Plant Power...5 easy steps for moving towards a plant-based diet.

Earthly Delights...

Full disclosure...if you don't read a lot of my blog, you might not know that I am a vegetarian. Not a vegan - a vegetarian. This means that I don't eat meat of any kind, including fish and seafood. I do eat dairy and eggs although I try to minimize them in my diet. So right off the bat, I have a bit of a bias. 


Even if you have no desire towards a vegetarian diet, heck - even if you live for steak - I want to encourage you towards a more plant-based diet. Sound like an oxymoron? It isn't...here's why:


A plant-based diet means that most of your foods come from unprocessed plants. Fruits, veggies, nuts, seeds, beans, whole grains...these are the foods that will protect you from chronic disease with all that fibre and those vitamins, minerals and anti-oxidants. It will help keep your weight down over the years too. Most of your food should come from these plants. Then, if you wish, you can add a bit of cake, dairy, taco chips, eggs, seafood or meat. Your body will be so nourished it won't matter too much. 


A plant-based diet will also help lower your impact on the planet. Check out this carbon footprint chart from the Environmental Working Group (you'll have to scroll down a bit)...you won't look at a cow the same way again.


If you have been trying to shift your diet towards one that is more plant-based, it can seem overwhelming. Don't worry about transforming overnight; instead go slowly and build in habits that will become an effortless part of how you live. Here are 5 easy ways you can build up the plant power on your plate!


1. Celebrate Meatless Monday. Every Monday, join the millions worldwide who go without meat just one day a week to help lighten their environmental impact. 


2. Switch to a veggie milk. While other options might not be as effortless (or tasty), there are infinite varieties of vegetarian milks and surely one will tickle your fancy. Try almond, rice, coconut, soy, quinoa or even hemp "milks". Almost all of them are fortified with calcium and vitamin D to keep your bones strong and B12 - a vitamin unique to the animal world. 


3. Make half your plate produce. No matter what the meal, shift the balance of fruits and veggies so that they make up 50% of your plate. You will boost nutrition and save calories. We all need that.


4. Snack on fruits and veggies. For some reason, we only think "snack foods" - the granola bars, cookies and chips of the world - when it comes to snack time. Instead, nosh on chopped veggies and dip; pack uber-portable fruits like apples and pears so that you always have something healthy to nibble. 


5. Go retro and "extend" your meat. That old cost-saving method of making meatloaf with veggies and breadcrumbs? Give it a modern spin. Canned lentils have the perfect taste and texture to substitute for 50% of your ground beef in a dish. Instead of serving big chicken breasts, stir-fry over lush beds of freshly "wok"ed veggies or sauté with veggies for a pasta primavera. Serve fish tacos, nestled into tortillas with a colourful coleslaw, instead of serving up big slabs of pricey salmon. Use all that money you save to splurge on some good fair trade chocolate.

UnDiet...Week 21

Hello UnDieters,

I hope you are enjoying the summer sun. Did you get out to the farmers market today? My friends Heather, Melissa and I visited the Trout Lake market in Vancouver and I can't wait to show you the result of our trip. Hopefully in a week or two...

For today, however, let's talk UnDiet. With all that gorgeous summer produce out there, the same old crackers or pasta just won't cut it. You need a worthy grain to show off next to those heirloom tomatoes. So this week's challenge is to try a new whole grain. While some of us still might view grains as unneccessary carbs, let me differentiate a true whole grain from mere starch.

When research on the health benefits of whole grains started surfacing, manufacturers responded by adding "whole grains" to their products. Across the supermarket, "made with whole grain!" shouted at you from breads, granola bars, cereals and even yogurts. This marketing classic can be very deceptive: made WITH whole grain doesn't mean 100%. There is no guarantee how much whole grain you are getting. Technically, a product can be considered a whole grain if it contains all three parts of the original grain: the endosperm, the germ and the bran.Looking for a food made from 100% whole grains is a step in the right direction; however, eating intact whole grains is not the same as eating sugary cereals, aka candy, with added fibre.  However, you can then pulverize, gelatinize and puff up and sweeten the grain however you want to and still sell yourself as whole grain goodness. But whole grain Ritz crackers are not the same as cooking up some barley.

Intact, unprocessed whole grains are slowly digested, providing sustained energy that won't spike blood sugars. They are rich in minerals and vitamins and contain antioxidant phytochemicals. They also provide protein and fibre to help you feel satisfied. Most crackers, granola bars and pasta just spike your blood sugar and leave you hungry. Intact, unprocessed whole grains are a true superfood that are well worth the calories. They are also economical, great for any healthy eater on a budget.

For this week, go to your bulk bins or grains aisle and choose something you haven't cooked with before. Try barley as a base for risotto, black rice for a rich twist on traditional sushi, buckwheat toasted in a salad, amaranth sprinkled over berries and yogurt or even teff baked into a homemade granola bar. Teff??? Oh yes, get ready to be surprised by how many whole grains are out there that you haven't heard of before. Many grains cook up just like rice, but not all, so check out this cooking chart from dietitian Leslie Beck's website for water proportions and cooking time.

Note! Couscous is not a grain...it is a pasta. Ditto orzo. And buckwheat is not wheat.

I would love to hear how you used your grains this week....enjoy!
Desiree

Eat...better on a budget

Want cheap healthy food? Grow your own!

After my appearance this morning on CBC Radio One's Early Edition, I thought I would do a follow up post with some easy ways to truly eat well on a limited budget. With so many people either out of work or working at lower paying jobs than they used to before the recession it is important that we not equate eating cheap with eating badly. When I was doing my internship in Edmonton to become a dietitian (completely unpaid!) my husband had to support two households: a mortgage AND rent, 2 sets of utilities and flights to come home so we could see each other. Budget eating was imperative: I ate a LOT of rice and beans. When we are stressed and busy, a trip through the drive thru might seem easier than cooking from scratch. But when we are under stress, we need good food even more to help our bodies cope and defend against the damage stress can inflict. It can be done...here are 5 ways to eat well on the cheap. 




1. Buy staples in bulk. Stock up when items you use all the time are on sale and buy staples in bulk or warehouse size packs. The important thing here is not to buy everything supersized. If you buy a warehouse pack of chicken and you are cooking for one, you will likely bid at least half of that adieu. If you can't use the package before it goes bad you are wasting money, not saving. Good things to buy in bulk are frozen veggies, whole grains like brown rice or quinoa and dried beans. If you have a family, you can probably use up staples like cereal, soups, cheese, olive oil and trail mix pretty quickly too.


2. Trade convenience for cost savings. The more processed (value added, in grocery speak) a food is the more it costs. Whole wheat pasta is about 25 cents a serving; a seasoned and sauced "side dish" style pasta is usually 2 or 3 times that. Pre-shredded cheese costs more than brick cheese and individual yogurts cost more per serving than a family sized tub. "Prewashed" salads cost tons more than a head of lettuce or bunch of spinach. Take 30 seconds to scoop out yogurt into tupperware for lunches and get a family member shredding cheese for you. I hate shredding cheese for some reason. I make my husband do it.


3. Think veggie. Vegetarian proteins are incredibly healthy and way less expensive than animal proteins. Crumble up extra firm tofu in chili or burritos. Bulk up vegetable soups with beans or extend lean ground beef with lentils in your favourite recipes. To save even more (and keep extra sodium at bay), cook beans from scratch instead of buying canned. The trick here is to think ahead. Soak beans overnight and then cook them in the evening while you are watching TV or doing other chores. Then you have a batch in the fridge ready to go when it comes time to make a quick meal.


4. Plan to succeed. When everyone arrives home tired, it can be tricky to figure out what to cook and all too easy to go to MacDohs. Pour yourself a cup of coffee tonight and think of 10 super quick meal ideas, like spaghetti, chili or grilled cheese and spinach salad and post it on the fridge. Make sure you keep your kitchen stocked so you always have the ingredients for your go to meals. Next time you are at a loss for the age old question "what's for dinner?", you can just go to your fridge and get cooking. Wash and prep veggies when you get home from grocery shopping so they are ready to go for snacks and meals. Make lunches the night before so you aren't scrambling come morning. 


5. Rethink snack food. While chips, pop and candy seem like inexpensive options the costs really do add up. Instead of spending $5 on pop a week for your kids, use the cash to buy 100% juice instead. Does your family go through a couple of bags of chips a week? Take that $5 and use it for some healthy unsalted nuts to add to lunches. What to snack on instead? Popcorn! Making popcorn from scratch on the stove takes the same amount of time as putting it in the microwave and is just pennies a serving, even with a bit of butter and salt added to it. Not to mention how much healthier it is.


I would love to hear your favourite money saving tips for eating well....
Desiree