VG Blog

There’s something nice about slowing down and taking your time when making a meal — a slow roasted pork tenderloin, a roast beef with potatoes and Yorkshire puddings, or maybe a rotisserie chicken on your backyard grill. These are all delicious, satisfying meals — but let’s get real. A lot of us can barely find 30 minutes to prepare dinner on a busy weekday, and these slow roasts are best saved for the weekend or your day off.

Even with all of the snow we’ve had in recent weeks, Ontario is a great place to hike year round. In fact, some people genuinely prefer to hike in winter! After all, the scenery is beautiful, the winter birds are gorgeous and there’s nothing like the satisfying crunch of fresh snow under your boots. Plus, with COVID-19 restrictions in place, it’s great to have access to an activity that’s safe, enjoyable and good for you!

If you’re a parent whose children have recently returned to in-school learning, that means you’re back to making school lunches every day. (Every. Single. Day!) Even if you’ve been making bagged lunches for years, it’s easy to run out of ideas — and lunch-making can feel like even more of a chore in winter, when you’re busy packing snow pants, mittens, scarves, extra clothing and more. Plus, a lot of parents feel seriously off routine with so much missed school over the past year! How do you even make a school lunch, anyway? Are these kids even mine?! (Yes, they are, and you’ve got to feed them.)

Valentine’s Day is this Sunday, February 14th, and with indoor dining closed across the region, you’ve got two options: order in from a restaurant, or cook up something incredible yourself. Now, if you’re looking to impress your sweetheart or create a shared experience for date night at home, the second option is best. Set a nice table, put on some music and get cooking — it’s time to show off your romantic side! Here are some ideas for what to serve this weekend.

In the summer, your BBQ probably gets a lot of attention — but how often have you been using it lately? We’re willing to bet it’s been given a pretty long break at this point. Some of our customers are avid winter grilling enthusiasts, but others tend to neglect their BBQs once the temperature drops. We get it — it’s cold out there, and you’ve got a perfectly good oven in your house! — but don’t overlook your favourite summer cooking tool in the cold months. Your BBQ works just as well in winter, and you’ll love slicing into that perfectly grilled steak in the middle of February.

You may have noticed that for quite some time, VG Meats has carried select products from Rowe Farms in Guelph, Ontario. When we announced this partnership last year, we were pleased to introduce several Rowe items to our online store. They’ve been a big hit with customers, and we’ve been pleased to share even more local food with our community. After all, our goal is to put Ontario beef and other local foods on the world map — right where they deserve to be!

We love meat. Beef, chicken, pork...it’s all delicious, especially when it’s raised right here in Ontario by the VG family and our incredible regenerative farming team. If you’ve shopped at VG Meats, you know that our meat is delicious — but have you ever wondered what sort of nutritional benefits come along with that great taste? Today, we’re offering a brief overview of some of the vitamins and nutrients commonly found in beef, chicken and pork.

Whether you’ve made a New Year’s resolution to eat better or just enjoy a healthy, balanced diet year round, you’re going to love these easy, delicious and nutritious meal ideas. Remember, these are just guidelines to inspire you — you can use whatever protein and vegetables you like, change up the seasoning, swap rice for pasta or whatever else works. Get inspired, get cooking and enjoy!

It’s early winter here in southern Ontario and there’s a lot going on at the VG family farms. Right now, as our retail teams in Simcoe and Stoney Creek are busy preparing for the holiday season, our farmers are hard at work preparing for the cold season. This means moving cattle to new fields and prepping the land for winter, among other things. Today, we’re going to talk about why we move cattle like we do, what we’re doing to preserve the soil on our farms and how you can use this information to improve your own garden at home.

Christmas is only two weeks away, and if you’re the cook in your household, we bet you’re already planning a fantastic meal. Of course, we’re all cooking smaller scale versions of the usual holiday feast this year — but that doesn’t mean it can’t be special. In fact, enjoying a traditional Christmas dinner at the end of a challenging year is something we think will bring a lot of comfort and nostalgia. Here’s to enjoying some delicious turkey, stuffing, mashed potatoes with gravy and all the sides! (Don’t forget the pumpkin pie for dessert!)