A Healthier You, One Step at a Time

Category: Vegetarian

environmental conscious, avoiding red meat

  • Nutrition Month Special (up to 10% off)

    Nutrition Month Special (up to 10% off)

    Nutrition Counselling with Jan Stephens, R.D

    Promoting a healthy relationship with food and whole food choices, Jan will individualize food plans for digestive, metabolic and chronic diseases, encouraging lower carbs, healthy fats & proteins to improve lean body mass, and she will provide guidance for microbiome & Fodmap Diet if needed. Suggest testing your DNA with nutrigenomics to tailor a diet specifically for you, become aware of your genetic predispostion and compensate for it now! Encouraging healthy lifestyle with adquate fluid, fibre, sleep and physical fitness & weight control.

    Counselling by a Registered Dietitian is covered by most medical plans, consider making an appointment soon!

    jan@cornerstonenutrition.ca

    604 741-7307

  • Vegan Plant Based Jello!

    Vegan Plant Based Jello!

    So pleased to find a plant based jellow for making my Trifle for Christmas so that everyone can eat it. First I went to our health food store and they suggested checking on-line, then I went to our local IGA, and there it was in a variety of flavours & the original unflavoured!!!

    Vegan Plant Based Jello!: Vegan jello 2 rotated e1703204390480

    The thickener they are using is carrageenan and sweetener is stevia (natural) and erythritol (an alcohol sweetener on the market.

    There is also an unflavoured Plant Based Jel which is sugar free.

    Simply Delish Sugar Free Plant-Based Jel

  • Nutrigenomix Black Friday Sale 50% off                         (extended until Dec 8th)

    Nutrigenomix Black Friday Sale 50% off (extended until Dec 8th)

    Canadian-based DNA specific genetic testing for nutrition-targeted personalized nutrition that can be linked to actionable nutrition goals to improve your overall health and well being.

    Nutrigenomix tests 70 food related genetic markers, based on robust scientific evidence. These genes are associated with your nutient absorption, metabolism, excretion, taste and smell preferences. For example research has linked a slow vs fast metabolizer caffeine gene to higher risk of cardiovascular disease, hypertension and even diabetes.

    Other chronic disease-associated genes indicate whether you are more prone to lose weight or percent body fat on a high protein diet or more likely to elevate your “bad” cholesterol if you eat saturated fat.

    Additionaly, the DNA test includes nutrient metabolism of magnesium, zinc and Vit E, Vit A,B,C, D, folate, choline, calcium, omega 3/6, whole grains, sodium,nand looks at inflammatory markers, methylation, hunger regulation, ability to maintain weight loss, sleep duration, alcohol sensitivity, cholesterol sensitivity, fasting glucose and insulin levels, risk for low bone mass or achilles tendon injury, risk for between meal snacking or sugar preference, ability to taste fat in foods, risk for glucose and lactose intolerance etc,

    Research have shown that genetic testing improves clients likelihood of making actionable dietary changes and maintaining these changes for a longer period of time.

    The price of a nutrigenomix test including the nutrition analysis, diet plan and follow up is $399.00 until Dec 1st, after which it will be $599.00!

  • Energy Bars- how do you choose?

    https://www.facebook.com/jans.nutritioncorner/posts/2562289270743882
  • Portabella Veggie Burgers

    https://www.facebook.com/jans.nutritioncorner/posts/2530388110600665
  • Is The Beyond Meat Burger Actually Good For You?

    Is The Beyond Meat Burger Actually Good For You?: BeyondMeat2 Andy the RDhttps://andytherd.com/2019/07/22/is-the-beyond-meat-burger-actually-good-for-you/

    Another excellent article by Andy the RD

    I’ve copied his edited version of Chris Millers analysis

     

    The Beyond Meat Burger

    By Chris Miller

    Vegetarian friendly substitutes of traditionally meat-based dishes are nothing new; while many are original recipes, isolated from the meat-eating world, others are imitations of common meat dishes such as the (in)famous tofurkey.

    Attempts at vegetarian friendly imitation burgers are commonplace and the subject of today’s article: The Beyond Burger, has taken the spotlight.

    With constantly growing sales and acceptance into grocery store meat aisles Beyond Meat has gripped the market for plant-based eating by the buns with its imitation meats.

    The Beyond Burger is a plant-based meat substitute burger developed by Beyond Meat, but is it the savior of the vegan barbeque?

    Let’s take a look.

    So What’s In One Of These Things?

    Aside from water the primary ingredient and main source of protein in the burger is “pea protein isolate” which is a plant-based protein derived from peas.

    It’s gotten somewhat popular as a protein source in manufactured foods due to its high digestibility and satiating effect.

    Yellow peas are dried and ground then the fiber and starches are washed away with water in order to leave only the protein behind.

    Rice protein isolate is the second protein source intended to complete the amino acid profile of the burgers; as pea protein is high in the essential amino acid lysine but low in cysteine and methionine while rice protein is the opposite, high in cysteine and methionine but low in lysine.

    By combining these protein sources the Beyond Burger offers a complete essential amino acid profile similar to meat.

    The main sources of fat in the burger are expeller-pressed canola oil and refined coconut oil. Expeller-pressed canola oil is extracted non-chemically by good old-fashioned squeezing as opposed to the chemical processes involved in most canola extraction.

    Normally a hexane solvent is used to break down everything but the oil, which is then extracted and heat treated to remove the solvent.

    Miniscule amounts of the solvent may remain in the oil however (we’re talking parts per million miniscule) which does raise alarms for some. We’re not sure if this actually has any negative effects on human health but for some people it’s better safe than sorry.

    Canola oil has the lowest amount of saturated fat when compared to other common cooking oils, higher amounts of omega-3s, and no cholesterol.

    Coconut oil on the other hand is very high in saturated fat and low amounts of both omega-6 and omega-3 fatty acids.

    The refining process of coconut oil involves roasting, pressing, then bleaching of the coconut flesh. This has some benefits including a higher smoke point (important for burgers) and a milder coconut flavor, however if you prefer whole, unprocessed foods then refined coconut oil may not be for you.

    The remaining ingredient list:

    • Natural flavors
    • Cocoa butter
    • Mung bean protein
    • Methylcellulose (plant fiber derived from bamboo)
    • Potato starch
    • Apple extract
    • Salt
    • Potassium Chloride
    • Vinegar
    • Lemon Juice concentrate
    • Sunflower lecithin
    • Pomegranate fruit powder
    • Beat juice extract

    All appear in much lower quantities, most making up less than 2% of the product, and are primarily intended to mimic the flavor, texture, and appearance of meat.

    Of note in regard to “natural flavors” it may be important to you to know that this does not necessarily mean unprocessed flavors. Natural flavors are flavor compounds derived from sources like spices, meat, or plants and may have been chemically treated.

    Nutrients comparison

    We’ll be comparing both a generic NoName brand frozen patty and a McDonalds patty to an equal serving of the Beyond Burger.

    113g serving Beyond Burger NoName McDonalds
    Calories 250 320 300
    Saturated Fat 6g 13g 10g
    Trans Fat 0g 1g 1g
    Cholesterol 0mg 80mg 94mg
    Sodium 390mg 430mg 75mg
    Fiber 2g 0g 0g
    Protein 20g 14g 26g

    As you can see the Beyond Burger holds its own pretty well.

    Lower calories, saturated fat, and cholesterol than the competition while also boasting a small bit of fiber and comparable protein. It is however notably high in sodium. It should be mentioned that these numbers are only for the patty.

    Once you add a bun, toppings, and condiments they’ll be quite a bit higher.

    But How Does It Taste?

    Is The Beyond Meat Burger Actually Good For You?: BEYONDMEAT1

    Out of obligation, curiosity, and because I really wanted a burger I decided to give A&W’s Beyond Burger a try.

    Pressing my poor student budget to the limit I ordered two Mama burgers, requesting one have its patty replaced with a Beyond Burger patty.

    Can you tell which is which?

    Once I bit into them I certainly could.

    While the Beyond Burger was surprisingly good and yes, very close to the flavor of real meat, it wasn’t quite there.

    The texture was a bit softer and had a pleasant but telltale aftertaste. It’s not going to fool any meat eaters, but it’s close and still very tasty.

    Is the Beyond Burger for You?

    Well that depends; there’s endless reasons people reduce their meat intake. If your reasoning is environmental or related to animal suffering then absolutely you should give the Beyond Burger a try.

    Beyond Meat claims each of their burgers requires 99% less water, 93% less land, 46% less energy and generates 90% less greenhouse gas than a traditional beef burger.

    This is certainly promising.

    From a nutritional perspective consumers may harbour concerns over the extensive ingredient list, but it remains hard to deny that the nutrient composition is favourable to other common beef burger varieties. The cost could also be a concern, with 2 frozen Beyond Burgers costing eight dollars in most grocery stores.

    All in all the Beyond Burger is very promising and could create options for a lot of vegetarians. It’s not perfect but no food is.

    I certainly didn’t regret feeding my curiosity and biting into one, I doubt you will either.

    Final Verdict: While beef lovers can’t easily replace a steak, they can now replace a beef burger. Give the Beyond Burger a try.

    Chris

     

     

  • Baked Tofu with Ginger

    Are you looking for a tasty vegan tofu dish, I have a gem for you that I cooked tonight!  It has a very delicate Japanese flavour.

    Baked Tofu with Ginger: Baked TofuBaked Tofu with ginger  (2 servings)

    300g tofu 1/2 block  ( I used mediium)

    1.5 T soy sauce

    2 tsp olive oil

    2 tsp rice vinegar

     1 tsp sesame seed oil

     2 tsp parsley, chopped

     2 tsp gingeroot grated

    Cut the tofu into strips, combine the remaining ingredients into a marinate.  Marinate while bringing oven up to 400 degrees, pour out some of the marinate and bake 12-15 min, may need to drain marinate while cooking.

    Enjoy!

    This recipe is from SOS cuisine, excellent for reflux or irritable bowel disease, high in iron, protein, low in cholesterol.

     

  • How to cook your own chickpeas!

    How to cook your own chickpeas!: IMG 8776
    Soaking overnight

    Have been wanting to cook chickpeas instead of using canned for some time,  They taste fresher and it saves you $$  Finally I decided to soak overnight, started with 1 c chickpeas:3 c water, no salt

    This forced me to cook them in my instapot the next day, it was so easy.  I don’t know why I procrastinated.  I rinsed them, put them in the instapot with the same water ratio and pressure cooked for 20 minutes.

     

     

    How to cook your own chickpeas!: IMG 8781
    Cooke in Instapot for 20 minutes

    Don’t they look great!  And they smelled so yummy, I snacked on some right there!   I thought that I had cooked way too much but didn’t realize that I would use them up so quickly!

    Have wanted to make roasted chickpeas as a healthy snack for some time.  Found the perfect recipe:  2 cups chickpeas, 2 T vinegar, 1 T olive oil, 1 tsp dijon mustard, supposed to have 1 pinch salt, I made mine unsalted.  Placed in a pre-heated 400 F degree oven on a cookie sheet, no greasing.  The recipe suggests baking for 1 hr, tossing them every 10 min.  I was far too impatient for this and tossed them every 15 min but by 30 min, they looked roasted and I took them out.

     

    How to cook your own chickpeas!: IMG 8784
    Roasted Chickpeas

    They tasted great, but some of them were not crisp and slightly soft so I put them in the oven for longer, next time I would check them more often and take the browned chickpeas out as they cook unevenly in my oven.. Was very pleased with the flavour and  will do this again.

    I was on a roll  and proceeded to make a chicken chili  adding 2 cups chickpeas, fortunately that was exactly the amount I had left over..  So I was able to cook an entree with the remaining chickpeas depriving myself of the opportunity to refrigerate for up to 5 days or freeze in 2 cup portions.

     

    How to cook your own chickpeas!: IMG 8787
    Chicken Chili with chickpeas

    I won’t tell you the recipe because it became a truly signature dish using my favourite allium vegetables.  Perhaps it was a bit spicy; for my partner but just perfect for me.  Here’s a photo of that meal!

    So don’t hesitate, save yourself some $$ and cook your own chickpeas!