The art of eating local without breaking the bank

It is often mistakenly believed that including foods from Quebec in our meals is reserved only for the wealthy. If more and more institutions such as the CHU Sainte-Justine manage to introduce them into their daily lives , it is quite accessible. The few tips in this article will in turn guide you towards increasingly local dishes.

The importance of good planning

Proper planning of your food purchases will allow you to be a winner on several levels, including the budget. It's not usually the stop at the local bistro when you get hungry that saves you money.

Get into the habit of stocking your pantry with produce that often ends up in your ready meals when they're cheap. By having saved on the essentials, a larger share of your budget can be allocated to the main ingredient, which can then afford to be local. It is with pennies that one makes piastres!

Think seasonality

It's as old as time, but the best way to reduce the cost per serving of its recipe is to choose it wisely according to the time of year. TheMAPAQ or Mangez Québec websites are excellent references regarding the ideal times to purchase certain products.

Gardening is gaining in popularity, if you are one of the followers, putting your crops in jars will allow you to extend their accessibility. This is how you can enhance your fish with a tomato salsa from the garden in the middle of November. Don't have a gardening space? The Zempotes will be very useful to you!

Take advantage of savings opportunities

Anti-waste packets, ugly vegetables, solidarity markets… Find out about what's on offer in your community. Many are surprised, for example, to know that Lufa Farms does not only offer vegetables. In addition to promoting several products that are now part of my essentials, their anti-waste package allows you to get more for less.

Dare to be creative

Reducing waste is often synonymous with savings. You may not eat the faded baguette on your counter as it is, but perhaps it will serve as croutons for your Caesar salad or your tartare? By giving a second life to foods you thought were uninteresting, there's more left in your pockets for local purchases.

To stimulate your creativity, take a look at the products offered by the specialty grocery store in the neighborhood where you don't often set foot. The diversity of foods produced in Quebec will never cease to amaze you.

What if you started by giving yourself the challenge of concocting only the starter 100% locally? Or if you base your aperitif on the delicious blackcurrant syrup from Monna & Filles ? In fact, whether the tips presented in this article are completely new to you or whether you have already mastered several of them, the important thing is to add a little local freshness to your plate… one ingredient at a time!

Reviewed by MF Editorial