Vegetarian

Plant-Based Diets and Sustainable Eating

The scientific evidence supporting the link between environmental sustainability and plant-based eating is overwhelming. The Eat Lancet Commission Report confirmed that one of the biggest things we can do for the environment (and our health) is to cut back on animal foods. The report states ‘Food is the single strongest lever to optimize human health and environmental sustainability on Earth.’ (1)

There are a number of factors that make plant-based eating the right choice for our health and the health of the environment. By understanding how our food choices play a role in transforming the planet’s ecosystem and how this has a direct effect on our health will help us make the sustainable changes needed to ensure the well-being of current and future generations….

Cold Beet Salad with Goat Cheese and Green Beans

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A simple cold beet salad to welcome in the warmer months. I love the simplicity of this dish – only 5 ingredients and lightly seasoned with quality olive oil and salt and pepper. Serve this dish alongside any BBQ, or have it on its own for a light and nutritious lunch.

This dish was introduced to me by one of my good friends Sage. She made it over a summer weekend when we rented a house on the beach for a beautiful fun and friend-filled weekend in Tofino. The dish allows for the ingredients to speak for themselves. I love steaming my vegetables for maximum nutrient availability, but the beets and green beans can also be boiled for ease. Seasoned lightly with some fresh lemon, olive oil and salt this is a delicious cold beet salad is a must for any recipe repertoire.
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Baked Asparagus Pearled Barley Risotto with Lemon and Hazelnuts

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This simple baked asparagus pearled barley risotto helps save on time in the kitchen, and the resulting risotto is higher in fibre, more filling and more nutritious than the classic risotto. Using seasonal asparagus is a great way to celebrate this high prebiotic vegetable. One serving of this dish provides 15 grams of fibre – more than half of our daily requirement!

Learning different ways to make familiar things can help keep our brains sharp. NPR posted an article titled “Learning A New Skill Works Best To Keep Your Brain Sharp.” While the rest of us are busy buying into expensive supplements and “superfoods” to increase brain power, these seniors took up new skills to prevent dementia and the results of the study were impressive – significant memory gains after 3 months! This asparagus pearled barley risotto is a new way to prepare a traditional favourite – and turns out it is higher in fibre and easier to make!

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Ginger French Lentil Stew Recipe with Couscous

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This recipe for a french lentil stew is as unique as it is delicious. The simple combination of french lentils with ginger, lightly spiced with coriander and cayenne and served on top of fluffy couscous makes for a delicious and high protein plant-based meal that is SO easy to make.

Lentils are a regular in our household. Most of the time it is this Easy Vegetarian Bean Soup or this Greek Red Lentil Soup with Lemon. I dug this recipe up from my university years – this used to be my go-to recipe when I needed something inexpensive and easy to make. Over the years this recipe has evolved so much that I can’t recall what the original recipe looked like. What I do know is that they savouriness of the lentils cooked in broth, mixed with the spiced ginger, coriander and cayenne, and served with a hit of lemon juice and a sprinkle of parsley makes for one delicious meal.
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Butternut Squash Curry Lentil Soup with Turmeric

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A simple and delicious Butternut Squash Curry Lentil Soup that is as easy to make as it is delicious. The creaminess of the butternut squash is emphasized by the thickness of the red lentils. Red lentils are amazing in soups as they break apart upon cooking, adding a hearty texture. This recipe is packed full of plant-based protein with 20 grams of protein, and only 280 calories per serving.

Legumes are one of the best foods we can feed our body, but often one of the foods we don’t eat enough of. They have a complex nutrient profile and offer plant-based protein, iron and zinc. They are also one of the most sustainable sources of protein we have access to (see my post Five Reasons Why You Should Eat Lentils). Clients tell me the main reason they don’t eat lentils is that they lack the confidence in preparing them. This is one of my favourite recipes for introducing clients to cooking with dried lentils, as red lentils are the easiest to cook with. This Butternut Squash Curry Lentil Soup with Turmeric really is fail-safe and will take only 35 minutes to cook!
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Easy Curry Lentil Soup with Kale

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A simple mid-week meal that can be easily adapted for the seasons, or for whatever produce is lurking in your fridge crisper. Lentils offer the balance of low glycemic index carbohydrate with a good amount of protein to help sustain you.

These smokey August days have got me thinking about the end of summer, and nothing symbolises the end of summer more than a steaming bowl of hearty soup. Lentil soup, for me, is the silver lining to the end of the long days and warm weather and as the days get shorter the compromise of warming lentil soup makes the transition into autumn that much easier. This easy curry lentil soup is my go-to soup, and really can be adapted for any season. For a summer soup, use up your zucchini, kale and carrots and come winter think about substituting the zucchini for butternut squash, yam or sweet potato.

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How To Get Your Omega-3s For Vegetarians and Vegans

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Want to make sure you are getting enough omega-3 fatty acids on a plant-based diet? Omega-3s for vegetarians and vegans are harder to come by, but there are some dietary factors that we can control to help improve our access and the availability of this important nutrient.

Long dispelled are the myths of inadequate protein intake in vegetarian diets. We now know that a balanced and varied vegetarian diet, containing nuts, seeds, organic tofu, eggs, legumes, and quinoa will provide us with all our body needs. One uncertainty that continues to linger is whether or not a vegetarian diet can provide sufficient omega-3 fatty acids. I’ve outlined the recommended intake of plant-based omega-3s for vegetarians and vegans, and have included tips on how to maximize the availability of this important nutrient by the body.
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Chanterelle Barley Risotto with Mung Beans

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This week I am doing the Welfare Challenge to bring awareness to the inadequacy of welfare rates in BC. Here in our beautiful province, a person on welfare receives only $610 per month. When this is broken down and basic accommodation, phone, and personal hygiene are accounted for, only $18 per week is left for food. World Food Day is just around the corner on October 16th, making this a good time for us to take on the challenge and experience how difficult living off a strict food budget can be. I’m only on Day 2 and can only imagine the stress and weight that someone trying to feed themselves or a family may feel. I am fortunate enough to have the background and education to be able to make healthy and smart food choices on a budget and already I feel better equipped to help those that may not be. With the help of some foraging, this Chanterelle Barley Risotto with Kale and Mung Beans can be prepared for just under $0.45 per serving.
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High Protein Zucchini Lasagna with Cottage Cheese

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I came up with this recipe with my roommate at the time was experimenting with cutting out lentils. With no members of the legume family in our diets, vegetarian sources of protein were limited. We had more than our fair share of Summer Tofu Salad Bowl and Vegetable Packed Crustless Quiche with Feta but there are only so many egg and tofu dishes you can stomach in a week. So I turned to protein-rich cottage cheese to help square out our vegetarian dinners. Using our high supply of zucchini from our weekly veggie box and my motivation to get some protein versatility into our diets, I came up with this High Protein Zucchini Lasagna with Cottage Cheese. Not only is this vegetarian dish high in protein, it is also great for those looking for a low carbohydrate meal and I have told that it complies with those that are following a keto vegetarian diet, or paleo vegetarian diet. And the best part is… it’s easy!
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How To Cook Lentils + 5 Reasons Why We Should Eat Lentils

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Do you feel like you want to delve into the world of lentils but don’t feel confident in preparing them? This is my guide on how to cook lentils, plus some of my top reasons why we should all be eating lentils, from both the health and environmental perspective.

Lentils are in my opinion the superfood of all superfoods. They are a great source of plant-based protein and important minerals including iron and zinc. They are also cost-effective in terms of money, but also greenhouse gas emissions, and have the ability to nourish our bodies on a budget, and not at the expense of the environment. Now let me tell you why lentils should be allowed centre stage at your next meal. I’ve included a simple prep guide on how to cook lentils and my top 5 reasons why we should be eating lentils.
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Japanese Salad Bowls with a Miso Tahini Dressing and Brown Rice

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This Japanese Salad Bowl with Miso Tahini Dressing is a favourite in our household. The miso tahini dressing is so easy to make, and really goes great on anything! Serve it on some wholesome brown rice topped with some fresh vegetables, or try quinoa with roasted vegetables for something different.

I love the shift of household staples with the changing season. As the weather warms up, in comes the salads and salad bowls. I’ve already shared Baked Tofu Kale Quinoa Salad with Glory Bowl Dressing and then I followed that up with the lighter alternative Light Summer Salad with a Garlic and Tahini Dressing. Now my love of Asian flavours has inspired this Japanese Salad Bowl served with a Miso Tahini Dressing and Brown Rice, just in time to see summer to its end.
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Greek Red Lentil Soup with Lemon

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This Greek Red Lentil Soup with Lemon has been adapted from two of my favourite cookbooks. The addition of crumbly feta and fresh rosemary on top makes it a quintessentially Greek recipe, though this can be omitted for a vegan red lentil soup more representative of a Turkish or Lebanese red lentil soup.

Red lentils are my absolute favourite lentil to cook with. They have the shortest cooking time (12 minutes!) and once cooked, they break apart to help form a thick and satisfying soup consistency. I recently learned that red lentils are, in fact, brown lentils, but without the outer skin! If you have browsed my other recipes you will see that 99% of my lentil dishes contain the humble red lentil, and 98% of those are curry based dishes. I’m adding this Greek Red Lentil Soup with Lemon to the repertoire because the combination of lemon and lentils is really something special and I was thankfully introduced to this flavour combination during my travels through Turkey. This recipe for Greek Red Lentil Soup with Lemon is adapted from two of my favourite cookbooks – Rebar from Victoria, and Whitewater Cooks from Nelson because, well why not enjoy the best of both worlds.
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