Natural Organic Skin Care and Makeup

While there are organic focused stores around Markham, it seems to be higher to find truly natural skin care products. Which is annoying, especially in this climate…

But luckily there is this great thing called “internet”, which means that there is always room for research and comparison shopping. You can even find freebee samples, if you look hard enough…

For example, if you are interested in pure and natural organic makeup solutions, check out this list of high quality organic makeup brands. There is also a growing resource on natural organic skin care products.

But don’t get boggled down if you can’t find brands. Sometimes best solutions for your skin can be made from seasonal organic groceries. Great seasonal bargains such as parsley or cucumber can serve as excellent bases for face masks. While oatmeal is the greatest natural exfoliator and it is the gentlest to your skin.

The reason I am stressing organic skin care, and have shifted everyone around over to it, is that when you actually read the ingredients on the modern beauty products you realize that they are loaded with carcinogens, parabens, synthetics, colors, fragrances… None of this stuff should be going into your system. So putting it all over your skin (and mouth!) and then waiting for anti-aging effects seems insane to me.

In Markham we don’t quite have the same amount of organic stores as in Central Toronto. (But if you are ever around the “Greek Town” area, you must check out “Big Carrot”. There is not a brand of high quality organic skin care and natural makeup that you won’t find! They even have Tautropfen – an extremely elusive high class German brand of organic cosmetics.) Which is a pity. But hopefully as the “green awareness” is increasing, so will our city. After all, we are the first in GTA to officially ban pesticides on loans. And that is to be applauded. Even if my backyard does resemble a conservation area for unique weed species.

And last word of caution: natural skin care is one of the most difficult things to identify because the word “natural” has no clear legal meaning, and companies stick it left and right, hoping to sway consumers to their side. Even if the so called “natural” product are about as natural as a plastic coating for your face. Read about organic skin care myths so you can familiarize yourself with common misconceptions. And do your best to avoid them!

Cheers, and pretty faces :)

Organic Food Delivery to Markham

I found a couple of organic food delivering sites that are willing to deliver all the way to Markham. (I wish I knew about them in winter!)

Green Earth Organics
www.greenearthorganics.com

and

Clean Food Connection
www.cleanfoodconnection.com

I haven’t ordered from them yet, so I do not know how reliable they are. But the selection on the sites looks good.

Ambrosia Natural Foods

Ambrosia Natural Foods is a real find. It is located just north of Steeles. (Drive north on Young till Doncaster Ave, then turn east).

This is by far my favorite store in York Region. They have great organic produce all year round, plus dairy, bulk foods, snacks, toiletries, etc. They have a good selection of frozen organic meats. (Which is my only issue with them – I wish they had fresh too).

Ambrosia has the best assortment of organic hummus and snack bars. Even if they are out of your way, give them a try some time, and you’ll get addicted :)

They are usually very busy in the afternoon, so the parking lot gets very cramped. I’d recommend going in the morning, or just before closing time. (But not Monday morning – the few Mondays I’ve tried, they were still setting up the produce section… So don’t go Monday morning if you want a wide produce section.)

Ambrosia also has great selection of various allergy sensitive foods. And they have the best bakery section, with breads of all variety: whole grain, yeast free, flat, wraps, pitas, etc…

Their exact address is:

Ambrosia Natural Foods
55 Doncaster Ave, Thornhill (which is technically Markham :) )
(905) 881-7811

You can also visit their website at www.ambrosianaturalfoods.com

Organic Choices in Markham's Supermarkets

Supermarkets have come a long way in terms of organic supply. You can now find plenty of natural products there, and they are frequently quite reasonably priced, especially when in season.

The following is my take on organic products in Markham’s supermarkets:

Garden Basket (At 16th Avenue and Markham Rd (Hwy 48) )
Despite it’s “garden” image, I found the organic vegetable/fruit section pretty small. Though the staples are usually there: potatoes, apples, carrots, lettuce, etc… They also have a lot of locally grown produce, which may not be certified, but tends to be more clean than many foreign imports.
Garden Basket also started carrying some organic meats and poultry, fresh and not frozen. They also have organic eggs, butter and milk.

Longos
From all the supermarkets Longos has by far best selection of organic produce. Huge varieties of vegetables and fruits. Best choice for those items. No fresh meats though. And not very good choice of other staples. But the veggie-fruit section is definitely worth a trip.
In Markham we have Longos at 3085 Highway #7 (near Woodbine intersection). There is also a new one being built right off 9th line, south of 407.

Sobeys
Sobeys are my favorite choice because of their hours (24 hrs open) and the new sections they’ve added throughout the store, called “Natural Choice”. It is very easy now to find organic staples, and even snacks. They even carry LaraBars (my favorite snack) which is usually the domain of health-stores. The store also has a very clear labeling policy. Many house products display a prominent grin “organic” logo. I’ve been able to find an organic version of almost everything I like to shop for.
The produce section is a bit lacking though. It’s variety is not quite as ample as Longos’, so that’s an area they are hopefully going to improve :)
Markham Sobeys is located at 9580 McCowan Rd North (which is between 16th line and Major MacKenzie).

Loblaws
Loblaws has being doing the whole organic thing probably longer than others, so they have more experience. There is a good section in produce, as well as many house-branded products. I used to frequent them for the organic baby cereal.
Markham Loblaws is located at 200 Bullock drive. That is Bullock/McCowan intersection, north of Hwy 7.

Organic Farm in Markham

Today we have found a wonderful certified organic farm right in Markham. Called “Organics” it is a family owned farm located at the corner of 19th Avenue and 10th Line ( also called Reesor Rd).

Right now they have “pick your own” strawberries of two absolutely delicious varieties. Great place to take kids! Delicious, nutritious, fresh… And they were very friendly to the fact that my kids couldn’t contain themselves and ate (quite a bit) of strawberry while picking. So we are definetly going back next week.

Next crop is going to be raspberries, and then later on tomatoes, peppers and some other veggies.

Presently, this is the only organic farm in York Region. So go and show them some support :)

For information you can call (905) 640-5206, or visit the website at http://www.organicsfarm.ca/ This is avery comprehensive website, with timely updates on upcoming crops. (If you call the phone number, it also has a recorded message of what products are currently available).

The farm address is: 7550 19th Avenue, Markham

Organic Markham

I am starting this blog in an effort to pull together organic resources for my local Markham (Ontario) community. As my family has recently started significant changes in our food and general lifestyle towards the more organic and natural choices, I’ve been searching all over for best places to get them.

At the moment, I can’t find a comprehensive resource online.

So I’m going to collect my own information and post it here.

If you know stores/farms/markets or any other ways around Markham to find organic and natural products, please give me a shout.

Cheers!