8 Friday, September 24, 2021 brooklintowncrier.com Did you know that grocery stores are designed for us to always walk through their high-profit areas first? I learned this in my college course Retail Marketing and it forever changed my shopping habits. Fruits and vegetables are among those areas and we often feel guilty because we're not eating enough of them. Entering a grocery store through the produce section will often make us "over" purchase based on our desire to eat better. When I get busy, even as a vegan, I can rely too heavily on other items. I know most people think all we eat is vegetables, but our diet includes legumes, grains and, for some plant-based eaters, a lot of meat substitutes. American gastroenterologist Dr. Will Bulsiewicz stated on a recent podcast (Instagram: @theguthealthmdand) that eating a wide variety of fibres is good for optimal gut health and that variety is the key. Over-buying If you do over-buy vegetables, there are many ways to use them. You can roast just about anything and then put the leftovers into pastas, sandwiches and salads. You can make homemade vegetable stock and freeze it for later use. If I spend an hour Sunday afternoon cleaning and prepping my vegetables for the week, I am more likely to cook them. As a plant-based nutrition coach, I receive frequent pushback when I suggest meal prep as a habit. No one wants to do it, but it saves a lot of time during the week. I use my Sunday vegetable prep time to listen to music or a great podcast. During the week, if I'm rushed and my vegetables are not prepped, I'm more likely to eat poorly. I've purchased organic vegetables from Connie's Organics here in Brooklin. She works from her home and supplies weekly boxes of fresh organic vegetables. You can find her on Facebook at "Connie's Organics." You can also join her Facebook group to stay in touch and share recipes. Vertical farming I recently discovered a vertical farm in South Oshawa called "Mighty Harvest Produce" which grows greens and microgreens on location. Vertical farming is the practice of growing vegetables in stacked containers which utilize less space and are often soilless. This farm sells some produce retail and also supplies restaurants like Mathilda's, an Oshawa plant-based restaurant. They are starting a subscription delivery service, which means you could have fresh locally grown greens delivered right to your door. There are many different diets that people of, vegan, whole food plant-based, vegetarian, standard North American Diet, Keto, Mediterranean. One thing they agree on is eating greens is essential for optimal health. So, enjoy your salads, throw greens on your burgers and blend them in your smoothies. Easy dressing Here's my go-to easy salad dressing recipe that's ready in five minutes. It's from the "Oh She Glows" blog. Hemp Seed Salad 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, until creamy. Dressing will thicken overnight in the refrigerator. Sheree's Hack: Cut and freeze left- over lemons for use in water. Plant-Based Eating by Sheree Nicholson Fruits and Veggies