Dear Dannon and Yoplait.

My family loves yogurt. Its great to put in the kids lunches and its a quick and easy dessert at dinner with fresh fruit.

But it seems that we aren’t getting the same flavors as our friends south of the border!! Evertime we travel to the States we go “nuts” (well not really, but you know what I mean) when we see the HUGE variety of flavors that we can’t get in Toronto.

For example:

Danone: we love the strawberrry cheese cake and the banana cream pie!!

Yoplait: Triple Berry Torte, Black Forest Cake and Red Velvet Cake!! Isnt’ that just awesome?

Last week while shopping in Buffalo, I picked up a dozen assorted yogurts. Naturally they are gone now. What was I thinking? Why didnt I pick up two dozen?

Hopefully one day we will see these varieties in Canada. If Target is coming…then maybe I can get a red velvet cake yogurt at my local grocery store one day soon. Crossing my fingers.

I grew up in the east end of Ottawa and have many childhood memories of walking to Westgate Mall to get candy.

I remember pixie stixs, sponge toffee, black balls and more.

Naturally a store like Sugar Mountain is right up my alley. It’s so much fun to take the kids and show them what “mommy use to eat”.

Here’s a few photos of candy that I remember eating when I was a kid.

But the best part of my last trip to Sugar Mountain was to discover that COCONUT M&M’s are in Toronto. I no longer have to find them in the States. HOORAY.

I tweeted this picture immediately(cause I was so happy) and there was a flood of replies from other coconut m&m fans.

So tell me…whats your favorite candy from your childhood? was it a chocolate bar? or was it candy?

This is a story about GREAT CUSTOMER SERVICE.

I went to Buffalo for Family Day and had made reservations to stay at the Hampton Inn (Galleria). When we arrived, we checked in and then proceeded to the elevators. But BOTH elevators were not in service. So we dragged our bags up 4 flights of stairs – not a huge deal – but inconvenient.  In the morning, we noticed BOTH elevators were still not working.

When we checked out, I kindly said “by the way – having both elevators not in service was not so acceptable for a hotel”. He quickly said “I know. We are sorry for the inconvenience”. Twenty seconds later, he hands me a statement and says “Could you please sign here. We have waived the fees”.

I said ” Excuse me..did I hear right? you waived the $149 hotel fee?  JUST LIKE THAT?.

The clerk replies: “Yes. If you are not 100 % then you don’t pay!!”.

I was in shock. This type of service has never happend to me before. However I can assure you – that I will return to the Hampton Inn Galleria in a nano-second.

P.S. the shopping was amazing. As always.

I live close to a Real Canadian Superstore and I am ever so grateful. I love being able to buy Joe Fresh, PC products for my house, and buy groceries ALL at the same time. (probably in that order too). Infact, I always seem to enter the store on the RIGHT so I can make the important purchases first.

Infact, they  recently renovated the Superstore at Dufferin/Steeles and I think the new layout, lighting, shelving units etc. makes a huge difference.

While strolling thru the aisles last week, I noticed an (electronic) ORANGE JUICE MACHINE for $7.99.  I figured that at that price, why shouldn’t I own one?

Then I went to the produce department to get oranges. I noticed they had a bag of oranges that would be suitable for orange juice AND

there was a bag next to them called PINK NAVEL ORANGES. . So I scooped up TWO big bags of oranges.

When I got home, I took out my lovely new juice maker and bingo – in no time at all, there was a cup of orange juice. It cleaned easily and

I couldnt stop thinking “why have I not ever owned this machine before?”. Silly Me.

I also sliced up a pink navel orange. WOW…the color was gorgeous (pink with orange undertones) and it certainly had a distinct sweet flavor to them.

You would notice the difference between the two oranges instantly.

Lesson Learned: a) invest in an orange juice maker. It’s worth it. b) try the pink navel oranges. You will love them.

Happy Grocery Shopping!!

The other day I  received an invitation to go to the opening of Briscola Trattoria and I was delighted to accept. I  knew that Charles Khabouth, who is the founder and CEO of  the hospitality empire INK and  and Toufik Sarwa, the owner of Amber in Yorkville, would collaborate and develop, yet another successful venture.

I was not disappointed. The space is cozy and very inviting. I liked the whole layout….the intimate booths, the communal wood tables, and the interesting light fixtures too. (I noticed..LOL).

As for the food: I’m in love with the deep fried olives.

Not only did I enjoy all the appetizers, I enjoyed a few glasses of wine..(which means that I maxed out at two) and chatted with the lovely @geekigirl @christinallison @racboutique and @theFlist.

Always fun to meet new and old twitter friends at events. Plus it’s great to be able to support new restaurants too.

I really hope you get a chance to visit Briscola Trattoria soon.  They are located at 501 College Street and open 6 days a week. For further info please click here: Briscola

I had been running without a watch for 5 years. All that changed last summer, when I found out that the Garmin Forerunner 405 was at Costco.

So I bought it. I though it was about time (no pun intended) that I owned a watch.

I was SO excited!! Finally I could track my distance on my rides AND on my runs, my heart rate and all sorts of fun data.

WRONG.

I could not figure out how to use it. Period. I sat with the manual..with the watch…with YouTube videos and had NO LUCK.

My ironman buddy tried to teach me. NOPE…could not get the hang out of it. I was kinda of pissed, as this watch was not cheap.

Finally last week, while attending a social media party called #whatthehashtag, I met @RobTyrie and I noticed he was wearing the

watch that I had not been able to use since JULY 2010. I told him about my fustration. Rob mentioned that it took him HOURS to figure out the manual.

(I believe him. I really do.) Standing beside Rob was was @aprildunford

who said that it was THE WORST MANUAL EVER and they fired the whole time who wrote the manual.. I asked Rob if he could teach both of us how to use it. He gladly accepted the challenge.

We met on Sunday at The Mad Bean for a coffee and I showed up with the manuals and the watch. Sadly April couldnt join us. He patiently taught me how to use it and it took hours!! (I’m not joking).

I wrote notes…the whole nine yards.

Has anyone else had this type of experience with a product? Does anyone else own a Garmin?

Do rant. I just did and it feels great. LOL

I was so in love with my Pomegranate Tool that I decided to pick up the phone one day to call the owner of Shoham in Israel. FYI – Shoham is the brains behind this clever device.

We immediately hit it off. We talked about Loblaws, Costco, Mangoes, Pomegranates, his travels to Toronto, my last trip to Israel etc.

He knew that I had blogged about the Pomegranate Tool and offered to send me TEN more. I knew immediately that I would be using them for a contest.

The box arrived this week and I was thrilled. (little things make me happy, did you know that?).

I wanted to celebrate with a contest when  MOMWHORUNS turns 6 months old…but I simply can’t wait.

Here’s the contest rules:

-the contest will run from Sunday Feb 13th  and will close on Sunday Feb 27th at 5 p.m. At that time I will use random.org to help me select TWO lucky winners.

If you win, I will contact you via email and you will have 7 days to reply. If I don’t hear from you another winner will be selected. Fair?

-only residents of Ontario can participate in this contest. (sorry).

-how do you win?  leave a comment by answering the following question: do you ever make anything with a pomegranate or do you just eat the seeds?

How simple is that? It would be nice if you would subscribe to momwhoruns but I won’t make it mandatory. But it would be really really nice to have a few more subscribers. (hint hint).

Wishing everyone the best of luck.

p.s I will be giving out the remainding pomegranate tools at future events!!

Recently I noticed that my running shoes were looking a little worn. OK…a lot worn.

So I went to the Running Room to get a new pair. Naturally I missed out on the Groupon for the Running Room, but that’s another blog post.

Every time I buy running shoes, I tell the clerk to “please bring me three pairs of size 8 running shoe to try on. I don’t need to know the brand or the price. I really just want to find  a good FIT“.

So she brought me out three pairs. Here’s what I thought of each running shoe.

Pair number 1: firm all around the foot, lots of padding, and a good fit

Pair number 2: very wide, nice padding and a good fit

Pair number 3: totally weird feeling. It felt  like my foot was on an incline.

I walked around a bit and then took out my (beloved) visa to buy the winning pair.

What did I buy? The Saucony 8. My old pair were the Saucony 5.

What on earth took me THREE YEARS to buy a pair of running shoes when Im at the gym USING them 5 times a week.?

Can’t wait to use them. Do you think I will run faster? HA. Time will tell.

I grew up in a family that loved apples. I grew up eating McIntosh, Granny Smith, Empire, Cortland and even Russet apples.

My love for apples continues…it’s a quick healthy snack and apples can be turned into healthy desserts too. (keep reading)

Recently I became aware that the McIntosh Apple is celebrating it’s 200th anniversary in style!!

The Ontario Apple Growers will be hosting the  Winter Apple Ball! This event  is going to take place on Monday Feb 21 from 11 – 2 at the Westin Harbour Castle in the Metropolitan Ballroom.

For further info click on the link. All the info about this fabulous event will be there.

In honour of the McIntosh Apples’ birthday, I decided to make baked apples for dessert tonite.

I think my family is kinda tired of yoghurt and blueberies with sprinkled granola.

Here’s how simple the recipe is:

INGREDIENTS:

Apples (I used McIntosh but I’m sure this would work with other varieties. Infact other varieties might work better)

butter or margarine (a few tablespoons)

cup brown sugar (a few tablespoons)

cinnamon

pecans and walnuts (optional)

(sorry I didn’t measure…I grew up in a kitchen that didn’t measure anything. My mom is awesome though).

RECIPE:

1. Core apples (simple..well kinda. LOL) I have a apple corer to assist with this step.

2. Mix the butter, brown sugar and cinnamon (nuts are optional)

3. Stuff the apples with the mixture.

4. Bake in a preheated 350 degree oven for 40 minutes

VOILA…a dessert that barely took 5 minutes of preparation, required barely any ingredients and is YUMMY.

If you notice in the photos, there’s little bits of orange sticking out. A few years ago, I brought back from Israel, dried orange peel from an incredible store called Eden Teva. I’ve been storing it in my freezer and every once in a while I add it to a few dishes that I make for color and flavor.

Happy 200th Anniversary to the McIntosh Apple!!

I met some cousins at  Starbucks in the summer  and as she paid for the coffee, I noticed she had a STARBUCKS GOLD CARD. I immediately asked  “whats that?” She replied “I received it last year in the mail”. Then I fired away some questions: what does she receive for owning a gold card?  how was she selected? can I take a photo of her with her card? etc etc.

She answered that she has been buying Starbucks cards for along time and that “someone” must be tracking her loyalty and how much money she is spending.

I really thought the GOLD CARD was cool. I mean, seriously…. how many people have you met with a Starbucks Gold Card.

I should mention, that my dear cousin lives part time in Florida and that this program does not exist in Canada yet. Last time I spoke to the publicists for Starbucks in Canada they told me that there was  a small pilot-test being held out West.

Let’s cross our fingers that GOLD CARDS will make their way to major cities throughout Canada.

Me-likey-gold-cards.

The last time I had a GOLD CARD was in 1980 for  a club called Tobascos in Hull. For those who are reading this in Ottawa, I am POSITIVE that this is bringing back memories!!