Plant
Based
By Chef Doris Fin
W
hat is plant-based to you? Boring salad or an exciting smorgasbord? Or perhaps a euphemism for the “v” word? Whatever your idea or definition may be, plant-based doesn’t mean “plant-only” and includes everyone. Before our teeth adapted to eating animal products, we ate plants. Now we eat everything. The reality is that perceptions of health are shifting thanks to our knowledge about food and its relationship to our bodies and our planet. Plants, which include cultivated and wild forageable edibles, fungi (e.g. mushrooms), vegetables, fruit, seeds (nuts, oilseeds, legumes, grains), herbs, spices, flowers, sprouts, leaves, roots, and stems, are sensational to the palate, if you give them the chance. The emphasis is on whole, unadulterated plant foods, whether accompanying animal-based dishes, or making up the entire meal, not just garnish. For those seeking meatless options, but still craving the flesh-derived treats, meatless imitations, such as jackfruit “pulled pork” or walnut/lentil “meatballs”, are a popular alternative. You don’t have to be an enthusiastic food lover with a zest
to discover the unknown, the strange and bizarre, or the rare treasures of the sea and land, to have a hunger for culture, tradition and discovering the origins of food and how it’s grown and sourced. Plants, unadulterated, whole and minimally processed, offer an incredible encyclopedia of flavours, along with fibre, nutrients and the antidote to several disease preventions. We’re really just bringing back the traditions and the essentialism of our past eating habits, what was once (and still is) innate, intuitive eating and rebuilding a harmonious connection with nature. Whether due to the season, availability, lack of knowledge or lack of growing resources, plants have been the go-to for centuries. Until the industrial revolution, animal protein was an opulence, a lavish indulgence that not everyone could afford, especially in the more poverty-stricken, rural areas. So plants were the natural choice that provided astonishing tastes and benefits, from which classic recipes were prepared over generations. Some of these classic “poor man’s” foods are staples across the globe, and one of the fundamental catalysts of North America’s melting pot. Some examples include Israeli hummus and falafel, French ratatouille, Russian borscht, German sauerkraut, OUTDOORLIFESTYLEMAGAZINE.COM
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