Planting Nutrition

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Do you avoid bread? Are you worried it will lead to unwanted weight gain? Do you wish you could enjoy bread guilt free? Well perhaps you can.

Many people incorrectly believe bread contributes to excessive weight gain. However when it comes to bread it’s important to distinguish between whole grain healthy varieties and refined, white, less healthy varieties of bread.

Numerous studies show that whole-grain bread consumption within a healthy Mediterranean-style way of eating is associated with lower gains in weight and abdominal fat. This is both in those managing obesity and the broader population.

While studies have also shown that the simple act of replacing white bread with whole grain varieties such as rye, contribute to weight loss, despite no reduced calories, due to the breads lower lower glycemic index.

The inclusion of whole grains, whether from bread or otherwise, have been demonstrated to reduced body fat, particularly abdominal fat. This is one of the reasons consuming whole grains are associated with a lower risk for cardiovascular disease, diabetes, and obesity. In addition whole grains can lower risk of colorectal cancer.

Whole grains are rich in fibre which can increase satiety, while they may also exert metabolic effects such as reducing blood glucose contributing to its beneficial health effects.

So how do you choose a healthy whole grain bread? Learn to read your nutrition labels and follow these two steps:

1. Make sure the first ingredient is whole grain, even if bread is brown, the first ingredient can still be white refined flour.
2. Aim for a fibre to carbohydrate ratio of less than. Divide carbs, by dietary fibre, aim for 5 or less.

References:
PMID: 26148919
PMID: 23199451
PMID: 36904300
PMID: 31159235

Planting Nutritionist on Google Vegan nutritionist in Bondi Sydney, Stephanie Sandor, is a specialist in plant based nutrition and diets to address a variety of health concerns such as acid reflux, menopause, perimenopause, vegan pregnancy, weight loss without restrictive diets, gut health. I offer on line and face to face consult...

⚡Speedy Vegan 🌱 Eats: Create Quick, Healthy, Balanced Meals in Minutes -

⚡Speedy Vegan 🌱 Eats: Create Quick, Healthy, Balanced Meals in Minutes Almost every client I see in my Bondi clinic and online, mentions they are time poor and suffer from overwhelm or anxiety at one time or another.

Join us tonight where we share what we will be covering in our upcoming seminar on supporting women through peri & menopause. This seminar is all about empowering and educating women to advocate for their own health during their menopause transition and beyond.

Using food, lifestyle, exercise and stress management techniques, we show women how they can minimise symptoms, improve long term health and improve their quality of life.

We hope to see you there. X # #

Excited to be presenting at this peri/menopause day retreat. Myself and the two other presenters, a naturopath and breath coach, will be supporting women with diet and lifestyle strategies to improve the quality of their lives during the menopausal transition.

As a nutritionist, I will be discussing all things diet and lifestyle, as well as some beneficial supplements, that can help reduce symptoms and improve long term health post menopause.

Unfortunately, as oestrogen naturally drops into menopause, women's disease risks increases for complications such as elevated LDL cholesterol, type 2 diabetes and osteoporosis.

Diet and lifestyle strategies can help reduce these risks while also reducing symptoms of menopause such as depression, anxiety, hot flushes, joint pain, constipation and more.

Book online at https://www.risetemple.life/thewisdomofchange-dayretreat
or feel free to ask questions below or DM.

Hope to see you there, Steph xx

Do you want to boost your iron absorption? Do you find you are often diagnosed with low iron levels?

Following a few food preparation methods may help. Of course you need to be including good sources of iron rich foods in your diet, but then it’s important to make sure you actually absorb the iron you eat.

Vitamin C boosts non heam iron absorption as does sufficient hydrochloride stomach acid, of which zinc is required for producing.

Phytic acid found in grains, seeds, legumes and nuts can reduce iron absorption so it’s good to pre soak these and further cook grains with allium vegetables to reduce the phytic acid.

Long term iron deficiency that is not responsive to dietary changes and supplements needs further assessment to determine the underlying cause.

Bloating has many causes, so the first step in addressing your bloating is determining its cause.

I ask my clients to keep a “Food and Lifestyle Diary” for one week. This records daily information including:
- what you eat and drink,
- digestive symptoms such as bloating, flatulence, pain, reflux, burping, etc
- bowel movements and consistency
- energy, stress & moods
- Sleep quality

This information is a great starting point to addressing the cause of your bloating.

I used to suffer bloating every day. I remember well when I worked in a corporate job. After work, we would all go out, and I felt just awful. I didn’t enjoy eating or drinking as my stomach was so distended and painful. I found out I was intolerant to some of my favourite foods. After eliminating them for a while I was able to reintroduce. I still need to be careful with too many Brazil nuts.

What have you identified as a trigger for your bloating?

Losing weight is never easy. However I am not a fan of starvation diets and support my clients holistically on their weight loss journey. Here are a few areas to assess in your life of weight loss is a goal of yours. Hope it helps xx

I have been making a conscious effort to increase my protein intake to complement my weight training. I am aiming for 1.6g of protein including leucine per kilogram of my body weight per day. Split into 4 meals, that’s 23.6g of protein per meal. This delicious and easy breakfast delivered 33.2g of protein and many other important nutrients and fibre.
Heat 1 tbs olive oil in fry pan.
Add 1.5 cups of chopped mushrooms 🍄 & 1 cup chopped bok Choy 🥬
Stir until slightly wilted, about 1- 2 mins.
Add 140g of cubed form tofu (choose calcium set)
Stir fry all for another minute or so till tofu slightly browned.
Add a dash of tamari and 1-2 tbs of nutritional yeast.
Serve with wholemeal or sourdough bread spread with avocado and fresh tomato.
Season with iodised salt.
Enjoy 😊

Make sure you prioritise iron rich foods as part of your diet. Boost absorption using the methods provided here. If you are suffering anaemia or low iron, it’s important to rule out the cause, obtaining sufficient iron in your diet is only one of many causes. Look out for my next post on zinc, an important mineral required for haemoglobin synthesis to prevent anaemia.

So many people are afraid of nutritional deficiencies on a plant based but there are deficiencies on all diet types when not eating a well balanced diet. Given all the benefits a plant based diet offers, it’s definitely worth including more plant based meals into your week. If need help doing this, let me know.

Healthy ageing is about increasing the “life on your years, not just the “years in your life”. Sarcopenia is the loss of muscle mass & strength that occurs with age. This loss can lead to a diminished quality of life. It’s important to start early to reduce your risk of sarcopenia. Read the two slides for what you can start doing today for very little if any cost. Resistance exercise doesn’t require an expensive gym membership. Make use of park benches for push ups, step ups (using assistance/ a patter if needed), etc. Go online for lots of free exercise ideas. Let me know if you need more support xx

I recently posted the impact animal farming has on the environment and highlighted the lighter footprint of plant based protein. This list gives you a good idea of some higher plant based protein sources if you would like to switch out your meat for plant protein. Even one meal a week makes a difference. Give it a try and see how you go. Perhaps black bean tacos, or a vegetable and lentil soup?

If concern for the environment is high on your priorities, switching to a plant predominant diet is one of the best things you can do. Start with one plant based meal a week, master one dish then build on that. The environment, your health and the animals will love it.

Gym followed by coffee with friends = my idea of bliss. What brings joy to your day? Shoutout to for their great vegan leather bags 👏 #

A delicious and convenient breakfast. Make ahead for breakfast on the go in a sealable jar. And with 18g of protein and 19 g of fibre this little meal packs a healthy nutritional punch.

Place all ingredients below in a blender till smooth.
Pour into cup and top with coconut yoghurt, muesli, or left over chia pudding, like I did here.

Ingredients:
1/4 cup almonds (soak over night if you can)
1 date, pitted
1 cup frozen raspberries
1 cup milk of choice (I used fortified soy)

Nutrition (excluding topping):
Protein 18g
Fibre 19g
Iron 4.4g
Calcium 460g
Zinc 2.5g

In my last post, I spoke about the need and benefit of omega 3 fatty acids in your diet. I also mentioned the importance of ensuring sufficient zinc, vitamin C, Magnesium and B vitamins in your diet required for the delta-6 desaturase (D6D) enzyme, required to convert these listed omega 3 precursors to EPA (eicosapentaenoic acid) and DHA (docosahexaenoic acid).

Benefits of EPA and DHA suggests a reduced risk of neurological degenerative diseases such as Alzheimers, reduced risk of cardiovascular disease, improved cognition and more.

Try to work these food sources into your daily diet. Personally I love to add 2 tbs of flaxseeds to a smoothie or use ground flaxseeds for pancakes.

How do you include these foods in your diet?

I still hear many clients and friends asking, “are tofu, soy milk and other soy foods safe to eat?” The answer is YES. Not only are they safe, but they are a healthy addition to your diet and a great addition to a plant based diet. It seems many people are concerned about the phytoestrogen content and its effect on cancer.

Breast cancer and prostate cancer are among the most common cancers worldwide (WHO, 2022).

Studies show that soy can:
- reduce the risk of prostate cancer (meta analysis DOI: 10.1080/01635580902825639)
- reduce the risk of breast cancer, while dairy can increase the risk of breast cancer, breast cancer risk reduced when substituting dairy for soy milk (doi: 10.1093/ije/dyaa007)

Its best to stick with low processed soy foods such as tofu, tempeh, edamame and soy milk. Calcium fortified tofu can be an excellent addition of fibre, iron, calcium, protein and potassium to your diet.

Do you include soy foods in your diet? What health concerns around soy do you have?

Tofu, mushroom 🍄, fresh coriander and Warrigal greens with Vegan XO sauce from (this sauce is so delicious). Simply pan fry tofu (choose calcium set for a calcium boost) in olive oil. Add sauce (or tamari or soy sauce). When brown, remove tofu. Add vegetables of choice to the same pan, quickly stir fry with Aldine extra sauce. Mix with tofu, pumpkin and sesame seeds and enjoy.

Corn Burgers. These are super delicious and on weekly rotation at my house. Everyone loves them. They are super easy, no precooking, just blend all ingredients together and pan fry. Ingredients:
Corn kernels - cut from 2 ears of fresh corn (or 100g frozen kernels)
100g frozen green peas defrosted
1 can borlotti beans, well rinsed & drained, look for BPA free can
1/4 Cup chopped coriander
40g wholemeal flour
1 heaped tsp of each cumin, turmeric and curry powder
Black pepper
1 tbsp of each sesame seeds & sunflower seeds

Place all ingredient in a high speed blender till well combined but still a little chunky.
Heat a large fry pan with 1 tbsp of olive oil. Place a heaped tablespoon of the mixture on hot oil to create a burger patty. The mixture makes around 8 burger patties.
Cook for about 4-5 mins each side.
Serve in wholemeal bun or bread with vegan mayonnaise, lettuce, pickles, tomato, vegan cheese and tomato. So so yummy.

Are you drinking sufficient water? This chart from healthdirect.gov.Au provides a good visual of what a healthy urine colour is. Be aware that certain drugs/supplements/foods can affect the colour of urine.

Slight dehydration can lead to fatigue, headaches, dizziness, poor concentration to name a few. Water can also support healthy bowel movements, which is critical for optimal health via a healthy gut.

Often people mistake thirst for hunger, so try a glass of water first if you find yourself snacking all the time.

Do you need to drink more? Do you add flavour, such as lemon juice or berries to your water?

With the growing trend to consume less animal products, there has been a rapid increase in plant 🌱 based meat products.

Are these a healthy alternative to meat?

A randomised trial compared 8 weeks of grass fed beef and pork against 8 weeks of Beyond Meat products.

The cardio metabolic markers were in favour of Beyond Meat, reducing risk of CVD, the leading cause of death worldwide.

Also worth noting weight loss was achieved in the Plant Phase despite no difference in energy intake not exercise.

What’s “your why”? What drives you daily to get up and do what you do?

Client messages such as this are mine.

Also reducing the suffering of animals by supporting clients who wish to improve their health, and the health of the planet, by increasing their consumption of plants and reducing their reliance on animal foods. It’s what drives me everyday.

If you also want support to improve your health through, please reach out.

Clients often tell me one of the only reasons they still eat red meat is for iron. Food however comes as a package deal, you can’t strip out the nutrients you want and leave what you don’t. With red meat, yes, you are getting iron, but you also get saturated fat, sodium, cholesterol, nitrates and cooking by products such as heterocyclic amines. All shown to increase health risk.

Heme iron, from animal sources, may not be the healthiest choice when compared to non heme iron from plant foods.

Absorption of heme iron is not regulated by our physiological needs, whereas non heme iron absorption is. So why does this matter?

Iron in excess is inflammatory within the body. Over time, chronic inflammation can damage tissues and organs contributing to detrimental health effects such as cancer and stroke.

Boost your non heme iron with plant foods including red lentils, low oxalate green vegetables 🥬 and dried thyme. Enhance iron absorption by soaking your whole grains and legumes overnight, adding a squeeze or lemon or red capsicum, and cooking your grains and legumes with a wedge of onion and/or a garlic clove to offset phytic acid effects.

A vitamin B12 deficiency can lead to irreversible nerve damage, affecting sight and gait among other problems. It can also affect our emotions leading to irritability and paranoia. All plant based eaters need to supplement.

As we age, stomach acidity reduces making it harder to extract B12 from food, so supplementing is also required.

Certain medications also increase the requirement for B12 supplementation, such as stomach acid lowering meds.

See my last post regarding B12 supplementation.

Send me a DM stating B12 if you would like me to email you more information on B12 supplementation.

Steph xx.