New Local Group Offers Community for Plant-Based Diet Spectrum

For some, it's a new way of life. For others, it's a simple curiosity.

With the rising trend of plant-based diets, whether it's for change or for variety, a number of people, including some right here in Weyburn, are now looking for a community of people to enhance their experience with 'more veggies'.

The Weyburn Community Plant-Based Potluck Group has recently formed to offer just that to the local area vegans, as well as to those interested in simply becoming more plant-based.

"There's only a few of us in Weyburn that I know of that are plant-based, and it is, by trial and error, why re-invent the wheel?" said one of the co-organizers of the pot luck group, Nadine Eddy.

She said the intention is to help share easy ways to create inexpensive alternatives that also taste great, while also making new friends.

After all, no matter the menu, what is food without socializing?

"When I became plant-based, there was nobody, absolutely nobody around that was doing it," Eddy shared. "That was 40 years ago. And now, we have so many products and so many recipes, and probably now it almost seems overwhelming, but I think we can make it more user-friendly, per se, if we have a pot luck and share in an informal setting, and get to know each other, and encourage each other."

Eddy noted that while there will always be a few home-chefs who will enjoy bringing their favourite plant-based dish to the group's gatherings, bringing food is not a requirement.

"If you don't want to bring a dish, you don't feel comfortable making something vegan, just bring two dollars, it's just a $2 donation, and we'll share recipes, and you can enjoy the food, you can bring your children, bring your whole family," she invited.

With the 2019 Canada Food Guide showing fruits and vegetables as advisible for half of the 'plate', some are just looking for more ways to get to the next level of actually enjoying vegetables.

For Eddy, however, it's been a long time coming to see so many more people embracing plant-based foods.

"It's been such a blessing in my life, and it's nice it's becoming more normalized, thanks to the ready-made foods in our stores, and now the Canada Food Guide," she shared.

The ready-made vegan products in stores, which are now ubiquitous, she noted, are not always a necessary investment. Eddy said that over the years she has found there's usually a from-scratch version of any family favourite that can be made at home without buying a potentially-costly substitution.

"There are products out there that you can use, but if you want to make it the very best you can, and I think the tastiest, then you can start from scratch," she explained. "It's not that hard. It doesn't take anymore time than running down to the grocery store and gathering up the processed product. It doesn't take any more time to just take a few things out of your kitchen and make it into something."

She added the alternatives are easier to make than you'd think. Ingredients such as wheat gluten, nutritional yeast flakes, raw nuts, dried berries, legumes, and coconut oil are some of the most 'exotic' supplies required for certain substitutions.

Keeping the focus on plant-based can simply be a matter of adding more veggies and fruits to the plate, but it doesn't hurt to make a few more plant-based friends while you're at it.

The group meets at the Prairie Friend Farm, located 5 kilometres east on Highway 13, go left on Rg Road 2135.

Click HERE for more details, or find them on Facebook HERE.