<p><strong>Snacking Smart</strong><br>Gino is all about snacking smart, too. Instead of reaching for processed snacks, he recommends choosing nuts and seeds. Almonds, walnuts, and pumpkin seeds are excellent choices, offering healthy fats, protein, and a variety of micronutrients. These snacks keep you full and energised between meals. For a flavour boost, check out Gino’s tips for roasting nuts <em>(LINK TO GINO’S NUT TIPS).</em></p><p><strong>Plant Puds!</strong><br>For dessert, Gino loves transforming traditional treats into plant-based delights. His Carrot Cake Energy Balls are a perfect example. Made with wholesome ingredients like grated carrots, nuts, dates, and warming spices, these tasty treats satisfy your sweet tooth while adding more plants to your diet. Whether as an after-dinner treat or a midday snack, these energy balls pack in nutrients and flavour, making it easy to enjoy a healthier alternative to traditional desserts.</p><p><strong>How to Assess Vegetable Freshness</strong><br>When Gino buys vegetables, he always tries to assess their freshness. He knows that fresh vegetables have better texture and flavour, and he’s even aware of research suggesting that fresher vegetables have more beneficial microbes, which can enhance our microbiome.</p><p>Gino uses all his senses to determine the freshness of vegetables. He looks at the point where the vegetable was cut from the plant, as this area tends to spoil quickly. He checks for vibrant, even colour, sniffs the vegetable to ensure it smells as it should, and gives it a squeeze to see if it still feels full of water and life. If possible, he even tastes a little bit—whether it’s a leaf or a berry. Greengrocers are generally okay with this, he finds. While Gino hasn’t figured out how to listen to vegetables, he jokes that if you start talking to them and asking how they’re doing, you know you’re really in touch with your veg!</p><p><strong>The Importance of Local and Seasonal Produce</strong><br>Gino also pays attention to where his vegetables were grown—the closer, the better. He believes that eating locally grown produce naturally keeps your diet seasonal, which in turn helps maintain variety. He even quotes musician turned organic avocado farmer Jason Mraz, who said, “rid yourself of vanity and just live with the seasons.”</p><p><strong>The Organic Debate</strong><br>There’s also the matter of organic produce. In Gino’s opinion, if you can afford it, you should definitely prioritise organic where possible. He points out that organic food is grown with far fewer pesticides and research shows that it contains more antioxidants. Since we eat vegetables not just for their fibre and starch but also for their micronutrients, Gino believes organic produce is worth the investment. Plus, it generally tastes better. According to him, organic vegetables taste more like themselves—if you know what he means.</p><p><strong>Budget-Friendly Tips</strong><br>Gino acknowledges that organic produce has a bad reputation for being expensive. To save money, he suggests steering clear of imported vegetables, which are always pricier. Once again, he brings it back to the importance of eating seasonally. It’s simple, really.</p><p><strong>Avoiding Sameness in Vegetarian Dishes</strong><br>To avoid sameness in his vegetarian dishes, Gino makes sure not to use the same ingredients every time. It’s easy, he says, to fall into the trap of just combining peppers, courgettes, aubergines, red onions, and mushrooms in different ways. By mixing things up, he keeps his meals interesting and full of variety.</p><p>For more on the benefits of organic vegetables, Gino recommends checking out this article: <a href="https://www.ncl.ac.uk/">NCL.ac.uk </a>– organic veg.<br>&nbsp;</p>