VG Blog

The holiday season is upon us and our calendars are filling up with dinner parties, family gatherings, work events, sports banquets and more. On top of that, many of us are balancing a long list of other commitments like parent-teacher interviews, volunteer work, seasonal household tasks or yard work, school concerts and holiday shopping. Simply put, everyone is busy right now—but you still need to eat!

The first snowflakes of the season fell earlier this week, and it’s impossible to deny it any longer: winter is coming, and so are the holidays! That means it’s time to get ready for December—make that mile-long holiday ‘to do’ list, buy those presents, hang the lights and trim the tree, and of course, order your Christmas turkey, prime rib or holiday ham from VG Meats.

We love homestyle cooking with real, local ingredients like our whole chickens—and we’re firm believers that these delicious birds should be used to create more than one meal. After all, there’s so much goodness in every one! The tender meat is only the beginning—here are three delicious meals you can make using a single whole chicken.

We love a good bagged lunch for work or school—a great sandwich, a homemade wrap packed with last night’s chicken, or even a steak salad with ranch dressing on the side. Packing a tasty lunch from home is a great way to save money, reduce waste and make the most of your leftovers.

Earlier this month, VG Meats won a number of awards at the 2022 Ontario’s Finest Meat Competition—a fantastic annual industry event held by Meat and Poultry Ontario. It was the first time this event could be held since 2019, and everyone involved was excited to be back in action. The gala is always a great evening, and it was great to see so many new and familiar faces!

Fall is the perfect time of year for cooking cozy, flavourful comfort meals for your family. It doesn’t matter if you prefer to use the BBQ, stove, oven or slow cooker—when you’ve got great Ontario beef, poultry, lamb and pork products, you can create just about anything.

School’s back and so are school fundraisers! If your kids’ classroom, sports team or extracurricular club is looking for ways to raise money, we’ve got an idea: Meat Fundraisers!

Thanksgiving feels like the perfect time of year to pause and reflect on what matters the most to us, including the many people and things we’re thankful for each day. Gratitude is something we try to incorporate into our daily lives, but this weekend, we’ll be approaching it with even greater mindfulness and intention. 

The holiday weekend is so close, we can almost smell the turkey! It’s going to be a great Thanksgiving—food, family, that gorgeous fall sunshine and with any luck, a little time to relax. If you haven’t ordered your holiday favourites yet, please visit our Thanksgiving website. Or, pop into your local VG Meats store and speak to our team! We’d be glad to see you and offer personalized recommendations for your holiday meal. Speaking of which: here are a few simple tips to make the most of your Thanksgiving weekend.

We love Thanksgiving—the fall colours, enjoying quality time with family and friends, and of course, the amazing food. There’s nothing like sitting around a table with people you love and a delicious roast turkey in the centre of it all. It doesn’t matter if you’re the type of person who prefers to keep it simple, takes a fine dining approach or smothers their plate in gravy—we wish you a holiday filled with love, gratitude and full bellies.

If you’ve been outside this week, you know how beautiful this fallish-but-still-kinda-summer weather has been. The days still feel warm and inviting but the evenings are cooler (perfect for sleeping with the windows open). It’s a great time of year to BBQ with friends and family, take a book out to that hammock in your backyard, or get outside for a hike. 

September is a busy time of the year for many families—something the VG Meats team and Van Groningen family know very well. After all, there are a lot of young kids between the four brothers and their wives!