{"id":258790,"date":"2025-11-12T16:26:11","date_gmt":"2025-11-12T16:26:11","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/uk\/258790\/"},"modified":"2025-11-12T16:26:11","modified_gmt":"2025-11-12T16:26:11","slug":"how-i-switched-to-a-more-plant-based-diet","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/uk\/258790\/","title":{"rendered":"How I switched to a more plant-based diet"},"content":{"rendered":"

Open this photo in gallery:<\/a><\/p>\n

Illustration by Kat Frick Miller<\/p>\n

Before her retirement, Gabriella Facchini mostly prepared meals to satisfy the three men in her household, who eat meat. While she had long aimed to include more plant-based protein in her own diet, it wasn\u2019t something she fully prioritized until a couple of years ago. <\/p>\n

One experience that helped her embrace the switch was a trip in June to Europe, where Facchini, an avid runner with 15 half-marathons under her belt, took part in the Cetilar Run Notturna di San Giovanni, a 9.9-kilometre nighttime race through the centre of Florence. <\/p>\n

During her stay, she rediscovered the staples her cousins in Florence prepared daily: appetizers of grilled eggplant drizzled with extra-virgin olive oil, garlic, salt and pepper; and main courses of beans or lentils stewed with sage and garlic.<\/p>\n

Back home in Guelph, Ont., legumes were once a rarity for her. Now, she eats lentils at least five days a week and prioritizes a high-fibre diet \u2013 linked to a lower risk<\/a> of heart disease, stroke, Type 2 diabetes and some cancers, according to The Globe and Mail\u2019s Leslie Beck.<\/p>\n

When it comes to fibre, her lentils pack a punch. One cup of the cooked pulse provides 15.6 grams of fibre, 18 grams of protein and 90 per cent of a day\u2019s worth of folate, vitamin B9. <\/p>\n

To ensure she gets her daily fix, she cooks a large batch of lentils with celery, carrots, sage, olive oil and salt, storing them in the fridge to toss on salads or eat as-is throughout the week. She also keeps prepared beans such as fava or cannellini, along with clean leaf lettuce and shredded cabbage, ready for quick meals.<\/p>\n

\u201cIt\u2019s a tremendous amount of work, but I know the payoff is better health,\u201d she says. <\/p>\n

While she still eats fish, eggs and chicken, she has learned that she can get adequate amounts of protein and carbohydrates to power her runs and weight-lifting sessions through plant-based sources as well. <\/p>\n

Her preference for homemade foods extends to pantry staples, too. She bakes her own granola \u2013 rolled oats, mixed nuts, cinnamon, coconut, sesame seeds, pumpkin seeds and sunflower seeds \u2013 roasted in olive oil and maple syrup to last a few weeks. She also bakes sourdough bread from organic and whole wheat flour.<\/p>\n

What\u2019s in my cart?<\/p>\n

How I Save: I look through flyers from the grocery stores where I shop most often: Food Basics, Zehrs and FreshCo. I purchase what I find on sale and cook based on that. I buy my nuts at Costco to make my granola; it saves me a buck to buy in bulk. <\/p>\n

How I Splurge: I really enjoy the taste of organic flour from the Flour Barrel, so I purchase that to make sourdough. It\u2019s more expensive than regular flour, but I find it is worth it for the taste of my sourdough. Croissants from Eric the Baker or With the Grain, in Guelph, are another occasional splurge. <\/p>\n

The hardest shopping habit: Making homemade bread or granola is time consuming, but I prefer it so I can control what ingredients go into them. Commercial granolas and bread can have a lot of hidden sugar and ingredients I can\u2019t pronounce. I\u2019ve become more adept. You just have to find time to do it, prepare in batches and freeze for when you need. <\/p>\n

How I changed my diet: Incorporating more beans and lentils as a good source of fibre and plant-based protein. <\/p>\n

Five items:<\/p>\n

Greek yogurt \u2013 Oikos \u2013 $10.99 for 1.5 kilograms: This yogurt works great for smoothies. It blends well, gives you extra protein and adds a nice creaminess.Eston green lentils \u2013 Cedar \u2013 $5.99 for 1.8-kilogram bag: These are the lentils that I batch cook and keep in the fridge to toss in salads throughout the week. I [also] buy red lentils because I find them better for soup. They have a softer texture than the green ones.White cannellini beans \u2013 Unico \u2013 $1.79 for a can: I saut\u00e9 these beans with fennel, garlic, onion, hot pepper and swiss chard to make a delicious main dish that my whole family enjoys. Eggplants \u2013 $2 per kilogram: I make a homemade baba ganoush. The recipe I like to use has roasted eggplant, tahini, garlic, parsley, olive oil, salt, black pepper and cayenne pepper. We all really enjoy it. Vanilla-flavoured baking powder \u2013 Cucina Della Nonna \u2013 $0.99 per package: This baking powder goes into a biscotti recipe that I learned from my cousin\u2019s wife in Italy. The recipe uses almonds, 00 flour, semolina, eggs and a pinch of salt.<\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"Open this photo in gallery: Illustration by Kat Frick Miller Before her retirement, Gabriella Facchini mostly prepared meals…\n","protected":false},"author":2,"featured_media":258791,"comment_status":"","ping_status":"","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"footnotes":""},"categories":[45],"tags":[102,14367,6636,56,54,55,25875],"class_list":{"0":"post-258790","1":"post","2":"type-post","3":"status-publish","4":"format-standard","5":"has-post-thumbnail","7":"category-nutrition","8":"tag-health","9":"tag-noastack","10":"tag-nutrition","11":"tag-uk","12":"tag-united-kingdom","13":"tag-unitedkingdom","14":"tag-yessnap"},"_links":{"self":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/uk\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/258790","targetHints":{"allow":["GET"]}}],"collection":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/uk\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts"}],"about":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/uk\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/types\/post"}],"author":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/uk\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/users\/2"}],"replies":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/uk\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/comments?post=258790"}],"version-history":[{"count":0,"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/uk\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/258790\/revisions"}],"wp:featuredmedia":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/uk\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media\/258791"}],"wp:attachment":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/uk\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media?parent=258790"}],"wp:term":[{"taxonomy":"category","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/uk\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/categories?post=258790"},{"taxonomy":"post_tag","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/uk\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/tags?post=258790"}],"curies":[{"name":"wp","href":"https:\/\/api.w.org\/{rel}","templated":true}]}}