For today's blog post, I want to highlight a fantastic local-to-Calgary supplier of quality olive oils and vinegars. If you haven't heard of Blue Door Oil & Vinegar yet, you are in for a treat. Their slogan hits the nail on the head: Your New Secret Ingredient. Their olive oil is top shelf, excellent and fresh quality. Part of their work is to educate consumers on the health benefits of olive oil, and the questions you need to ask in order to find out if the olive oil you are purchasing is of fresh and good quality. (Tom Mueller, a columnist with the New Yorker exposed the fraud that some olive oils are not what they appear to be back in 2011.) I assure you that the olive oil you purchase from The Blue Door are indeed true and pure, fresh and absolutely packed with micronutrients (antioxidants!) and macronutrients (healthy anti-inflammatory fats!). We're talking nutrient dense foods here folks, to fuel your very best selves!
Read moreMY FAVOURITE FERMENT
I've had fermenting on the brain for the better part of the last three years, discovering the health benefits, enjoying the variety of flavours and appreciating the complexity of time married with salt and vegetables, or playing with those flavours and dreaming up new taste combinations for my adventuresome palate. Through my travels and explorations, it has become clear to me that there is one ferment that really stands out above most for me, for many different reasons. Let me explain.
Read moreHOMEMADE JELLO - A yummy lunch time treat!
Quick and easy homemade jello treats.
I don't know about you, but sometimes the task of putting together a lunch box for my kiddo to take to school with her seems like a daunting task, if not only for the fact that it's a daily task. Poor kid, she has a nutritionist for a mom. DOUBLE WHAMMO. We have come up with some pretty yummy lunches over the years she and I (oh yes, she is an integral part of the lunch time planning. Meal planning and gathering is one of those important things we impart to our children as they grow, from the early days of imitation and modelling to these current days of co-planning she and I do on a weekly basis.) Regardless. I still sometimes come up (near) empty when it comes to food things that pass my ok for her lunch box. Enter, the fun dessert: JELLO.
Read moreA MONTH OF PUTTING UP THE HARVEST - A Compendium
Here, for you my harvest-loving friend, is a compendium of how I managed to stash the summer treats for winter eats. May you eat like a queen or king all fall and winter long, what with this bounty within arms reach here in Alberta. And continue on with your Putting Up the Harvest Efforts! The season has only just begun. Go deal hunting at your favourite local farmers market; pick up a few bags of locally grown produce while out at the grocery store; by supporting local and stashing for the winter months, you are contributing to the local economy, packing in the local bounty, vitamins and minerals, and supporting a smaller scale producer and inadvertently upping the nutritional ante of your meals, nutrients-wise. Bon appetit! And share this page with ones you think may need some harvesting-kick-in-the-pants. Now, GO PLAY WITH YOUR FOOD!
Read moreA MONTH OF PUTTING UP THE HARVEST - Day 20
Blue Mountain Biodynamic Farm's glorious first cabbages of the season! #harvest2015
Harvest season is well underway, and this next chunk of time is perhaps one of the busiest for most farmers. It is also one of my favourite times in the harvest, as it is when the good big cabbages start rolling in, and all other longer season vegetables and fruits start to show up at farmers' markets and stalls, as well as grocery stores. The humble cabbage is, in my opinion, one of the best vegetables out there. It is prized for its ability to ward off scurvy (meaning VITAMIN C rich it be), high in fibre which can mean many things from improving your visits to the bathroom to assisting in lowering cholesterol and facilitating the exit of excess hormones. It is high in glucosinolates which have been shown to be protective against cancers, and they have anti-inflammatory properties to boot. Cabbages are especially good and helpful for stomachs and intestinal linings, so if you have one or both of these, I'd say eating cabbage is a good bet for you.
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