6 Friday, November 20, 2020 brooklintowncrier.com Plant-Based Eating by Sheree Nicholson Learning about nutrient density While I often write about the benefits of nutritionally dense foods, it's time I explained what they are. Nutrient density refers to the number of beneficial nutrients in a food per calorie consumed; foods that provide a high number of nutrients have relatively few calories. They're important because they provide us with essential vitamins, minerals, amino acids, fatty acids and more. They can be the first defence against preventing conditions such as heart disease, high blood pressure, diabetes and obesity. The website www.draxe.com provides this example: 600 calories worth of fast-food french fries is obviously not the same as 600 calories of kale. You would have to eat about 20 bowls of oatmeal to get the equivalent nutrients of one bowl of kale! Nutrient-dense foods are real and unprocessed, contain no chemicals and are not made in laboratories. Nutrients found in healthy, whole foods include micronutrients like essential vitamins, trace minerals and electrolytes, plus macronutrients, including carbohydrates, proteins and different types of healthy fats. The antioxidants and phytochemicals found in many plant foods support the immune system, the body's detoxification processes and cellular repair. When researching which foods are the most nutritionally dense, I found 30, with 24 of them being plant-based. Here are the top five plant-based nutritionally dense foods: Seaweed Leafy greens, like kale, collards, spinach, watercress, dandelion greens and arugula Broccoli rabe, broccoli, cauliflower and other crucifer- ous veggies like cabbage or Brussels sprouts Exotic berries like acai and goji Red, yellow, green and orange bell peppers It's easy to incorporate these into your diet, and you're probably them already. The thing to consider is this: are you eating enough of them? Is that green salad at lunch or dinner going to suffice, or could you be adding more to your diet? One morning my smoothie contained sea moss and spinach, two of the top five nutritionally dense foods. For lunch, I went to Mathida's, a plant-based restaurant in Oshawa. I purchased a meal containing a variety of peppers. For dinner, we had roasted cauliflower and a spring mix salad, with homemade hemp seed dressing (seeds are number 23 the list). I encourage you to start thinking of little ways you can add more nutritionally dense foods to your diet. Here's my favourite hemp seed salad dressing which takes less than five minutes to make. It's from the blog Ohsheglows. com. Hemp seed dressing 1/2 cup hulled hemp seeds 1/2 cup water 2 tablespoons nutritional yeast 2 tablespoons fresh lemon juice 1 clove garlic, peeled 1/4-1/2 teaspoon fine grain sea salt, to taste. Blend all ingredients in your Magic Bullet or blender. It thickens nicely in the refrigerator. Sheree's Hack: Freeze your leafy greens before adding to smoothies. This helps them to break down more easily. A good news story Brooklin resident Amy Bourdon was walking her dog in her neighbourhood last Thursday afternoon when a young man, Matt Murray, happened by, asking her if she knew of anyone needing their lawn raked. She mentioned her across-the-street neighbour, Paul Spencer, who has a disability. The following morning, on November 13th, that same young fellow, along with perhaps family members, were raking the Spencer home's leaves. They provided the yard waste bags and collected about eight bags of leaves. When they were nearly finished, she went over to thank them. "In a world with so much negativity right now," Murray said, "we want to spread love through small acts of kindness." "It was so heartwarming" Bourdon recalls, "to see a young family helping out in any way they can in the community." Shop in Durham! Durham Tourism, and the Durham Region Joint Chambers of Commerce and Boards of Trade, have launched the new #ShopInDurham campaign with a special request for residents this holiday season: shop local. The campaign's goal is to spread the message that buying local will have a big impact for small businesses, while encouraging residents to shop local for their holiday gift-giving. "Throughout the COVID-19 pandemic, Durham has continued to show incredible support to our local business community, Durham Regional Chair and CEO John Henry. "As the holiday season approaches, I want to encourage residents to continue showing their support by spending their dollars locally. Now, more than ever, we have to support local and ensure our local business community stays Durham Strong." Shoppers can help spread the message of support by using the hashtag #ShopInDurham when sharing their holiday finds on social media; this is an opportunity for consumers to participate in the campaign and enter to win local products and services from Durham-based businesses. Follow Durham Tourism on Twitter, Facebook and Instagram, and use #ShopInDurham for your chance to win one of eight grand prizes, including gift cards to businesses, restaurants and hotels across the region, and free opportunities to safely explore some of the amazing experiences Durham has to offer. Giveaway details will be posted on Durham Tourism's social media accounts. To learn more about the campaign and how you can support local, visit ShopInDurham.ca. For a list of local businesses in Durham Region, visit DurhamTourism.ca. To find "main street" shops, restaurants and virtual services, visit DowntownsOfDurham.ca.