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Tired of telemarketers calling you in the middle of dinner or dinner preparation to ask if you want new windows, an assessment of your lawn, or the ducts in your house cleaned?
As of September 30, Canadians can choose how they wish to deal with calls from telemarketers.
To add your name to a Do Not Call list in Canada, visit https://www.lnnte-dncl.gc.ca/.
Certain businesses and organizations are still allowed to make calls to consumers including companies with whom you already have a business relationship, political parties, charities, and companies doing market research.
Once you sign up, telemarketers have 31 days to remove you from their call lists. Registration on the Do Not Call list is in effect for 3 years.
To those who choose to be on the Do Not Call list (and the list is long considering the flood of people who apparently signed up on Day 1) – “May the only ring you hear at dinner time be the dinner bell or the oven timer signalling that dinner is ready to be served….in peace and quiet!”
Likely you’ve received the email that’s been circulating recently about baby carrots and chlorine. I’ve reprinted the one I received below. Before you read it, please remember that, unfortunately, not everything you read is 100% accurate – including the email text that follows:
Did you know that the small baby carrots you buy in small plastic bags are made using large crooked or deformed carrots which are put through a machine that cuts and shapes them into baby carrots?
And, did you also know that once the carrots are cut and shaped, they are dipped in a solution of water and chlorine (the same chlorine used in swimming pools) in order to preserve them since, once peeled, they don’t have their skin or natural protective covering?
If you keep these carrots in your refrigerator for a few days, a white covering will form on the carrots. This is the chlorine which resurfaces.
At what cost do we put our health at risk to have aesthetically pleasing vegetables which are practically plastic?
if you care about your family and friends, please pass this information on to them to let them know where baby carrots come from and how they are processed. Chlorine is a well known carcinogen.
If you like to munch on baby carrots and you’ve wondered about the validity of the information in this email, consider these facts.
Yes, baby carrots may indeed be formed by a machine. They may also be carrots grown and harvested at a small size.
And yes, they are dipped in a diluted solution of chlorine and water. This is an ACCEPTABLE PRACTICE done to ensure the water the carrots are washed in remains sanitary, and to prevent the growth of spoilage microorganisms on the carrots. There is no evidence that the amount of chlorine used is harmful.
The white discolouration that sometimes forms on carrots is NOT chlorine residue. If it was chlorine, you would be able to smell and taste it.
The white discolouration is a result of moisture loss from the surface of the carrots. This will naturally occur on the surface of any peeled carrot as it dries.
Chlorine is not harmful if used appropriately. Our drinking water contains chlorine. Chlorine is often used to sanitize dishes, cutting boards and cooking surfaces.
For additional information about baby carrots and chlorine, please check the following sources:
* www.snopes.com - This web site is a great place to visit if you hear a claim (food-related or otherwise) you’re not sure about. The site is well known for its debunking of false claims, including the one about baby carrots and chlorine.
* Joe Schwarcz’s article about baby carrots written for the Montreal Gazette in April. Schwarcz is the director of McGill University’s Office for Science and Society.
Every September I spend time promoting the goodness of eggs in the Egg Farmers of Ontario’s (EFO) booth at the Western Fair in London, Ontario and at the Plowing Match in ‘wherever’, Ontario.
The location of the Plowing Match (an outdoor agricultural show) changes every year. This year it was held in Teeswater. The only constant about the location is that the site will be a farmer’s field somewhere in the province. Oh yeah, and it will likely rain before or during the Plowing Match, turning that farmer’s field into a muddy mess and making it mandatory to have a vehicle with four-wheel drive to get on and off the site, and rubber boots to tramp around the site. This year was no exception, at least at the start of the week!
I’ve been going to the Western Fair and the Plowing Match for more years than I’d care to acknowledge. Thankfully, food choices have improved over the years. Where once you could just eat typical fair food like burgers, fries, pizza and chicken fingers, a selection of more wholesome choices are now options. This year in the Western Fair’s International Food and Travel Building, you could dine on pad thai, spring rolls, samosas, stir-fried vegetables, cabbage rolls, stuffed peppers, butter chicken and rice, and more.
At both events, however, the most popular choice still seemed to be fries. I’ll confess I also indulged – fish and chips at the Western Fair, and poutine (pronounced poo-TIN) at the Plowing Match.
Poutine - fries, cheese and gravy!
Poutine is a much-loved messy, mushy combination of french fries and cheddar cheese curds smothered in gravy. The dish had its origins in Quebec, although there is not unanimous agreement as to exactly where, when, why and how poutine became a diner’s delight. Similar dishes exist in other countries.
Some people consider poutine quintessential Canadian fare. Others go so far as to hail it as our national dish! Personally, I doubt that the majority of Canadians outside of Quebec have even eaten this triple combination, let alone would rank it as classic Canadian food.
I had only eaten poutine once before last week when I chose it for my lunch one day at the Plowing Match – in the name of research for this blog, of course. And, because as I stood in line at the Chez Guy food tent pondering what to order for lunch, it looked darn tasty! So I succumbed to temptation.
I had to stifle a gasp when the cashier asked for $6 for my potentially heart attack-inducing lunch. With my overflowing tub of fries, cheese and gravy and cheese in hand, I scurried off, head down, so as not to meet the gaze of anyone who might recognize me as the EFO nutritionist – the same person who had cautioned them (probably minutes earlier at the EFO booth!) that a diet high in saturated and trans fats could cause elevated blood cholesterol.
I headed for a quiet corner of the Plowing Match to sit and eat my ‘triple threat’ lunch. I first took a few pictures, then forked a mouthful of the gooey mess into my mouth. Sadly, the gravy and fries were no longer hot. I still managed to down about a third of the generous portion, then decided it was probably wise to consider my research complete. I did conclude that although lukewarm and rather salty, poutine was a tasty combo. I could understand how it could be an addictive indulgence.
Tip/Warning/Alert/All-Points Bulletin/Advice……whatever you want to call it! Please note: For the sake of your waistline and overall health, don’t become a poutine addict. I highly recommend not indulging too often. Why not? Consider the following example of the nutritional value of poutine when compared to what’s recommended for an adult consuming a 2,000 calorie diet.
The regular size portion (320 g) of poutine at New York Fries contains the following:
* 950 calories
* 50 g Fat (77% of the recommended daily intake)
* 13 g Saturated and 1 g Trans Fats (70% of the recommended daily intake)
* 1320 mg Sodium (55% of the recommended daily intake)
If you are curious to learn more about poutine, check out this CBC video. It first aired in 1991, but it’s still an interesting clip. There are also websites devoted to poutine recipes including variations of the original combination of gravy, cheese and fries. Here are a couple:
* Montreal Poutine
* National Post – poutine recipes from Bonnie Stern
Sit down to dinner with your family tonight and you’ll not only be strengthening family bonds, but helping a worthy cause.
M&M Meat Shops is inviting Canadians to take part in its fourth annual National Family Dinner Night to celebrate the importance of spending quality time with friends and family. For everyone who registers their participation at www.mmmeatshops.com or www.nationalfamilydinnernight.com, M&M Meat Shops will make a $1 donation to the Crohn’s and Colitis Foundation of Canada , to a max of $100,000.
“National Family Dinner Night encourages busy families to reconnect by spending quality time together, talking and sharing around the dinner table, while supporting a worthy cause,” said M&M Meat Shops founder Mac Voisin in a media release from the company.
With the hectic, fast-paced lives of many families these days, dinners eaten together may be a rare occurrence. Sharing dinner can have a positive effect on open communication between adults and youth and can strengthen bonds and build relationships.
According to a recent Angus Reid study, when Canadians take the time to sit down together for a meal, 70% say it helps them bond closer together.
According to Dr. Karyn Gordon, an expert on relationship-building between parents and teens, “Research shows that kids who eat meals with their families are more likely to have a stronger vocabulary, eat their vegetables and even believe that their parents are proud of them.”
To make family dinners a success, Gordon recommends turning off cell phones, TVs and other electronic devices during the meal. “By removing distractions and focusing, you will begin to learn and understand your family better.”
She also suggests that parents listen more and talk less at the dinner table, adding “If your kids perceive you as relaxed and positive, not uptight and critical, they will be more likely to open up and share.”
If you’re wondering what to make for Family Dinner Night (or any dinner), M&M Meat Shops’ website has meal ideas and recipes.
If you’ve looked for lemon juice in your local grocery store recently, you may have come up empty-handed. A shortage of lemons used to make bottled lemon juice started with a poor growing season in Europe last fall. That was followed by bad weather including a late frost in the southern lemon-growing regions of the world.
The demand for lemon juice is now greater than the supply. Translation: Good luck finding bottled lemon juice! The lemons that are available have been saved to sell whole rather than being squeezed to make juice.
Although I usually prefer to use whole lemons when I need a little lemon juice, occasionally the convenience of bottled lemon juice wins out. Guess there will be no option for a while but to ‘put the squeeze on’!
This recipe is one of my fallback favourites. (Rather fitting, given the season.) It’s one of those treasured recipes or meal solutions I turn to when in need of (make that desperate for!) something quick and easy and I’m too rushed for time or lacking energy to be super creative about what’s going on my plate. September is an exceptionally busy time of year for me so I’m always on the look-out for ways to save precious minutes in the kitchen. This salad is one of those time and energy savers for me.
Tabbouli-style Egg and Vegetable Salad is made by cooking beaten eggs in broth, then adding couscous. While the couscous cooks for a few minutes, I chop up whatever vegetables I have on hand and whip up a simple dressing. Everything then gets combined along with fresh herbs, if I have some on hand.
This salad can be served as a main dish or a side, and either warm or chilled. I make it frequently, especially when life is busy (like these days!), or when I need a fast, easy contribution to a potluck. It’s simple and it tastes good, and after making it so often, the method and ingredient proportions are etched in my brain.
Tabbouli-style Egg and Vegetable Salad
Tabbouli-style Egg and Vegetable Salad
(Makes 4 to 6 servings)
1-1/4 cups (300 mL) chicken OR vegetable broth
4 eggs, lightly beaten
1-1/4 cups (300 mL) couscous
2/3 cup (150 mL) regular OR low-fat Italian salad dressing
2 tablespoons (30 mL) fresh lemon OR lime juice
1 teaspoon (5 mL) chili powder
2 cups (500 mL) diced fresh vegetables (e.g. cucumber, carrot, sweet pepper, celery, zucchini or seeded tomato)
2 tablespoons (30 mL) chopped fresh cilantro, mint OR parsley
Salt and pepper, to taste
In a large saucepan, bring broth to a boil. Slowly add eggs in a steady stream, whisking constantly. Cook for a minute or two, whisking constantly, just until eggs are set. (They will look curdled.) Remove saucepan from heat and stir in couscous. Cover and let stand for 5 minutes.
Meanwhile, in a small bowl or cup, combine salad dressing, lemon juice and chili powder, stirring well to break up any lumps of chili powder.
When couscous has stood for 5 minutes, stir it to separate grains and break up any clumps. Stir in vegetables and cilantro. Pour dressing over couscous mixture; toss until well combined. Season with salt and pepper.
Serve warm or cover and chill until ready to serve.
Tips:
* Try substituting another vinaigrette-style dressing for the Italian dressing.
* Couscous can be found in most grocery stores and bulk food stores. If desired, instant rice can be substituted.
The popularity of the 100-mile diet has spawned a 100-mile wedding in Alberta. Check out the story in the Calgary Herald written by Shelley Boettcher.
Who hasn’t heard of the 100-mile diet, the eating regime that encourages consuming a diet of foods grown within a 100-mile (or 160 km) radius of where one lives?
This “diet” has recently been made popular by Alisa Smith and J.B. MacKinnon who lived the 100-mile diet for a year in Vancouver, then documented their experience in a book appropriately titled The 100-Mile Diet (Random House, 2007). There is also a blog, www.100milediet.org, which provides inspiration and recipes for eating locally.
Smith and MacKinnon will be visiting Kitchener on September 17 to talk about their book and their experience buying and eating locally. (More details follow.)
Eating close to the land – choosing to eat local foods as they come into season – is hardly a new way of thinking about shopping, cooking and eating food. In fact, this is the philosophy by which much of the world has eaten for a long time. In the global village we live in, where cultures readily mix and assimilate, travel is relatively easy (although it used to be a little cheaper!), and transport systems have made it possible to bring in foods from far-away places, it has become possible, in fact the norm, for at least some of the world’s population to eat a stunning variety of foods from around the globe. Although this broadens the options at meal time, it also means many of us have become quite removed from those who produce our food and the source of food in its original state. Sadly, if questioned as to where a particular food comes from (e.g. milk, beef), some of us would respond with a quizzical stare and uncertainty. “Uh…the store?” (It’s true. I’ve seen it happen.)
While Smith and MacKinnon can and should take much credit for popularizing the notion of eating locally, we shouldn’t overlook the many food/land/agriculture/environment-conscious individuals who have purchased, cooked and eaten in this manner long before it became fashionable. This short list is a sampling of some of those people:
- California-based Alice Waters and Toronto’s Jamie Kennedy are chefs who have promoted local dining in their restaurants for many years.
- Food writers Anita Stewart and Elizabeth Baird are among the many cookbook authors and magazine writers who, for years, have promoted the joys of eating the rich bounty of foods produced close to home.
- In 1995, my friend and fellow home economist Pat Hughes published Savour the Seasons, a cookbook written with her colleague Eleanor Cameron. It contained menus and recipes that reflected foods available seasonally. There are a host of similar cookbooks on bookstore shelves these days.
- There are many consumers who consistently shop at their local farmers’ market or purchase locally grown foods at their neighbourhood grocery store, grow vegetables in their garden (freezing or canning the surplus), and consciously attempt to eat according to the seasons.
I’m all for eating locally grown and produced foods as much as possible. I will admit, however, that I couldn’t live only on foods grown within 100 miles of Kitchener. There would be too many favourite foods I’d miss eating – bananas, mangoes, chocolate, oranges and olives, to name a few. But there are important benefits to buying Ontario-grown or produced foods as often as possible and enjoying foods as they come into season.
Here are a few reasons to eat locally. (You’ll find 13 reasons to eat locally at www.100milediet.org.)
- It helps support the local economy and our Ontario farmers.
- The food you consume will not have travelled a long distance and therefore should be fresh and flavourful.
- The fewer miles food has to travel, the lower the fuel costs and the less strain there is on the environment.
I’m fortunate that Kitchener-Waterloo is a small enough community that within minutes I can be beyond city borders and into the country where farm land is plentiful. It is easy to enjoy what rural and urban lifestyles have to offer, including the smell of manure that has wafted into our neighbourhood several times in the past few weeks. I try to consider the aroma a reminder that my agricultural cousins are busy doing their job to ensure we all have food on our tables.
I truly hope the “eat local” movement is not a passing trend. In an article written by Julia Aitken in the Toronto Star on June 18, 2008, manager Alison Fryer of The Cookbook Store in Toronto included the 100-mile diet as one of the top 10 worst trends she has witnessed in her 25 years selling cookbooks. Just one person’s opinion, of course!
If you live in Waterloo Region and would like to meet Smith and MacKinnon, they will be in our area on September 17 for One Book One Community events. You will find them at Your Kitchener Market from 10 a.m. to 10:30 a.m. where they will be signing copies of The 100-Mile Diet. There will be a 100-Mile Mini Market at the market that day as well. Copies of the The 100-Mile Diet will be for sale along with produce grown within 100 miles of the market. Exhibits will showcase the benefits of eating locally produced food.
Smith and MacKinnon will be reading from their book at 7 p.m. on September 17 at the Kitchener Public Library.
It’s closing in on the last few hours of a long weekend. Today – the first Monday in September – is Labour Day. For most people the day is simply a holiday. A day off from work. No matter how much one enjoys their job, an extra long weekend is a good thing!
Here in Ontario, school starts tomorrow. So today is also one last chance to get ready for the “new year”, as anyone connected to the school system typically views the beginning of September.
Personally, I tried to do as little as possible this Labour Day, mostly because I’m lazy, but also because the next few months are my busiest time of year at work. Rest while you can, I figure. And so I did.
In between the resting, I did manage to whip up a small batch of blueberry freezer jam. Making freezer jam can not, in any conceivable way, be considered work. It’s way too easy. Check out the recipe below and you’ll see what I mean.
I used sweetener (SPLENDA) to make the jam because I had some in the cupboard and because I’d never made jam using a sweetener before. It worked just fine. After licking the spoon I used to stir the jam, I’d give two thumbs up for the jam’s flavour and consistency. (The real test will come tomorrow morning when I sample the jam on my breakfast bagel!)
If you’re looking for jam and jelly recipes, including freezer recipes and some using sweeteners, try the following web sites:
* SPLENDA
* Bernardin – look under Recipes, then under “Jams, Jellies & Other Fruit Spreads” or “Reduced Sugar or Salt Recipes”
* Kraft Foods
Blueberry Freezer Jam
Blueberry Freezer Jam
(Makes about 4-1/2 cups/1.125 L)
4 cups (1 L) crushed blueberries (about 4 pints/2 L)
2 teaspoons (10 mL) finely grated orange or lemon rind
1-1/2 cups (375 mL) SPLENDA (No Calorie Sweetener) or granulated sugar
1 pouch (45 g) freezer jam pectin
Wash and rinse five 1 cup (250 mL) mason jars and lids.
Pulse blueberries in a food processor (do not puree until smooth) or crush blueberries by hand. Measure 4 cups (1 L) crushed blueberries into a saucepan. Stir in grated orange or lemon rind.
Heat blueberries on stovetop, stirring frequently just until they come to a boil. (This step is not essential but heating the berries intensifies their colour and flavour and soften the skins so the jam spreads smoothly.)
In a large mixing bowl, combine pectin and SPLENDA or sugar until well blended. Add fruit mixture to pectin and sweetener or sugar mixture; stir for 3 minutes.
Ladle jam into jars, filling to about 1/2-inch (1 cm) from the top of the jars. Wipe rims of jars with a clean cloth, removing any spilled jam. Cover jars securely with lids. Let jars stand until jam has thickened, about 30 minutes.
Refrigerate up to 3 weeks or freeze up to 1 year.
