Illustration by Kat Frick Miller
After retiring from a career as a financial planner, Helen Wrathall found purpose in her community volunteering at the Roxy Centre. A couple of times a week, she would dole out warm bowls of soup to people in need at the community hub in Acton, Ont. But one key aspect of the experience was different than it is today: The soups back then were canned.
About six months ago, the volunteers began cooking and serving soups made from scratch in the centre’s kitchen. Every couple of months, eight volunteers – including Wrathall – gather to prepare large batches of soup to freeze and serve. Some peel and wash the vegetables, some, like her, do the cooking. Each volunteer suggests recipes to make.
“There’s a great camaraderie in it,” says Wrathall, whose hearty hamburger soup, prepared with ground beef, potatoes, onions, carrots, pasta and beef broth, is on the menu.
“I like to eat well and I believe others should have the right and the ability to eat well, too,” she says of the team’s approach to choosing recipes.
In her own life, Wrathall balances an active lifestyle, including cycling with her husband around the neighbouring trails, with a diet of protein-packed meals and lots of vegetables and fruit, for fibre.
Like at the Roxy Centre, Wrathall cooks from scratch as much as possible and maintains a diet full of lean protein such as chicken and fish, along with meatless meals. She recently began incorporating more Greek yogurt, cottage cheese and eggs, which she gets from a hobby farmer friend, in her diet, for a meatless hit of protein.
She also has been paying more attention to healthy fats, adding more avocado, nuts, chia seeds and olive oil to her meals.
The healthy fats, she says, increase her satiety, giving her the energy she needs to power through a long bike ride or a day of volunteering.
How I save money on groceries: I price match, especially at my local No Frills. I save my vegetable scraps in the freezer, and make vegetable stock with them once the bag gets full. I enjoy feeling like I’m taking care of the Earth by not wasting too much food.
How I splurge on groceries: I make a good filet mignon about once a month.
The hardest shopping habit to keep up: Having something readily available for when I’m tired or lacking time. We always try to have something in the freezer that I could take out and thaw for dinner. Right now, we have lentil stew in the freezer with sausages that I can pull out on that day that I’m too tired to cook.
How I’ve changed my eating habits recently: Eating more lean protein and healthy fats. The avocado and nuts that I eat with my meals keep me fuller longer. I’ve also always had a sweet tooth, so I’ve been trying to eat less sugar. I’ve noticed that the fewer desserts and sugar I eat, the less I crave it.
Five items always in my cart:
- Strawberries – Naturally Imperfect – $4 for 340 grams: These strawberries are Canadian-grown. I enjoy them with my Greek yogurt or after lunch as a dessert.
- Dark chocolate – President’s Choice – $8.50 for 300 grams: I have a piece of dark chocolate after lunch and after dinner. It’s healthier than milk chocolate and it satisfies my need to eat it.
- Protein bars – Pure – $20 for a box of 18: We buy these for bike rides. They’re easy to eat while we’re on the trail and keep us satisfied when we’re hungry.
- Avocados – $1.99 each: Since trying to get more healthy fat in my diet, I’ve added avocados in. I make a tomato and avocado salad with shallots, olive oil and salt and pepper and have it as a side with dinner.
- Dried apricots – H&H Foods – $9.99 for one pound: I make a chicken stew with carrots and dried apricots in the slow cooker that’s really delicious. I also take them for a snack with mixed nuts and some dark chocolate when I go cycling.
