Book offers step-by-step plan for keeping a healthy kitchen and nutritious diet

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Leslie Beck's Healthy Kitchen (PENGUIN)

Size does matter, especially when it comes to food portions.

“It is really distressing to me to look at the past decade and really see how portion sizes have increased,” says nutritionist Leslie Beck, a well-known Toronto author, columnist and broadcaster.

“You just have to look at the size of a loaf of bread at the grocery store or a muffin at a coffee shop to realize how they have grown,” she says. “So what that means is we are all unknowingly consuming extra calories than we once did because big food is now the norm.”

In her private practice, Beck delivers nutrition workshops to corporate groups as well as providing consultations to businesses and corporate groups across North America.

Her latest book is “Leslie Beck’s Healthy Kitchen: 250 Quick and Delicious Recipes Plus Essential Kitchen Tips” (Penguin Canada, $28, paperback). Her recipe developer is registered dietitian Michelle Gelok.

On the positive side, Beck is heartened somewhat that it appears more Canadians want to improve their diets and lifestyles.

“We are becoming overwhelmed with information on how certain foods can either benefit one’s health or those that are detrimental to our well-being,” she says.

However, although people are trying to improve, “there are still many things in our diet that we are not doing well,” Beck says.

For example, she adds, in many cases fibre intake is still too low and the number of servings of fruits and vegetables are inadequate.

She has included a list of 15 power foods for readers to add to their diets with tips on how to include them in their daily meals.

“They are foods you will want to add to your grocery list and build your meals around,” she says. These include almonds, blueberries, broccoli, dark chocolate, green tea, lentils, kale, steel-cut oats, red bell peppers, quinoa, salmon, soy beans and sweet potatoes.

“Also, I think more people are trying to switch to whole-grain foods,” she says.

Home cooking is suffering because of a perceived lack of time, Beck suggests.

“People are so busy with work, rushing their children off to extracurricular activities, that I don't think they spend time planning meals or even cooking them because they don't have the time.”

But Beck argues that to make a healthy eating plan work, consumers should take a little time during the weekend to map out weekly dinners and apply this to their grocery shopping.

“Once they do that, they are going to eat better and will be encouraged to try simple easy recipes and realize what a difference it makes in saving time during the week.”

This soothing drink from Beck's book is ideal when you are feeling under the weather or just want a caffeine-free alternative to tea or coffee. Serve it warm or hot and double the ginger for a spicier version.

Lemon Ginger Infusion

500 ml (2 cups) water

45 ml (3 tbsp) freshly squeezed lemon juice

15 ml (1 tbsp) chopped fresh ginger root cut into large chunks

In a small saucepan, combine water, lemon juice and ginger root. Bring to a boil and simmer for 3 to 5 minutes. Remove from heat and scoop out the pieces of ginger before serving.

Makes 2 servings.

Nutritional information per 250-ml (1-cup) serving: 8 calories; 0 g fat; 3 g carbohydrate; 8 mg sodium.