Shadowing Practice: VEGAN NUTRITION BASICS » the plate method - Learn English Speaking with Video

How do we know if we're getting the right nutrients or if our meals are adequately balanced?

Now let me tell you firsthand as somebody who has studied and practiced in the field of nutrition.

It can be confusing and complicated.

I get it.

But nutrition does not have to be difficult.

So in this video, we're going to simplify it a little bit by exploring a simple yet effective visual tool

that helps us ensure that our meals are nutritionally balanced.

Now we have written a comprehensive article on this on the Pickup Limes blog.

I'm gonna link it for you down below

because there's more information in there than we can delve into in this particular video

And I also want to make mention before we get started

that this technique I'm gonna share with you is just to be used as a guideline not as a strict rule now.

Let's get started

Many countries have unique food plans that have been created by their governments

or by nutrition authorities To make sure

that their citizens are getting the right kind

and amount of different nutrients now Each country's food plan is a little bit different,

but across the board the emphasis tends to be the same Which is to focus on making sure you're getting enough fluids, enough fruits and vegetables, enough whole grains,

as well as protein, calcium, and fat sources.

Now I'm going to share one of those food guides with you today, and it's called the Canada's Food Guide given

that this is where I grew up and this is the particular guide that I learned.

In Canada we have four food groups, fruits and vegetables, grain products, milk and alternatives, and meat and alternatives.

This list shows what the recommended servings are of each food group based on a person's age and gender.

It's an awesome tool, no doubt, but I often had clients asking me, well do I need to count the amount of these foods I'm eating each day?

And realistically the answer is not necessarily.

You're always welcome to record your intake for a couple of days.

It really does help to see if there's a certain area in which you might be missing out.

But once you know it, then you can make up for it.

So the question that often became well is there an easier way to make sure

that my meals are properly proportioned and the answer is yes Here's how

The plate method is a wonderful and effective technique

that helps us visualize how to organize those food groups This

plate method outlines the proportion of food groups to include

when creating nutritionally balanced meals now a heads up

If you want to get a printable copy of this image here

that you can post on your fridge see the link in the description box below This isn't the first time

that a plate method has been used to compose nutritionally balanced meals.

I mean because it's such an effective visual tool, a lot of organizations have begun to adopt this particular method.

Now you can see

that each of these authorities use the plate method in their own way to make healthful eating something that can be easy.

Now let's break it down a little bit more and share some specifics.

Now we're using a plate here for demonstrative purposes, but you could easily use a bowl or any other serving dish.

So the first thing you want to do is make sure

that about half of your serving plate comes from the fruit and or vegetable category for each meal.

Now the benefits of this are widely known, of course.

These are loaded with vitamins, minerals, fiber, antioxidants, they can help reduce the risk of developing chronic illnesses and so on.

So you want to get it in any way that you can.

Now the sources of this are, well, any fruits and or vegetables that you enjoy.

One thing we do recommend is

that you get at least one serving each day of a green vegetable and one serving each day of an orange vegetable.

Now examples of this can be found in the article that is in the description box below.

One pro tip is to use frozen fruits or veggies for quick and nutrition add -ins to meals.

We also recommend that you get a little bit more vegetables per day than fruits

if you kind of just keep that in the back of your mind.

The general guideline is about three to four servings of fruits and about four to six servings of vegetables.

Again no need to count but if you're generally getting more veggies than fruits each day, you should be good to go.

Now when it comes to grains, we aim for this to take up about a quarter of the plate.

The benefit of grains is that the complex carbs

that can be found in them provide a fantastic source of sustained energy and fiber.

Sources of this include oatmeal, rice, whole grain bread, wheat tortillas, whole grain pasta, quinoa, barley, millet, buckwheat, I mean the list goes on.

One pro tip

that we can give is to aim to have at least

half of your grain servings per day come from the whole grain category

so the more whole grains you can include the better.

Moving on to the final quarter of the plate this is plant -based protein sources

and the benefit of this of course is protein

which is an essential part to health and nutrition

but the other amazing thing about getting your protein from plant -based sources is

that there is the added benefit of fiber both soluble

and insoluble fiber essentially this means it helps to keep us fuller for longer, helps to keep things regular, generally all around good for us.

Sources include soy products like tofu, tempeh, and edamame, and other rich sources are things like peas, all beans, all lentils, and most veggie meat replacements.

Now another source of plant -based protein for vegans that's also considered a fat source is any kind of nut or seeds.

These are things like hemp seeds, sunflower seeds, pumpkin seeds, walnuts, almonds, pecans, and all forms of nut and seed butters.

Now one pro tip is to not be afraid of using canned or jarred beans and lentils, if this means it's going to help you speed up your meal prep time

and make sure you get enough of this essential food group.

If you're going to be cooking from scratch and you're in a rush, lentils cook a lot faster than beans do.

And when it comes to incorporating more nuts and seeds, that should be easy enough, right?

We can sprinkle it on top of salads, add it to oatmeals, into smoothies, or just enjoy it as a snack.

Now, we developed something called the three pillars so that in addition to the plate, we make sure that we're getting an adequate variety of necessary nutrients that we need for optimal health.

Now, if you can't include this into your meal, it's not a problem.

You can also include it on the side of your meal or enjoy it as a snack.

Alright, first up is calcium.

This is something that both vegans and non -vegans tend to overlook

and calcium plays such a crucial role in our bone development and maintenance throughout the lifespan, so we want to make sure that we're getting enough.

Our recommendation is that you get at least two servings of calcium -fortified foods each day, and we do recommend that you get it from food over supplements whenever possible.

Food sources include fortified yogurts like soy, almond, rice, or coconut yogurts, or any kind of plant -based milks that are fortified,

And this can be included in chai lattes, in smoothies, or in oatmeals in place of water.

The second pillar is fats, which is an essential part of a healthy diet

because fats play such an integral part in so many functions in the human body.

And this is also where we find those essential omega -3 fatty acids.

Now, the recommendation here is that we get those healthy fats from whole food sources whenever we can because, again, we get that added benefit of vitamins and minerals and fiber and antioxidants.

So oils are also considered a fat source, but we want to use this one in moderation.

Vegan sources of fats are things like avocados, all kinds of nuts and seeds, nut butters, olives, and coconuts such as coconut flakes or coconut milk.

The final pillar is supplements.

This is one we get questions about all the time, so let's see if we can address it here.

Vitamin B12 is one of those vitamins that's very rarely found in plant -based sources, So it is recommended that vegans either obtain it by consuming fortified foods

or more commonly that they're taking a vitamin B12 supplement.

And vitamin D, it is possible for our bodies to synthesize, but it depends on the time of year and if we are in direct sunlight.

But if we're not, then it's also recommended that we supplement with vitamin D.

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But this applies to everybody, not just vegans.

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As far as other supplements are concerned, it's generally not required.

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If you're consuming a well -balanced vegan diet, it should offer all of the nutrition that we need but

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if you're concerned or if you have a medical condition

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and you're unsure you can always see a doctor or a dietitian to learn more.

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Okay, so we've learned quite a bit so far in this video but hopefully it's coming across as being quite simple.

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Let's take a quick second to recap.

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We want about half of our plate to come from fruits and vegetables, preferably a little bit more vegetables than fruit.

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We want about a quarter of our plate to come from grain products, preferably More whole grains when possible

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and we want another quarter of our plate to come from

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plant -based protein sources on the side Either incorporated into the meal

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or enjoy it as a snack We want to make sure

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we're getting about two servings at least per day of calcium

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-rich foods We want to make sure we're getting enough healthy fats as well as a vitamin b12 supplement

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and possibly a vitamin D supplement too Not so bad right now.

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It's important to note that by developing this plate method

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and breaking it down we're not trying to recommend that you meticulously organize your plate in this exact order.

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In fact, if you were to look through the pickup lines recipes, you'll notice that not all of them necessarily follow this plate method 100 % of the time, and that's okay.

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By following this method most of the time, things tend to balance out.

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The bottom line is that the plate method is just to be used as a template

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or a visual tool to help us create balanced meals.

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Now, if you're looking for more concrete examples of this, see the article in the description box below, where you can also get that downloadable PDF of the plate method

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that you can then post onto your fridge to use as a guide for either you

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or your family members to make sure you're getting the proper proportions of different food groups.

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I know it's something that's really helped me over the years.

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Now if you're planning on following this technique, let us know about it.

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Share it in the comment section below or share it with us on Instagram.

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It's always a lot of fun watching you guys incorporate these techniques into your healthy habits.

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All right, before you leave as well, be sure to give the video a thumbs up

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if you learned something new or if you enjoyed it it means a lot to us when you do.

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Thanks a lot for watching.

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Pickup Lens signing off.

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We'll see you in the next video.

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Vocabulary and speaking notes for this lesson

This video has 132 sentences and 2018 words to shadow. The speech runs for 9:40. The speaker talks fast, about 209 words per minute, so expect linked and reduced sounds. 82% of the words are among the 3,000 most common in English; the rest is worth studying before you start.

Key vocabulary in this video

15 words from the video worth learning, with pronunciation and meaning:

Word	Pronunciation	Meaning
meal noun	/ˈmiːl/	Food that is prepared and eaten, usually at a specific time, and usually in a comparatively large quantity.
grain noun	/ɡɹeɪn/	The harvested seeds of various grass food crops, especially wheat, maize, rye, barley, and rice.
vegetable noun	/ˈvɛd͡ʒ.tə.bəl/	A plant raised for some edible part of it, such as the leaves, roots, fruit or flowers, but excluding any plant considered to be a fruit, grain, herb, or spice…
vitamin noun	/ˈvɪt.ə.mɪn/	Any of a specific group of organic compounds essential in small quantities for healthy human growth, metabolism, development, and body function. They are found…
supplement noun	/ˈsʌp.lɪ.mənt/	Something added; especially, such an addition added to make up for a deficiency.
vegan noun	/ˈviːɡən/	A person who does not eat, drink or otherwise consume any animal products
seed noun	/siːd/	Any propagative portion of a plant which may be sown, such as true seeds, seed-like fruits, tubers, or bulbs.
nutrition noun	/njuːˈtɹɪʃ.ən/	The organic process by which an organism assimilates food and uses it for growth and maintenance.
fiber noun	/ˈfaɪ.bɚ/	A single elongated piece of a given material, roughly round in cross-section, often twisted with other fibers to form thread.
calcium noun	/ˈkælsi.əm/	The chemical element (symbol Ca) with atomic number 20: a soft, silvery-white alkaline earth metal which occurs naturally as carbonate in limestone and as…
technique noun	/tɛkˈniːk/	The practical aspects of a given art, occupation etc.; formal requirements.
coconut noun	/ˈkəʊ.kə.nʌt/	A fruit of the coconut palm (not a true nut), Cocos nucifera, having a fibrous husk surrounding a large seed.
proportion noun	/pɹəˈpɔɹʃən/	A quantity of something that is part of the whole amount or number.
bean noun	/ˈbi(ː)n/	Any plant of several genera of the taxonomic family Fabaceae that produces large edible seeds or edible seedpods.
snack noun	/snæk/	A light meal.

Phrasal verbs you will hear

Word	Pronunciation	Meaning
come across verb		To change sides; to cross over to work for the opposition.
grow up verb		To mature and become an adult.
look through verb		To take a view of the contents of; search in, either with the eyes or by hand.
miss out verb		To miss an experience or lose an opportunity, etc. that should not be missed.
sign off verb		To log off; to stop using a computer, radio, etc.; especially, to stop talking.
speed up verb	/spiːdˈʌp/	To accelerate; to increase speed.

Grammar in this video

The structures the speaker uses most, with the exact words from the video:

Structure	In the video
Passive voice be + past participle — the focus is on what happens, not who does it	have been created · are loaded · can be found
Present perfect have/has + past participle — a past action that still matters now	has studied · have written · have been created
Relative clauses who / which + clause — extra information about a person or thing	somebody who has · same Which is · fats, which is

Pronunciation to watch

The speaker uses 32 contractions and reduced forms, such as you're, we're, I'm. Say them the short way, as you hear them.

The “th” sounds: thumb /ˈθʌm/, smoothie /ˈsmuːði/, synthesize /ˈsɪnθəsaɪz/
The “sh” and “zh” sounds: nutrition /njuːˈtɹɪʃ.ən/, proportion /pɹəˈpɔɹʃən/, recommendation /ˌɹɛkəmɛnˈdeɪʃən/, rush /ɹʌʃ/, essentially /ɪˈsɛnʃəli/
Long words — get the stress right: incorporate /ɪŋˈkɔɹ.pɚ.eɪt/, necessarily /ˌnɛs.əˈsɛɹ.ə.li/, recommendation /ˌɹɛkəmɛnˈdeɪʃən/, complicated /ˈkɑm.plɪˌkeɪ.tɪd/, essentially /ɪˈsɛnʃəli/

How to practise with this video

Listen to the whole video once without speaking and note the words you do not know.
Start at 0.75× speed, shadow it sentence by sentence, then go back to normal speed once it feels easy.
Record yourself and compare with the original, paying attention to words like meal, grain, vegetable.

What is the Shadowing Technique?

Shadowing is a science-backed language learning technique originally developed for professional interpreter training and popularized by polyglot Dr. Alexander Arguelles. The method is simple but powerful: you listen to native English audio and immediately repeat it out loud — like a shadow following the speaker with just a 1–2 second delay. Unlike passive listening or grammar drills, shadowing forces your brain and mouth muscles to simultaneously process and reproduce real speech patterns. Research shows it significantly improves pronunciation accuracy, intonation, rhythm, connected speech, listening comprehension, and speaking fluency — making it one of the most effective methods for IELTS Speaking preparation and real-world English communication.

Shadowing technique: read the full step-by-step guide →

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Vocabulary and speaking notes for this lesson

Key vocabulary in this video

Phrasal verbs you will hear

Grammar in this video

Pronunciation to watch

How to practise with this video

What is the Shadowing Technique?