A Balanced Brunch for Mother’s Day

Mother’s & Father’s Day are right around the corner. What better way to celebrate such amazing people in your life than making a delicious brunch together? What I am suggesting isn’t your typical eggs and bacon breakfast with French toast, but rather some nutritious balanced dishes that will surely satisfy your mid morning cravings and keep you energized throughout the day.  Let me guide you with some of the ideas that I certainly am going to entertain on my Sunday brunch with my mother.

Grains

• What not to have—white refined bagels, breads and muffins, processed cereals
• What to have—whole grain muffins, bread made from spelt, oat, rye or brown rice flour, homemade granola
• What not to have—white pancakes with icing sugar and syrup
• What to have—Buckwheat pancakes sweetened with pure maple syrup

Refined, white carbohydrates spike blood sugar levels really fast giving a false burst of energy. Which only makes you crash. Opt for whole grains that are high in fiber, protein and nutrients.

Protein

• What not to have—Eggs Benedict, fried eggs
• What to have—organic poached or hard boiled egg, organic scrambled tofu
• What not to have—bacon, salami or other high sodium, processed deli meats
• What to have—organic grilled tempeh, marinated with maple syrup and orange juice

Organic or free-range eggs have rich yolks full of nutrients and tofu provides a hearty vegan alternative to eggs. Processed meats are high in sodium and very difficult for the body to digest. Try tempeh instead which is a whole food that is “meaty” high in enzymes and plant based protein, leaving you just as satisfied.

Dairy

• What not to have—butter or margarine on white toast or muffins
• What to have—coconut butter or almond butter on sprouted spelt bread
• What not to have—cow dairy or processed cheddar cheese, cow milk
• What to have- organic goats cheese, organic sheep’s cheddar, avocado or almond milk

Commercial dairy can be hard on the body and margarine has no nutritional value and is extremely processed. Opt for natural sources of dairy from goat and sheep sources of go veggie and explore the amazing plant based rich and creamy alternatives to dairy.

Sweeteners

• What not to have—white sugar, brown sugar, artificial sweeteners, jams
• What to have—coconut sugar, maple syrup, honey, fresh fruit

Processed sugar and chemical sweeteners are hard on the body and metabolism. Sugar spikes your blood sugar levels with empty calories, while aspartame gives you a false sense of sweetness and can have detrimental long-term effects on health. Choose natural sweeteners whether from fruit or other sources, as they carry nutritional value and taste delicious.

Beverages

• What not to have—fruit juices and boxed orange juice, dessert coffees
• What to have—fresh pressed fruit and vegetable juices and smoothies, herbal teas

Many beverages are laden with sugar, fat and calories. Before you know it you have taken in more calories before you’ve even eaten anything. Opt for natural juices and smoothies that will give you a morning buzz with out the caffeine!

To put all of these tips in action, join us on June 16th for Balanced Brunch! You will get to cook and enjoy a delicious, healthy breakfast and learn tips on how to start your day with simple and fresh recipes. After all, breakfast is the most important meal of the day! Take a look at the menu here.

Yam Pecan Loaf

What’s In It?

1 yam (about 1 cup) cooked and mashed

1⁄2 cup grapeseed or coconut oil

3⁄4 cup maple syrup

1 teaspoon vanilla extract

1 teaspoon apple cider vinegar

1⁄2 cup vanilla rice milk

5 tablespoons orange juice, freshly squeezed

3 tablespoons orange rind, grated

2 cups whole spelt flour

3 teaspoons baking powder

1⁄2 teaspoon fine sea salt

1⁄2 cup dried sweetened cranberries

1⁄2 cup pecans, coarsely chopped

How It’s Made

1. Preheat oven to 350F. Steam or boil yam in water in medium saucepan and cook until soft.

2. Strain the yams and mash them with a masher.

3. Add the oil, syrup, vanilla, vinegar, rice milk, orange juice and orange rind to the yams and

mash the ingredients together thoroughly.

4. In a large mixing bowl, combine flour, baking powder and salt.

5. Pour the yam mixture into the flour mixture and gently stir them together until all the flour is

incorporated into the wet mixture.

6. Fold in cranberries and pecans.

7. Scoop mixture into an oiled and floured bread pan. Place the pan in oven and bake for about

one hour.

8. Use toothpick to test readiness, this loaf is done when the toothpick comes out clean. Let the

loaf cool in the bread pan on a wire rack before removing.

 

Get your Greens In!

My clients and students always ask me what is one thing they can do to improve their health. Or which one food is the most important for a healthy diet. My answer is always GREENS! If there is any place to start – it is with greens. Most people do not eat enough green veggies. So no matter what your diet currently consists of – whether you are an omnivore, vegetarian, vegan, flexitarian (a little bit of this and a little bit of that), raw foodie – it doesn’t matter. Getting your greens in is the first step to optimal and long-lasting health.

Leafy green vegetables are one of nature’s richest sources of a full spectrum of nutrients. So look beyond spinach and broccoli and get familiar with things like kale, collards, swiss chard, arugula, bok choy.

Depending on what your taste buds are calling for, there are so many ways to get your green veggies in. The good news is that each green offers a very different unique taste and texture. Even if you have to sneak them into a smoothie for the fussy ones in the family, I promise you – there is always a way!

Whether you are following a vegan diet or just want to take your nutrition to the next level– greens should be an essential component to your day.

Choosing a leafy green such as kale:

1. Helps to purify your blood, supports bone health and prevents the risk of many diseases such as heart disease and cancer
2. Gives your body an extra dose of much needed calcium, magnesium, iron, antioxidants and fiber
3. Compliments anything and everything on your plate and will boost the nutrients in any meal
4. Is especially fantastic when it is just lightly steamed, sautéed or chopped up and marinated raw into a salad
5. Makes a super healthy “chip” that is kid and adult friendly. Try this delicious zesty kale chip recipe!

These benefits apply to most greens so really, you can’t go wrong and the possibilities are endless.

It is very common to get overwhelmed when it comes to greens. My suggestion is to start basic. Pick one new green a week to “play” with until you have found a way for you and your family to enjoy it. The number one complaint is that greens are too bitter. Well, yes collards and kale can be bitter – especially if they are new to your palette. Once you find a way to get them into a meal – whether they are added to a smoothie, tomato sauce, chickpea stew, chunky vegetable soup, grain dish or simply dressed with olive oil and sea salt, there is no turning back. You will be hooked because you will suddenly start to feel better, have more energy and you may even lose weight. That doesn’t sound bad does it?

Experiment with natures emerald gems, have fun and make sure you get your greens in everyday. Just remember that a meal isn’t a meal unless there is something green on your plate! Try the Green Garden Veggie Pasta Salad recipe below. We’re making this recipe and many more green veggie-packed recipes at Simple Spring Creations on May 23rd and Green Goddess on June 10th.

Green Garden Veggie Pasta Salad

Ingredients:

8-12 oz pasta (kaumt, spelt, Tinkyada brown rice or quinoa)

3 tablespoons extra virgin olive oil
1/2 cup sliced red onion1-2 yellow summer squash or zucchini, quartered lengthwise and cut into 1/2 inch chunks to equal 2 cups

2 garlic cloves, crushed or minced

1-2 cups washed and chopped chard or kale

10-12 spears of asparagus chopped

1 tablespoon finely minced chives

1/4 cup finely chopped Italian parsley

1/4 cup finely chopped fresh basil

Salt and pepper to taste

How It’s Made:

1. In a large stockpot, bring 4 quarts of water to a boil with 1 tablespoon of sea salt.

2. Meanwhile, in a medium skillet, heat 1 tablespoon of olive oil. Add onion and saute for 3 minutes. Add squash, asparagus and continue to cook for 5 more minutes. Add garlic and cook another 2 minutes. Turn off heat and set aside.

3. Cook pasta until al dente. Drain, place in a large, shallow serving bowl, and toss with remaining 2 tablespoons of olive oil, sauteed vegetables, chard and fresh herbs.

4. Season to taste with salt and pepper and serve immediately.

Accommodating One Family’s Many Diets

Kim, our Face of FNLer, is now able to accommodate her family’s different tastes and diets down to a “T”. Kim eats a plant-based diet while her children and husband do not. Kim shares some tips on how she balances making predominantly plant-based meals with the inclusion of a few “meat nights” that everyone enjoys.

At this stage in my life, I consider myself vegan.  Do I quiz the waitress about whether or not my salad dressing has honey in it, or if there is egg in that veggie burger?  No.  So I know I’m not perfect.  But for the most part, I avoid animal products in all areas of my life.  I was not always this way.  For the first 39 years of my life I ate the “standard” diet.  But a particularly bad stretch of poor health sent me searching for a change.  That is when I decided to give plant based eating a try; a particularly tricky feat considering that my husband, children, family and friends do not share my way of eating.  So, what does this mean for making healthy meals for my family?

This is a tricky topic for me.  I tend to go back and forth on it.  Some days I want to cut all the animal products and processed foods out of our lives completely.  And as the Mom, I know that my kids’ nutrition is primarily my responsibility.  However, my husband is their parent too, and while supportive of my choices, he has not chosen to take this journey with me. My solution so far is to strive for balance and moderation.  So what does that translate to at meal times?  Well, I would say about 3 nights a week, we all eat a vegan supper.  Veggies stir fried over brown rice, whole grain or rice pastas with Italian or Thai inspired sauces, soups, chili, stews and salads are the most common.  And I can honestly say that my husband and daughter really enjoy these meals.  My 6-year old fussy son is another story.  Other nights, I still make a vegan side (which I eat as my main), and I prepare an animal protein to go with it for the other members of the family.  Any baking I do now is vegan, and I have replaced dairy milk with almond in cooking and smoothies for everyone.  So, I have not converted them to my way of eating, but I have greatly reduced the animal products they consume.

April being Earth month also has me thinking about the ways in which our eating habits effect the environment.  Again, there is room for improvement.  But some of the things that we do to reduce our footprint include:

• Eating fewer animal products (veg proteins take far less water to produce and create far less pollution than their animal counterparts)
• Shopping for produce at the local farmer’s market from May to October.
• Baking lunch box snacks (like Marni’s Blueberry Banana Spelt muffins!), thereby purchasing less packaged goods.
• Packing drinks in reusable metal water bottles.
• Using more Tupperware and less plastic wrap.
• Walking to school instead of driving when the weather is nice.
• And most obviously, recycling.

How do you strive to keep yourselves, your family and your planet healthy? We would love to hear your tips and tricks.

Proactive Parenting – Give them better Junk!

This post was inspired by this article!

I am not a parent yet, but I intend to be one day – for at least 3 kids  and I can’t wait to raise my kids with healthy habits that they have control over. This may be easier for me to say now. But what I do know is that there is no excuse when it comes to giving your kids junk food. With the plethora of unhealthy, toxic choices that are available today, there are just as many healthy tasty and fun options too.

I know that my good friend, and fantastic mom Lisa Borden can vouch for this. As a mother of 3, she is a true example of this. Her kids know and appreciate what it means to eat well and have their “ cake” (albeit  from Sweets from the Earth or Kelly’s Bake Shoppe) and eat it too. They have been raised to understand that there is JUNK food, chemically processed kind and ethical homemade or naturally derived kind of junk food, which I would rather refer to as healthy indulgences or “good” junk food. These are still treats, still with sugar and fat, but they are a much better option than what is typically available for kids.

To that matter, please check out Lisa’s son Ryan Storm, an acclaimed Toronto food critic who knows what it means to eat well – at 12 years old!

What infuriates me the most is that some parents even claim to be prisoners to their kids choices. Blaming them for what they buy – “because that is all they will eat!?”  Rather, it should be the parents as the decision makers and the nurturers in their child’s life. Granted marketing claims and media are not helping with this. Making parents believe they are actually doing a good thing and giving their child a “treat” or something “special” and most importantly putting a smile on their face. Which in the end makes the parent feel like a hero. To me, that is NOT proactive parenting. That is a passive cop-out, letting kids rule and not doing the due diligence required to find better “junk” alternatives – that still taste good! I don’t even like to use the word “junk” as no junk should ever go into your kids body!

I know there is the argument of the birthday parties, school pizza days and other occasions that a parent may not have control over. I understand, and believe that there is room for moderation and exceptions but if the healthy habits and standards aren’t there to begin with, then this becomes more difficult to implement as a child grows up.

I know this, because one of the biggest contentions I get from parents is that their 8 year old just won’t eat that piece of fruit, or “healthy” chocolate chip cupcake – because it’s just not the same as a the chemically processed and toxic version. At that point it becomes too late, and the child had not only developed unhealthy eating habits, but also unhealthy behavior habits towards food, believing that “healthy” food is gross and not cool. I would just like to mention that my whole philosophy on food, is that healthy food HAS to taste good and be enjoyed no matter what. Or what’s the point?

It is up to the parents to instill values in their kids at home. Kids should be sent to school with healthy and fun snacks. Of course in addition to loading them up with apples and carrots, they need a tasty “treat” too. Ones that actually make their friends jealous! This can be done, however instead it is typically easier for parents to say, well I may as well just give them “this cookie” or “those chips” because they will just want it anyways (I come across this too often with my clients). The truth is, if you create at that, then they will. So instead why not get involved with your kids and come up with some snacks that are colourful and tasty, sweet – whether store bought or homemade. The good news is there are lots of options & also if they are part of making their own yummy treats, they will be more likely to eat them too!

Here are some ideas to start with:

• Instead of candy, gummies TRY  dried fruit – okay so that may sound boring, but get some blueberries, raspberries, mango, apricots and cut them up in little pieces and you’ve got the best tasting naturally sweetened “gummies” that you can find. Colourful, sweet, chewy, not food dye or white sugar – it’s a perfect match! (make sure you are buying varieties that are sulphite free and non-gmo)

• Instead of soda and sugared juices TRY to get some 100% fruit juice and mix it with water and even put some berries in there. The ultimate naturally-sweetened vitamin water.

• Instead of potato chips TRY Organic corn chips, sweet potato chips, zucchini chips, spelt pretzels, homemade organic popcorn, kale chips, even chocolate covered kale chips.

• Instead of jello or pudding TRY Yoso coconut yogurt top it with fresh fruit or dark chocolate chips – this is a perfect nut free snack to pack up or for after school.

• Instead of Ice cream TRY Coconut Bliss coconut ice cream. Flavours include vanilla, chocolate, peanut butter fudge, berry swirl, coconut – plan an Ice Cream Sundae night!

• Instead of Cookies  TRY Better cookies from Sweet from the Earth, New Moon Kitchen or make a trip to Kelly’s Bake Shoppe, or Bunner’s Bakery–just note these are still “treats”, and should be treated as such but they are much healthier options! Of course making some of your own cookies at home would also be  a nice way of knowing what is going in your treats and it also gets your child involved in the making. Try these Ice Cream Cookie Sandwiches

•  Instead of  dairy milk chocolate bars TRY Giddy yoyo, Endangered species, Zazubean Chocolate, Chocosol or Cocoa camino.

Some Nourishing KID Resources worth checking out are:

Unjunk Your Junk Food, Real Food for Real Kids, Sprout Right, Learn Eat Grow,  

Help we’ve got Kids

If you are at a loss for ideas and want to get inspired in a fun and friendly environment, luckily we’ve got many upcoming opportunities to give you the chance to learn how to make some new healthy recipes for the family:

Better baking – May 13th

Weekday meal Planning – April 15th

Killer Kids recipes- May 14th

Pro-teen – May 21st

And the most exciting news is our very first offering of a  Delicious Kids Day Camp this summer!

Register early before spaces fill up!

It is my goal to inspire you to stay on track, find alternatives, eat well, live well and nourish yourself & your kids….if you have them

The Wonders of Plant Based Calcium

Calcium is a very important subject for me so I was to learn that this month is calcium month!  A hysterectomy, shortly after my second child was born pushed me into menopause at the age of 35.  Along with this came an increased risk of osteoporosis, making bone health an important consideration in my diet.  Like everyone else, I had grown up believing that eating my 2-3 servings of dairy a day was the healthy way to go.  I never questioned the absurdity of consuming another species’ breast milk.  Through my research and my experiences with Marni to date, I have learned that dairy actually impedes my goal of strong bones by contributing to an acidic body.  When this happens the body will try to reinstate an alkaline state by leaching calcium from the bones.

So, where is a girl to get her calcium?  I start several days a week with a hearty dose of calcium from a smoothie made with banana, organic berries, calcium rich kale and fortified almond milk.  This is a favourite of my daughter’s as well.  Trust me, you can not taste the kale.  Adding some ground flax seed ups the calcium even more.

While there is a long list of veg-friendly calcium sources out there, two personal favourites are edamame and sesame seeds.  Edamame pods are a popular snack in our household; steamed and tossed with a bit of EVOO, salt and pepper.  I also add shelled edamame to quinoa dishes, pastas, and salads.  Most things I cook are finished off with a healthy sprinkle of sesame seeds as well, adding flavour, texture, and giving the food a nice presentation.

I was happy to see these two ingredients front and centre at Marni’s Amazing Asian cooking class earlier this month.  My two favourite recipes were the Nappa Cabbage Salad, and the Arame Soba Noodle Salad.  I recreated both of these dishes at an Asian-themed pot luck this past weekend to great reviews.  One of my reasons for wanting to win the Fully Nourished Lifestyle prize was to be an example to those around me.  I find people can be pretty sceptical of vegan cooking, so it is very heartening to bring healthy vegan fare and have it be as well received as the meat and sugar-laden foods around them.  Thanks Marni!

An Ultimate Love for Legumes!

Kim Thompson, one of our Face of FNLers shares her excitement about heart health month and our goal for her of increasing her legume intake this month! She also shares her progress thus far since starting the program and the baby steps that she is successfully achieving on her journey. Way to go Kim!

When I learned that February is heart health month and we that I should be focusing on incorporating more legumes in my diet, I had one problem.  Where to start?  I must say, I had not eaten very many beans in my pre-vegan days.  With the exception of a few kidney beans in my chili, beans and legumes were just not something that I had grown up eating very often.   I’ve read that as you change your eating habits, your tastes change as well.  That must be true for me because in the past three years, I haven’t met a bean I haven’t liked.

My current go-to dishes for a heart-healthy blast of protein include a spicy Indian inspired lentil soup, an Ethiopian lentil stew, homemade hummus, channa masala served over wilted greens, and one of my favourite quickie lunches which is chick peas mashed with avocado, green onion, lime juice  S & P and cilantro spread high on Ezekiel toast.  Yum! I also love Black Bean Burgers. Marni has a great recipe for them and they are really easy too!

Often people ask me about eating out.  How can you possibly find anything to eat?  And yes, it is a bit of a challenge and something I have had to work on.  But beans and legumes are more and more common at both fast food places, and sit down restaurants.  Mucho Burrito has a whole wheat burrito that you can customize with black beans, pinto beans, veggies, salsa, cilantro and guacamole.  While I’m sure it is not all organic ingredients, when it comes to nutrition per calorie it sure beats the heck out of a burger and fries.  And recently I was hunting high and low on a chain restaurant menu for something more interesting than salad.  I spoke with the waitress, and she was happy to accommodate me, having the cook prepare a vegetable curry, replacing the animal protein with a hearty helping of chick peas.  Ask and you shall receive….

On the Fully Nourished Lifestyle journey front, last month I talked about adding in more nutritious items.  This month I was working on taking out some of the nasties.  Am  I there yet?  A resounding NO.  Am I making progress?  Definitely.  A big first step has been cutting my coffee consumption in half so far.  I am still having my morning cuppa, but have replaced my afternoon one with herbal tea.  Baby steps.  This coming month I’m going to try to pull out the juicer from the back of the dark cupboard and see if I can start replacing my morning caffeine jolt with a jolt of fresh green juice instead.  Just typing that here is a bit unnerving, but I’m willing to try.  I heard something really helpful about giving up addictions (and yes, for me coffee is just that…an addiction). In order to maintain your willingness to change, you need to set an intention every day.  You wake up and say to yourself “I am willing to let this go today”.  Don’t worry about tomorrow or next week.  Just focus on today.  I will keep that in mind as I move forward.

Ciao!

Kim

 

Chickpeas — How Romantic & Delicious!

With the help of Marni and the Fully Nourished Lifestyle Program, Kristy LaPointe is hoping to make 2013 her healthiest year yet, and she is excited to be sharing the journey!  She is an actress, comedian and writer based out of Toronto.

In honor of heart-health month, Kristy is sharing with us the legume that holds a very special place in her heart and her favourite ways to prepare it.

Chickpeas For A Healthy, Romantic Heart

Chickpeas (or Garbanzo beans, as my father often insists on calling them) are versatile, healthy, and so delicious. A lot of people are familiar with Hummus, but these magical little beans can be used for so much more. Plain chickpeas are amazing in salads. They can be mushed up into a kind of tuna spread alternative for sandwiches. Falafel. Soups. Salads. The possibilities are endless. One of my favorite things to do with chickpeas is roast them in the oven or fry them in a pan with a small amount of seasoning. These roasted chickpeas make a great snack on their own, or in a salad.

This week I made a nice, fresh salad with a mound of wasabi roasted chickpeas on top, and it was so satisfying! See the recipe below. I’ve also been experimenting with different varieties of hummus, from roasted garlic to lemon to red pepper.

Wasabi Chickpea Salad

 

This month as I continue on my FNL journey, my biggest struggle has been with moderation. I tend to adopt an “all or nothing” attitude when it comes to health. This is great when it’s in full swing, and I’m consuming 4 bowls of Kale and going to yoga every day.

The trouble is, without balance, it’s very hard to sustain a healthy lifestyle. I get burnt out on plain oatmeal for breakfast, and then instead of spicing it up, I want to have a bagel and a cinnamon roll. A lot of my cravings have to do with carbs and sweets, so I’ve been trying to add healthier versions to my meals. The best sweet replacement I’ve come up with this month is frozen bananas. At the beginning of the week I sliced up a bunch of bananas, and separated them into small, freezable containers. Now whenever my sweet tooth strikes, I can go to the freezer and find a delicious, frozen treat. I still have chocolate and baked goods occasionally, but this has definitely helped me cut down.

If you have a great chickpea recipe, we’d love to see it! Leave a comment or tweet at @NourishedFully and @kristylapointe.

Make a Date with Your Heart!

With Valentine’s Day just around the corner, it’s time to treat your heart with the utmost love and care it deserves. There’s one easy fix to this and it includes incorporating legumes into your diet. Legumes are one of the most heart-healthy plant-based foods and are packed with nutrients that are essential to your heart-health and every day functioning.

Being very high in protein and one of the best sources of soluble fiber, legumes are a staple in cuisines from all over the world. Legumes are a staple source of protein with moderate caloric intake, making them ideal for any diet.

Here are a few key reasons why we love beans and why they are our favourite heart-healthy ingredient especially during the cold winter months:

• Controls your weight: Beans are high in soluble and insoluble fibre, which slows digestion and makes you feel full longer.
• Great source of fibre & protein: Combining iron-rich beans with good sources of vitamin C increases the body’s ability to absorb the iron.
• High in protein: Legumes are one of the best sources of protein. They are low in cholesterol and have almost no fat.
• Incredibly versatile: Beans are easy to cook and can be used in everything from Indian curry, bean dip, salad, veggie burgers, soup, falafel and hummus, chilis, and many varieties of salads and stews. While some legumes benefit from soaking before cooking, this step is not necessary for lentils and dried peas. It is important to prepare dried beans, as opposed to canned beans, as they are sodium-free. You can use a one-inch piece of Kombu to reduce the gas. But if you’re in a pinch, you can opt for canned beans the occasional time. EDEN brand is all organic, natural and BPA-free.
• Colorful and flavourful varieties: You will never get bored of them because there are so many different types of legumes that you can eat including kidney, black, navy, lentil, chickpea (garbanzo), adzuki, and mung. They vary in color and size, which makes for a creative presentation of your meals.
• Great for digestion and elimination of toxins: Eating beans helps move things along in the digestive tract. The fibre in beans passes through the gastrointestinal tract relatively intact, and speeds up the passage of food and waste through your gut.

Join us this month at a legume-focused cooking class and help cupid look out for your heart by incorporating more beans in your diet!

 

Black Bean Salad with Fresh Mint

What’s in it?

1 cup black beans, soaked* or use Eden canned organic beans

3 cups filtered water (no water needed of canned beans are used)

1 tablespoon mustard

1 tablespoon honey

2 tablespoons lemon juice

3 tablespoons apple cider vinegar

½-1 teaspoon sea salt

¼ extra virgin olive oil

3 red radishes, small dice

3 scallions, minced

¼ cup parsley, minced

¼ cup fresh mint, minced

How it’s made:

1. Drain soaked beans and rinse well with water. Drain again.
2. Combine beans and water and bring to a boil over high heat. (Alternatively, you can use canned beans but only by EDEN organics)
3. Lower heat and cook for 1-1/2 hours. Drain beans
4. Whisk together the next five wet dressing ingredients and pour over warm beans.
5. When beans have cooled, toss together with vegetables.

Why do vegetarians have healthier hearts?

I got a last minute phone call yesterday to come in to be interviewed by CTV News on an article about heart health that was published in the Huffington Post. Basically the article found that those who are on a vegetarian, plant based diet have less risk of heart disease. Which of course is not new information to me. However if it is to you, then keep reading! So giving my opinion and answers on such a subject was effortless. This was especially timely since our February theme of the month is all around heart health, beans and love! Stay tuned for lots of fun posts to come.

Unfortunately, I didn’t plan ahead to PVR or record the segment and nor do they have a link or live stream of the show. So basically I will recycle here for you the questions that were asked along with my answers. Hopefully this will give you more insight as to why quinoa, lentils and kidney beans can help you to live long, and live strong!

Question 1: Why are vegetarian less likely to have heart problems than meat – eaters?

Marni: The vegetarian diet is rich in fiber, lower in fat and loaded with vitamins and minerals. The fats typically consumed on a plant based diet are a lot better for the body and don’t pose the same health risks that meat does. (FYI- This includes fat from avocado, olive oil, flax and chia) The vitamins and minerals from fruits and vegggies offer the body a wide array of nutrients that you just can’t get from a meat based diet. Having a fiber rich diet, also means that you are lowering your cholesterol, improving digestion and moving things through the body and this helps to prevent buildup in the arteries and blood.

Question 2: If people reduce the amount of meat they eat would that help lower their risk of heart disease? Or do they have to cut out meat completely for it to make any difference?

Marni: As a starting point, people in general need to eat less meat overall.  We are a meat obsessed society with a burger place on every corner. So taking the first steps to lower the number of times a week meat is consumed is the first step. However ultimately the goal is to move towards a more plant based diet. If someone is in a critical condition and at risk for heart disease, then it would be a really good idea to go on a strict plant based diet, as they will have an even greater chance at reversing their condition.

Question 3: Are there certain meats that are worse for people’s hearts than others?

Marni: Yes. Processed, packaged and deli meats are the worst offenders. Then comes the fatty meats & red meats. Opting to choose more lean organic and wild proteins is a much better option for heart health.

Question 4: Are there other ways people can lower their blood pressure and cholesterol without giving up meat?

Marni: Yes, in addition to consuming less meat all around, it is important for people to focus on ADDING in green leafy vegetables, grains, beans and legumes, nuts, seeds, fruits – they are all fiber rich and give the body a healthy nutritional boost while lowering blood pressure and cholesterol. In addition making exercise a regular part of your lifestyle can also dramatically make a difference.

Then she snuck in a little question about where do you get your protein without meat. So in addition to this great info I gave on CBC radio show, I mentioned the best and top sources of plant based protein:

Beans & Legumes

Nuts and Seeds

Sprouted Tofu and Tempeh

Quinoa

Hemp and Plant protein powders

Question 5: What are some other health benefits for vegetarians and what have I noticed being a vegetarian.

Marni: In addition to having more energy, being at an optimal weight – people can look forward to sleeping better, and having better digestion. Also a plant based diet is colourful, fun and full of texture, variety and flavour. You can get more creative with meals at home and enjoy new and exciting tastes. You also end up spending less money over time because vegetarian meals make big batches which you can have for several days.

It’s always fun sharing my knowledge to the masses. Hopefully you caught it live, at the very least you are up to date now!

 

 

Read More on this Topic

 

 

Don’t Miss Out…

… as I’ve got some amazing deals on my health-conscious & plant-based cooking classes in Toronto!

I am offering great deals on cooking classes and best selling, health-focused eBooks that won’t be offered for much longer. This is the only time that you’ll be able to get cooking classes for such a great price as rates will be increasing when the new cooking studio opens in the spring. Cooking class packages don’t expire so you can buy them now and still wait to take cooking classes in the new studio.

 

• $5 for Weekday Meal Planning eBook (valued at $12)
• $30 for 4 Best Selling eBooks – Weekday Meal Planning, Cleansing with Superfoods, Veggin’ Comfortably, Purely Fit (valued at $40)
• $100 for a Cooking Class & 4 best selling eBooks (valued at $155)
• $360 for 5 Cooking Classes & 4 best selling eBooks (valued at $540)
• $750 for 12 Cooking Classes & 4 best selling eBooks (valued at $1,075)
• $2,500 for 25 Cooking Classes (all for you or share with friends, you decide). You will also get a Blendtec Blender (valued at $454.95), 4 best selling eBooks and $100 worth of superfood goodies and treats (valued at $2,710)
• $5,000 for a customized private cooking party for you and up to 20 guests at the new cooking studio. Each guest will also receive a gift bag of some of my favourite products valued at over $100 worth of goodies.

This deal ends on Saturday, January 26th. We hope to see you at a cooking class soon!

Yours in good health!

 

 

& The Marni Wasserman Team

Next Page »