Grapes and cheese on skewers. A fun way to serve fruit and cheese while also controlling portion size.

Snacks and lunches to go

Spring can be a busy time so try these quick and nutritious food ideas

Spring break marks the home stretch for school and the start of spring farm work. For us home cooks, this means making more lunches and snacks to go. Keeping your kids and farmers fuelled with good food will help them function at their best and prevent fatigue, constipation, energy crashes and dehydration. For the best

A samurai wasp lays an egg inside a brown marmorated stink bug egg. The samurai wasp’s offspring will develop inside the pest’s egg and emerge as an adult wasp.  PHOTO: WARREN WONG, SIMON FRASER UNIVERSITY

Biocontrols often also invasive

They seem to be being unintentionally introduced 
the same way their prey is

Regulatory limits to the introduction of biocontrols like parasitic wasps may prove to be a moot point. They could already be being unintentionally released into Canada along with their prey. Paul Abram, of Agriculture and Agri-Food Canada, has been looking for native predators for the brown marmorated stink bug, a pest introduced to B.C. in


(Tanaonte/iStock/Getty Images)

Britain faces fresh food bottleneck if no Brexit deal

London | Reuters — Britain faces a fresh food bottleneck if it drops out of the EU without a deal, the country’s largest supermarket group warned on Thursday, echoing comments from its biggest rival the previous day. As the country counts down to Brexit while politicians remain deadlocked over how best to oversee its departure

Boxes of apples are stored in a refrigerator.

Storing apples for winter

There’s something really satisfying about eating a crisp homegrown apple while gazing out at the snow

Storing apples for winter use is relatively easy, but having the appropriate space is vital. I have a refrigerator in the garage that is used almost exclusively for vegetable/fruit storage. In the summer it becomes a flower cooler as I store flowers in preparation for upcoming flower shows. A cold room works well but the


Can an apple a day really keep the doctor away?

Can an apple a day really keep the doctor away?

Nobody knows for sure, but there’s no doubt that apples are truly good for our health

Last year, I was very disappointed because our apple tree had no apples. Our tree had never been completely fruitless. I kept staring up at the tree, walking around it and looking for even one apple. I couldn’t find an apple on the tree, even at the very top. At first, I thought the squirrels

Any food consumed is part of a ‘diet.’ Choosing the right foods can, over time, ensure a healthy diet.

What is a healthful diet?

Try to meet the recommendations for fruits and vegetables, the food groups most often lacking in the diets of adults and children

Do you know anyone on a diet? Have you ever been on a diet? The answer to both of those questions for everyone is “yes.” Technically, we all are “on a diet.” According to the first definition in most dictionaries, a “diet” consists of the “kinds of food that a person, animal or community eats.”


Fire blight-infected raspberry cane tips.

Fire blight can infect raspberries

There is no cure for this bacterial disease and pruning is the best treatment

Fire blight is a bacterial disease caused by the pathogen Erwinia amylovora that attacks many trees and shrubs (apple, pear, cotoneaster and mountain ash are four of the most common targets). The disease usually appears in late spring or early summer when it attacks the blossoms and very young growth at the tips of the

No matter the season make sure exercise remains a regular occurrence in your life.

Health goals can come step by step

Set goals that are specific, measurable, attainable, realistic and timed

There are plenty of reasons to want to take steps to become healthier. Maybe we want to save more money, get fit or wear a smaller clothing size. Improving our health and having more wealth are great motivators, but unfortunately, such resolve often falls by the wayside. This year, I decided to get more exercise.


Take care with home canning to prevent dangerous food illnesses like botulism poisoning.

Follow the new rules

The old ways may not be safe anymore when it comes to canning

Sometimes, I feel like a broken record, especially when we reach canning season. I keep repeating things year after year, hoping that more people will hear about the current rules. But wait: Some (younger) people don’t know what a “record” is or how you might break one, other than in an athletic race. Maybe I