woman dressed in white, food-processing clothing

Campbell’s for Christmas?

Kelly Beaulieu hopes to sign contracts with a couple of food industry giants in the next couple of weeks

Kelly Beaulieu’s idea for converting the nutrition from vegetables that would otherwise be thrown away into a tasty food product has caught the eye of some big names in the processed food business. Beaulieu’s company, Canadian Prairie Garden Purees, has recently received letters of intent to purchase from Nestle and Campbell’s after sending them samples.

 PHOTO: THINKSTOCK

Prairie fare: prolific zucchini has many uses

Recipe Swap: Skillet Zucchini with Chopped Tomatoes and Beefy Zucchini Casserole

Julie is a North Dakota State University Extension Service food and nutrition specialist and professor in the department of health, nutrition and exercise sciences. I was admiring my neighbour’s garden the other day, especially her robust zucchini plants. I noticed some tender, young zucchini squash peeking out from under the foliage. I could almost taste


Waldorf Berry Salad (see recipe below)

You can’t eat your lawn but…

Recipe Swap: Tomato and Zucchini Gratin and Waldorf Berry Salad

Is a lawn “beautiful?” Is a vegetable garden “ugly?” Or is it the other way around? It depends who you ask. A press release plinked into my mailbox from the folks with Food Matters Manitoba last week announcing their second annual Manitoba Garden Makeover Competition. It’s urging Manitobans to convert their lawns into an “edible

vegetables in a bowl

Last year’s leftovers

RecipeSwap: Spinach and Green Pea Soup, and Hodgepodge

A sure sign of approaching summer around here is an almost-empty freezer. Last fall I made a list of everything we put into it, and all those bags of carrots, peas, beans, corn, rhubarb, saskatoons and strawberries seemed like a lot of food at the time. So a few months later, I’m amazed to see


Gardens and green lunches shine a light on two rural schools

Two rural schools nominated for a Food Matters Manitoba’s Golden Carrot Award 
help kids learn about food, while keeping things fun and delicious

There is a new food fad catching on among young students in the community of Pinawa. Chives. “I never would have guessed it, but yes, chives — they love chives, every time I turn around out there they’re munching away,” said Darcia Light, principal of F.W. Gilbert Elementary, where an innovative garden program has earned

What to know when choosing seeds

In the spring gardeners are busy planning their summer gardens, and one of the enjoyable tasks is choosing and purchasing of seeds both for the vegetable garden and for the flower border. There are a few points to keep in mind when doing this job so that the garden produces its maximum output. Rather than


Storage checkup

During the winter it’s easy to get caught up with the many activities that prevail in our Prairie communities. Couple that with work and family responsibilities, and it is sometimes difficult to remember to check all the garden produce that we have stored away for the winter. Vegetables as well as flower bulbs and corms

Add some colour to winter menu

This may help prevent some health issues as well as brighten up the plate Nutrition experts recommend that we increase green and orange vegetables in our diets. Eating more brightly coloured vegetables may play a role in reducing our risk for cancer, heart disease and potentially blinding eye conditions. For example, broccoli, along with other


Gardeners beware!

Did you realize those veggies you plant are a scary lot? Don’t mess with those bad-tempered radishes, for instance. They can get pretty hot. The cabbage heads are so dense there’s no way you can smarten them up. Nor can you subdue those egotistical muscle men of the garden, the onions — they are that

Full steam ahead for Portage food processor

The founder of a Portage la Prairie company that uses culled fruits and veggies for baby foods, soups and other foods expects to create 60 new jobs after receiving a $2.5-million federal government loan. Kelly Beaulieu said her company, Canadian Prairie Garden Purée Products, will also utilize large amounts of “less than eye perfect” fruits