We all know how much I love buying local products, especially in season produce and meats. Something I don’t talk about though, is how often I head out to the farm stands (every other day, if not every day) to ensure everything I buy gets used and not wasted. I try to only buy what we could use in a week or less so that nothing ever goes bad. Inevitably though, I buy something too big, something unfamiliar (I like to challenge myself) or something close to it’s end and it goes bad. Then, I cry.

Happily, the people behind FoodSaver brand vacuum sealers asked me if I wanted to review their brand new FoodSaver 2-in-1 System (available at Costco and foodsaver.com) this fall/winter and I dove at the chance. I have a vacuum sealer but it is not so beautiful as this sleek countertop beauty and let’s just say I’ve not been that happy with it’s use.

With the FoodSaver system (MSRP: $169.99 – $199.99), though, I have everything I need at my fingertips to make everything in my fridge last much longer than normal. The system comes with a handy little handheld attachment  that seals zipper bags, containers, cans, canisters and also marinates food! The first thing I wanted to try were the resealable zipper bags. These conveniently reusable bags are great for lunch meats, bacon, cut fruits and veg and any other items in your fridge that may need to be resealed a few times before they are used up. You simply transfer your item to the zipper bag, attach the handheld sealer, press the button and voila! I also tried it out on a jar of dehydrated pineapple I made last night. You just attach the disassembled handheld sealer to the jar attachment, stick it on the jar and press the button. Done!

Here are some finer details from FoodSaver:

The FoodSaver® V4865 Vacuum Sealing System keeps food fresh up to 5x longer and saves up to $2700 per year based on buying in bulk, on sale and preventing waste. Fully automatic operation uses exclusive technology to automatically sense the bag and food type to create a perfect, air-tight seal. The innovative 4800 Series 2-in-1 Vacuum Sealing System combines both heat-seal and handheld vacuuming capabilities in one unit – giving you “More Ways to Seal and More Ways to Save”™.

Oh yeah, I bought a used dehydrator a couple of weeks ago too. I pretty much have it going everyday…usually with pineapple in it. But I just discovered how good pear is dehydrated too. Got dehydrator ideas? Send them my way! I love discovering new foods I can suck all the moisture out of. LOL.

FoodSaver tasked me with discussing the finer points of why buying local is the very best thing you can do for yourself and your community. So I am going to refine it down to a top 5 list, because lists are my favourite lately.

The Benefits of Buying Local

5. Buying local helps small businesses. Farmers, often overlooked and under appreciated are a valuable resource in any community. Not only are they spending their days, nights, weekends, holidays and pretty much most of their spare time growing food for us, they are bringing commerce to our community. You spend money at your local farm stand, cutting out any middlemen (grocery stores), and your local farmer has more money to put into their farm, their animals, etc. Each time you buy from a local farmer, you are helping small businesses in your community grow and flourish. Good for everybody!

4. Local produce is better for you. Fruits and vegetables grown locally have only traveled within the community. This means they spent less time in transit, in shipping containers, on boats, airplanes and trains. They have been exposed to less time away from their original mother plant and therefore contain more nutrients. They are usually fresher, in better condition and most likely were not exposed to any kind of preservatives or waxes to keep them fresh.

3. Locally grown produce is almost guaranteed to be GMO-free. Most manufacturers of GMO seeds sell only to large, industrial farms. Buying from small, local farms ensures you are getting seeds bought locally, saved from earlier harvests or bought with forethought, care and knowledge of local conditions.

2. Wide open spaces for the rest of us. Buying locally produced food ensures farm land is being used for food and not for condos.

1. In season tastes better. Buying local ensures you are buying only what is in season for your area. You’ll always have something different to choose from, something you may not have used. Helpful growers will often have tips or recipes for unfamiliar vegetables.

I decided to seal up some locally grown pie pumpkins that I steamed and pureed in jars for the second part of this post, to be released in November. I have enough pumpkin to make two recipes. What pumpkin recipe would you like to see? Let me know your favourite pumpkin choices and I’ll try my hardest to make paleo versions for the November post. 

This post is brought to you by the friendly and helpful people behind FoodSaver brand products, they were so kind as to send me a FoodSaver 2-in-1 System vacuum sealer to play with. As always, all thoughts and opinions are my own. I was compensated for this post.