Who is MomWhoRuns and What Does She Do? T’is the big question. So here is the answer.

Who Is MomWhoRuns?

I seriously should have called myself “MomWhoEats” but years ago when I first started blogging with Urbanmoms, I was a mommy blogger. I then noticed how much I loved sharing recipes, reviewing restaurants and have slowly morphed into a food blogger.  I still write about other topics…as long as I think it’s of interest to my dear readers (yes..thats you)

I have truly embraced the journey of blogging. Soon it will be 4 years since I first started blogging and I’m seriously hoping to launch a new “look”. Stay tuned. It’s about time!

What Do I Do? 

For many years I was a food sales rep. Then I saw a niche market to tweet for restaurants that didn’t have time to tweet nor did they have the skills. It was a tough sell many years ago, but these days everyone knows that they need to be using Social Media.   My services have expanded to Facebook, Pinterest, Instagram as well as blogger outreach. I even have two clients in Ottawa. (which I think is pretty cool). I call myself a Social Media Consultant (not an expert).

Oh yeah – I’ve also given dozens of twitter lessons over the years for those who want to handle their own accounts. It’s all good. I can’t complain.

One day there will be a formal website called Hire Me To Tweet!! One day….

One can often find me, tweeting from a coffee shop. If you see me and my MacBook…please say hi.

Hope this blog post gives you a better idea of who I am and what I do.

Cheers,

ps Many thanks to @ledolci who inspired me to write this blog post after a quick chat we had this week.
 

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I think I found out about Aborigens by googling these three key words “food tour Barcelona” and then of course I connected with them via twitter and email. I’ve now completed several food tours (two in New York), one in Israel and one in Barcelona. Each one offered me a unique experience.

Aborigens is run by three partners and one of those partners was the tour for the evening. We met at 545 pm and I swear the tour ended at 11: 45 pm even though it was suppose to be a FOUR hour tour. Our group was so dynamic and friendly that we kept shmoozing and eating and shmoozing and drinking. The fact that Alex didn’t mind, said volumes about their service.

Here’s a photo of our lovely group: there was a mother/son visiting from NY, a couple from South Africa, a mother/daughter from outside Philadelphia, a young women from Australia and moi.

Our evening included SIX restaurants and at each restaurant we ate and DRANK. There was no shortage of food or booze. I can assure you that NO one left hungry. In fact I didn’t eat anything the next day till 330 pm.  (not even a coffee).

I took lots of photos and arranged them into a few collages to make it easier to show you exactly how much we ate and drank!! This is just a SAMPLE of what we ate. There was more but as always …I don’t want to bore you.

 And then we visited another restaurant and ate some more…..

 Plus we walked to another restaurant (that we would have never discovered on our own)

We are now getting full. ..but we manage!

What made this food tour so memorable?

-the group itself was super fun.

-our tour guide Alex was accommodating, friendly and knowledgeable. He let the group have fun and we did!!

-the restaurants that were selected were NOT touristy at ALL. Very local. Very Authentic.

-I could have never done this by myself. Its a great way to try a lot of restaurants in a short period of time.

For more information:

Aborigens Food Tours  – please check out their website for further information about their tours and other services they offer to chefs or visiting food industry professionals.

Twitter: @aborigensBCN

Facebook: https://www.facebook.com/aborigensBCN

The list of restaurants we visited included: Moritz, Koska Taverna, Els Sortidors Del Parlament, Gran Bodega Elkano, Amigo Cascaries, Rosal 34. However please note that the restaurant and what was served might change from tour to tour.

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Back for a second year, the TO Food Fest brings together top foodie-reviewed restaurants and local hidden gems into one exciting event. I thought I was going to have to miss it but MY FLIGHT GOT DELAYED which meant that I was able to go!! WOOT

Why do I like this event so much?

a) It’s a small event

b) It’s both indoors AND outdoors

c) There is NO entrance free

d) It’s a local community event. Specifically, it takes place at the Chinese Cultural Centre of Greater Toronto

e) There’s plenty of volunteers

f) The food vendors are a nice combo of established and aspiring chefs

g) The committee does an amazing job at reaching out to food bloggers that they discover on Yelp, Urbanspoon, Twitter etc.

Met @abeworno last year at this event and we bumped into each other again! (wearing the same colors)

Now let’s talk about what I ate, shall we?

I swear three bloggers and three forks enjoyed the FRIED CREPE from nom nom crepes.

There was no shortage of food to enjoy: Moussaka Sliders from Kafologas, Volcanic Ice Cream, and yummy street food from Babiandco!

I personally loved this one dish from Capcapkecapi and will be looking for them at the CNE. Sorry there’s no photo but I did take a picture of the sign!! I DEVOURED item #1.

Congratulations to everyone who worked on this event. Looking forward to your event in 2014 already!

For updates throughout the year, please follow them on Twitter (@TOFoodFest) or Facebook.

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When I saw a tweet that the Loose Moose had the largest draught beer selection in Downtown Toronto – then I knew I had to go! I’m not sure I had ever been to the Loose Moose before, but having a large beer selection was a sure way to get me to visit. (#lovebeer)

My friend and I sat at the bar so we could watch a hockey game  (ok two hockey games). The Loose Moose is certainly a great place to go to watch a sports event!

Our friendly bartender was the type of bartender that every bar should have: friendly, professional and helpful. He guided us thru both the beer and food menu so we could make the right choice. Please say hi to @_ScottWilson.

Based on his recommendation, we each ordered the Woody which is described as a hamburger with American cheese, really special sauce, caramelized onion, and bacon,on foccacia. I had mine with a really tasty Caesar salad and was a happy camper. Due to the fact that I’m on a no-carb diet, I took off the bun. (sad but true)

My Caesar Salad was equally as good. It was so delicious that I wasn’t even thinking about french fries!

I paired my burger with a handful of 2 oz samples. (sadly I don’t have any photos but trust me – I had a few beers!!)

The Loose Moose has it all: the friendliest professional bartenders, great food, lots of TV’s and a well designed space…not to mention the largest draught beer selection in downtown Toronto.

For more information:

The Loose Moose  146 Front St. W. Toronto (416) 977-8840

Disclosure: I was given a $50 gift card to compensate for my meal, however all opinions are my own.

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I was on twitter last week having a ho hum type of day and then my day changed after reading this tweet!

	Shaan Sunder (@s_cubed)
2013-04-11 11:22 PM @momwhoruns @SevenLivesTO Carne Asada Fries, Gobernador and the octopus pumpkin seed Tacos are amazing. I ordered pretty much everything

I then “favourited” the tweet  so my little brain could remember what to order. Soon after, I picked up the phone to invite two friends to join me so we could check out this new restaurant that opened up in Kensington Market. The more the merrier right?

We couldn’t find the restaurant initially as they had moved from a smaller location to a new stand alone restaurant. (it is NOT located at 214 Augusta which is where google sent me). But once we found it, we quickly examined the menu and ordered. At $5 a taco – this is certainly going to make my list of “Cheap and Cheerful Restaurants for 2013”. I’m sure CheapDude will LOVE this place as well as many of my other foodie friends!!

 Of course, I ordered the Pulpo En Mole Verde (octopus with pumpkin seed mole). Definitely not something I’ve had before so it totally appealed to me.

Friend A ordered the Gobernator (smoked marlin, shrimp and cheese)

Friend B ordered the Carnitas (slow pulled pork).

We were all happy happy campers. The shell was the real deal and there was enough filling in it to make this taco, a small but satisfying meal.

Sadly I wasn’t able to get a good shot of what the restaurant looked like but it was hip and cool and very appropriate for Kensington Market.

Please look out for this restaurant next time you are in Kensington Market and are craving a taco. You won’t be disappointed.

For Further Info:

Twitter: @sevenlivesTO

Facebook: https://www.facebook.com/SevenLivesTacosYMariscos

69 Kensington Ave, Toronto (416) 803 1086

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On Monday March 18th, I reached 5,000 followers on Twitter. This is a big deal for me. Really. Therefore, I want to say THANK YOU to everyone who reads my blog via facebook or twitter or email. I started my blog in October 2010 and it’s been an incredible journey. In fact Samsung saw my passion for blogging  (and my zest for life ) and selected me and a handful of others to attend an event last year that was truly inspirational.

I was sincerely touched that Samsung had reached out to me. They even offered me a Samsung Notebook Series 9  to give away to one of my readers!! Guess what? The time has come to say thank you and run this “thank you contest”.

Contest Rules

The contest will be open to anyone in Canada and will run from March 19 and will end at noon on April 2nd.  (which is a great way to celebrate my birthday – with gratitude). The winner will have another 7 days to contact me via email, otherwise I will select another winner. I will use www.random.org to select the winner.

All you have to do is answer the following question:  How many computers are in your household? Just leave a comment on my blog!!

Wishing everyone the best of luck and once again….THANK YOU for supporting @momwhoruns

For More Information:

Twitter: @SamsungCanada

Facebook: www.facebook.com/SamsungCanada

Website: Samsung.com/ca

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Lately I’ve been in the mood to share more personal information about myself, and not just recipes or new food products that I love!!

Here’s another true story:

I’m a 47 year old woman who has been to three (that’s right : t-h-r-e-e-) concerts in her life.

1. I went to see the Bay City Rollers with my parents and my sister, in the late 1970’s.

2. I went to see Dire Straits in Israel in mid 1980’s with my good friend, Suzi.

3.  I went to see Rod Stewart with my mom in the late 1980’s

That’s it. Oh I saw Sonny and Cher  as well,  but that wasn’t really a concert and I was probably 8 yrs old so Im not including it.

Going to see a concert was on my bucket list in 2012 and was one of two items that I did not cross off my list.  Till now that is. ! Finally on Feb 16th, 2013, I went to see a concert. Are you doing a happy dance for me? I hope so!! I can now proudly say I’ve been to FOUR concerts in my life!!

I went to see the spectacular Bon Jovi at the ACC – thanks to a tweet from @meredithheron.   She had two extra tickets that I was all too happy to buy (in a nano second).

My friend and I loved the concert. Indeed he’s an amazing performer and a talented singer too. (ok he’s a qt as well – I’ll just throw that in).

I hope it’s not another two decades before I see another concert!!

PS what  concert do you think I should go see next?

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I haven’t made an interesting salad in a while and was in the mood for something refreshing. Not to mention, mint was on sale at No Frills for 99 cents and I always love a bargain!!

I was inspired to try this  recipe as it was posted today on twitter by @jenncuisine who has an amazing blog called JennCuisine. Her photos are WAY better than mine so I hope you go take a peek at her blog post too (which is a gluten free blog, by the way)

Grapefruit and Mint Salad (adapted from JennCuisine)

Ingredients:

1 grapefruit cut into small chunks

1 romaine lettuce, chopped

a few mint leaves chopped up (I use scissors for this step…so much easier)

balsamic vinaigrette (I used balsamic vinegar, olive oil, honey mustard, salt and pepper)

**note the original recipe calls for sliced cucumber too.

**note 2: this recipe is gluten free and vegan too

Instructions

Mix all ingredients into a bowl. Toss with dressing. Serve

Results  (my apologies for the not-so-pretty-as-I would-like final photo)

I loved this salad as it was so refreshing and certainly different than any other salad I would normally make.

Hope to serve this salad along with grilled salmon and a quinoa dish. What do you think?

Happy Cooking.

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“How Did You Start Blogging?”

I get asked this question a lot so I decided it might be a good time to blog about the answer to this question.

Here’s the story (vs. Here’s the Recipe..LOL).

In April 2009, I was searching thru Craigslist and stumbled upon an ad that said “Wanted; Mommy Bloggers for A National Food Campaign”. I hit the link and sent an email that I guess entertained them, as I got an email back. (which was from  Agent Wildfire,  by the way)

They were looking for mommy bloggers for a National Activia campaign. There were a few of us selected…one from Western Canada, 2 in Toronto (@ParentClub and I) and I believe someone in Montreal too.

We  then signed a six page contract. We also had a skype call. Eventually I had a twitter lesson too  (thanks @theKaren). But  it NEVER GOT OFF THE GROUND.

I was really disappointed. In fact we were all disappointed.

I decided that I wanted to pursue “blogging” and thought I would research other mommy blogger sites. To be honest – at that time – I didn’t even know food bloggers or travel bloggers or lifestyle bloggers existed!

I sent an email to Urbanmoms and Jen Maier took the time to email me back and meet me at  a local Starbucks. The meeting ended with a handshake and a commitment that I would be called “Not So Supermom”, plus I would refrain from swearing. Those were the only rules!

I posted 3 times a week for a year as Not So Supermom and loved the experience. However all good things come to an end.

In September 2010 – my days with Urbanmoms were over.

I consulted with @theresaalbert for an hour on the phone – who counseled me whether to go to another mommy website or start my own.

The outcome of that discussion: To start my own blog.

I then hired a young woman who was starting a web design business and bingo  – 6 weeks later I launched Momwhourns in October 2010.

What a great journey it has been.

The End.

ps blogging wouldn’t be so much fun with the amazing support of my readers. Thank you for your continued support over the years.

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I’ve just returned from a fun night out at Cheesewerks (56 Bathurst St). You see, they are hosting these “Food Fight Trivia Nights” and they are selling out….that’s how much fun they are.

Every detail was thought of!!

For $2 you are guaranteed to laugh, to think, to hang out with your friends and eat some fabulous food. The restaurant was packed.

Full house

So here’s how it works. You grab a few friends (teams are four are suggested), name your team ie. team goudalicious, show up from 7 pm – 9 pm and contribute $2. The questions are either: name that tune, multiple choice, WTF (identify obscure food photos), and a pop quiz.

There’s prizes to be won and I swear the video we watched had me doubled over laughing my guts out. It was a Nigella Lawson video that had been edited and was absolutely hysterical. Actually I hope someone puts it on YouTube so I can watch it over and over again.

More events are coming up – so make sure you follow them on twitter or on facebook. That way you won’t miss a thing!!

Lots going on!! #Brilliant

If you are struggling what to do on Valentines – here’s an idea: I think this is the PNO (perfect night out).

What a great idea!

Seriously, this restaurant can be describes as having the total package: great owners, a cool vibe, an amazing social media presence, plus amazing food.

For More Info:

Cheesewerks 56 Bathurst St. (416) 243-3327

Twitter: @Cheesewerks

Facebook: www.facebook.com/cheesewerks

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