We Are What We Eat

I believe that some of the best food is the simplest food-whole foods, prepared at home, with ingredients we recognize.

There is something special about cooking from scratch. A basket of fresh vegetables, a handful of whole grains, beans, herbs, eggs, or a piece of locally raised meat can become a nourishing meal without a long list of ingredients or complicated instructions.

Whole and minimally processed foods naturally provide a variety of nutrients, fibre, vitamins, minerals, and other beneficial compounds. Research increasingly supports focusing on food quality-choosing more vegetables, fruits, whole grains, legumes, nuts, seeds, and other
minimally processed foods rather than relying heavily on highly processed products.

One of my favourite ways to make healthy eating easier is to eat what is in season.

When strawberries, raspberries, currants, tomatoes, corn, beans, or fresh greens are available locally, enjoy them! Seasonal food gives us an opportunity to eat a greater variety of foods throughout the year while enjoying produce when it is at its freshest and most flavourful.

Canada’s Food Guide notes that seasonal produce is harvested when it is at its peak for taste, freshness, availability, and affordability. Eating seasonally can also encourage us to eat more
vegetables and fruit.

Buying local can make this experience even more meaningful. Visiting a farmers’ market, stopping at a local farm stand, growing a few herbs in your garden, or picking berries yourself connects us with where our food comes from.

And there is another benefit: seasonal eating naturally brings variety to our plates. Instead of eating the same foods all year, we can look forward to asparagus in spring, berries in summer, squash and apples in fall, and root vegetables and preserved foods through the winter.

Cooking from scratch does not have to mean spending hours in the kitchen.

A simple meal of roasted seasonal vegetables, a whole grain, beans or lentils, and a few fresh тherbs can be nourishing, satisfying, and delicious. Sometimes the simplest meals are the ones we enjoy the most.

Cooking at home also gives us control over what goes into our food. We can use less added sugar and salt, choose healthier fats, add more vegetables and whole grains, and adjust meals to suit our family’s preferences.

This doesn’t mean that every packaged or processed food is bad. Some forms of processing-such as freezing, fermenting, pasteurizing, or canning-can make nutritious foods more convenient and help preserve them safely. The goal is not perfection. It is to make whole and minimallyprocessed foods the foundation of our everyday meals.