OMG what are GMOs

GMOs. What are they and why do they even exist?


GMO stands for Genetically Modified Organism who's DNA has been altered to exhibit a desired trait, to become more profitable and prolific. Supposedly this is how we are going to ' Feed the World'. By planting GM seeds which are resistant to certain pesticides, so the weeds are killed and the yields are higher. Ta -da!  Oh wait a minute.................there's something I missed. You cant actually save seeds from these crops. Because they have been modified to within an inch of their life, the seeds produced are rendered redundant.  Well there's that lifecycle broken. So back to the big guys (Monsanto...more of them later) to buy more seeds.  Seem like a bit of a money maker to me.


But there seems to be another side to these organisms that people still know very little about. And what I didn't realise was that these GMOs could potentially be killing us, albeit very slowly...

Sorry I'm perhaps scaring and confusing you already, lets back up a bit......

Having hailed from Europe, the metropolis they call Scotland, we rarely thought about GM crops, as there weren't many, that we knew of. But coming over to North America approximately 85% of processed foods contain GMOs. Its everywhere!! And these GM guys are bullies to boot(imo). They refuse to label items in the food chain that are genetically modified and leave it to organic farmers to use the label Non GMO instead. But does that really give us the right information, if they just 'don't say'?  Sneaky I think.

GM crops are not limited to North America thought, they truly are everywhere. 

Check this wonderful article from the Guardian newspaper in Scotland about the fight back against GM crops.

As usual the stress is on feeding our nation and loosing out financially because farmers won't be competitive with their prices. Why is Scotland puffing its chest up and refusing GM seeds? Because Scotland gives a sh*t about how their whiskey is produced and how their Aberdeen Angus cattle are fed. Because they won't be bullied into this dark side that they, nor anyone else ( willing to share) knows enough about.
GOOD ON YOU SCOTLAND! Cue Braveheart soundtrack......

So this big bully that I'm talking about is Monsanto. And the worst of it all is the CEO is Scottish. Imagine that. There's got to be some rats in the pack I suppose guys.
Monsanto owns loads of companies and also people in high up places. So generally if they say these seeds are to be grown, the government politely says ok? No further questions asked.

I like to see the good in people though, so I have an issue with believing that they would deliberately poison our families without testing, testing and testing again.

Which brings me to a documentary my husband and i sat down to watch the other evening. 

GMO OMG by Jeremy Seifert.

The title gives it away, but it is a dads journey to find out if all the research is in place to ensure GM crops are safe for our children to eat. Did he find out? I'll let you watch it to see for yourself. But Monsanto did avoided him at all costs, which is gotta make you suspicious. Why did they do that when i was willing to give them the benefit of the doubt? Geez I hate that! Ok, they are well and truly off my Christmas list now.

Learning is all about timing isn't it? If your not in the right head space then its hard to focus on something new. (hmmmm reminds me of my high school years.)  Then all of a sudden it clicks and you're hooked. I hate to say it, but its age I think. Maturity comes to the best of us.

If someone had recommended this movie to me a few years ago, I'd have probably nodded with no intention of ever finding it on Netflix. I wouldn't have wanted to know what a GMO was, unless it was a text abbreviation for 'Great Monday's Over'! 

Like now, when my friend Teresa shares a link about how bad microwaves are for you, I don't even open it. I'm not ready to give up my reheated coffee just yet (made with organic coffee beans and GM milk ! One out of two can't be bad right?)
Now I am ready to face GMOs head on. I want to know more. I'm at that time in my life where it matters. I have 2 small boys and I don't want them developing tumours in their 30's because of my choices to save some extra pennies here and there. ( ok a bit dramatic, but really do they allow us to think anything else?).

So if there is one thing you watch on Netflix in the next month, please make it GMO OMG. It is a true eye opener, especially for people like me who know a little about something but not quite enough to make different choices.

Now i must sign off to go and stare at my pantry in disbelief at all the toxic business i have in there. Yes i should get rid and start a fresh, but I'm a frugal Scot, so that's not going to happen.
Therefore we will eat our way through it and on my next supermarket run i will make alternative choices that i can happily bring to the dinner table to feed my family and friends. I'm not talking about my whole shopping basket, (I mentioned about being frugal right?) but maybe I'll start by changing my milk to organic. Next week I might add in organic rice, because as much as we don't want it to be, its all about cost. The more people making these little changes though, the more chance there is to drive the production in organic farming up and the costs to the consumer down. Think with your heart and then hopefully your pocket will be rewarded later.


Happy Shopping....

Fishermans Rainbow Pie

I had a fun day at the daycare today using lots of produce to create colourful rainbows for the kids to eat.  We had bags of beets, sweet potatoes, peas, sweetcorn, apples, pears, bananas and the list goes on.  I'm very lucky to have so much fresh produce at my finger tips in the kitchen.

On our lunch menu today was fish.
We have to serve fish once a week at the daycare under the government guidelines.  The only exceptions being if the children are vegan or vegetarian. Some kids don't care for fish, and would rather be a veggy on these days, but we have to offer it anyway.  So my job is to make it taste as wonderful as possible, and I think I nailed it today.

I used haddock for the fish part and steamed it in the oven first. The I lightly fried it in oil for a couple of minutes with sweetcorn to get the juices going. I then added Almond milk (we have a gluten and dairy free guy we are catering for today) and corn flour,sprinkled with turmeric, to make a lovely creamy yellow sauce.  The next layer was mushy peas! I know, I know , the things nightmares are made off .( or is that just me?)  But these peas tasted soooooooooooooooo sweet blended up with non dairy margarine, almond milk and a sprinkling of salt.  Now if I can eat these and think YUM, anyone can!  This incredible hulk layer goes on top of the yellow layer. I then added mozzarella cheese (dairy free cheese to our little dairy free guys portion). The top layer is made by the one and only 'Sweet potato' or 'Kumara' as they call it in Australia and NZ.  All we did here was boil to tender and blend with non dairy margarine and almond milk with a touch of salt and pepper. Spread on top to complete your rainbow. Voila!  I then baked it in the oven to bring it all together.

The Verdict :- The pre-schoolers weren't too impressed with the 'Hulk' layer, but those that did try it, asked for seconds, but there were a few that just picked and prodded. But that's not unusual for them. All it takes is one kid to say 'Ewwwwwww' and then its a domino effect.  Everyone is Ewwww'ing and nothing gets eaten. But I've learnt to have pretty thick skin and still come back day after day with new creations and ideas with just as much enthusiasm. I love food and I love kids eating good food, I WILL NEVER GIVE UP!  BUT......................and that's a huge BUT, my toddlers (18months to 3yrs) LOVED it! I mean they scooped this up, plate after plate, so much so that I had to go and steal more from the pre-schoolers that were Ewww'ing. Now that is what I call satisfaction. It made my heart warm. And even the teacher (she whispers....who doesn't like fish) had a big plateful. 

So go for it and try it, you WILL be pleasantly surprised.


Here is my recipe for a family of 4. If you work in a daycare or school environment, just scale it up.

• 2 Pieces of white fish. (Sustainable fish local to where you are from is even better)
• 2 Sweet Potatoes (Roughly the size of your hand)
• 1 Cup of frozen sweetcorn
• 2 Cups of frozen Peas
• 1tsp Turmeric (organic if possible)
• 3 Cups Almond Milk (or full fat whole milk)
• 1 Cup margarine (or butter)
• 1tbsp Corn Flour
• 1 Cup of mozzarella/non dairy cheese

1. Cook frozen fish according to the instructions. Or bake for 20minutes at 350def F until flakey if using fresh.
2. Peel and chop sweet potatoes and pop in a pot filled with water and bring to the boil. Then turn down to a simmer and check potatoes after 15mins. What your feeling for is tender, but not too soft. Drain and puree with a stick blender with 1-2 tablespoons of margarine/butter (I like mine buttery so I tend to add more) and 1 cup of almond milk/whole milk. Set aside.
3. Flake the fish and fry it up with a little oil of your choice in a frying pan with the frozen sweetcorn.  After 4-5 minutes add 1 cup of almond milk/whole milk, a tablespoon of corn flour and the turmeric. Cook on simmer for 3-4 minutes to thicken up.  Add more milk if required to make it a thick sauce. Pour this layer into an oven proof dish.
4. Cover the peas with cold water and bring to the boil. Simmer for 5 minutes. Drain and blend with a stick blender with 1 tablespoon of margarine and most of a cup of almond milk/whole milk. You want it wet enough that it is easily pureed with the blender. Season with salt and pepper if required.
5. Now layer the 'Hulk filling' on top of the fish. Just dollop it on and spread it over with a fork. Then add mozzarella and dump the sweet potato on top to finish. Spread over with a fork, or if its nice and smooth, pour it on.
6. Pop in the oven for 30-35 minutes @ 350deg. Let cool slightly before serving little mouths.

The hard part of following government guidelines for educational facilities is that, when you make a meal like the one above, they encourage you to add a bread roll to tick the 'Grain' box.  We have asked the question, "Can sweetcorn be classed as a grain". Currently we are waiting on comment back. I'll keep you all posted. But this would be fantastic if it were classed as a grain. Schools , in my opinion, put costs before nutrition. I understand that, I truly do. There isn't a whole lot of budget in the school system for food at all. So when they look at the meal above, $$ signs are rolling in there eyes and then I ask them to put a bread roll on the side!?  They would rather just give a bread roll with a fish finger (aka fish stick) on it, with a side of veg.  And I understand that too. But that doesn't mean I have to like it.
The purpose of this blog is to give information to educational facilities and families to try and make it easier to provide 'Good Food' that fits into the 'current' government guidelines.  It should be exciting for our chefs at work and our cooks at home, not daunting!


(ps...........please excuse my photos on this one. It was a quick snap before I ran lunch out. But any comments on how to take great blog photos would be fantastic. Thanks)

Jamie Oliver and Farm to School

Jamie Oliver has been in Canada this past week promoting his new book 'Everyday Super Food' and a new TV show 'Jamie's Super Food'.  Apart from posting wonderful photos on his Instagram account of Nova Scotia, he had a few words to say about the current state of our food education. Check out what he said here .

Justin Trudeau has a lot on his plate when it comes to food education. Many have no idea where certain foods come from, some don't care as long as it tastes good and is at the right price. I foresee a long road ahead for the new Prime Minister.
But changes are afoot and a little silver lining in Trudeaus pocket is the 'Farm to School' concept rolling out across North America. This food fundraiser recently piloted in a select few schools in Nova Scotia and was a great success, to the schools and farmers. The idea is local farms sign up with the Farm to School network and offer CSA type boxes to schools, with a percentage of the sale going directly back to the school. Win Win!

Many other provinces across Canada and most states in the US have similar farm to school initiatives.
Check your province/state out here and get your box of goodies purchased and help your local farms and schools in the process.

Nova Scotia
Manitoba
Ontario
British Columbia
US

If your province does a great job Farm to Schooling and isn't listed here, send me a comment and I'll load it up.

Welcome to Happy Food Happy Soul

Hey there, thanks for stopping by.
Over here at Happy Food Happy Soul we are on a mission for everyone to experience good food that makes them happy to the soles of their feet! Especially the generation of teeny tiny feet. Nurture them with good food when they are small and when they grow up, they will create a market that demands good food. And by 'good food' I mean the likes of Non GMO, heritage grains, no additives or fluorescent colours, natural sweeteners, absolutely nothing that resembles a POGO or a smart price chicken nugget! 

My name is Rachael and I am a wife to an extraordinarily hard working house builder husband, and a mother to two little boys 3 + 6.
My passion for food has arrived as a result of having children, which I'm sure happens to many. I have always loved food, and mostly cooked my breakfast lunch and dinners from scratch in adulthood, (with the occasional fast food hangover cure in there) but I feel my desire to make meals even better, since my eldest started school and I was presented with the awful school lunch menu. Chicken burgers, garden salad, grilled cheese. Really? A kid is going to order a garden salad??? I think that was just put on there to say 'see we are serving healthy food'. A group of wonderful ladies all had the same thoughts as me.....'it'll be packed lunches then!" But one lady stood up and said lets form a Nutrition Committee and start a change. Since then, we have removed all package items from our breakfast programme. No yoghurt tubes, granola bars and juice cups. Now we have healthy muffins and pancakes, boiled eggs, cheese and crackers and copious amounts of fruit. And the bizarre thing is, the children love it! Who'd have thought.!? They don't even notice that the packaged rubbish is no longer available as an early morning 'treat'.  And I'm sure the teachers are thankful for the minimal amounts of  sugar gracing their classrooms at 8 o'clock in the morning.

I also work at the most wonderful daycare serving up the kids snacks and lunch. I would never have thought I'd end up cooking for kids, but I actually do enjoy it. The most rewarding part of it is, apart from seeing kids accustomed to fruit loops and burgers, eat buckwheat fish bites, is the fact that we adhere to the Canadian Nutritional Government Guidelines. I tell you, its hard fitting everything in in a day, but we do it and it doesn't cost us the earth and it also doesn't take any longer than shoving a chicken burger in the oven and buttering some buns! Unfortunately the guidelines are there as that, just a guide, so rarely anyone sticks to them.  But here on this blog I want to try and make that change. Or at least make people aware of how simple it will be to make changes, no matter how small.
So keep your eyes peeled for kiddy friendly recipes and exciting new things happening in the Canadian education system. Its an exciting time to be jumping on this band wagon.
Jamie Oliver WE NEED YOU!!!