Friday, November 17, 2017 5 Brooklin Town Crier Once people find out I don't' eat animal products, the first question I'm asked is, "Where do you get your protein?" We've been led to believe you can't get enough protein on a plant-based diet nor the right blend of complete proteins. When I first tried to give up animal products about 25 years ago, before the commercial internet, there was no real knowledge about being vegan and no easy access to recipes and information on the topic. The common understanding of plant-based proteins was that you had to combine a variety of foods such as rice and beans to get the right make up of protein. I found it hard and I soon gave up. Fast forward 25 years and the internet provides amazing recipes and tips on going plant-based. New research debunks that old school protein-combining theory and supports the fact that as long as you eat a wide variety of proteins on a plant-based diet, your body will store them and you will meet all your protein needs. The term "complete protein" refers to amino acids, the building blocks of protein. There are 20 different amino acids that can form a protein, and nine the body can't produce on its own. These are called essential amino acids. In order to be considered "complete," a protein must contain all nine of these essential amino acids in roughly equal amounts. Meat and eggs are complete proteins, so it's an easy choice to eat them, but we don't need every essential amino acid in every bite of food in every meal we eat; we only need a sufficient amount of each amino acid every day. Still, there are complete proteins on a plant-based diet and they include: hemp seeds, chia seeds, quinoa, soy, seitan, hummus and pita, rice and beans, spirulina and, my all time favourite, Ezekiel bread. It's remarkably easy to get enough protein on a plant-based diet. For example, look at these typical breakfasts: Breakfast 1 2 slices Ezekiel toast 8 grams of protein (complete) TBSP of nut butter 4 grams of protein ½ tbsp of hemp seeds (sprinkled on top) 2.6 grams of protein ½ slice banana .5 grams of protein. This breakfast contains about 15.1 grams of protein. Breakfast 2 1 cup oatmeal 12 grams of protein 1 cup of almond milk 1 gram of protein 1 tbsp chia seeds 2 grams of protein ½ cup fresh strawberries .5 grams of protein This breakfast also contains about 15.5 grams of protein. So, as you see, meeting your or your child's protein needs is easy. Enjoy more plant-based meals in your week and fear not that you will get a protein deficiency. Sheree's Hack: Make overnight oats for a fast family breakfast. Plant-Based Eating by Sheree Nicholson Need protein? No problem. Our Councillor's Report by Rhonda Mulcahy North Ward Councillor, Town of Whitby mulcahyr@whitby.ca Land Alterations, Toboggan Hills and Slow Down Signs Hello Ashburn. I know the title got your attention. It seems that the public meeting regarding a land alteration application fell short. First of all, I would like to thank our very en- gaged residents of Ashburn who wrote or gave deposition opposing the application for land alteration at 450 Myrtle Road. Despite our Planning Committee rejecting the application we have now been informed that the applicant is now claiming this "normal farm practice" protected by s.6 of the Farming and Food Protection Act. So essentially the public meeting was pointless and has left us all a little confused and frustrated. I think the Mayor said it well that night that if this is a profitable business venture then we should be calling it so and treating it accordingly. We are not without our challenges in this matter as it deals with all levels of government. This may be a good time to ask provincial candidates for the next election how they can help. In the meantime, we will work within our municipal powers to come to some sort of resolution on land fill applications in our farmland. On a happier note, it's coming up on toboggan season. I need to remind our residents that it is trespassing to toboggan on private property. We are looking at some no parking signs for Helston Crescent in Brooklin for this winter. We have an on-going problem with trespassers to Winchester Golf Club parking on the street - sometimes even in residents' driveways. It causes a great deal of traffic woes for plows, garbage trucks and in the event, emergency vehicles. A report will come back to us Monday night for a one year trial to see if this resolves some of the issues. The point is to try to discourage trespassers with some parking tickets. If anyone is looking for a place to toboggan, Hy-Hope Farm on Durham #23 offers a great hill for a nominal price. Lastly, our "Please Slow Down" signs need to be on private property by next Monday night. By-law enforcement will remove them if they are on the boulevard after that. We will be having a report back in March to regulate some community safety signs that will be exempt from the municipal sign by-law. In the meantime, the discussion at council led to some great dialogue about promoting all of our traffic safety programs and brought traffic concerns to the forefront. (the strip of land between The Durham Regional Police Service has officially launched the 29th Annual Food and Toy Drive. The Food and Toy Drive provides families in need in Durham Region with food and toys for the holiday season. Throughout November and December, local businesses, organizations and individuals donate food and toys, which are then picked up by volunteers, sorted and distributed to the community. Donations can be dropped off at any DRPS Division, Regional Headquarters in Whitby, or any Fire Station in Oshawa, Whitby, Clarington and Ajax. Businesses or individuals wishing to make large donations can contact the organizers, including the coordinator Cst. Darryl Rice, at drpft@drps.ca. DRPS Launches Food & Toy Drive