This time of year always brings with it certain traditions for us. Decorating the house, baking cookies, holiday get- togethers and decorating the Christmas tree. Another tradition that we started a long time ago [mainly because my daughter was a picky eater and ate very little when she was much younger] was buying eggnog as soon as it became available on the shelves. It was an extra boost of protein for her. She actually looked forward to October…the time when it first appeared on the shelves in stores. However, once we went gluten free it was a little harder to find one that was gluten free… so I began making my own. I was never a big fan of eggnog, but my daughter loves it.
I found out that Earth’s Own had come out with a special Noel Nog for the holidays; I was finally able to track some down, so when I brought it home, my daughter was eager to try it. This Earth’s Own Noel Nog is also Dairy free and Egg free as it is made from an almond base [filtered water and almonds]. The company has stated it is gluten free as well; my daughter enjoyed it tremendously.
Although not as thick and creamy as traditional eggnog,my daughter said it has a slightly nutty flavour, and is laced with a hint of nutmeg. My daughter thought it was perfect for having with cookies as an after-school snack. It is nice that there is a nog that she enjoys and I don’t have to make!
My favorite flavour is still the Earth’s Own Chocolate Almond Fresh, I really like it on its own -I find it very rich and creamy and I love the chocolatey flavour! As an extra special treat in the mornings, I like adding it to my coffee. But it is great to use instead of regular milk in all kinds of recipes. Chocolate is always good no matter what, right? 
Earth’s Own Almond Fresh also comes in the convenient shelf stable 946ml size and a single serve size they call “Almond on the go” these are perfect for sticking in your purse or lunchbox or for having on the go after a workout . The best thing about these is that they do not have to be refrigerated, no need to worry about carrying cold packs! Love that!
Almond Fresh is great for people suffering from lactose intolerance or
milk allergies. It’s high in calcium and also fortified with vitamins.
They are also low in calories and one serve provides 45% of your daily recommended
dose of vitamin D, 25% of Riboflavin, and 50% of B12
•Dairy-free and does not contain lactose or casein
• Fortified with calcium, vitamin A and vitamin D and contains naturally
occurring vitamin E, riboflavin, vitamin B12, iron, phosphorus, magnesium
and zinc
• Almond Fresh Vanilla and Original have about half the calories per
serving of 2% milk and is comparable in fat.
•The Unsweetened flavour contains only 30 calories per serving – that’s
less than half of the calories found in skim milk
• Almond Fresh products are wheat and gluten free- love this!
• Certified kosher
Here is a recipe that can be used with the Noel Nog, or any flavour for that matter!
Noel Nog French toast
Ingredients:
* 4 eggs
* 1 cup (250 mL) Almond Fresh Noël Nog
* 2 tsp (10 mL) cinnamon
* 8 slices gluten free bread
* Slivered almonds and maple syrup
Method:
1. In a shallow dish, beat together the eggs, Almond Fresh Noël Nog and cinnamon.
2. Heat a large frying pan over low/medium heat.
3. Soak bread in the Almond Fresh Noël Nog/egg mixture, one slice at a time.
4. Lightly coat the pan with vegetable oil or butter. Cook each slice of French toast on both sides until nicely browned.
5. Serve with slivered almonds and maple syrup- enjoy!
“Disclosure: although I received some product vouchers and compensation, the opinions on this blog are my own.”
Many thanks to Earth’s Own for providing the review and giveaway product.
Check out the Earth’s Own Almond Fresh facebook page here.
Mealtimes are a great opportunity to foster discussion and share experiences that bring us closer together. Making Meals Meaningful, a partnership between UNICEF Canada, Maple Leaf Foods and Dr. Karyn Gordon, aims to help Canadian families connect around the dinner table.
The program features themed conversation starter cards that parents can use as a guide to have engaging discussions with their children about important and sometimes hard-to-discuss topics including acceptance, compassion, empathy, generosity and selflessness.
Research tells us that one of the best ways to develop a thriving parent-child relationship is to have regular mealtimes together. That’s why Maple Leaf Foods, UNICEF and I have collaborated to come up with a complimentary deck of conversation cards. They provide you with over 50 questions you can ask your children around the table to facilitate meaningful conversation. Parents want their children to be more aware, appreciative and kind to others. Sitting down as a family over dinner is a great place to teach these important values.
Making Meals Meaningful cards are complimentary and available through the UNICEF Canada website www.unicef.ca until the end of December. The cards are divided into two sets: one for children aged five to nine and one for teens aged 10 to 16. What makes the questions on these cards unique is that they were all written by kids and teens, thanks to several schools who partnered with us on this initiative. If you haven’t already done so, please go to unicef.ca/makingmealmeaningful to sign up for one or both decks of cards – one for parents of kids aged 5-9 and the other for kids aged 10-16.
Tips on how to use the cards from Dr Karyn Gordon
Three key tips on how to use the cards:
1. Create the mood & turn off distractions
Be sure to have your meal ready and table set so that you are not getting up and down from the table.
Turn off all distractions including cell phones and televisions.
2. Explain Making Meals Meaningful cards
Explain to your kids that you heard about Making Meals Meaningful and thought it would be a great way to hear about their ideas and thoughts. The purpose of the cards is to encourage two-way discussion and share stories.
3. Ask your child to facilitate the conversation
The child facilitating the conversation has three responsibilities:
(1) Choosing the questions: usually one to two questions per meal
(2) Asking each person around the table their thoughts on the question the goal is to get everyone involved!
(3) Reminding the table of Rule #1: no one interrupts!
Remember: As the parent, the more vulnerable and transparent you are with your answers, the more your kids will follow your lead and do likewise so get ready to share!
More Tips From Dr. Karyn:
1. Accept Where Your Kids Are At
While some parents will find that their kids are eager to share their thoughts (usually younger children), others may find that their kids are disengaged or think the cards are silly or awkward. I encourage you to accept where your kids are at. Allow them to listen as the rest of the family shares their ideas, and hopefully they will join in the conversation when they are ready
2. Try To Be Relaxed
Having done research with 1,500 students, I have learned that the number one thing that encourages kids and teens to talk to their parents, is that their parents are relaxed. So, when you are sitting down for your meal, take a big deep breath, be present, relax, and above all, enjoy the moment!
3. Encourage Your Kids To Brainstorm Their Own Questions
Encourage your kids to come up with their own list of questions around these topics. Encourage the spirit of learning from each other!
Remember to give the child the opportunity to answer, sometimes some answers take a bit of thought. Be patient and enjoy learning new things about your child and how they may see the world.
If you find that meal times are hectic with driving to one event or another; make one night a week a mandatory sit down and regroup night. That is what we do, we found one night that we can all work around and we have the time to sit down and enjoy dinner without having to rush off to anything else except enjoying dinner together.
Don’t forget to join us for the Making Meals Meaningful Facebook Chat on December 5th from 9-10pm
*Disclosure – I received compensation as a thank you from Maple Leaf Foods. The opinions on this blog are my own.
Friday nights are usually reserved for movie nights in our house, and I always look forward to them. It is a time for us to just sit and relax and cuddle up with a big bowl of popcorn or a yummy gooey snack. [We love all the yummy snacks we can make with the Gluten free Chex.] They actually turn into more of a Chic flick night and my DH patiently sits and watches with us, even though I know he is usually cringing through most of them. One of our favorites to watch [and his] is the Princess Bride, it has been my daughter’s favorite since she was about 9! I am sure she knows pretty much every line in it. She loves all the Characters, especially Mandy Patinkin’s Inigo Montoya.
Tonight I am picking up New Year’s Eve to watch, DD has wanted to watch it for a while now and I figured since New Year’s Eve really isn’t that far away [wow how time has flown this year!], it would be a good time to watch it. I found a great recipe using Chex that I know will be perfect – it has chocolate in it, how could it not? This movie and a gooey snack will be perfect together!
There are so many great recipes on the Life Made Delicious Site, and they have a number of gluten free options!
I have adapted the original recipe a bit, and used honey nut Chex instead of the Chocolate Chex.
Gluten-Free Chex Caramel Crunch
8 cups Gluten free Chex® cereal [I used the honey nut]
1/2 cup packed brown sugar [I cut this down a bit]
6 tablespoons butter or margarine
3 tablespoons honey [I also cut this down to 2 tablespoons]
1/4 teaspoon baking soda
1/4 cup white vanilla baking chips or chocolate chips
1/4 cup shredded unsweetened coconut
- Into large microwavable bowl, measure cereal; set aside. Line cookie sheet with waxed paper.
- In 2-cup microwavable measuring cup, microwave brown sugar, butter and honey uncovered on High 1 to 2 minutes, stirring after 1 minute, until melted and smooth. Stir in baking soda until dissolved. Pour over cereal, add the coconut, stir until evenly coated. Microwave on High 3 minutes, stirring every minute. Spread on cookie sheet. Cool 10 minutes. Break into bite-size pieces.
- In small microwavable bowl, microwave baking chips uncovered on High about 1 minute 30 seconds or until chips can be stirred smooth (bowl will be hot). Drizzle over snack. Refrigerate until set. Store in tightly covered container.
Pouring in the gooey goodness!
Can’t wait for the movie or the snacks! 
Disclosure: I am part of the Life Made Delicious Blogger program and I receive special perks as part of my affiliation with this group. The opinions on this blog are my own!!
This is a post that I have brought back from my archives – originally posted here
Holidays are always such a great time – I love having turkey, squash, and stuffing; I even like having gravy. We also like having a delicious gluten free cheesecake for dessert. Being gluten free doesn’t mean that I can’t enjoy all the wonderful things that holidays have to offer, we just do them a little differently.
This is the recipe for the pumpkin cheesecake we had for dessert.
Recipe has been adapted from the Kraft Canada recipe collection
Ready to go in the oven!
Pumpkin Swirl Cheesecake
1 ½ cups almond meal
5 tablespoons of butter, melted
3 pkg. (250 g each) Brick Cream Cheese, softened
3/4 cup sugar, divided
3 eggs
1 cup canned pumpkin puree
1 tsp. ground cinnamon
1/4 tsp. ground nutmeg
Dash of ground cloves
HEAT oven to 350°F.
Combine the almond meal and butter – you can add a tablespoon of sugar to make crust a little sweeter – I like to leave this out as I like the crust with out.
Press onto bottom of 9-inch springform pan.
Bake in oven for 7 minutes. Take out and set aside.
Beat the cream cheese, 1/2 cup sugar and vanilla with mixer until blended. Add in eggs, 1 at a time, making sure to beat after each until just blended. Remove 1 cup of the plain batter and put aside, stir in the remaining sugar, pumpkin and spices into remaining batter.
Spoon half the pumpkin batter into crust; top with spoonfuls of half the plain batter. Repeat layers; swirl with knife.
Bake for 45 min. or until centre is almost set. Cool completely. Refrigerate for 4 hours.
Enjoy your gluten free cheesecake!
Need some quick information about gluten free living? Here is a great gluten free lifestyle infographic I found courtesy of Chef2Chef:
Courtesy of: Chef2Chef.net
I was honoured when my friend Holly Pavlika asked if I would partake in a tweetathon to raise awareness for 10×10 and the International Day of the Girl and educate a girl. I have a daughter, how could I not?
Of course I would join in and raise awareness for such an important and vital initiative. I am grateful my daughter has so many choices ahead of her because she is lucky to have access to education.
Can you imagine your daughter not having access to education just because she is a girl? Millions of girls around the world don’t. They face barriers to education that boys do not.
They are forced into early marriage, slavery, sex trafficking and discrimination. I can’t imagine having my daughter grow up that way.
This lack of education has huge economic impact on not just the girls, but their families, the communities they live in and nations around the world.
Studies have shown that when you educate a girl, you can break cycles of poverty in just one generation. One! That is huge!
There are so many benefits to educating girls:
- When the number of girls attending school increases by 10%, GDP increases by 3%
- When a girl attends school for seven years, she’ll marry four years later and have two fewer children
- A girl is 50% more likely to immunize her children when she is educated
- A girl’s wages increase up to 15% after receiving one year of primary education
October 11, 2012 will be the United Nations’ first ever International Day of the Girl, Join me along with several others throughout the day on twitter for a tweetathon hosted by Momentum from 9am to 9pm, to raise awareness and raise our voices – just follow the hashtag #IDG2012. There will be several hosts throughout the day. I will be tweeting at 11 am until noon. Wouldn’t it be wonderful to give all girls the same opportunities to education that our daughters have? Educate Girls – change the world!
About the 10×10 Campaign
10×10 is a global action campaign dedicated to raising the value of a girl — in her home, community, nation, and around the world.
10×10 began through a collaboration of the award-winning journalists and storytellers at the Documentary Group and Paul G. Allen’s Vulcan Productions. Together, they recognized the power of girls’ education to alleviate global poverty–and committed their storytelling abilities to raising awareness of the issue.
Driven by powerful storytelling, 10×10 combines an inspiring feature film with an online and on-the-ground movement to spread the message that investing in girls is not just the RIGHT thing to do, but the SMART thing to do.
In addition to raising awareness of the value of a girl, the 10×10 campaign drives action and resources to support girl-focused programs in the developing world. These funds support NGOs working on the ground to provide resources like scholarships, health care services, and critical life skills training.
10×10 brings together dedicated journalists, writers, business people, policy leaders, students, teachers, elected leaders, humanitarians, activists, philanthropists, musicians, celebrities and people like YOU – who believe that investing in girls is vital for global development.
For more information about the 10×10 campaign please see here.
When it gets to be this time of the year; the leaves are starting to turn shades of different colored gems and the air has a slight bit of a nip to it, I like to have something that warms me from the inside out. This is when I pull out my crockpot. There are so many uses for it; it is a life saver when you are really busy and you need to have something ready to go when everyone arrives home. Also nice to be hit with an incredible aroma that starts your mouth watering instantly (well, it does me) when you walk in the door. I love using my slow cooker. You can actually use them for all kinds of things. Some people have even made cakes in them, although I haven’t tried this yet.
One of my favorite things to make in the crockpot when it is a bit chilly out is a Gluten Free slow cooker vegetable stew. The thing I like the best is that there are always leftovers and we can have it the next day as well! Huge timesaver! I like to make some nice GF cheese buns to have on hand to dip in the stew as well. The great thing about stew is that you can add practically anything and it always tastes great! I love adding chick peas to punch up the protein.
Fall is one of my favorite times of the year, along with the beautiful colors and weather cooling; it brings anticipation of the coming holidays. And all the great food that will be coming our way
Here is my recipe for Gluten Free Slow cooker vegetable stew. I put this on low and let it cook for about 5-6 hours.
Vegetable Stew
Recipe type: Main
Prep time:
Cook time:
Total time:
Serves: 6
Ingredients
- 1 lrg can of ground tomatoes
- 200 g of elbow pasta [I use GF rice pasta]
- 4 medium potatoes, peeled and cut into ½ cubes
- 1 Lg can of low sodium chick peas, rinsed and drained or 2 cups of cooked chick peas
- 1 cup of carrots cut in to ½ chunks
- ½ cup chopped red or green peppers
- ½ cup chopped green beans
- 1 cup of frozen corn
- Oregano, basil and garlic and cinnamon to season to taste
Instructions
- I put this on low and let cook for 5-6 hours, but can be done on high in 3hrs. Add everything but bean, peppers and corn, let cook for 4 hours then add beans, corn and peppers for the last hour. I also add cinnamon to taste, just to add in some extra flavour [I like the combination of garlic and cinnamon- quite interesting]. Once done to your liking, serve in bowls alongside some Lovely buns. Really is that easy! Enjoy!
Here is fall recipe I found on the Life Made Delicious site and am definitely going to try – one of my favorite fall foods: Butternut squash. It is also Gluten Free! They have so many great ones, check them out!
*Disclosure: I am part of the Life Made Delicious Blogger program and I receive special perks as part of my affiliation with this group. The opinions on this blog are my own.
A few weeks ago, I was asked if I would like to try a new product that was being launched as an addition to an already amazing lineup of products that was Gluten free, as well as dairy free; it was Almond Fresh by Earth’s Own, an almond based milk alternative. Earth’s Own is Gluten-Free so when they mentioned that they were adding an Almond Fresh Coconut flavour to their line of Almond Fresh beverages, I was intrigued . I love coconut- anything! It is so good for you, so I said I would love to try it.
I was very excited when I received my vouchers; I purchased the vanilla and the chocolate almond fresh as I found them at the store quite easily. The chocolate Almond Fresh really didn’t have a chance of lasting more than a night in our house – seriously loved it, the whole family did – even DH who can have regular chocolate milk! It had a very rich, chocolaty taste and was not chalky in any way as other drinks have been in the past. We also picked up Earth’s Own So Good Chocolate soy beverage; we enjoyed them both, but I have to say my favorite was definitely the Almond Fresh!
Mmm, chocolate almond Fresh …soo good!
They have also just launched a shelf stable 946ml size and a single serve size they’re calling “Almond on the go” these are perfect for sticking in your purse or lunchbox or for having on the go after a workout . The best thing about these is that they do not have to be refrigerated – my family went on a hike and it was a great snack for them to have when they stopped for a rest, and they didn’t have to worry about carrying cold packs!
Great for carrying around!
Almond Fresh is great for people suffering from lactose intolerance or
milk allergies! It’s high in calcium and also fortified with vitamins.
They are also low in calories and one serve provides 45% of your daily recommended
dose of vitamin D, 25% of Riboflavin, and 50% of B12
•Dairy-free and does not contain lactose or casein
• Fortified with calcium, vitamin A and vitamin D and contains naturally
occurring vitamin E, riboflavin, vitamin B12, iron, phosphorus, magnesium
and zinc
• Almond Fresh Vanilla and Original have about half the calories per
serving of 2% milk and is comparable in fat.
•The Unsweetened flavour contains only 30 calories per serving – that’s
less than half of the calories found in skim milk
• Almond Fresh products are wheat and gluten free- love this!
• Certified kosher
So Good
- An excellent source of nutrition and contains 7 grams of soy protein and 308 mg of calcium (per 250 ml serving).
- Low in saturated fat and only 110 calories per serving.
- Fortified with 15 essential vitamins and minerals including vitamins A, D2, B12 and riboflavin.
- And is also Gluten free!
It did take me a while to find the new Coconut Almond Fresh, the grocery stores around here did not have it and I had just injured my ankle, and was supposed to be off it completely so traveling around to several stores without help was a bit of a problem. I was finally able to weight bear on my ankle and ventured out to a Metro that I never shop at. I was on a mission to find the Coconut Almond Fresh; by now I had anticipated finding it so much that I wasn’t sure if it would stand up. It did not disappoint, it was very rich and creamy like the other flavours, with a light coconut taste, so if you weren’t a big fan of coconut like my husband it was still a very nice tasting drink- but if you were a coconut fan it was still very satisfying and had a very nice rich texture!
We made some great popsicles from them as well
Coconut protein popsicles
Recipe type: snack
Prep time:
Total time:
Serves: 8
Ingredients
- 1cup Coconut Almond Fresh [can use any flavour]
- 1 scoop protein powder [we used whey protein]
- ½ cup vanilla yogurt
Instructions
- Blend together in blender and pour into 8 popsicle molds and place popsicle sticks in centre when filled. Place in freezer to freeze [overnight preferably]
- Then enjoy! Great snack for a hot day!
Make amazing popsicles too!
Word of caution: although it was fairly easy to find most of the other flavours in any of the stores, the coconut flavour was difficult to find in all the stores, but then again, it was just launched; it was worth it when I finally did! I guess we just need to keep asking the stores to carry them!
Earth’s Own product line includes Non-Dairy Beverage brands: So Good, So Nice, Almond Fresh and ryza. They are also the makers of Sunrise Brand Soy Beverage, Soyummi non-dairy puddings, and YÜ Organic Rice beverages. For more information please visit Earth’s Own website.
I really liked all the great flavours of Almond fresh and the So Good we tried, and I love that I get to share this – I am doing giveaway of product vouchers for a lucky person to try! Total approx value $30.
“Disclosure: although I received some product vouchers and compensation, the opinions on this blog are my own.”
Many thanks to Earth’s Own for providing the review and giveaway product.
a Rafflecopter giveaway
We are very excited about the Olympics starting; we have all our Canadian gear ready! Can’t wait for the opening ceremonies and see our favorite events start. At this house we are big on the Equestrian, swimming, and gymnastic events. Love watching all the other events too – you might just catch me up early [luckily not too many events start before 9 am – 4am our time!] I was happy to be able to catch the Soccer match between the country of my birth –Uruguay, and UAE Thursday – at a decent hour of noon! The best part-Uruguay won the match 2-1. Yay!
I am not going to be able to catch the opening ceremonies live, but I have it all scheduled to record so we can watch it when we get home Friday night.
Looks like Saturday is going to be an action packed day of Olympic watching as most of our favorite events are starting then! Not quite sure that I will be up at 5 am that day to watch the start of Dressage, but will definitely be watching through the day!
I am making some of the snacks we will be having that day – it is supposed to rain, so what could be better than catching all our favorite events and having great snacks along the way? We need to keep up our stamina too; it can be quite excruciating watching some of those events!
One of my daughter’s favorite new cereals is the Gluten Free Chex by General Mills – she loves the Honey flavour, they are pretty darn good might I add – they just don’t seem to last long around here…
The Life made Delicious website is packed full of great recipes and they have a whole section of gluten free recipes to choose from.You really have to check them out! I thought I would make up some of Gluten free Chex Muddy Buddies as a sweet treat to snack on as we watched the events during the day.
Gluten Free Chex Muddy Buddies (recipe copied from The Life made delicious website)
9 cups (2.25 L) Rice Chex* cereal ( we used the Honey Nut Chex)
1 cup (250 mL) semi-sweet chocolate chips
1/2 cup (125 mL) peanut butter
1/2 cup (50 mL) butter or margarine
1 tsp (5 mL) vanilla
1 1/2 cups (375 mL) icing sugar –cut down a bit on the sugar
Method:
- Into large bowl, measure cereal; set aside.
- In 1-quart (1 L) microwavable bowl, microwave chocolate chips, peanut butter and butter uncovered on High 1 minute; stir. Microwave about 30 seconds longer or until mixture can be stirred smooth. Stir in vanilla. Pour mixture over cereal, stirring until evenly coated. Pour into 8-quart (8 L) resealable food-storage plastic bag.
- Add icing sugar. Seal bag; shake until well coated. Spread on waxed paper to cool. Store in airtight container in refrigerator.
Can you imagine all of these together?
The chocolate looks so good!
All ready for snacking!
P.S. These are quite addictive!
Now we are all set! Can’t wait for the games to officially start,I Hope you enjoy the Olympics as much as I am going to!
“Disclosure: I am part of the Life Made Delicious Blogger program and I receive special perks as part of my affiliation with this group. The opinions on this blog are my own.”
There are also great recipes inside the box!
Maple Leaf Prime
I love chicken, it is also one of the only meats my DD doesn’t say “do we have to have that” to. The great thing about chicken is that it is is naturally gluten free. So I can do anything with it as long as what I add to it is gluten free.
Maple Leaf Prime Naturally Portions™ are 4 boneless, skinless chicken breasts individually wrapped and vacuum sealed inside an easy open and easy close outer bag. This allows you to only use what you need and save the rest for when you need it. They are great for the times that I am not home and my Husband can just take a couple of breast out for dinner or when we are having something and our darling DD decides that she prefers chicken.
I love that the breast themselves are always a really good size and they are always so very tender and juicy.
My favorite thing to do is o put them in foil packs and then put on the BBQ – it is the easiest when everyone likes a different sauce, so we all get to have what we want and it is an easy dinner for me to make!
The other night I decided I wanted to have wraps for dinner, here is my recipe for our gluten free zesty chicken wraps.
Maple Leaf Prime Portions- gluten-free zesty chicken wrap
Recipe type: entree
Prep time:
Cook time:
Total time:
Serves: 4
Ingredients
- 1 package of gluten free rice or corn tortillas
- foil [for pouches]
- Tuscan Italian dressing [gluten free]
- ½ cup shredded carrot
- 1 avocado, sliced into thin strips
- 4 chicken breasts
- 1 head of romaine, washed and leaves separated
Instructions
- Take the foil and cut 4 pieces each at least 10 in wide by 12 long
- place one breast in the middle of each piece of foil, then fold the foil over chicken and wrap the edges together to seal
- Add 30-45 ml of dressing to each foil. making sure that each breast is completely covered.
- Seal pouch and place on tray on BBQ [helps if any liquid seeps out]
- Cook at med heat for approx 20 min until cooked through.
- Remove chicken; cut into ½ inch strips
- There will still be some liquid in the pouches that you can reserve for later.
- Take one tortilla, place romaine on top, then place a few strips of chicken, then carrot , then a few slices of avocado.
- take the sauce remaining in the foil pouch and drizzle over chicken and vegetables, then roll up the wrap! Enjoy!
Notes
The best thing about this recipe is that everyone can have their very own chicken flavoring!
Getting all wraped up!
Ready to put on the BBQ
Ready to enjoy!
To find out more about Maple Leaf Prime and all their great products, as well as more recipes please visit their site
I have a $50 VISA Gift card to give away, thanks to the generous people at Maple Leaf Foods!
Here’s how to enter! Canadians only for this one please, and please leave a valid e-mail address, or we can’t get in touch with you for your prize.
You know that old saying ” Bet you can’t have just one” . With Lay’s it is so true! I don’t normally purchase a lot of chips, but when I do it is always Lay’s because they are so good, and although they had never been labeled as gluten free, I knew from the ingredient listing that the regular chips were gluten free.
So for special treats it is always Lay’s Chips in our house!
I was delighted when I was asked if I would like to try their chips in the new “gluten free” packaging . In the past we had just bought the regular chips; the ingredients listed were just potatoes, oil and salt. I had never bothered to check the other flavours, assuming that the additions [flavours] would have been some gluten in them. Well to my surprise, all the flavours have always been gluten free – but they just received the gluten free designation so they are relabeling to show that . My DD was happy to say the least – she was eager to try them all. I can honestly say that I thoroughly enjoyed all the flavours!
They arrived in a a basket – reminiscent of the basket that Lays used on the commercials a while ago. We were sent the Regular, Salt& Vinegar, Ripple, Cheddar and Sour Cream, Ketchup, Dill Pickle and Lightly Salted; they were also all family size!
Love the basket!
So many great flavours!
It had been years since I had Ketchup chips, they were as good as I remember them! There was no difference in taste and my husband who is also a big fan of Lay’s and is not gluten free, loved them as well! I love that I can now have any of these flavours, and as they are labeled and certified Gluten free, they are fine for me to eat. [Which I may do a lot of- not good for my hips! ].
So glad they have been officially certified as Gluten Free!;)
To find out more about which flavours have been certified please visit the Lay’s website . You will be pleasantly surprised!
Speroway is a Christian, International non-profit relief organization formerly known as Feed the Children, Canada. Although their name has changed, they are still doing the same great work as always around the world and here in Canada; providing food, medicine, education and other essentials. Their motto is ” Developing hope for needy children”.
Image courtesy of Speroway
Their new name combines the Latin word Spero [hope] with way – to represent the path they follow; representing a hopeful way forward for the organization and the people they help.
Speroway News:
Along with the new name, they have launched a new website and a facebook page, where they will be updating on all their latest activities and efforts along with their progress on construction. Please take a minute to visit their new site, see all the great work that they are doing and “like” their new page. Please help them raise awareness for all these new changes they have made, while still maintaining their primary goal to help children around the world.
One of the wonderful projects Speroway is currently working on is building a Medical Clinic in Haiti, a country that is still reeling from the devastation of the earthquake in 2010, where over 3,000,000 people were affected.
In Haiti, Speroway has partnered with an organization that is responsible for a feeding program that serves 30 orphanages and approximately 1,400 children. It was at one of the orphanages that they identified a piece of property that could be used to build a permanent medical clinic to serve the children in this network of orphanages.
Their plans are weeks away from being ready and they would like your help to spread the word and raise awareness of their efforts.
Share and Win
Here is how YOU can help spread the word about all the great work Speroway does and their tireless effort to deliver hope to needy children and families around the world on a daily basis.
By sharing their story, you are entered to win:
The Grand Prize Gift Basket includes:
· 1 – iPad HD 2012 (16GB)
· $500 WaySpa Gift Card
· Cineplex Night Out Gift Pack for 4
· 2 Big Kaboodle combo packs from Mabel’s Labels
You can only enter once, but every share to family and friends will be a bonus entry for you! So go ahead, share it and win today! Enter here, Good Luck!
This contest is open to CANADA, excluding Quebec. A full list of rules and regulations can be found here
Contest ends on June 22, 2012 at 5:00 p.m. EST.
*Spot prizes will be awarded every two weeks. See the rules and regulations for full and exact details.
Share and win - image courtesy of Speroway
There several different blends of Gluten Free Flour available on the market , some are better for some purposes than others. You have to experiment yourself, what I may prefer may not necessarily be what you prefer. I also like to use coconut flour whenever I can because it has more protein and fiber and smells so heavenly; it also tastes wonderful [well, at least to me and my daughter]. I have also used quinoa flour and almond flour, these are also wonderful additions to the other flours as they also boost the protein and fiber of the mix.
I found this great video from Living Without that I thought I would share if you are looking for a great blend to make on your own.
It is always great to have a Gluten free flour mix made up, it makes baking so much easier and faster. This will keep stored in the refrigerator.
Wednesday May 2nd, 2012 is McHappy Day; Restaurant employees across Canada will be joined by local sports and media personalities, politicians, community leaders, and entertainers celebrating the 19th annual McHappy Day.
On this day, one dollar from every Big Mac, Happy Meal, Coffee & Tea sold goes to local children’s charities across the country such as Ronald McDonald House in support of children and their families in need.
Ronald McDonald House provides support and the much needed comfort of a home-away-from-home for out-of-town families with seriously ill children who are being treated at nearby children’s hospitals. They are truly a blessing for sick kids and their families and offer a place of peace and calm in a time of great distress.
McDonald’s Canada covers all of RMHC Canada’s administrative and operating costs, making it possible for 100 per cent of every directly donated dollar to go to Ronald McDonald Houses and their programs. Since the annual fundraiser began, McHappy Day has raised more than $32-million for children. Do you know that Ronald McDonald Charities help over 10,000 families a year?
For more information on RMHC Canada, visit: www.rmhc.ca.
So on May 2, 2012, join me in supporting a great cause, please drop into your local McDonald’s and support McHappy Day. If you can’t make it, you can still support by texting MCHAPPY to 30333 to make a $5 donation* to RMHC of Canada and by “Liking” McDonald’s Canada on Facebook
You an also follow McDonald’s Canada on Twitter.
I may be gluten free, but I can still have a coffee and support McHappy Day!
Enjoy your #McHappyDay!
I am participating in the McHappy Day Blogger Program by ShesConnected. A donation in my name was made to Ronald McDonald House Charities Canada in exchange for my participation in this campaign. All opinions are honest and always my own*
If you follow this blog at all, you will probably notice that I review Enjoy Life products a fair bit – that is because I love their products!
Navigating the aisles when we first set out on this gluten free adventure was confusing and daunting [as well as expensive]. It was difficult to pick which would be the brand to try. I remember thinking that I really liked the Enjoy life logo, so we decided that we would try them out. They were the first gluten free brand that we tried, and I have to say they didn’t disappoint!
When Enjoy Life asked if I would review the new and improved chewy bars, I was happy to oblige – they are a brand I buy normally and a brand I trust.
I received 4 boxes of the Chewy bars in their new and improved flavours in the bright new packaging: Coco Loco, Caramel Apple, Very Berry and Sunbutter Crunch.
YUM!
Of course, being a chocoholic, both my daughter and I preferred the Coco Loco best, but I really liked all the other flavours as well, the Very Berry I found to be the sweetest of them all and although I really liked the SunButter, it wasn’t as moist as the others. My Daughter’s second favorite was the Caramel Apple flavour.
image courtesy of Enjoy Life Foods
Even though I make a lot of my own gluten free snacks, these chewy bars are handy to grab and have on the go anywhere, so I like to have them available for my daughter to grab {they travel well} when she will be away and needing a quick pick me up! I know that she is eating something healthy and I love the products!
Visit the Enjoy Life website to find out more about their great products!
Enjoy Life is also providing one lucky reader with their choice of 2 packages of the Enjoy life Chewy Bars. Let me know which flavours you would like to try! Continue reading »
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Blog: Gluten Free adventures Topics:Food, Health, Fun 
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