Balance of Food

CBC Marketplace in Canada breaks down the nutrition in conventional vs. organic eggs

Eggs provide amazing nutrition, versatility, and taste for a relatively low amount. Somehow, the cost ends up being a factor, especially when measured as "mainstream" versus organic or similarly grown eggs.

A $1.80 difference in cost for a dozen eggs comes out to 15¢ per egg.

We are on the side of Team Organic or similarly grown eggs. Taste, quality, and fresh are advantages. "Mainstream" eggs aren't that fresh by the time they get to the grocery store. We would also argue nutritional advantages, including Omega 3s. The chicken's health and sanity, which we believe leads to better eggs, is highly important.

CBC Marketplace took a look at the nutrition stats for "mainstream" vs. big organic sources. They also looked at farm eggs vs. larger organic outlets.

"In Marketplace's test, organic eggs produced on small farms had more nutrients than the big-brand organic eggs sold at Canada's largest grocers under private labels and by two of the largest egg brands in the country."

The general consensus was that the nutrition of "mainstream" eggs and big organic companies were comparable. The organic eggs had a nutritional edge but within 10%.

You can read more analysis from the program on specific brands and comparisons.

We are not generally surprised by the Marketplace results. They were comparable to what we would have concluded without doing any comparisons. If you are making your conclusions based solely on nutrition, and cost is a concern, you have the numbers to justify your decisions.

This winter, I had to find a new source of eggs since my winter source went out of business as a result of the COVID-19 pandemic. I found a different local source that has worked out well.

I haven't bought any eggs from a conventional grocery store in years nor have I purchased organic eggs from a large company in a long time. That may sound like snobbery. Perhaps. My reality is that I don't eat that many eggs. The last eggs I used were for a lime curd.

I will gladly pick cheaper options for some products where I don't see a significant issue in quality. That saved money allows me to make smarter choices in certain categories. Eggs is one of those categories.

Wouldn't pay twice as much as I pay not for my eggs. Glad I don't pay what Canadians pay for eggs (according to the numbers posted by Marketplace). Would rather give the money to local farmers.

Farmers benefit more than consumers with Canada supply management

Peterborough Farmers Market loses perspective on the value of farmers markets

Subway Canada chicken comes up short on chicken, according to CBC Marketplace

Egg recall proves food producers are 'too big to fail'

Balanceoffood.com Canada food policy coverage

BalanceofFood.com farmers market coverage

As we noted earlier, "taste, quality, and fresh are advantages." There are dishes you can do with fresh eggs that you would be less likely to try without fresh eggs. In making fresh pasta and aioli, color, fresh, and taste would be crucial. If you are coloring eggs for Easter, the "mainstream" eggs would be useful.

Select what foods are important to you, for whatever your reasons might be, and invest well in them. Maybe you can sacrifice the cost of a high-price, extravagant coffee drink. Buying direct from a farmers market eliminates a costly layer by getting the eggs faster and fresher from the source.

Make your own best choices.

video and photos credit: Marketplace/CBC

Cheap pizza comes to Canada but at what cost

Editor's note: Our colleagues at our sibling blog — CanadianCrossing.com — had a really nice story on the impact of the lame CUSMA trade deal where cheaper American-based pizza cheese has flooded the Canadian market. Cheaper food is tempting but not when the quality suffers. We have reposted the story here, complete with permission from CanadianCrossing.com.

Pizza is considered a cheap food … in the United States. Pizza in Canada may be relatively cheap but expensive compared to the United States.

Over the many years we have tracked Canadian ads through MLB Extra Innings or NHL Center Ice, we have noticed the shockingly high prices of pizza in Canada. The pizzas in the ads didn't look that great and the prices were through the roof.

You would see side deals involving soft drink bottles and movie tickets to make the pizza seem not as expensive.

The usual explanation for why pizza in Canada is more expensive is the cost of high-quality Canadian cheese. This explains stories every few years about pizza cheese shenanigans in Canada.

There are conditions to get a pizza in Canada for $7.99 or a similar low price. You have to buy multiple pizzas or provide a code or know the sale is for a very limited time.

Little Caesar's is offering a classic with Crazy Bread for $7.99. Pizza Hut is offering a buy one, get one free pizza. Domino's is offering unlimited, 2-topping pizzas for $7.99. Greco is offering the $7.99 12" mediums when you buy 2 or more pizzas with regular toppings.

Farmers benefit more than consumers with Canada supply management

CUSMA | USMCA aka NAFTA 2.0 allowed cheaper, lesser quality American-based cheese to come into Canada. We don't know for certain, but that is the most logical reasoning behind the sudden arrival of cheaper pizza in Canada.

Domino's mentions Canadian cheese. Are the pizza companies using a mix of Canadian and American- based cheese? Are they using Canadian cheese only but desperate to lure customers over to pizza?

There is (sadly) the possibility that some Canadians don't care that their pizza cheese is American. They may think a cheaper price on a pizza in Canada is worth eating inferior cheese. They may like Canadian cheese but not at the prices they were paying.

Normally, your humble narrator would weigh in on the experience of eating pizza in Canada and compare this to the American standards. Unfortunately, due to an intolerance to mozzarella cheese, I am sadly not the expert. I can vouch for the Crazy Bread since there is no mozzarella.

Pandemic pizza is not a thing but can imagine that pizzas are more popular in a pandemic since you don't have to cook and pizzas come pretty quickly to your home. Having cheaper pizza is an advantage if you lost your job and/or CERB (and similar programs) not stretching far enough.

Canada milk producers threatened with invasion of cheaper American milk

BalanceofFood.com Canada coverage

As our sibling blog — BalanceofFood.com — would note, quality food does cost more. The question for Canadian dairy is whether the quality is worth the higher prices.

If our American readers crossed over to Canada to eat better quality cheese on Canadian pizzas, we wish you much luck in finding that once the border has reopened. Perhaps a local pizza chain might do better than a national chain.

CanadianCrossing.com trade coverage

The quality of food in North America is not as easy to find as opposed to Europe. You search more and you definitely pay more. Wages haven't kept up in North America so the pressure of cheap food is a reality for most people on the continent. Would be a shame to lose something that is of quality and distinctly Canadian thanks to a lame trade deal that dumped cheap cheese in Canada.

photo credit: Greco pizza
video credits: individual pizza companies

Succumbing to fried foods during a pandemic

There was a time in the far past where I participated in the Lenten sacrifice ritual. You can do positive works during Lent; sacrifice is an option. At the time, sacrifice was presented as virtually the only option.

The concept is that you give up something Monday-Saturday but can indulge on Sundays during the time on the calendar between Ash Wednesday and Easter Sunday. My mother, addicted to soft drinks, encouraged us to give up soft drinks. Lent also required to abstain from meat on Fridays.

The COVID-19 pandemic has lasted more than a year, much longer than the 6-7 weeks of Lent. One of the culinary casualties was fried foods. I have only had 4 servings of French fries during the pandemic. This is more a matter of practicality. Indoor dining is tough and French fries don't travel well. Most Americans gladly eat in their cars; alas there is no car for your humble narrator.

My food pandemic dream is fried clam strips. I grew up with great fried clam strips from Bill Knapp's (regional) and Howard Johnson's (national). I seem to recall buying frozen clam strips but could not find them during the pandemic.

Those clam strips were dark, the ideal color of deep fried goodness. Can't remember the last time I had fried clam strips yet pandemic dreams don't follow a logical path.

You likely are asking right now: "Just get an air fryer and you can be safe in your own home." Fair question. The pandemic has left me poor enough that getting an air fryer is impractical. There is also the skeptical element that an air fryer can achieve the true status of deep-fried goodness. I shall not praise or bash air fryers until I get to try them in action. For the moment, air fryers are a future topic.

Looking at food as we enter the first full winter of the pandemic

McDonald's Quarter Pounder hot and juicy claims are laughable

KFC's Double Down brings plenty of calories but not the flavor

More than a year since the world shut down, I decided to indulge in deep-fried food, a place I didn't know before the pandemic. The location is near a bus route that could take me home quickly, a concern with deep fried food.

This place had clam strips and onion rings, among other deep fried treats. Yes, could have done French fries but they travel more poorly than other fast food. Clam strips and onion rings were on my menu.

Waiting more than a year for deep fried goodness was nice 9 Lenten times strung back-to-back. Your humble narrator was about to eat greasy food.

Limiting the order to clam strips and onion rings made absorbing the grease much easier. A proverbial buffet would have been problematic. Must start slow.

The main criticism of the deep fried food was the light color: this was not deep-fried goodness. Funny when people say you should eat with your eyes. Color matters.

We had a similar critique when we indulged in the KFC Double Down sandwich. The color of the pictures was dark brown; what we got was beige.

The clam strips and onion rings were beige, not a good sign. Beige does well as a bra color, not a food color.

One can't be picky in the desert. The tartar sauce was very ordinary; I could make better tartar sauce in 10 minutes. The clam strips didn't have much flavor. The onion rings were slightly above average despite the beige exterior.

The food was still delicious but in a way like you haven't had much deep fried food in a year and you can't be picky.

BalanceofFood.com fast food coverage

Fast food usually doesn't mean quality food or presentation. Eating dark colored fast food items means quality preparation. We have examined the idea of replicating restaurant food at home during the pandemic. Fast food items could use a great upgrade in the home. We would love to try an air fryer when finances are in better shape. Given the economy and pandemic, a better economic future might be a pipe dream, like duplicating fast food items in the home.

photo credit: me