Vegetables are taking center stage on your plate
Historically, dinner plates have featured meat as its mainstay/star, with vegetables as tepid, secondary supporting players. Now, the balance of power on the plate is shifting as fresh, homegrown vegetables take center stage.
Recent “food trend” studies show that more people are making vegetables the main course of their meals. Although the interest in healthy eating extends to all age groups, millennials seem to be driving this healthful food trend. Data from the NPD Group suggests that people younger than 40 are eating 52 percent more fresh vegetables compared with young adults 10 years ago, and that preference is likely to continue as they age.
In support of this trend, professional chefs, bloggers, restaurants and home cooks are embracing the flavours of a vast variety of vegetables, from common to exotic. Episodes of the popular “Iron Chef” television show feature vegetable-centric meals and a recent article in New York magazine noted, “Simply put, the once-meat-obsessed populace is realizing that vegetables actually taste good. Especially when fresh, in season, and carefully prepared.
“You’ll see that many restaurants now offer vegetable-based entrees that have inspired home cooks to explore the healthy and delicious potential of making fresh vegetables a main course. Some reasons driving the shift in popularity of vegetables over meat include:- Vine-Ripened, great taste.
Homegrown vegetables have a home field advantage when it comes to flavor because they stay on the vine to fully ripen and are harvested just before eating. Store bought veggies are often harvested before they’re fully ripe, so they don’t spoil on the journey to the store. Once picked from the vine, sugars begin to turn to starch-and that homegrown sweetness dissipates.- Good health. Everyone knows that vegetables are good for you, but research backs it up. In a study of over 130,000, in the Journal of American Medical Association Internal Medicine, consumption of plant protein is associated with longer life compared with animal protein consumption.
Eating more vegetables and less meat can have a positive effect on the environment. Data from the University of Oxford, England, suggests that eating more vegetables could have a greater impact on reducing one’s carbon footprint than giving up a car! As vegetables grow in popularity and push meat from the center of the plate, more people are interested not only in eating more vegetables, but eating locally grown vegetables.
For a new take on burgers, try substituting the meat with this Black Bean Burger from Leaf Café in Tiffany’s Shopping Centre in Salt Rock.
You will find a variety of tasty plant based meals from this local eatery in Ballito.
Leaf Café focuses on sustainable and ethical living. They serve up quality flavourful, plant-based food that is good for you! However they do offer minimal animal products that are responsibly sourced and that cater for the flexitarians out there.
Power up your day with a delicious breakfast or smoothie, get your nutritional fix with one of their juice cleansers. Boost your immune with their ginger shots or dive into one of their plant-based burgers, wraps or main meals and finish it off with a decadent dessert!
Whether you’re a herbivore or never tried plant-based before, Leaf Café is where you will find genuine, nutritious and of course delicious food, that leaves you nourished and feeling full of goodness!
Find them at Shop 5 Tiffanys Centre, Salt Rock Road, Salt Rock
More info about Leaf Cafe’s – CLICK HERE
Doors open from 07h00 – 20h00 Monday to Saturday and on a Sunday from 07h00-17h00.
