Why eat sustainable proteins

Every cell in your body requires protein - it is essential to building bones, muscle, tissue, skin and more. However, protein reserves in the body are minimal in comparison to other energy reserves such as fat and sugar, so protein must be consumed consistently.

However, people generally consume more protein than they need, particularly in developed countries. In addition to this, our protein consumption is not sustainable because of our preference for animal-based proteins. Livestock alone contributes 14.5 % of the world’s greenhouse gas emissions.

What is the impact on health

Although it is difficult to study the impact of food on long-term health, emerging evidence suggests moving away from meats and towards plant-based proteins for optimal health. Canada's Food Guide encourages the consumption of less red meat in favour of more plant-based foods to help reduce the incidence of chronic and cardiovascular diseases.

How can I change?

The amount of protein served should be adapted to the patient's needs. In some cases, supplements can provide the necessary amount of nutrients.

Legumes

They are little flavour sponges!

Beans
butter, black, pinto, mung, soy (edamame), kidney, lima, navy, fava, red (adzuki)
Peas
cowpea, split peas
Lentils
green, red, yellow

Prepare

With aromatics like herbs, carrots, onions and garlic.

Cook

With low-sodium stock or lightly fried as a snack or a salad topping.

Choose

  • Low sodium canned legumes.
  • Suppliers from nearby provinces or states.
  • In bulk, since dried legumes can be stored for up to a year!
  • Less packaging = less environmental impact!
  • Organic to reduce pesticide use.

Some inspiration!

Why not add them to muffins and other baked goods or use them to thicken soups and sauces?

Recipe idea!

Discover our better shepherd's pie!

Download the recipe

Tree nuts

An excellent option to vary meal texture!

Nuts
cashews, almonds, walnuts, pecans, pistachios, Brazil
Butters
nut

Prepare

Slightly toast nuts on a stovetop and provide as a salad topping.

Offer nuts at your salad bar.

Offer nut butter sandwiches if appropriate for the patient.

Cook

To reduce meat but maintain nutritional quality, mix a blend of nuts with meat in standard meat recipes.

Choose

  • Local nuts (almonds, walnuts, pecans, pistachios, and hazelnuts can all be grown in North America).
  • Fair trade exotic nuts.
  • Organic (organic crops are grown without the use of synthetic pesticides).
  • Low sodium options.

Did you know?

Use nut butters as the sauce base for Asian noodles or salads.

Recipe idea!

Discover our Thai peanut noodles!

Download the recipe

Seeds

Multitasking, they are a real nutritious cocktail!

Seeds
chia, hemp, sunflower, sesame, flax

Prepare

Toast sunflower or sesame seeds for additional flavour.

Cook

Sprinkle seeds on top of cooked dishes to increase protein content.

Choose

  • Regional suppliers from nearby provinces and states.
  • Organic crops.

Did you know?

Purchase whole seeds and grind to add to burgers and meatballs. If ground seeds are purchased, store in the freezer for proper preservation.

Sprinkle seeds on top of cooked dishes to increase protein content, such as on breakfast porridge, on salads, or in smoothies.

Recipe idea!

Discover our vegan chia pudding!

Download the recipe

Meat substitutes

The chameleon of savory and sweet dishes!

Meat substitutes
tofu, seitan, tempeh
Protein
textured soy
Powders and processed items
soy protein isolate, isolated pea protein, whey protein, mycoprotein, plant heme

Prepare

To increase the flavour of firm tofu, freeze, thaw, drain, and marinate for 24h. You may also freeze the tofu in marinade.

Cook

Cut or mince small cubes of tofu or tempeh to blend well with existing recipes.
Scramble tofu for breakfast instead of eggs.

Choose

  • Short ingredient lists.
  • Avoid salt, sugar, fillers, and additives.
  • Regional suppliers from nearby provinces and states.

Did you know

Add silken tofu to smoothies, desserts, sauces.

Replace meats in stir-fries with seitan or extra-firm tofu.

Recipe idea!

Discover our vegetarian tourtiere!

Download the recipe

Wild game meats and Seaweed

Rich land animals and aquatic vegetables!

Seaweed
Wild game
deer, moose
Small mammals
rabbit, squirrel, beaver

Prepare

Because of their high sodium content, seaweed is mostly eaten as a seasoning.

Ensure that the inedible parts of game (feathers, hair, etc.) are properly separated from the edible parts (meat).
Try placing the game meat in a brine to add moisture and prevent the meat from drying out.

Cook

Add seaweed to soups, cooked with salmon roe, diced and grilled, dipped in fish fat, mixed with rice, etc.

Game meats are quite lean: add marinades to bring out more flavour.

Choose

  • Dried seaweed is sold in sheets, ribbons, pieces or powder.
  • Seaweed in brine or canned. The canned appearance and texture are reminiscent of that of spinach puree.
  • Wild game meat from well-managed populations, if received special governmental permission to do so.

Did you know?

Add seaweed in strips in a broth. They are very nutritious: rich in protein, calcium, iron, iodine and vitamins A, B and C.

Although seaweed generally accompanies fish, it also harmonizes well with poultry.

Recipe idea!

Discover our miso soup!

Download the recipe

Eggs

All good all around!

Fresh
eggs
Processed
cooked and peeled, liquid, powdered, ready-made omelettes or other egg products

Prepare

Eggs are versatile: plan for different styles of preparation throughout the week such as over-easy, poached, or scrambled.

Cook

Make frittatas or omelettes using any combination of vegetables you may have handy.
Offer boiled eggs in your salad bar or as a meal replacement.

Choose

  • Free-run or free-range eggs.
  • Fresh over processed eggs.
  • Liquid eggs and pre-cooked eggs without additives.
  • Organic eggs (organic poultry fed with no animal byproducts).

Did you know

Make fresh mayonnaise, aioli, and other sauces using eggs.

Instead of deli meats, offer scrambled eggs in sandwiches, burritos, and pitas.

Recipe idea!

Discover our shakshuka!

Download the recipe

Insects

The great power of little critters!

Powders and flours
cricket
Roasted
insects
Processed insect-based products
energy bars, chips, pasta sauce

Prepare

Recipes that are low in protein can easily be increased with cricket powder.

Cook

Add powders to savoury dishes such as soups, stews, or curries.

Choose

  • Regional suppliers from nearby provinces and states.
  • Choose organic.

Did you know

Add powder to smoothies, sauces, or dips to add extra protein.

When baking desserts, replace 10% to 15% by weight
of flour with cricket powder.

Recipe idea!

Discover our banana-cricket bread!

Download the recipe

Poultry & Rabbit

Good sustainable options!

Poultry & Rabbit
duck, chicken, rabbit, turkey
Processed poultry
chicken sausage, chicken strips, chicken deli meat, turkey deli meat

Prepare

Reduce waste at production site by eating all parts of the poultry, including giblets.

Cook

Use minced meat in spaghetti sauce. Create homemade burgers, nuggets, meatballs, meatloaves, with legumes and/or oats to reduce meat consumption.

Choose

  • Regional suppliers from nearby provinces and states.
  • Canadian poultry, as it is growth-hormone free.
  • Free-range poultry, meaning they have space to move freely.
  • Organic poultry – comes from chickens which are fed with feed free of animal by-products and synthetic pesticides, herbicides, and fungicides: this drastically lowers poultry’s global warming impact.
  • Avoid breaded, pre-fried meat.

Did you know

Create homemade burgers, nuggets, meatballs, meatloaves, with legumes and/or oats to reduce meat consumption.

Use the giblets—the organs inside poultry—to add
flavour to your dishes : boil and make chicken stock, or add pureed to mixed meat dishes.

Recipe idea!

Discover our tomato-chicken soup!

Download the recipe

Dairy

A little extra to enrich your menu!

Dairy
milk, cream, powdered milk/cream, yogourt, kefir, cheese

Prepare

Feature the digestive benefits of dairy products such as kefir, yogurt, and cheese.

Cook

Consider adding cheese in vegetarian meals to assist the transition away from meat proteins; it can also increase the protein content if needed.

Choose

  • Avoid high sugar, sodium, and low fat products.
  • Canadian dairy products, as they are all antibiotic and synthetic growth-hormone free.
  • Dairy from grass-fed and pasture-raised animals: look for certification or language such as “100% grass-fed”.

Did you know

Use yogurt or kefir to thicken sauces, smoothies, and milkshakes; use kefir to leaven or ferment dough recipes.

Add milk powder and cream to sauces or liquid meal/desserts to increase protein and energy.

Recipe idea!

Discover our salmon croquettes!

Download the recipe

Seafood & Fish

The richness of fresh and salt water on the plate!

FIsh
herring, pollock, carp, mackerel, sea bass, haddock, salmon, trout
Seafood
mussels, squid, nordic shrimp, lobster, crab, scallop, oyster, clams, octopus, shrimp


Prepare

Frozen seafood is often the most sustainable choice, because it can be shipped by rail rather than by air.

Cook

Pre-cut or minced frozen fish is often a cheaper choice.

Choose

  • A wide variety of regional seafood: this places less pressure on any one population.
  • Aquaculture and fisheries supported by local communities (ownership, co-ownership, or partnership) and when possible, Indigenous communities.
  • Canadian shrimp, and sustainable canned tuna.
  • Seafood at the bottom of the food chain, such as small fish (mackerel, sardines, anchovies), as they contain less pollutants and are often more sustainably harvested.

Did you know

Make seafood stews, soups, or chili rather than using meat.

Offer fish patties instead of meat patties in burgers.

Recipe idea!

Discover our rice croquettes!

Download the recipe

Pork

Lots of ideas to savour it!

Raw
pork
Processed pork
ham, bacon, sausage, cured (prosciutto, salami)

Prepare

Varied parts to reduce waste, by consuming all edible offal and all parts of the pork.

Cook

Chop pieces of pork and mix with legumes or vegetables. Braise or poach, slow cook, grill or fry.

Choose

  • Regional suppliers from nearby provinces and states. Canadian pork is growth-hormone free.
  • Pork raised without antibiotics: the over-use or misuse of antibiotics in animal agriculture is a major driver of antimicrobial resistance.
  • Pasture-raised pork.
  • Avoid processed pork: the consumption of nitrates and nitrites found in processed pork may be carcinogenic to humans.

Did you know

Puree offal and add to meatballs, meatloaves, or other mixed meat dishes.

Offer tempeh or turkey bacon instead of pork bacon at meals.

Recipe idea!

Discover our pork stew!

Download the recipe

Red Meats

There is something to make a big deal of!

Red meat
veal, lamb, beef

Prepare

Feature “Meatless Mondays” serving only vegetarian or vegan dishes.
Minimize portion size of beef and make other elements of the meal the highlight.

Cook

Slow cook in liquid. Braise or poach. Grill or fry.

Choose

  • Purchase smaller portions of red meat, particularly processed meats.
  • Regional suppliers from nearby provinces and states.
  • A variety of parts: reduce waste by eating all parts and offal such as tongue, heart, and liver.
  • Antibiotic- and hormone-free red meats.
  • Pasture-raised, grass-fed red meats.
  • Organic meats.

Did you know

Instead of 100% meat burgers, blend with mushrooms or legumes.

Look for plant-based sausages or ground soy substitutes which replicate the taste and texture of meat.

Recipe idea!

Discover our hamburger steak!

Download the recipe

Toolbox

See our appendices for more information on the protein chapter

Download appendices

Download the chapter!

Choose sustainable proteins

Download Chapter 4: Proteins

Download the guide

This document aims to support the creation of sustainable menus in the food service sector, a step by step approach. It offers relevant tools to reduce the environmental impact of the food served and contribute to socio-economic development.

Next chapter

Starches