Starches
Why eat sustainable starches
This family of plant-based foods is an essential fuel for the body. For a healthy and balanced diet, make sure to incorporate at least one starchy food with each meal. The amount of starchy foods must be adapted to the treatment plan (low or high carbohydrate diet) and not exceed the needs of the clientele.
How can I change?
They provide fiber and complex carbohydrates and provide energy that is gradually released in our body. Result: they can last until the next meal without giving in to the temptation to nibbling. Indispensable to satiety!
List of possible food substitutes options (first half)
List of possible Food substitutes options (second half)
Root vegetables
A great wealth under the ground!
Prepare
Keep your pre-peeled root vegetables in cold water in the fridge to maintain firmness. Change the water every 24 hours.
To increase fibre, keep the skin on fresh potatoes when serving.
Cook
Root vegetables are versatile: they can be steamed, boiled, pureed, baked, or roasted.
Avoid frying them or, if you must, do not offer more than once a week on menu cycle.
Choose
- Fresh root vegetables that are pre-peeled and pre-cut. Fried roots contain acrylamide, a chemical that occurs when cooking carbohydrate-rich foods at high temperatures—it is a potential risk to human health.
- Organic root vegetables: conventionally grown potatoes were found to have more pesticide residues by weight than any other crop.
- A large variety of seasonal root vegetables: in the fall and winter, look for parsnips, rutabagas, and sunchokes.
- Regional suppliers from nearby provinces and states.
- Avoid processed, pre-fried, and added-sodium products.
Did you know
Take advantage of the naturally sweet flavour of root vegetables: for example, try sweet potatoes in a dessert dish, such as a pie.
To introduce new root vegetables, create a recipe that contains half potato and half of the new root vegetable, for example.
Try a sweet potato or radish and turnip hash with fried
eggs for breakfast.
Ancients grains
A wide variety of flours back on the table!
Prepare
Toast grains in a dry pan to enhance the naturally nutty flavour.
Cook
Try offering grain bowls, with ancient grains as the base and varying colours and textures as toppings.
Choose
- Organic farming results in higher soil fertility and biodiversity, important factors in preserving the environment.
- Fairtrade options for certain grains such as farro, which may not be grown in Canada.
- Regional suppliers from nearby provinces and states.
Did you know
Begin by serving ancient grains with a 50/50 mix of traditional starches, such as rice. This will help transition your clientele into eating ancient grains.
Add different kinds of grain flour into recipes for
muffins, bread, pancakes, cake, etc.
Oats
All the versatility in one flake!
Prepare
Groats and steel-cut oats take longer to prepare - plan time in advance.
Cook
Cook oats with dairy or other plant-based milk alternatives for a creamy flavour with added nutritional value.
Add flavour by cooking with fresh or frozen fruit and a little maple syrup or honey.
Choose
- Organic farming reduces pollution by not using synthetic fertilizers, preventing the runoff of chemicals into bodies of water.
- Minimally processed oats. Instant oats lose nutrients during processing.
- Regional suppliers from nearby provinces and states.
Did you know
Instead of instant oats, offer groats or steel-cut oats.
These alternatives will keep clientele full for a longer period of time (due to the protein content). If cooking time is a problem, prefer rolled oats.
Barley
Marbles with a slight nutty taste!
Prepare
Barley has a subtle nutty taste that blends well with other flavours and won’t overpower a dish. Cook barley in a broth for optimal flavour.
Cook
Ensure a colour and texture contrast with food served with barley bowls.
Choose
- Organic barley: organic farming keeps soil healthy by not using synthetic fertilizers, preventing erosion, and enhancing nutrient and water absorption capabilities.
- Pot or whole-grain barley. Most of the bran—the outermost layer of barley – is present, which ensures a complete source of B vitamins and minerals.
Did you know
Offer barley instead of rice as a side dish.
Because barley can clump when kept warm, mix it with other types of grains to obtain an accompanying starch that is better suited to a food service context (e.g. a mixture of barley, whole oats and wild rice).
Quinoa
An ancient grain that no longer needs presentation!
Prepare
Use quinoa in a variety of hot and cold dishes.
Rinse uncooked quinoa under running water until water runs clear (takes about a minute) to remove the bitter taste.
Cook
Instead of using lettuce-based salads, offer a quinoa-based salad at the salad bar.
Choose
- Fair trade quinoa. Quinoa is typically grown in South America; ensure purchases are certified fair trade, which means that they support values of social, environmental, and economic sustainability.
- Production of Canadian quinoa is beginning to increase; local sourcing could be available in the near future.
Did you know
Quinoa contains a full set of amino acids, making it a great protein replacement. Pair it with another familiar, popular grain to better transition your clientele.
Replace a part of flour with quinoa in muffins for breakfast and desserts.
Pasta/Noodles
Simmered in a jiffy!
Prepare
Pasta and noodles are used in many cultures—increase your diversity of dishes by looking at different menus!
Use whole-grain pasta with heavy-sauce meals (e.g. with parmesan or other cheese).
Cook
To begin the switch to whole-grain pasta; start half and half with white pasta (be aware that cooking time is not the same!).
Save some of the pasta water used for cooking—this starchy water can add substance to sauces.
Choose
- Whole-grain pasta contains bran—the outermost layer of the grain—which is high in B vitamins and minerals.
- Uncommon varieties of whole grain, such as ancient grains that does not contribute to biodiversity.
- Regional suppliers from nearby provinces and states. Canadian durum wheat is high in protein and low in starch compared to other types of wheat.
Did you know
Look for pasta that contains legume flour such as chickpea for added protein.
Baked goods
The little sweet or salty addition!
Prepare
Homemade baked goods can be a way to create new flavours with fewer ingredients, but requires more time: plan in advance. Possibly an activity to suggest to the leisure/activity department!
Cook
Try bannock (see traditional Indigenous starches) with blueberries or raisins for added flavour. It is possible to cook bannock without frying.
Consider adding seeds, berries, and oats for extra nutritional value.
Choose
- Avoid high-sugar products. Read the nutrition label to ensure that sugar is not a prominent ingredient.
- Whole ingredients with minimal preservatives and additives. Store-baked goods often have long ingredient lists to maintain shelf life.
- Whole-grain products with minimal other ingredients. Ensure that the product is high in fibre.
- Sprouted grains. These are products made with whole-grain seeds that have just begun to sprout—resulting in more available nutrients and amino acids, and less starch.
- Regional suppliers from nearby provinces and states.
Did you know
Try substituting white wheat flour with whole-grain flour when baking. Begin with a half-quantity of each to facilitate the switch.
Adding legume flour can also increase the protein and fibre content of baked goods.
If commercial products must be used, ask your supplier if he can modify his recipe (ingredients) to meet your sustainable criteria.
Rice
With 40,000 varieties cultivated worldwide, you have the choice!
Prepare
Soak rice overnight in a 5:1 ratio of water to rice to cut arsenic levels by up to 80%.
Cook
Cook rice in a much larger volume of water (up to 12:1 ratio of water to rice) to remove arsenic levels by up to 60%.
Choose
- Rice can be a valuable source of nutrition but it inevitably contains higher levels of arsenic, a toxic compound naturally occurring in foods. Take precautions with rice consumption and ensure that rice is not the primary starch served daily for your clientele.
- Choose regional variety. Canadian wild rice is the only native grain. Although not rice, but rather a grain, it’s flavour is very pronounced.
- Choose organic rice from a reputable company that is transparent about its growing practices and tests for arsenic.
Did you know
Replace rice with a mixture of whole-grains including a small amount of rice (with barley for example).
Vary the type of rice throughout the week.
