Know or Grow

Penny Says: We should all know where and when to go if we can't grow our own garden.

It is planting time around most of the Canada and for the many who have decided to plant a garden and grow their own veggies this summer I say! GOOD JOB!

For those of us without a plot of our own (or a sunny patio box) there is always the farmers market. I think we all know we should be buying locally grown fresh produce straight from the farmer. But with supermarkets that lack seasons we conveniently reach for those out of season shipped in fruits and veggies even in the summer. I though I was being so savvy a couple of years ago because I was buying local produce when it was available at the grocery store. Well it turns out that buying from the farmer is a better way. Did you know that last season (09) local apple growers in BC sold their apples to the distributor for 12 cents per pound. I bet you paid around a dollar a pound at the grocery store for that same apple. I drove up to the apple orchard and bought my apples fresh picked for 20 cents per pound and skipped the grocery store all together. The grower made more money and I saved money (seems like crazy math but cutting out the middle man = profits for farmers and savings for people like you).

There are thousands of good reasons to buy local food for a ton of them you can go to Food Routes and check out their well put together website about the importance of buying local.

My personal reasons are simple, it tastes amazing, it is fun to meet the people who grew your squash, and it is CHEAPER than the grocery store. Plus a lot of the food at farmers markets has not been sprayed with pesticides or waxes just ask them if they sprayed it and they will tell you.

Living in BC I am fortunate to have access to some pretty decent farms and farmers markets. To find a farmers market close to your house you can use google maps just search farmers market, your city name here .

Knowing where to buy is only half the battle. Locally grown food is only available when it is in season. The produce is always the best price when it is most plentiful so if you are planning to make roasted Roma tomatoes and freeze enough for the winter (and you should they are awesome) you should buy them when the farmer has way to many coming ripe at the same time (best bet around here is late July - ask your local growers for your best bet).

Why not take the time this year to can, freeze, and preserve the taste of summer and keep more of your money in your pocket all winter long! Here are some websites that can give you a refresher or get you started. 4 ways to preserve Canning freezing vegetables Salsa, Chutney, Pickles, and Relish

If you are making baby food and buying organic produce your bills will be just as high as buying it in a jar! But if you go to you local farmers market and ask your favorite vender about their farming practices you will probably find they are a no spray environmentally friendly and non-toxic farm - although they may not have filled the miles of paperwork to become certified organic. Tell them you are making baby food and buy your veggies in bulk for an even bigger discount. Most veggies (squash, potatoes, carrots, peas, spinach, lentils, beets) can be roasted or steamed, pureed (in blender or food processor) , and frozen in icecube trays and stored in freezer bags for 6 - 12 months. You just have to heat and serve. check out these page for helpful baby food recipes. Wholesome Baby Homemade baby food This way you know your baby is getting healthy food without added salt, sugar or preservatives! Plus you are cutting back on waste buy not buying all those plastic or glass jars of food (3 a day for a year really adds up).

Here is a quick list of the harvest seasons for some of the yummy local produce in BC.

BC Locally Grown Foods and Approximate Harvest Dates

Asparagus April - June (mid)
Herbs April - October

Greenhouse tomatoes May - July
Peas May (late) -July
Lettuce May (late) - September
Rhubarb May (late) - July

Strawberries June - July
Radishes June - September
Tomatoes June - October
Broccoli June - September

Cherries July
Blackberries July - August
Blueberries July - August
Apricots July (mid) - August (early)
Raspberries July - October
Summer Squashes July - September
Cucumbers July - September
Garlic July - October
Beans July - October
Beets July - September
Peppers July (late) - September (late)
Peaches July (late)- August (late)
Figs July (late) - September

Hot Peppers August (early) - September (late)
Cantaloupe August (early) - October
Sweet Corn August - September
Watermelon August - September
Prunes/Plums August (mid)- September (early)
Pears August (mid)– October (early)
Apples August (mid) - October (late)
Winter Squash August (late) - October

Pumpkins September -October
Grapes September - October

Corn Corn everywhere but not a drop of nutrition to eat!

Penny Says: Now I know why there is corn in my everything!!!

Previously I questioned the corn in my coffee cup but at that point in time the whole picture was not yet clear... It is all clear now thanks to Douglas Coupland's hilarious book Generation A, a couple of documentaries (see below) and a few good Google searches (High Fructose Corn Syrup).

Documentaries you must endeavor to find.
King Corn. This aired on PBS so you can probably watch it on their site PBS

Food Inc.

Warning Food inc is not for the squeamish in fact start with King Corn and then if you still want to know more move on to Food inc.

I am not anti corn, I love a nice cob done on the BBQ at the end of summer and the peek of freshness. But the stuff that they grow in Taber AB and Chilliwack BC that we buy off the back of a farmers truck or at farmers market in August each year is edible corn that needs time and space to grow.
However, most of the corn grown in the United States (and unfortunately in Canada too) is not edible fresh off the cob. It needs to be shipped, stored, and processed before it can become food stuffs.... WHAT THE HELL.... Ask a Corn farmer in Ohio if they eat what they grow - Good Gawd No - is the reply...
REALLY!!! REALLY! THEN WHY THE HELL ARE YOU GROWING OVER 1000 ACRES OF THE SHIT????
Easy answer - Government subsidies and demand.
Who on earth would buy this shit you ask... well lets start with what contains these modified corn products?

North American food products are loaded in modified corn products from starch to dextrin to high fructose corn syrup, get up and read the labels of any of the processed foods in your house you will be shaking your head right after...
Got chocolate milk? Its got corn.
fruit juices - seriously some of these have no fruit at all just natural flavors (what are those?) and you guessed it - Corn syrup.
Bread - well how else could they get that pretty Carmel color with our using high fructose corn syrup (umm gee maybe using honey- duh)....
Every chip, cracker and crisp on the market is loaded in boiled down corn called high fructose corn syrup.
Beef - please it is basically made of fat generated by corn fed feed lot protocols
And the biggest use of High fructose corn syrup - Soda Pop -YUP thats why it is oh so sweet.

In fact, I think this whole phenomenon of using a sugar alternative (we would not want to be reliant on importing sugar cane from Cuba etc) is to meet the demands of Coke and Pepsi for a super cheep sweetening agent for soda. I am not blaming them - just a little confused about why the American Government farm subsidy program would be using tax payers dollars for the last 30 years to give a major corporation like Coke or Pepsi a break... Do they want food products that are full of harmful empty calories fed to the people of their great nation? Do they want 1 out of 8 Americans to have diabetes induced by pure overload of the pancreas? REALLY??????

As far as the fairly newly created Beef industry problem - Once a rancher sells cattle to the feed lot (like Cargil feeding the world at what cost) the Cattle are fed corn for 100 - 160 days in a feed lot where they have little room to move around (exercise burn those precious calories) ensuring they fatten up fast and cheep.
Everyone seems to agree that Grass fed beef tastes better, is 65% lower in saturated fats (the bad ones) and is so much kinder to the animals stomachs (and my moral conscience). But it is more economical to feeding Cattle corn not grass which they have evolved eating but this cost cutting measure leads to many problems including ulcers and acidosis in the cattle and a huge problem for the people eating them massive potential for out breaks of resistant E coli bacteria).

Okay so I am ranting and panicking that everything I buy is not what it seems. (Damn those fast and easy Chinese food sauces I love are full of corn because they are made in USA). The solution vote with your wallet - buy products that are what they are... Milk that is milk (add your own coco if need be), beef that is beef (an not an antibiotic filled corn fat factory), and just don't drink sweetened beverages (this includes all those fruit drinks we let our kids drink for breakfast). If you find a brand that is not using sweeteners to mock flavor reward them buy purchasing them exclusively or even write them a letter if you have the time to tell them how much you appreciate there quality! ALSO TELL YOUR GROCERY MARKET YOU ONLY BUY THIS BRAND BECAUSE.....

Support the grass fed beef in your community. There will be more of it for a better price if we as consumers encourage our supermarkets and local meat shops to provide it. Check out your local farmers market and ask the vendors if they have free range meats. Ask for details and they will tell you exactly what the animals ate, where, and for how long before they were your steak.

I am afraid if you want to avoid hidden high fructose corn syrup (and other sugars) you can't eat processed food from fast food restaurants like Mc D's or DQ and the like. Read the labels watch for corn starch, corn dextrin, and Corn syrup. Decide if you want those extra calories and look for alternatives I bet they will taste better!

Corporations bottom lines, and government farm subsidy programs should not dictate your health - you are in charge of what you put in your mouth. It may mean expanding your food budget or just putting in more time making food from scratch but in the end you will be healthier and I bet you will take pleasure in feeding your family.


PS did you know that most Yogurts contain gelatin (not news for carnivores but for the vegetarians and peoples who do not eat pork you did just eat pork gelatin in your activia, silhouette, danonne, and pc brand yogurts). If you want gelatin free with no added weirdness (and no corn) Astro is the way to go their plain, and vanilla Balkan styles are still good for you... They are what they say they are - that is all I ask.