The weather has been beautiful these past few days in Toronto which has made it ideal for making any excuse to get outside- “uh, I think we need more milk-see ya!” or “oh no, allow me, I’ll take the garbage out!”. The other day while my sister and I went for a scenic jog outdoors (twist my arm!) I noticed that not only were a lot more people walking along the sidewalks … I also noticed some of my favorite warm weather smells- the first flowers of the season and BBQ’s!

The image that comes to mind of a typical barbecuer (barbecuee? barbecue person?), is a round, cheery, middle aged fellow, probably American, grilling up dinosaur sized slabs of meat with plenty of BBQ sauce. According to a TIME article entitled A Brief History of Barbecuing, barbecuing is “about as red, white and blue as American cuisine gets… and for true carnivores, the only real question is how to save room for seconds”. While barbecuing is currently accepted as a great American tradition, there is some debate about the origins.

The conventional wisdom is that barbecuing originates in the Caribbean; from here it has made its way into different areas and therefore cuisines, including other Southern parts of America, Argentina, and Korea to name a few. The Spanish used the word barbacoa to refer to the process of barbecuing food, which involved the natives’ method of slow-cooking meat over a wooden platform. You might be thinking, wait a minute- I cook my meat quickly over high heat when I’m barbecuing, not slowly. Well it appears as though all this time we have been grilling our food instead of barbecuing it. Today, people often use these two cooking terms interchangeably.

The historical account of barbecuing meat arose as a way to cook cheaply as it was associated with poverished populations. Barbecuing doesn’t require expensive cuts of meat- why bother if you are just going to grill the bagheebas out of it and/or slather it in sauce? What made the meat delicious was not the meat but actually the charring of the fat giving it that smoky taste. In fact, this is why more expensive cuts of meat, like a good steak have the option of being rare or practically rare and seasoned very lightly or not at all- so you can taste the meat in all of its quality.

If you are grilling, barbecuing or not cooking your high quality meat at all, another thing that is recommended to taste the deliciousness is add a drizzle of olive oil, and not just any olive oil. According Dario Cecchini, the most famous butcher in the world, dress the meat with EXTREMELY good olive oil (or forget it he says… he is pretty blunt) and maybe a little salt and pepper (2006, Heat). Why would you do this? Well the healthy fat from the olive oil helps to carry the flavor molecules in the meats… so the question is, can you handle more flavor? If you’re looking for a particular recommendation, I personally love Olearia San Giorgio, L’Aspromontano Extra-Virgin Olive Oil, aka ASPRO for short. Happy grilling (or barbecuing, if you have the time)!

Don’t forget to try out some of our many complementary BBQ condiments including our NEW line of mustards, our chutneys and our tasty antipastos!

This blog was written by Elis Halenko.

Reference: http://www.time.com/time/nation/article/0,8599,1908513,00.html#ixzz2SGbg6ejO

In a 2005 study, 141 contaminants were found in tap water with no enforceable safety limits.  This means that there were 141 compounds found in tap water in which we had no idea of the effects on the health of the population.

More than ⅓ of our nation’s lakes, rivers and streams are unsuitable for fishing or swimming due to pollution.  Most of the contamination is from sewage, bacteria, run-off from fertilizer, toxic metals, and city sewer discharge.

Tap water is not a sound option when considering what type of water to drink. Recent failures of drinking water systems have resulted in illness and (or) death in North Battleford, Saskatchewan, and Walkerton, Ontario.

For these reasons, I recommend finding an alternative to tap water. There are numerous companies that advertise pure drinking water … so what’s the best source?

Our pure water options are: spring water, distilled water, glacier water, and filtered water.

Spring Water

Keep in mind that the same contaminants that find their way into our lakes and rivers will find their way into spring water.  Therefore, in my opinion, spring water is not a good alternative to tap water.

Distilled Water

The process of distillation removes all chemicals, minerals and impurities from the water, which works well in a laboratory or hospital setting where sterile water is needed. However, “dead water” is not ideal for human consumption as it may lead to various mineral deficiencies.

Glacier Water

Glacier water is a good quality pure source of drinking water. But, let’s face it; there are very few affordable brands of glacier water that can meet all of our drinking and cooking needs. Perhaps if you lived in Alaska or Iceland this may be an option, but in most parts of North America glacier water is not a viable option.

Water Filtration Systems

There are many different water filtration systems available and there is much debate over the best system.

Many systems claim that they alkalize the water to support an alkalized body system. Research exists on the importance of an alkalized diet for good health and I completely support this approach, however, the more important component of good quality water is the purity.

An important question to ask is: does this system filter out contaminants as well as alkalize the water?

Alkalized water is not a good choice if the water alkalized contains contaminants and chemicals such as chlorine, arsenic, PCB’s or THM’s.

The water filtration system that I use is reverse osmosis. Opponents to this filtration system will state that it produces acidic water. I’m not going to argue that point, however, it is proven to filter 92-99.5% of contaminants out of my drinking water – to me this is paramount.

Once I have pure, filtered water I am able to alkalize it by adding chlorophyll, minerals or various other nutraceutical products that will aid in the alkalization process.

Most health care practitioners don’t agree on the optimal water purification system and (of course) each company selling these systems claims to have the superior product.

My advice in choosing a water filtration system is: ensure that it filters a minimum of 90% of the particles in tap water, including organic contaminants and chemicals. Review the research on the product to ensure it is conducted by an unbiased third party – not just an “expert” hired by the company that manufactures the water filtration system.

Lastly, determine how long the company and product has been in business. Ensure there is longevity to the research – meaning if it’s a new, revolutionary filtration system with new research findings, you may want to observe (over a longer period of time) to confirm the research stands the test of time.

Good luck in your search for pure water!

This blog was written by nutritionist Carol Fazari.

Please visit her website at www.carolfazari.com.

Salad

Serves 4 generous salads

Spring mix or any other fresh green salad, washed and dried, (about 3 large handfuls)

Organic strawberries, about 6-8, washed and dried thoroughly then sliced

1/2 avocado, diced

50 g goat cheese, crumbled

A simple vinaigrette of  Acetaia La Bonissima Il Blu balsamic vinegar and Olearia San Giorgio ASPRO extra virgin olive oil

Salt and pepper to taste

Candied pecans, recipe below

Maple-Garlic Glazed Chicken, recipe below

Candied Pecans

1/2 cup pecans

3 Tbsp butter

2 Tbsp La Ferme Martinette maple syrup

1. In a small skillet, lightly toast the pecans over medium-low heat for about 5 minutes, but watch carefully as pecans tend to go from perfectly toasted to burnt in about three seconds. If the pecans are starting to colour too quickly, turn the temperature down.
2. Once starting to toast, add the butter and let it sizzle. Stir the pecans so that each one is covered with the butter. Cook for about 1 minute. Add the maple syrup, coat each pecan and then turn off the heat. As the pecans sit, the sugar from the maple syrup will caramelize and make them delicious.

Maple-Garlic Glazed Chicken

4 Tbsp La Ferme Martinette maple syrup

1 garlic clove, crushed

1 Tbsp Olearia San Giorgio VIRGIN olive oil

4 chicken breasts

1. In a small bowl, combine the maple syrup and garlic. Set aside.
2. Brush a grill pan with the olive oil and heat until hot over medium heat. Before adding the chicken to the pan, season the first side going onto the pan with salt and pepper. Add the chicken breasts, opening at the filet to expose as much of the chicken as possible to the heat. Season the other side with salt and pepper. Cover, and cook about 8-12 minutes. Check periodically to ensure the chicken is not burning. Flip, and continue to cook, covered, for about 8-12 more minutes. Once cooked through, use a brush and coat the chicken with the maple glaze. Cook only 1-2 minutes, flip and brush more glaze on the chicken. Cook again shortly, until the maple syrup starts to cook onto the chicken. Remove from heat.
3. Allow to cool for about 3-5 minutes. Then, slice the chicken into bite-sized pieces and place on top of your dressed salad.

You know when you’re on the bus reading a funny book and you burst out laughing? This happened to me- I just finished reading this hilarious book entitled, “Three Men in a Boat”. The story begins by introducing the three main characters, these older men perhaps in their seventies or eighties reading an “illness almanac” for the symptomologies of various diseases and complaining about all the health maladies they think they have. This may be sort of depressing except as the reader you are quite aware that they are not at all that ill, but in fact the humor lies in the self diagnosis based on very vague symptoms. At the end of the first paragraph, the main character is convinced he has every malady except housemaid’s knee. While these characters clearly aren’t in such bad shape, the increases in chronic illnesses and diseases amongst our modern population and their association with nutrition made we wonder about the Paleolithic times where chronic diseases did not exist … and for this we need to go back, waaaaayyy back.

If you read my previous blog “Thoughts on the Food Cycle”, you would remember that the last proposed strategy to improve our food system I mentioned is adopting a food system and diets that stem from the way things used to be hundreds to thousands of years ago. This is the very principle of the Paleolithic diet, a diet that was first popularized in the mid 1970′s by gastroenterologist Walter L. Voegtlin. This diet has been adapted and promoted by several others and the Paleo movement is officially founded by physician Loren Cordain.

 A Paleo diet is one that mimics the hunting and gathering age of our ancestors by only eating food groups that this population thrived on. The rationale for adopting this type of diet is based on the premise that our genetics haven’t changed much since the dawn of agriculture and therefore the ideal diet for health is one that resembles that of our ancestors. Enthusiasts of this diet argue that when we consume a diet similar to that of the hunter-gatherers we are largely free of diseases of affluence. Further research suggests that the Paleo diet has shown improved health outcomes when compared to other common diets. And if eating only fresh fruit, vegetables, meat and seafood doesn’t turn you on there’s more- imagine this as you’re daily work-out routine: you’re jumping from log to log and swinging from vine to vine, clambering around like a monkey… in a swoop you pretend you gather bunches of berries and greens for dinner and then sprint back to your cave as you run away from a saber tooth tiger.

Excuse the pun, but there literally is a Paleo movement at our midst! The Paleo workout bares a similar premise to the Paleo diet in that it is all about getting back to the way things were in caveman times… so if a saber tooth is after you, you better bust a move; and not just any move but motions that were typical to the body when it had to survive in the wild, this includes exercises that involve sprinting, clambering on all fours, lifting and throwing heavy objects. Instead of working one muscle group at a time, a Paleo work-out works many different muscle groups and includes both a cardiovascular and a strength component. Even more exciting, the regiment can be improvised in the outdoors with trees, lakes and heavy boulders, naturally.

The Paleo movement isn’t without its critics however. The paleo diet continues to be a controversial topic amongst dietitians and anthropologists. Critics have argued that the reasons that hunters and gatherer types of societies were free of diseases of affluence may be due to other factors including the reduced calories in their diet, shorter average lifespans, or a variety of other factors, other than dietary composition. Additionally, some researchers suggest there is a lack of accuracy in underlying evolutionary logic of the diet and for modern humans this diet could pose health risks such as nutrient deficiencies.

What do I think? Well personally, I appreciate several aspects of the Paleo diet including encouraging the consumption of tons of fruits and vegetables! However, I do not believe in the elimination of all refined foods personally. In general, I discourage overly restrictive diets unless you receive a rationale from a registered dietitian or physician about your individual needs- always do your own research too! The Paleo diet also completely eliminated my favourite food group – carbohydrates. Besides enjoying the taste of carb rich foods- like breads, pastas, rice and so forth, if we choose the better types of carbohydrates more often (WHOLE GRAINS!) they can provide us with plenty of goodness- fiber, minerals and vitamins. Also, if you decided you love Paleo fitness and cant wait to clamber around like a monkey- what will fuel your activity? You guessed it, carbs.

In terms of my thoughts on the Paleo fitness workout- I kind of like it! More research has been conducted on something called “high intensity interval training”- which is fancy lingo for doing short bursts of activity as hard as you can. Research has shown that this type of activity is great for weight maintenance or weight loss, strength and well as cardio health! Further, it can easily be adapted to our busy schedules as the experts are saying you can squeeze 8-17 minutes of this type of activity into your life and see results. Well then! I’m going to go climb and tree and throw some heavy rocks and stuff …

This blog was written by Elis Halenko.

References:

Daily Mail:  http://www.dailymail.co.uk/femail/article-2127911/From-Caveman-Diet-caveman-workout-Could-Paleo-fitness-best-shape-life.html#ixzz2P9HbZMEC

In my last article I discussed what happens when oils pass through your mouth and into your stomach – and how high quality lipids (like extra virgin olive oil) can help to reset your body’s hunger system, stave off cravings and help to regulate blood sugar levels in a moderate diet.

But in the next part of our journey, the digestive system has to be able to break down the food and package it correctly so it can be absorbed from the intestines into the blood stream. This requires the food to be broken down small enough that cells and tiny compartments of the food are open – this is done through mechanical action like chewing, and chemical action – using gastric enzymes and having healthy intestinal flora (which break down substances your body can’t by itself).

The moment you put fat in your mouth, a number of things happen – as mentioned in the last article, fat makes food taste good! As the small amount of lipase enzymes in your saliva break down those lipids, you experience enjoyment from your meal. When you swallow and the fat enters your stomach, it continues to be very slowly broken down, but in reality it is mostly carbohydrates and protein that are broken down in the stomach. In reality the majority of fat digestion occurs in the small intestine.

As fat is released from the stomach into the small intestine, the pancreas will release several stronger types of lipase enzymes to break them down to smaller components (“lipase” literally translates to “cleaving/breaking down lipids”). Despite the breakdown of these lipids, it’s important to note that fat-soluble vitamins such as A, D, E and K are still attracted to the long, non-polar chains of the fatty acids and will still cling to them!

Where the magic happens – oils cling to water

At this point, the liver will dump bile into the intestine as well. The bile acts as a detergent to emulsify these fatty acids – detergents have a non-polar end which attracts the fats, and also a polar end which attracts water. In the same way that detergent can grab grease from your dishes, package them into hydrophilic droplets so the oil can be washed away with water, so the fats in our intestine are packaged into small water-loving droplets so they can pass easily through the intestinal wall into our blood stream – and the fat-soluble vitamins hitch a free ride into your body!

Since an average of 95% of dietary fat is absorbed from the small intestine in a healthy individual, then there’s a very good chance that the fat-soluble nutrients you consume with these fats will have a high rate of absorption as well!

The drawbacks to a fat-free diet

If you are eating an essentially fat-free diet, many of the fat-soluble vitamins and other nutrients may have a very hard time getting into your body. Your body has a couple of ways to get around this, (for instance, the lipophilic ends of the bile itself may grab onto some vitamins, or the phospholipids that surround every cell may attract some trace vitamins as it gets passed through the intestinal wall), but dietary imbalance can put stress on your body and throw your liver into overdrive, just to absorb the smallest amount of fat-soluble nutrients you need to get by.

A quality oil like extra virgin olive oil is easily digested and absorbed into the body, and the fat-soluble vitamins and supporting minerals can get picked up by the oil to be absorbed into your blood stream with minimal effort, so your body can use its energy towards healing itself and keeping you functioning optimally.

Other intestinal benefits to long-term consumption of ‘clean’ fats

Many people are jumping on the bandwagon for hydrocolonics for a squeaky-clean digestive tract – but having a diet high in quality lipids and fiber can arguably prevent you from needing a ‘wash-out’ at all. When high quality olive oil is consumed in healthy quantities for extended periods of time, any oil that is not absorbed can keep your intestinal wall slick – which keeps your gut clean and functioning regularly, preventing buildup on the intestinal walls so the absorption of nutrients from your food to your intestine can be maximized. It can help stave off intestinal inflammation and inappropriate permeability – which makes sure that you’re absorbing the right things like useful nutrients and keeping out the wrong things like harmful bacteria or parasites. And of course, it makes passing of stools smooth sailing, preventing bleeding or hemorrhoids that develop from straining.

In my next article, we will be discussing the third step in nutrient absorption/assimilation, where the nutrients in the blood stream can be absorbed into all the cells of the body. This requires a healthy liver to process the nutrients, and permeable cells that both send out and respond properly to chemical/ hormonal signals.

Until then, health and happiness!

Lucy

My recent blogs have been focusing on discussing the current food system and some of the concerns with the current proposals to improve it. One of the proposed strategies is adopting an “organic” food system (what does this have to do with ribs?!- I’ll get back to this in a moment). The word organic literally means “simple, healthful and close to nature”, and has become synonymous to meaning “better”…better for you, better for the environment… and some people don’t even know why it’s better, they just are… aren’t they?

The confusion around organic foods may in part stem from the fact that most people do not understand what organic labels mean. Did you know that organic foods are also sprayed with pesticides? According to Dietitians of Canada (2013), organic foods are foods grown and harvested without man-made pesticides and fertilizers, genetically modified organisms, antibiotics and growth hormones. It also means that the foods are less ‘processed’ meaning they have fewer preservatives like sulphates and nitrates. Foods labeled organic must contain 95% or higher organic content and meet the “Canadian Organic Standards”. Farmers may use crop rotation strategies to help increase the fertility in the soil as well as strategic planting of crops for optimal pest control. What about organic livestock? Do the cows eat grass and prance around in meadows, daisies everywhere? The livestock are hormone and anti-biotic free, have outdoor access and are grass-fed or grain fed using organic feeds. Phew that’s a long definition!

So what are some of the perks of organic farming (and eating)? Organic farming produce contains fewer pesticides, whereby pesticides may be harmful to small animals eating the foods (not to mention our guts!); the livestock may be healthier and leaner due to their diets and potentially increased activity, which in turn produces leaner meats. Some say that organic foods also taste fresher because they do not contain preservatives that make them last longer. Furthermore, organic farming practices are less harmful to the environment because of less pollution created, wastes less water and energy, and increases soil fertility… many experts such as David Suzuki and Michael Pollen agree that these farming methods are more environmentally sustainable. Organic foods however, have not been proven to be more nutritious and the evidence is unclear currently. That’s not the only factor that is unclear however, and there are some other concerns facing the current organic practices.

Some people may question the system of regulating organic practices as Mark Bittman, food journalist of The New York Times, makes reference to the question of whether it really make sense that the organic salmon we are eating are fed genetically modified feeds? Furthermore, while the term organic usually brings to mind happy images of animals in fields doing animal like things, organic does not necessarily mean free range and further free range doesn’t necessarily mean that animals have lots of space and are in clean quarters.

Producing organic foods may arguably be more expensive because of the labour involved but also in purchasing the “organic” certification label. The fees in purchasing the “organic” label may actually prevent some small- scale farmers from entering the huge market as larger farms provide more competitive pricing. Finally, while there is progressively less evidence towards this argument, some argue that organic farming practices produce more food waste as they aren’t as resilient as GMO foods and thus suggest that we cannot produce enough food to feed the world this way.

Back to discussing those ribs… $1.50/lb sounds like a good deal, but it also makes you wonder about the concept of value. Great value for food should be weighed against the actual costs involved; such as whether your food is organic or not, grass fed or not, running free or not and so forth as well as with your own personal values. Furthermore, just because “organic’s” appear to offer many advantages such as helping conserve the environment, my short introduction of some of the concerns with our current organic practices suggest that you should never accept main stream opinions but rather inquire specifically about the foods you buy and where it is coming from.

The industrialized approach to our food system often disconnects us from all these decisions we make about our food on a daily basis and all we see are packages of meat with deceiving pictures of grass grazing cows with different prices, ribs for 5.99 or 8.99? So is a tomato, a tomato, a tomato? I think not. People are demanding a transparency about their food like never before and we deserve to know where our food is coming from, how it is grown or how livestock is kept… and wouldn’t it be relieving if we could find this information from someone that doesn’t have a marketing interest?

This blog was written by Elis Halenko.

References:

Canadian Organic Standards: http://www.cog.ca/about_organics/organic-standards-and-regulations/

Help Guide: http://www.helpguide.org/life/organic_foods_pesticides_gmo.htm

Canadian Inspection Agency: http://www.inspection.gc.ca/food/organic-products/certification-and-verification/eng/1300366596306/1300366657966

Scientific America: Will Organic Food Fail to Feed The World ?

There is something particularly special though about desserts that only come around once a year. Something that tells you, well, even though you had it yesterday, it’s okay to have it again today because it will be another year before you can have it again.

Zeppole top that list of once-a-year enjoyment. Where we live, an area filled with Italian bakeries and stores, there is no shortage of zeppole. Signs boasting how their bakeries make them fresh daily and get them now while they’re here do their job at pulling me in and enjoying them. We take them when we go to visit people, we enjoy them when friends come over and bring them for us, but, just as quickly as they come, they go.

This year, I only had one store-bought zeppole. It hit the spot – but, with St. Joseph’s day behind us, and most places already putting their zeppole-paraphernalia away, I wasn’t quite satisfied.

I decided to take my craving into my own hands. With a few simple ingredients and a few special ingredients, I made my own version of zeppole. I also changed up the flavours just a bit, and made them into a dessert I could eat one or two of and not feel like my teeth would fall out. There are two parts to the zeppole, the donut-like shell and the cream inside. Because everyone makes their zeppole so differently, I took this as a place to be creative. I used ricotta for my filling and flavoured it with clementine marmalade instead of the usual marinated cherry-filling. However, I think any of the marmalades offered through Sarafino would make a delicious, not-too-sweet filling to these spring-time treats.

This recipe yields 8 smaller zeppole.

Zeppole Shells

1/2 cup milk

1/4 cup unsalted butter, cut into cubes

1/2 Tbsp sugar

1/4 tsp cinnamon

a pinch of salt

1/2 cup organic all-purpose flour

1/4 cup almond flour

2 large eggs

Zeppole Filling

1 cup ricotta cheese, regular

3 Tbsp clementine marmalade

2 Tbsp brown sugar

1 tsp vanilla extract

I served these with more clementine marmalade on the side and everyone agreed that spreading more marmalade on the zeppole or dipping them added a delicious flavour to the treat!

1.  Preheat your oven to 400 F or 375 F for convection. Line a large baking sheet with parchment paper.
2. In a large saucepan, combine the milk, butter, sugar, cinnamon and salt. Bring to a boil over medium to medium-low heat, stirring with a wooden spoon. Once boiling, add the flours at once and stir until the mixture comes together into a ball, about 10-15 seconds.
3. Transfer the dough to the bowl of a stand mixer fitted with a paddle attachment. Start mixing and add the eggs one at a time, beating well after each addition. Mix the dough for about a minute, until it is soft.
4. Transfer the dough to a pastry bag fitted with a tip (I used a star tip) and pipe eight 7 cm circles onto your prepared baking sheet, leaving about 5 cm between shells.
5. Bake for 10-12 minutes or until puffed and starting to get golden. Reduce the oven temperature to 325 F and bake about 7-10 more minutes. Turn off the oven, remove the shells and using a serrated knife, gently cut the shells horizontally to allow the inside of the shells to dry out a bit. Put the baking sheet back in the oven with the door propped open slightly for another 5 minutes. Cool for a few minutes before filling with cream mixture.
6. To make the filling: in a bowl of a stand mixer fitted with the whisk attachment add all of the filling ingredients and mix until nicely combined and started to get smooth. Put the filling in a pastry bag (no tip necessary) and generously pipe into the bottom half of the shell. Top the zeppole with the cap of the shell and lightly sprinkle with icing sugar.

Enjoy these zeppole the day they are made for a fresh, light, delicious dessert!

This delicious blog was written by Adriana.

Eating locally has received a good reputation for many reasons including the documented benefits to the environment, increased wealth in the local economy and personal incomes, and the establishment of a sense of community. Oh yeah- and local food may also taste fresher and arguably have more nutrition due to harvesting timing. Kind of makes me want to get to my local food market ASAP! Here I go! … Oh, except that it’s winter now and there is no local food market… Hmm, and now with some of the flaws:

It seems that while the local food movement is concerned with the environmental practices, critics may argue that a reduction in the miles food travels will not have a large impact on reducing pollution. Currently, not much is being done to reduce energy spent on other aspects of the food system including the harvesting, processing, consuming and recycling stages.  According to David Suzuki and several reports (Via Metro Connection, U of T), carbon emissions responsible for the delivery from farm to market accounts for about 4% of all emissions it takes to produce food, while 83% is dependent on how the food is produced before it leaves the farm. What about our personal food miles? I thought this was interesting- according to some new research conducted by professor Pierre Desrochers at U of T, the real problem to our environment is that most people drive to grocery stores! (You don’t say!). And our personal accountability doesn’t end there, according to Lisa Johnson, a CBC environmental reporter, she found that nearly a third of the environmental impact of the food we purchase is actually accounted for in the food that we throw in the garbage!

Mr. Desrochers  continues to say that certain places are better, that is, they use less energy to produce certain foods. For example California’s consistent weather conditions enable farmers to produce more strawberries using less energy because in Ontario we would require energy to heat production facilities.  This got me thinking… although I haven’t seen any research on the environmental impact of food production compared across the globe- this would be an interesting comparison as I would imagine that foods grown in less affluent countries  (less accessible oil, for example) would have a lower carbon footprint in the harvesting and processing stages as they may make greater use of manual labour.

Overall, while I commend the local food movement in making steps to reduce the cost of food our environment bares, what about all the other energy consuming activities? Anyone?

The local food movement may also increase jobs and local wealth as well as the economic accessibility of foods to consumers. Controversy may exist in terms of how ethical some of these new jobs are, since farm worker wages are often not regulated by the government (El Contrato, 2003). Some farms contract workers from across the globe and pay them low wages to be competitive in today’s market. Thus, an increase in some types of jobs may not actually be in the best interest of human dignity and does not reflect acceptability of the food system. Although, recent exposure of this issue in the media has largely stopped this from occurring (in Ontario) and many farms do pay their workers acceptable wages also. Some may also argue, that the sustainability of our food system depends on globalization because a local food approach may be a funny joke if you live anywhere outside of California. For example, where would we get our delicious OLEARIA SAN GIORGIO olive oil from?! Further, globalization helps build relations with other countries that have far greater implications then just having a variety of foods on the menu.

While the local food movement claims to initiate “community building,” critics argue that current policies of the local food movement are not all- inclusive and instead foster alienation and racism of individuals within the community. More specifically, an imbalance of power is created when a heterogeneous group- that of white, middle class individuals make decisions for a homogeneous population- which, I might add, is super multicultural in Toronto! Individuals may be left out due to lack of city planning for access and the fact that every local market would be limited in the amount of culturally acceptable foods they can provide, thus individuals may feel socially isolated.

Essentially, the local food movement has some definite potential benefits, that is in my opinion namely, the local food movement may provide us with an array of produce at its freshest and most nutritious… and my friends, I cannot find anything flawed about this! So eat up and enjoy. At the same time, the local food movement is not without its flaws. A system that speaks to a balance of local food markets and imported foods integrated into the system is likely the best food strategy… which is sort of what we have now in Toronto minus the “ switch to just local foods!” chanting I hear from time to time.

This blog was written by Elis Halenko

Just a quick little introduction – my name is Adriana, I am a wife and a mother to two wonderful and mostly-lacto-ovo-vegetarian children. I write a blog (The Family Standard Blog) and also make custom baked goods for trusting friends and family in my spare time (Good to the Last Crumb). In April 2012, my family and I became weekday vegetarians, and we haven’t looked back. We now also eat a lot of vegan meals (often by accident). I believe very strongly in sitting down every night to eat together as a family, and I also believe that my children should eat what I make. In short, we don’t have a freezer full of “chicken” fingers. While I stick to this belief, it doesn’t always make for an easy dinner time, but I hope that by introducing them to different ingredients, strong cheeses, and all sorts of vegan and now gluten-free baking, that I am opening their minds and their palettes to the limitless possibilities of food.

My children used to complain that they wanted meat all the time. But lately, there haven’t been any complaints about wanting meat, and there has been a drastic decline in how much they eat it when they are allowed to. I knew vegetarianism was clicking with them when they passed on chicken wings which I will admit were delicious. There are few things I still can’t resist (the occasional piece of bacon for example or a chicken wing here and there), but it makes me happy to see that even on a Saturday and Sunday, my children no longer feel the need to eat meat to feel satisfied. They prefer cheese pizza to pepperoni, small steps for them, but to me, huge victories. They are opening themselves up to new and stronger flavours, like those in the salad I made this past week.

Roasted vegetable quinoa salad – inspired by a lunch date I had with my mom a few weeks ago. I knew the second the dish arrived to my seat that this was going to be a good lunch, something I would want to try at home. I am constantly on the look out for new ideas for dishes to cook at home. I frequent the library, write frantically while watching America’s Test Kitchen, and am forever on the internet searching for interesting vegan and vegetarian recipes. But sometimes my best inspiration comes from the dish I’m about to dig into in a new restaurant. The recipes don’t always turn out exactly like the original, but it often gets me thinking outside of my normal flavour combinations and using new ingredients and almost always results in something remarkable.

Roasting the vegetables with a little bit of cinnamon makes them delightfully savoury and your house will smell amazing.

Roasted Vegetable Quinoa Salad

Ingredients

1 small sweet potato, peeled and cut into 1 cm cubes

1 turnip, peeled and cup into 1 cm cubes

Virgin Olive oil

Sprinkling of salt and pepper

1/4 tsp cinnamon

Quinoa

1 cup quinoa

1 1/2 cups water

Pinch of salt

1-2 radishes sliced as thin as you can (almost so they are transparent)

1/2 cucumber, sliced into quarters

2 green onions, chopped

1/3 cup whole almonds, lightly toasted

1/3 cup dried cherries

Dressing

1 Tbsp honey

Juice of a half a lemon

1/3 cup extra virgin olive oil

salt and pepper to taste

Hummus and Plain Greek Yogurt to taste

Directions

1. Preheat the oven to 375 F. Place the cubed vegetables on a parchment lined baking sheet and drizzle with virgin olive oil, salt, pepper and sprinkle with cinnamon. Bake for 15 minutes, flip and then bake for another 10-15 minutes or until nicely tender without being dark. Allow to cool.
2. In a medium saucepan over medium heat, toast the quinoa for 3-4 minutes. Add 1 1/2 cups water and 1/4 tsp salt and bring to a boil, reduce the heat to medium low, cover and simmer for 15 minutes. Allow to cool to room temperature.
3. Add the cooled roasted vegetables and quinoa to a large bowl, and add the radishes, cucumber, green onions, toasted almonds and dried cherries. Season with the dressing and then add a dollop of hummus and plain greek yogurt on top. A few days in the fridge will help the flavours of this salad meld nicely together.

Enjoy!

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