Recipes

Going plant happy

08/07/2017 +Share NUTRISPEAK by Vesanto Melina Catherine Jones and Stéphane Lahaye Are you interested in pursuing a plant-based lifestyle but don’t know where to start? Read on for easy ways to swap out animal products for plant-based alternatives that still provide all the nutrients you need. “How can I get enough protein?” is one of the …

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Say cheese (nondairy)!

06/04/2017 Share NUTRISPEAK by Vesanto Melina The significant health hazards associated with red meat are so well known by now that people are happy to avoid the Neu5Gc (N-Glycolylneuraminic acid) present in all beef, pork and lamb that increases risk of tumour formation. We also know that the gut microbiota of meat eaters change carnitine in …

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It’s the Year of Pulses

15/07/2016 +Share NUTRISPEAK by Vesanto Melina MS, RD • The UN’s Food and Agriculture Organization (FAO) has named 2016 the International Year of Pulses. Pulses are edible seeds that grow in pods – peas, beans, lentils. They are also known as legumes. Pulses are packed with nutrients, especially B vitamins (thiamine, riboflavin, niacin, B6, and folate) and …

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Dairy-free and delicious

07/05/2016 FacebookTwitterGoogle+Share NUTRISPEAK by Vesanto Melina & Dave Shishkoff • Last month, I had the pleasure of being a presenter at the Dairy-Free Living course – complete with tastings – at Vancouver’s Central Library. One thing is now clear: there is an abundance of delicious, healthful dairy alternatives. Vancouver is home to several independent non-dairy milk and nut-based …

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Healthy snacks offer benefits

01/02/2016 FacebookTwitterGoogle+Share NUTRISPEAK by Vesanto Melina MS, RD • Can snacking be a key ingredient in a healthy lifestyle? If your first response was “No!” here’s a chance to update your perceptions. Some of us were raised with the advice to “never eat between meals,” which makes sense in protecting our teeth from sweets. Yet there can be …

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Debunking the soy scare

07/09/2015 FacebookTwitterGoogle+Share NUTRISPEAK by Vesanto Melina MS, RD • Soy has been the focus of considerable controversy. The roots lie in good and bad science and in the fact that soy poses a threat to the animal products industry. As many shift towards plant foods, interest in soy arises, in part for its top-quality protein. Research also …

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Celebrating with Healthful Foods

By Vesanto Melina, MS, Registered Dietitian Recipes are from the new Cooking Vegan by Vesanto Melina and chef Joseph Forest (in Canada as an E-book titles Cooking Vegetarian by chef Joseph Forest and Vesanto Melina, publisher Harper Collins, and soon to be released in paperback; same content–great recipes, menus, nutritional analysis, chef tips).  These books make an excellent gift for those …

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The Beefs about Beef

By Vesanto Melina, MS, Registered Dietitian When barbecue season comes along, we may have fond memories of summer events with meat sizzling over the coals. Yet there are great reasons to cook up something else that is superbly tasty and less potentially carcinogenic for summer get-togethers. Recent information from the Harvard-based Health Professionals Follow-up Study …

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Feeding Teens: Black Bean Chipotle Dip

NUTRISPEAK by Vesanto Melina, MS, RD The teen years can be a period of challenge, a little like the terrible twos, except now your kid is several inches taller than you. Mom and dad may find that a formerly compliant child has become a stranger. Nutrition-related issues either become an arena for conflict or shared …

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