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6 Friday, October 25, 2019 brooklintowncrier.com Celebrating a plant-based diet Plant-Based Eating by Sheree Nicholson Community Calendar Sat., Oct. 26: 11 am: Bid Euchre Fest Odd Fellows Hall, 42 Bagot St., Brooklin No partner required. $10 includes lunch and excellent prizes. Advance tickets only. Proceeds to Camp Trillium: camps for kids with cancer and their families. 905-655-4652 Sun., Oct. 27: 7:30-9 pm: Trivia Night At MichaelKelly's Eatery on Winchester and St. Thomas $20 per person cash only. Teams of 4-6 ONLY. Each team receives a large pizza and an order of garlic bread, with a beer per person. Winning team members each get a $10 gift certificate to MK's. Register by emailing your name and number of team members to: editorofbtc@gmail.com Capacity is 42 people, so registration is first come-first served. Hosted by the BTC with all proceeds to Prostate Cancer Canada Network (PCCN) Durham. Wed., Oct. 30: 7 pm: Brooklin Lacrosse Club AGM At Whitney Hall, Iroquois Park Sports Centre, 500 Victoria Street West Lacrosse fans are encouraged to attend and learn about the work needed to ensure a competitive Major Series Lacrosse team. Help is needed with fundraising, partnerships, game night activities. Please refer to the BLC website www. brooklinlc.com for the club's constitution. Proposed amendments must be submitted by Wed., October 16, c/o the contact page on the site or in writing to: Brooklin Lacrosse Club, P.O. Box 146, Brooklin, Ontario L1M 1B5. Fri, Sat., Nov. 15-16: Station Gallery's Holiday House Tour Tickets are available online at stationgallery.ca, by phone at 905.668.4185, or in-person at Station Gallery. Please note that V.I.P. Tickets are limited. Visit stationgallery.ca for more details Sun., Nov. 17: Mt. Zion United Church annual turkey supper Two sittings: 5:00 & 6:30 pm. Adults - $20.00; Children 12 & under - $5.00. For tickets call (905) 649-5200 or (905) 683-5828. Located at 3000 Concession 8 (at Salem Rd.) www.greenwoodmtzionunitedchurches.ca Tues., Nov. 26: 6:30-7:30 pm (4th Tuesday of each month) Teen Advisory Group at Brooklin Library Whitby Library's Brooklin Branch seeks Teen Advisory Group members to share ideas, and assist with special events and programs. Grade 7-12 students earn community service hours. No registration required. For information, email: teenservices@whitbylibrary.ca Tuesdays: 7:25 pm: Brooklin Toastmasters Club Practice public speaking at Brooklin Community Centre & Library. Contact John Johnstone at jajhj@sympatico.ca or phone 905-683-4439 or Elaine Goulbourne 289-404-8527 at elainegoulbourne@rogers.com 1st, 2nd & 3rd Tuesdays Community Care Durham (CCD) Basic Foot Care at St. Thomas' Anglican Church. 905-430-5732 Mon.-Fri. CCD delivers hot or frozen meals. To order: Karen Andrews 905-668-6779 French Family Storytime: Children and their caregivers can join Madame Sue for weekly French Family Storytime! A half hour of French stories and songs, with a dash of English! Drop in at Central Library's Children's Program Room If you have a community not-for-profit event you would like included in the calendar, please email it to editorofBTC@gmail.com with the subject line "calendar." Priority will be given to Brooklin events. Some editing may occur. This month is my ninth anniversary of being entirely plant-based and it's been life-changing. I decided that if I was going to be plant- based, I wanted to ensure I was doing it in a safe, healthy way. So I decided to study plant-based nutrition at eCornell. It was a research-based program that looked at how the standard America diet has affected our health and what are the effects of eating a whole food plant-based diet. It's easy now to find great products and recipes as there has been an explosion of interest in plant-based eating. The newly released Canada Food Guide suggests we get most of our protein from plant-based sources which gives plant-based proteins credibility. Sense of community Not eating meat may seem like a sacrifice. But surprisingly, it seems to open the door to a wider variety of foods. I also enjoy the community aspect as local plant-based restaurant owners are very helpful. I see them taking time to supply information and support to their customers. While I frequent Brooklin's Copper Branch, last week, I was in Mathilda's, a plant-based restaurant in Oshawa. I watched a steady stream of people of all ages coming in and most had questions. The servers were knowledgeable and friendly. If you're thinking about cutting back or eliminating animal products and it feels daunting, then reach out to those in our community with your questions. We're all happy to help and share our stories, hear yours, and offer advice. I have a huge collection of great recipes that I'm delighted to share. One of my favourite easy meals is Peanut Noodles, described below. It can be on the table in 20 minutes and I often eat it cold for lunch the next day. Easy Peanut Noodles Recipe (serves 3) Ingredients: 2 cups broccoli florets 8 oz spaghetti (a gluten-free alternative is GoGo Quinoa Spaghetti) For the sauce 3 tablespoons peanut butter (no sugar) 2 tablespoons soy sauce or Tamari 3/4 tablespoon lime juice 1 tablespoon sesame oil 1-2 garlic cloves, minced Crushed red chili flakes (a pinch) 2 tablespoons chopped green onion or cilantro or parsley for garnish Method 1. In a large pot, bring plenty of salted water to a boil. 2. While water is coming to a boil, work on the sauce. Place all sauce ingredients (peanut butter through red chili flakes) in a bowl. Add 3 tablespoons of water, and whisk everything together till a sauce forms. Set aside. 3. When the water boils, add the broccoli florets and continue boiling till the broccoli is bright green and crisp-tender. It takes about 1 minute. Using a slotted spoon, remove the broccoli from the water and place in a wok. 4. Bring the same water back to a boil. Then add pasta to the water and cook according to package instructions. Make sure you don't overcook the pasta. Drain well. 5. Add the drained pasta to the wok with broccoli. 6. Pour the peanut sauce all over the pasta and toss well. Taste the pasta, if it needs more salt, add soy sauce half a tablespoon at a time, tossing and tasting as you go. 7. Garnish with chopped green onions, cilantro or parsley. Sheree's Hack: Use frozen broccoli florets to make this recipe even faster. For more information about this feature contact the Brooklin Town Crier brooklintowncrier@gmail.com