Everything Grows

Dietitian and Home Economist Shannon Crocker’s Canadian Food Story

shannon-crocker-food-storyShannon Crocker is a Canadian-food-loving registered dietitian and professional home economist that promotes simple food for vibrant living. An avid cook and foodie, you can often find her playing in the kitchen developing nutritious and delicious recipes.

 

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“Well hello there! I’m so happy to be here to share my food stories with you. My food and nutrition story starts WAY back to before I became a dietitian. I didn’t know it at the time, but I was a locavore well before it became cool to eat local. When I was a kid, we had an ENORMOUS vegetable garden. (My dad grew up on a farm and he still identifies as a farmer.) To my 10-year-old self, it seemed like the garden was as big as a football field. We grew our own vegetables, fruit trees, and raspberry bushes. I can’t tell you how many hours I spent each summer shucking peas with my mom. We stewed tomatoes. We pickled beets. We made raspberry jam. I learned to cook and eat basic, whole foods that we produced. Confession time: I didn’t love it. I was envious of my best friend’s Wagon Wheels and squeeze cheese. Cheese you would squeeze out of a tube and it came out in a squiggly star. WHAT?! We went to the farmers market to buy our cheese. Sigh. While I was (at best) indifferent as a kid, it set the foundation for my tastes for the rest of my life. And it lit my passion for nourishing foods. I still love to garden, but mostly I just raid my dad’s. His garden? Yes, it’s still the size of a football field.”⁣ 📷: #CdnFoodFocus contributor @shancrockerrd Follow her profile for more #cdnfoodstories 🌱🌱🌱⁣ ⁣ #EverythingGrows #CdnFoodFocus #CdnFarmStory #CdnFoodStory

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“As a kid, I loved to cook. When I was about 12, I went to 4-H. I remember learning how to make cocktail wieners in grape jelly and thinking, “Seriously, there must be better food than this!” LOL!Fast forward to the University of Guelph, where I was introduced to the nutritional science and health promoting aspects of food. I completed my Masters of Science in Applied Human Nutrition and launched my nutrition communications career. Today, a big part of my day is spent writing – creating client blogs, developing resources, and crafting web articles – and talking about food and nutrition. Some of that talking is done on TV. It’s a fun part of my job, but it’s also an effective way to teach about nutritious food. I can share the goodness of our Canadian foods with thousands of people in just four minutes! Yes, I still love to cook. The days when I move my office to the kitchen, to create nourishing recipes is definitely one of my favourite days of the week! No, cocktail wieners in grape jelly are not on my menu.”⁣ 📷: #CdnFoodFocus contributor @shancrockerrd Follow her profile for more #cdnfoodstories 🌱🌱🌱⁣ ⁣ #EverythingGrows #CdnFoodFocus #CdnFarmStory #CdnFoodStory

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“As a registered dietitian and professional home economist in nutrition communications, I work with commodities and industry – almost all Canadian – to promote whole, nutrient-rich foods. It’s my JOB to share the nutritional benefits of basic, nutritious foods and help Canadians to eat more healthily. But it’s my PASSION to promote the incredible foods that we have here in Canada. I feel so fortunate and proud to live in Canada, where we have a thriving agri-food industry across the country with farmers who work so hard to produce an abundance of safe and nutritious foods for us and for the world. There are so many reasons why we should support local food in Canada – whether it’s the vegetables from your local farmers market, turkey from a farmer in your province or milk from Canada. You probably have your own reasons. I’d love to hear your story about why you choose to eat Canadian! Connect with me here and over at @shancrockerrd” 📷: #CdnFoodFocus contributor @shancrockerrd Follow her profile for more #cdnfoodstories 🌱🌱🌱 #EverythingGrows #CdnFoodFocus #CdnFarmStory #CdnFoodStory

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“I have been fortunate to travel to many farms across Canada – from dairy, to beef, to bison, to grain, to potato, to soybean, to vegetables, to canola, to bees. There is one thing that I know for sure – farmers work hard! And there is one thing that I always see: Farmers love the land. They love the animals. They use science and technology to grow our food better. (And that’s a good thing!) They live on the land they farm. They feed their family the food they grow for the rest of us. They take pride in nourishing others. Eating local food that we produce here in Canada when it’s available and accessible, supports our farm families and our communities. Promoting those foods and sharing the goodness that Canadian farmers create, to me, that just feels good.”⁣ 📷: #CdnFoodFocus contributor @shancrockerrd Follow her profile for more #cdnfoodstories 🌱🌱🌱⁣ ⁣ #EverythingGrows #CdnFoodFocus #CdnFarmStory #CdnFoodStory

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More posts by Shannon:

7 Foods That Will Help You Eat Well and Save Money 

3 Reasons to Put Protein on Your Plate

Breakfast is a Prime Time to Pump up the Protein on your Plate

 

Shannon Crocker

Shannon Crocker is a Canadian-food-loving registered dietitian and professional home economist that promotes simple food for vibrant living. An avid cook and foodie, you can often find her playing in the kitchen developing nutritious and delicious recipes.

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