The Engine 2 Kitchen Rescue

This is a short hour-long documentary that is an extension of the Forks Over Knives documentary and the Engine 2 Diet book. In the Engine 2 Kitchen Rescue documentary Rip Esselstyn explains the how of eating a whole food, plant-based diet, while the Forks Over Knives documentary and Engine 2 Diet book explain the why. Therefore, I recommend watching this documentary after watching the Forks Over Knives documentary and/or reading the Engine 2 Diet book as the purpose of this documentary is to empower the viewer with knowledge and skills to implement a whole food, plant-based diet rather than persuade the viewer to adopt that dietary lifestyle.

Rip meets with two different families who are motivated to embrace a whole food, plant-based diet. He goes through the food items in both family’s kitchens while explaining which foods should be avoided and why. Rip then takes each family to a grocery store to purchase supplies to cook a few different plant-based meals and then cooks the meals with each family. Throughout this process Rip explains how to read food labels, what to watch out for on food packaging, how to avoid falsely advertised “healthy” foods, recommended plant-based substitutes for common animal-products, and much more.

This is a great documentary for those that just need some practical advice on how to consume a whole food, plant-based diet. Rip gives a lot of simple tips and tricks that makes avoiding animal products more realistic and less of a challenge. There are a lot of vegan “food substitutes” out there that are an easy go-to when you are strapped for time or feel like your options are limited. I was grateful while watching this documentary that Rip discredits those vegan “food substitutes” like artificial butter and meat-free chorizo by pointing out that these products are not made of whole foods, therefore we should steer clear. He does a good job of recommending whole food, plant-based substitutes that don’t require a sacrifice of flavor.

The Engine 2 Kitchen Rescue documentary is now on Netflix!