NBA Star DeAndre Jordan is Hosting a New Vegan Cooking Show

Brooklyn Nets’ star center DeAndre Jordan is putting veganism in the spotlight and hosting his own plant-based cooking show called Cooking Clean on PlayersTV. The show premiered on May 30th and features a cast of guest chefs that work with Jordan to cook up delicious vegan meals. Following 13 seasons of NBA basketball, Jordan has decided to show the world how a pro athlete fuels up on a plant-based diet.

“You’ve seen me finish plenty of plays on the court,” Jordan said on the show. “But here on PlayersTV, those alley-oops will be coming from some of my favorite chefs around the country.”

The show is an extension of Jordan’s lifestyle brand, launched in partnership with PlayersTV. The recipes from the eight-part series will be compiled by the Mindful Life into an interactive e-cookbook. The recipe book is set to be released at the end of the season, providing viewers with the full selection of vegan foods spotlighted on the show.

The NBA star will work together with the guest chefs to spotlight vegan food from a wide variety of cuisines. The show's premiere episode featured Brooklyn-based chef Latisha Daring cooking up vegan omelets, teaching viewers how to work with mung bean-based JUST Egg.

“As a professional athlete, I’m always looking for ways to nourish my body and enhance my performance,” Jordans said. He swears by the JUST Egg, claiming that the product holds the same “delicious, filling, savory, fluffy,” characteristics of conventional eggs.

The show also features popular TikTok star Joanne Molinaro, also known as The Korean Vegan, who helps the NBA All-Star cook kimchi fried rice. Cooking Clean will show viewers vegan alternatives for familiar favorites across different regional cuisines. Jordan hopes to bring his own journey with wellness and veganism with fans, showing how easy vegan cooking and eating can be regardless of the type of food.

Jordan began to drop meat and animal products by going pescetarian and then subsequently vegetarian. Finally, the basketball star dropped meat completely and adopted a fully plant-based diet in 2018. He claims that he wanted to prioritize his wellness and believed that a plant-based diet would better serve his body. Initially, he just stopped eating red meat, but after immediately noticing positive results, the star decided that all animal products stood in the way of maximizing his health.

“For me, I care about my body, so whatever I put in it, I want it to be good to where I want to produce that,” Jordan told CloseUp360. “I’m a true believer in whatever I put in my body, that’s what I’m going to produce.

The basketball star also joined 13 other professional athletes including Shaquille O’Neal invested in Beyond Meat in 2019. The investment joins the athlete’s moves to promote plant-based eating throughout his career. The star launched a Meatless Monday challenge in November 2020, aiming to inspire his fans to try vegan eating. He continues this campaign with Cooking Clean, presenting a direct outreach that will introduce his followers to vegan cooking.

“Living a mindful life is transformative for your mind, body, spirit,” Jordan told Plant Based News. “It’s much simpler than people think. I launched Mindful Life Last year with PlayersTV to invite audiences to join me on my wellness journey as I explore the many ways to practice mindfulness in our everyday lives. Cooking Clean is one part of that journey. Since what you put in your body affects your overall well-being. My hope is that Cooking Clean provides helpful insight into the life-changing benefits of plant-based foods and inspires audiences to embrace a more sustainable diet.”