Author: Nicole Osinga, RD, MAN, BASc

 Skip the summer bloat with these 3 no-cook, high-fibre, plant-based snacks made with the goodness of Ontario greenhouse-grown vegetables.#AD

Looking for easy ways to eat more fibre this summer? Each recipe packs 9–10 g of fibre, takes just 5 minutes to make, and is perfect for:
– Meal prep
– Picnics
– Afternoon snacks
– Summer entertaining

Choosing Ontario greenhouse-grown cucumbers, peppers, and tomatoes means you can enjoy fresh, flavourful vegetables year-round while making it easier to fill half your plate with veggies.

Turn them into an easy plant-based charcuterie board with:

– Edamame Hummus Stuffed Mini Peppers – crunchy, satisfying, and packed with fibre and plant protein.
– Watermelon Cucumber Bean Salsa – sweet, refreshing, and loaded with fibre thanks to the beans.
– Tofu Caprese Skewers – a fresh, colourful, plant-based twist on a classic with plenty of protein.

Which one are you making first?

Magnesium has become a hot topic recently and for good reason. It’s a mineral that is involved in 300+ processes in the body, including muscle function, nerve health, blood sugar regulation, heart health, sleep, and energy production.

Most adult women need 310–320 mg/day of magnesium (more during pregnancy), while most adult men need 400–420 mg/day.

Chances are that you may not be getting enough magnesium in your diet. Plan your meals around food first, but if you are still struggling to get enough magnesium, I recommended grabbing Megafoods Triple Magnesium Complex which contains highly- absorbable forms of magnesium including magnesium bisglycinate, malate and citrate. One capsule contains 150 mg of magnesium. AD

Here are some of the best plant-based sources:

• Pumpkin seeds (¼ cup): ~190 mg
• Hemp seeds (3 tbsp): ~210 mg
• Chia seeds (2 tbsp): ~110 mg
• Flaxseed (2 tbsp): ~75 mg
• Almonds (¼ cup): ~95 mg
• Cashews (¼ cup): ~90 mg
• Peanuts (¼ cup): ~65 mg
• Edamame (1 cup): ~100 mg
• White beans (1 cup cooked): ~120 mg
• Chickpeas (1 cup cooked): ~80 mg
• Lentils (1 cup cooked): ~70 mg
• Spinach (1 cup cooked): ~155 mg
• Quinoa (1 cup cooked): ~120 mg
• Avocado (1 medium): ~60 mg

Grab the magnesium rich meal plan here!

This may ruffle some feathers by saying this but plant protein is actually superior to animal protein in a few ways.

First, it’s also a fibre source which so many of us are actually deficient in, second, it’s packed with health-promoting plant chemicals including antioxidants and phytonutrients while being lower in saturated fat and third (I could keep going on) – it’s cheaper!

So, whether you are a plant-based eater or simply want to eat some more plants, it’s time to incorporate more of these plant proteins into your daily eating habits.

In this post, I’m sharing 3 simple plant-powered swaps that can significantly boost the protein content of your meals—while also increasing fibre and other nutrients that many of us aren’t getting enough of.

Are you getting enough protein at breakfast, lunch, and dinner? 

 Let me know in the comments below!

My top plant proteins are:

Bean Pasta – 85 g – 17 G protein & 8 g fibre
Edamame – 1 cup – 19 G protein & 8 g fibre
Peas – 1 cup – 9 G protein & 7 g fibre
Tofu – 8 oz – 24 g G protein & 1 g fibre
Tempeh – 8 oz – 46 G protein & 8 g fibre
Lentils – 1 cup – 18 G protein & 1 g fibre
Black Beans – 1 cup – 14 G protein & 18 g fibre
Chickpeas – 1 cup – 12 G protein & 11 g fibre
Hemp hearts – 1/4 cup – 13 G protein & 2 g fibre
Chia Seeds – 1/4 cup – 7 G protein & 14 g fibre
TVP – 1/4 cup – 12 G protein & 3 g fibre
Soy milk 1 cup – 9 G protein & 1 g fibre

We know most adults and kids don’t eat enough vegetables and one of the top reasons for this is not enough exposure and role modeling; if you’re not eating enough, your little probably isn’t either.

Here, I’m showcasing some creative and tasty ways that you can incorporate delicious and fresh root vegetables from Gwillimdale Farms – for you and your kids. Root vegetables are a great place to start increasing vegetable intake because they’re affordable, last a long time and can be used in so many different ways – from savory potato carrot waffles to veggie nuggets and beet falafels, both yours and your kids plate will be packed with veggie goodness. Which of these recipes will you try first?

If you want to eat nutritious meals with more plants but lack time or energy, you will need these easy dinners made with only a handful of Costco ingredients!

These dinners will help you save money, reduce food waste and help simplify meal prep – and you probably already have some of these in your fridge/freezer or pantry! I’m showing all of the ingredients that I used in these meals. All of the meals also came together in less than 25 minutes which is a huge win!

Let me know which meals you are trying and if you want more posts like this! 

I am one year postpartum this month (crazy!!) so I wanted to take time to reflect on the nutrients and meals that I emphasized during and before my pregnancy. 

Before pregnancy, I focused on certain nutrients that would make a difference in conceiving and these nutrients also happened to also be important during pregnancy.  During pregnancy, not only did my iron needs increase but so did my calorie requirements, protein requirements, folate, omega 3 and choline.

These nutrients can all be adequately obtained through a plant-based diet – this post shows you how.

To ensure all of my nutrient bases were covered, I supplemented with Megafood Baby & Me 2. It’s important that folate is present in its active form for best absorption (aka not folic acid). Look for a prenatal that contains folate in a highly bioavailable form (5-methyltetrahydrofolate (5-MTHF) so your body has to do less work converting it into a usable form. In Megafood Baby & Me 2, folate is found in the 5-MTHF form. It also covers 100% of your pregnancy iron requirements.

Top Plant-Based Folate (need 600 mcg during pregnancy)
Spinach – 131 mcg (1/2 cup boiled)
Asparagus – 134 mcg (1/2 cup cooked)
Lentils  – 105 mcg (1/2 cup)
Pasta (fortified grain) – 150 mcg (100 g)
Avocado – 60 mcg (1/2 cup)

Top Plant-Based Iron Sources (need 27 mg during pregnancy)
Lentils – 6.5 mg (1 cup)
Tempeh – 6 mg (9 oz)
Tofu – 4 mg (9 oz)
Black Beans – 5 mg (1 cup)
Edamame – 3.5 mg (1 cup)

Top Plant-Bsaed Omega 3 Sources (need 500 mg during pregnancy)
Flax – 4.5 ALA per 2 tbsp
Chia Seeds – 5 g ALA per 2 tbsp
Hemp hearts – 2 g ALA per 2 tbsp
Walnuts – 2.5 g ALA per 1 oz Top Plant-Based Choline Sources (need 425 mg during pregnancy)
Roasted Soybeans – 107 (1/2 cup)
Tofu – 106 (100 g)
Edamame – 100 mg ( 1 cup)