste and texture varies a lot between people (e.g. crunchy and creamy peanut butter are both still around), so try this tip if you’d like, particularly if you want the smoothest texture possible.

Next Level Yummy

More ideas from fellow LeafSiders have included:

1. Blend longer for silky smoothie texture.
2. Use more ice.
3. Add frozen fruit instead of ice. (for enhanced sweetness)
4. Use plant milks you may enjoy like soy milk, oat milk, or nut milks (the extra calories may be just what you want after a workout).
5. Increase or decrease the amount of liquid to your taste preference.

Tip 6: Super-Extend Shelf Life

Due to the low moisture content of our meals, and the use of only plant-based ingredients, LeafSide meals are shelf-stable and best stored in a dry, cool (non-refrigerated) place. Meal packs will typically have a “best by” date 6-8 weeks out — sometimes adjusted to be shorter or longer based on our ongoing tests of each recipe, and evolving packaging.
​
​If you expect to keep/eat your LeafSide meals outside the suggested best by timeframe, we highly recommend storing your packs in the fridge/freezer as soon as possible, to extend their shelf life and preserve the fresh ingredients in the meals.