Columnists
Food, schmood! It’s all in the guide
Finally. Yes, finally a new Food Guide has been created for Canadians. I am very happy about it. I always felt the old food “pyramid” was wrong. There seemed to be too much animal protein and dairy, and not really enough vegetables and fruits. Don’t get me wrong. I have had a secret love affair with dairy products and animal proteins most of my life. I’ll never stop loving either cheese or bacon. I’ve also been known to lean heavily upon animal proteins when menu planning in the past. And, like a lot of all y’all, I’ve joked about wine being a fruit and potato chips being a vegetable. I know that most of you know exactly what I’m talking about. If you joke about it, somehow it’s okay. Am I right? I am right. We all wish we could have the salty, greasy chips and the wine or the beer or the chocolate with a side of aged cheddar and a box of Triscuits without having to pay the piper. In my perfect, albeit dream, world, junk food features heavily on the a food guide. In my dream world, it does.
Alas, for the last two years, perhaps longer, I’ve been on a quest to eat in a plant-strong, locally sourced sort of way. I’ve learned to cook vegetarian meals once or twice a week, and found out I wouldn’t die from eating a Brussels sprout or a lentil. I have become a perimeter shopper in the grocery store, meaning we rarely purchase processed foods which are typically located in the middle aisles. My meal plate, on most days and for most meals, is usually more than 50 per cent vegetables and local, seasonal fruit. In a week, I might have one or two treats, but even then it’s just a taste. Honest, just small tastes. I no longer see a bag of potato chips as a quest or a challenge. Actually, we rarely have potato chips in the house, much to the chagrin of someone who still believes they should be classed as vegetables. And because of my autoimmune disease issues, I’ve become a drinker of plain water, decaffeinated coffee or herbal tea. I’m no saint, but I do feel better and have fewer Sjogren’s flares when I’m on-point with my food choices and intake. I don’t have to deal with the aches and pains we’ve all come to associate with being past middle age. The inflammation, related to Sjogren’s, is rare when I avoid animal proteins and processed foods. Which makes sense. It just doesn’t make delicious processed food sense.
One of the benefits of choosing to eat a plantstrong diet is how much less we spend on food when we avoid the animal proteins and processed food products. I do go to the grocery store more often, but only because I want our produce to be as fresh as possible. For the most part, eating less animal protein also reduces the amount of packaging waste generated in our household. As for drinking water, well let me say it certainly isn’t my first choice. I’d much rather have a glass of wine with my meal. But Sjogren’s disease sometimes brings elevated blood pressure and high cholesterol along with the characteristic dysfunction of moisture producing glands. This being the case with me, I avoid alcohol and, for the most part, have substituted water—bubbly water, because I’m worth it. While I’m on the topic of being worth it, it’s worth it to have a good look at the Food Guide for 2019. It’s time to think of different ways to prepare a meal using vegetables, fruits, whole grains and plant proteins. It’s time to think about living a quality lifestyle instead of assuming you have to feel crappy because you’re getting older and that’s what happens when you age. Try a meatless meal. Check online for meatless recipes. Pass on the highly processed foods for a day or two. Drink a glass of water instead of a glass of pop or wine. You know you wanna—and you know I’m right.
Comments (0)