BC Living
Local Easter Offerings to Try This Spring
Delicatessens Across B.C.: More Than Just High-End Grocers
March Sushi – From Scratch
4 Tips on Balancing a Nutritious Diet with a Side of Indulgence
Choosing Connection: A BC Family Day Pledge to Prioritize Presence Over Plans
Embracing Plant-Based Living this Veganuary and Beyond
Inviting the Steller’s Jay to Your Garden
6 Budget-friendly Holiday Decor Pieces
Dream Home: $8 Million for a Modern Surprise
Plan Your BC Foodie Field Trip
Kamloops & Sun Peaks Resort: The Ultimate See & Ski Family Getaway
Local Getaway: Stay at an Elven Haven in Courtenay
B.C. Adventures: Our picks for April
Cooking Classes
Culinary Cinema
Culinary Fashion: What to wear on “Foodie Field Trips”
Freshen Up your Skincare this Spring with these 9 BC Based Skincare Products
Are you getting the most from your expertly cultivated and perfectly aged wine collection?
The side effects may include better tasting food and helping the environment.
Supermarkets seem a necessary evil in our fast-paced Western world. The advantage of everything-under-one-roof is, well, self-evident. The disadvantage is that it’s another step away from real-food culture, and one step (at least) further from the food producer.
Artisanal producers—think butchers, bakers and camembert-makers—tend to use more traditional methods. These traditional methods were originally developed to help preserve food (cheese- and yogurt-making for example) and the natural combinations create delicious foods, the by-product of which is to make the nutrients more accessible. These producers are often farm-based, or one step removed, and on a small scale, negating the need for preservatives that your body has difficulty breaking down.
There’s a moment of epiphany when you rediscover “real food.” Your brain suddenly says, “that’s why we eat these,” or “that’s why Italian cooking tastes so good.”
A locally grown, vine-ripened tomato appeals to all five senses. Its commercially produced cousin, also succulently red, lacks the scent (and taste), which is very confusing for the body. Tomatoes are notoriously difficult to ship, so they’re picked green and sent to their destination where they are “ripened” with ethylene gas. This process develops fewer taste compounds, resulting in a poor substitute.
It seems absurd that we eat foods that offer fewer nutritional rewards and less visceral pleasure. Additional side effects from eating fresh foods may also include:
I realize it may take more time to get everything from a specialist provider, but it’s time well spent. And you don’t have to do it all at once. Start by introducing yourself to your butcher this week. Meet the baker the next.