Oh how I love food shows. Today I attended Grocery Innovations  in search of new product that will be hitting the grocery shelves.  I have to admit..I don’t mind receiving samples either! Can you tell?

This year, I discovered the following new products:

a) Olympic has introduced CHIA Balkan Style Yogurt that is Probiotic with 100% natural ingredients. It’s also Lactose free, Gluten free and Gelatin free. I think..scratch that.…I know that this product is going to be HUGELY successful.

b) Crisco has introduced ONE CUPS STICKS. YAY. For those of you who are occasional bakers – this is BRILLIANT. I swear I have 2 sticks of Crisco in my cupboard that have been there way too long. Now I won’t have that problem anymore.

C) SILK has introduced a Creamy Cashew Milk. Seeing as I’m lactose free – all these varieties appeal to me.

I wondered thru the show for hours (no joke) and will be blogging about other products that intrigued me, so stay tuned.

Happy Grocery Shopping!!

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I’m not quite sure what took me so long to get introduced to Chia Seeds. I mean, it has 14 grams of FIBRE for each 1/4 cup serving. In other words – 56% of your Daily Value. That’s insane!! Chia seeds are also a good source of Omega 3 Poly-Unsaturates and a good source of protein!!

So this is what I’ve been doing (at night) for the last week.

It’s soooo easy – I feel bad to even call this a recipe!!

Here’s what you need:

forgot the vanilla extract!

Here’s the official recipe: (which I learned in a Vegan cooking class from Love Thy Carrot)

• 1/3 cup of Chia seeds. (I purchased mine at Costco)
• 1 1/2 cups Silk Almond Milk (but you could use any type of milk)
• A touch of vanilla extract

*you could also add a touch of sweetener (honey, agave, etc)

1. Add all ingredients into a mason jar.

2. SHAKE. SHAKE. SHAKE.

3. Put it int the fridge. Then about 30 minutes later – SHAKE. SHAKE. SHAKE. Return the jar back to the refrigerator.

Voila – breakfast will look like this in the morning. Alternatively, you can make it during the day and just let it sit in the refrigerator for at least 4 hours.

I’ve been chugging it back – before my work out and even after my workout. Sometimes, I take the whole mason jar with me in the car and sip it in between errands.

But if you want to get fancy – you could actually put it in a bowl and top it with fresh fruit or dried fruit (like the dried mango from Natural Sins)

I really (really) hope you get a chance to check out this superfood!!

P.S. Huge thanks to Voula Halliday who encouraged me to share this recipe! Oh how I love my facebook/twitter friends.

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I really meant to blog about Romeo’s Juice Bar last year when it opened up but sadly did not get around to it. However last week while ordering a juice,  I said to myself  “I really really need to blog about this place”. So here’s the blog post!!

You can find Romeo’s Juice Bar at 285 Augusta Avenue in Kensington Market. It truly has a unique look. Wouldn’t you agree?

 There’s no shortage of juice options but here’s two items that caught my eye.

#healthy

Here’s another popular item that they serve.

Due to the fact that I’ve broken up with carbs since June 2012 (and it’s been a good break up by the way) I decided to order my own special low carb juice.  I requested a juice made from Kale, Avocado, Celery, and Soy Milk (they use Silk 80 calories which is oh-so-ideal). It was perfect. Especially because I didn’t have to clean the blender!! Although I have to admit, I keep thinking about purchasing a Vita Mix more and more these days.

Romeo’s Juice Bar also offers amazing hours on the weekend (see photo below) Plus you can receive $1 off your juice/smoothie, if you like them on Facebook. Guess who has liked them already on facebook? Good guess. LOL

So don’t forget to grab a juice or smoothie the next time you visit Kensington Market. Also, don’t forget about Pedestrian Sundays in the Market which takes place on the last Sunday of the month. (Sunday Aug 25, Sunday Sept 29 and Sunday October 27). Always a great vibe to visit the market on Pedestrian Sundays.

For More Information:

Romeo’s Juice Bar, 285 Augusta Avenue, Toronto (416) 597 2300

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On May 6th I ran the Toronto Half Marathon and then for some unexplained reason I got lazy.  I haven’t run….I haven’t been to a body pump class or even a zumba class. I have done NOTHING . Well not exactly. I have excelled in the sport called “eating”. Infact,  I have morphed into MOMWHOEATS.  That’s right….I have been eating and eating and eating and there seems to be more calories going in than going out.

BYE BYE BUTTER TARTS (sniff)

I was looking in the mirror and noticing that I was getting puffier by the nano second. Finally I said “ENOUGH” !! Time to do something about it. However I love food so much that I knew if I went the “low intake” approach…it wouldn’t work for me. So I decided to try something that worked for me eight years ago. I broke up with carbs.

This means:

-no more bread (ouch)

-no more pasta (double ouch)

-no more cereal

-no more bananas, apples, and oranges

-no more poutine (don’t get me started)

-no more chickpeas, kidney beans, legumes

However I have been enjoying:

-kale smoothies

a kale smoothie a day keeps the pounds away!!

-plenty of great salads with cheese and nuts

-blueberries/strawberries with whipped cream (its allowed)

-low carb beer.  A huge thank you to Molson for creating Molson Canadian 67 Sublime. It’s not perfect but it will do the trick. (67 calories, 1 carb)

-plenty of egg whites with sauteed mushrooms

-tuna burgers, salmon, sole. I even bought sardines but havent brought myself to open the tin yet

–Silk True Almond, unsweetened, vanilla. (30 calories with 0 % carb per cup). Totally impressed with this product.

– tofu shirataki noodles!! I can “pretend” Im eating pasta. Emphasis on the word “pretend”.

buying a few packs a week.

It’s now been almost two weeks since I broke up with carbs. It hasn’t been a picnic to give up sandwiches, cereals and all the other carbs I use to enjoy on a regular basis. However I can tell you this – I FEEL SO MUCH BETTER.

Curious to find out if you have ever tried this “lifestyle” before? or how many of you are trying not to eat wheat, sugar, etc?

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