B.C. Grown: How to Shop Locally & Sustainably

I began my dietetics career as a supermarket dietitian at Choices Markets - a B.C. owned and operated retailer of natural, organic and specialty foods. After spending five glorious years with the company in this position and eventually working as the nutrition manager, I can honestly say, I truly understand the importance of a sustainable food system. One of my favourite parts of the job was visiting local farmers and food producers and sharing the information with you! You have already met some amazing farmers but now, I would like to introduce you to my produce guru Dave Wilson. Dave is my go-to guy for anything produce - what’s in season, why are blueberries here so early and all my other weird produce questions! So, sit back and relax and enjoy this interview with the one-of-a-kind Dave!

The Grass IS Greener at XY Ranch

On a chance encounter, I was e-introduced to Julie Covey, one of the owners of Double G Cattle Company, the company behind XY Ranch in 150 Mile House/Caribou region in British Columbia. This Ranch is doing everything right! I was so inspired and touched by their story and mission that I needed to share it with you. Take this for their mission statement: to naturally and humanely raise a true grass fed to grass finished cow using ZERO grains, antibiotics, or growth hormones. As consumers we need to step it up and support local farmers to send our message that animal husbandry standards and sustainability matter. Let your wallet do the talking - every purchase counts! Now sit back and relax and enjoy my interview with one of the G’s in Double G Cattle Company - Graham Covey.

proteinJessica PirnakJune 25, 2018Farm, Farmer, Sustainable, Grass fed, Grass finished, Farm to Table, Ranch

The Most Sustainable Vegan Diet

There are plenty of great reasons to switch your diet to a more plant-centered one. For starters, it’s better for your health, and it shows compassion toward animals.

But what about reducing your carbon footprint?

With that in mind, here are four tips to consider when filling your plant-based grocery cart to keep its environmental impact at the lowest possible.

Supermarket Dietitian Symposium 8.0

I love my profession but as an unconventional dietitian working in the supermarket I feel lonely sometimes. Retail dietetics is definitely growing in Canada but the States has their shit together. I’m writing this from the annual Supermarket Dietitian Symposium in San Diego, California, whose sole purpose, as a conference is to help retail dietitians share ideas with each other and guess how many Canadian supermarket dietitians are here?

Turkey Transparency

Let’s talk turkey! Before making your purchase of a brightly packaged bird it is important to know where your food comes from and all the people involved in the process. A few months ago, I pulled on my rubber boats and trekked out to Island Bison Ranch to tell you the story behind their farm. Today I’ll introduce you to Rossdown Farms and Natural Foods in Abbotsford. Full disclosure - I thought I was heading to their turkey farm but it ended up being their processing plant, which opened my eyes to the production of poultry.

Holidays, organic food, Personal Journey, proteinJessica PirnakDecember 7, 2017cooking, Farm, protein, Sustainable, turkey

Beyond Ocean Wise

British Columbians can rejoice as Choices Markets now offers 100% Ocean Wise fresh seafood – a first in this province! Ocean Wise is so important because it makes sustainable seafood easy. Seafood lovers do not need to think twice about the environmental impacts of transporting and preserving catch once we see that Ocean Wise symbol on our seafood. Ocean Wise addresses fishing & farming techniques, resource management to protect the health of our waters, by-catch concerns and species abundance but let’s move beyond Ocean Wise and talk about two other fishy concerns.

protein, fatJessica PirnakOctober 31, 2017Sustainable, Omega, fish, Mercury, ocean wise, radiation

Organically Speaking

Like any healthy relationship organic gets better the more you get to know it. As we wrap up celebrating organic week (from September 16th to the 24th) it feels like a good time to break down the difference between the term “organic” and “natural.”

organic foodJessica PirnakSeptember 24, 2017Farm, Sustainable, Claims, Local

This Week's CSA - Week 5!

Do I want to participate in Crisp Organics SPCA certified egg share program? Do the bees’ buzz? Does the sun shine? Yes – of course I do! In a nutshell SPCA certified farmers work hard to make sure their animals come first and Rehoboth Farm in Chilliwack, has partnered with Crisp Organics, to bring us happy eggs. Lucky for me, the sold out program opened up more egg shares this past week as the farm’s young hens finally came into maturity. Sign me up please!

fruits & vegetables, organic food, Personal JourneyJessica PirnakJuly 26, 2017Sustainable, Local, CSA, Farm

This Week's CSA - Week 4!

Lately, I've been bombarded by questions about fruit. What about the sugar in fruit? Am I eating too much? What's the best type of fruit to eat? We could spend a whole post talking about fruit but one way to manage your fruit intake and to guarantee you’re eating more vegetables than fruit is to join a CSA Harvest Box! Four weeks in and this household is definitely eating well – our meals are mostly homemade and full of fresh organic vegetables!

fruits & vegetables, organic food, Personal JourneyJessica PirnakJuly 19, 2017Sustainable, Local, CSA, Farm