You Are What You Eat!

As I continue to learn more and more about our food supply, where it comes from and how it is manipulated, I have become pretty choosy in my choice of food consumption.  My eating habits per say have not really changed much over the years but the way I shop is certainly starting to.  I’m not going crazy over restrictions like solely organic or anything like that (not yet!).  Nevertheless, the organic packaged food option is often a better one I find because it tends to have less additives, GMOs  (Genetically Modified Organisms) and other foreign substances in comparison to it’s non organic competitors.  I’m also trying to buy meats from local farmers that are free of hormones and that are grass fed (as opposed to grain fed) and I don't buy cheeses that contain modified milk ingredients.  This of course comes at a cost and I’m hoping that the long term benefits will pay off.  Besides, I'm thinking that with better quality we will also appreciate smaller quantities thus avoiding over consumption.  We’ll see how it  goes :-)

Here are my comments on a few of the places I’ve explored.  Common to all undoubtedly is the higher prices you will pay for food so I will not talk much about inevitable higher costs. 

 

The Big Carrot – Danforth

Very quaint and well placed on the Danforth, The Big Carrot has a nice variety of foods and is definitely a nice grocery store to shop in.  Although they carry organic and local meat, if you’re looking for grass fed, you’re better off going somewhere else.  My pet peeve with many health food stores is the amount of supplements they carry and all the advertising that goes with it.  Supplements do have a small role to play with smaller specific populations but I am a firm believer that most of us do not require supplements as long as you are following a well balanced diet.  In fact, I would argue that with the quantities of food we have available at our disposal, the copious amounts of fortified foods on the shelves and of course the true uncertainty of the need for supplements, taking nutrients from a jar can actually become very dangerous.  This is a whole other blog topic in it self!  All in all, it's a nice little store to shop in if you have the doe.

Roe Farms – Queen East & Roncy

I stopped into the one in the beaches and it was very welcoming and clean.  The butchers are also chefs which makes them not only very knowledgeable but you can tell they are passionate about what they do.  We learnt to watch for the way things are worded for instance.   “Antibiotic and hormone free” does not mean the same thing as “Raised free of antibiotics and hormones”.  For more info on definitions check out http://chicken.ca/on-the-farm/from_the_farm_to_you/understanding-your-choices/

I must say, the chicken was very good but my husband and I both found that the rib eye steak was lacking a little flavor and we’re not sure why.  I plan on going back to talk to the guy and see why this would be…

After reading this: http://www.cbc.ca/marketplace/2011/superbugsinthesupermarket/healthcanada.html

I am better convinced that we need to look out for ourselves because the government sure is not going to!

Beef Connections - Ordering directly from local farmers (no middleman)

http://www.beefconnections.ca/Product_Home.html

We're trying this out for the first time so more to follow on how this works out for us!

 Alex Farm Products – Danforth

Great place to buy good cheese!  My friend and I spent a good 30 minutes in there trying and exploring some delicious cheese.  I also got a great tip on how to make pumpkin fondue!  Let me know if you want details on that one :-)