The Stop Community Food Centre — Low Sugar Baking Workshop

One of the perks of being a volunteer at The Stop is the opportunity to participate in free cooking classes. Part of the Healthy Cooking Workshop Series, today's class we learned aout low sugar baking. Instead of using refined white sugar in baking, why not consider healthier alternatives, such as agave, applesauce, puréed fruits or maple syrup?

Here's what was on the menu: Applesauce Oat Bran Muffins, Fruit & Nut Bars and Cherry Crisp. Freshly picked from Hillcrest Park Community Garden, the cherries were of a variety I had never tried before — they were tart, semi-sour and yellow-ish pink in colour. Don't mistake them for grapes! In the video above, I've captured the ladies putting our Cherry Crisp together, just prior to throwing 'em in the oven. By the way, that rolled oat topping tasted just as fantabulous raw as it did in its crispy, cooked state. Much love to the ladies who coordinated the highly anticipated, community cooking workshop. I j'adored it.

FIFTEEN London — Pukkola Muesli

After a 9 hour flight into Heathrow Airport from Mumbai, India, what's a jet-laggy chick to do with an 8 hour layover in London??! Why, muster up the energy to enjoy breakfast at FIFTEEN, of course! Feast yo' eyes on Jamie Oliver's "signature recipe," the Pukkola Muesli.



Tender rolled oats swim in a milky bath of juicy, tart Sultana and yellow raisins. Sweet strawberry halves and sour chunks of peach contrast well with the textured, earthy flavours of the oats. Whole unblanched almonds, pecans and hazelnuts add a soft crunch to each mellow bite. And though the fat shavings of cantaloupe and the blood orange wheels garnish the dish oh so prettily, my absolute favourite ingredient cannot be seen in the photo. Little did you know that sneaky, stubby slivers of green apple bathed luxuriously in the milky muesli, adding an unexpected sweet and sour element to the entire dish. Divine, in't it?

Peanut Butter Spelt Pancakes

I ♥ breakfast. Who doesn't? Adapted from one of Sab's original recipes, I've put my own spin on these flapjacks. Untraditional in the sense that they aren't very fluffy, they're actually quite thin, light and crepe-like. And when they're cookin', damn. The whole house smelled of roasted peanuts. I whimsically added blueberries to half the batch [see below]... JUICY :)



Mix 3/4 cup spelt flour, 1 1/2 tsp baking powder & 1 tsp brown sugar in a medium-sized bowl. In another bowl, whisk 1/3 cup milk, 1 egg and 1/2 tsp vanilla. Make a well in the middle of the dry ingredients and pour the wet ingredients in. Whisk. Add 1/8 cup all-natural peanut butter. Whisk until all lumps are gone. On medium heat, scoop 1/4 cup batter into non-stick pan. Cook 2-3 minutes. Flip over and cook the other side for 1 minute. Makes 10 pancakes.

Trader Joe's Lime & Chili Cashews

It sucks b@lls that Canada doesn't yet have even one Trader Joe's grocery store in the entire country. Pretty much a cheaper version of Whole Foods, Trader Joe's offers more value than the former in that they keep prices low, and I mean REAL low. What's more, they offer a sh.tload of straight-up healthy food. And though the grocery store carries a variety of brands in-store, I'm quite loyal to their very own (utterly affordable) Trader Joe's product line.

Trader Joe's Thai Lime & Chili Cashews are in my Top 3 favourite Trader Joe's products. Clay Schroll couldn't have described the experience of eating these nuts better when he said "the flavours come in waves." A product of Thailand, these nuts are flavoured with REAL roasted Thai lime leaves, lemongrass and piquant chilis. As such, they pack enough heat!!! Fiery and fragrant, you will not find cashews as unique and as zesty as these — anywhere.

The Stop Community Food Centre — Do the Math!

photo | March 23, 2010 | The Stop's Do the Math Community Dinner | my veggie plate

The Stop's Do the Math campaign has come and gone, but its effect will no doubt reverberate well into Toronto's future. As a volunteer at The Stop, I had the opportunity to attend the Do the Math Community Dinner last month. On March 23, a wholesome, colourful meal was served to the Torontonians who had agreed to participate in the campaign. Not long after this dinner, the participants were challenged to eat only from the contents of a food hamper for as long as they could, though a hamper typically lasts a person only 3-4 days. This phase of the campaign was entitled Eat the Math.

A number of Eat the Math participants have written about their experiences of living on a food hamper. Corey Mintz shares his experience of living on a food hamper in the Toronto Star. Lauren Wilson questions how we can "better feed Toronto families in need" on BlogTO. To understand how those on social assistance receive an inadequate amount of provincial funding to live healthily and with dignity, you, too, can Do the Math. Ultimately, doing this survey and following this campaign has made me realize how thankful I am, what with never having to worry about getting enough food, let alone enough nutritious food, into my diet. I'm considering conducting my own Eat the Math experiment, if nothing but to gain personal perspective. The Stop advocates good food for all; Do the Math strives to make this a reality.

Shelley vs. Saveur: Spring Salad Platter

I frequently borrow back issues of Saveur Magazine from the local library, and stumbled upon one of their old recipes for a Spring Salad (photo on the right). Opting for a vegetarian platter instead, I nixed the chicken altogether when I prepared this dish for cousin Lisa's swanky b-day dinner partay. My photo (photo on the left) is hardly food-styled, but I must say the radish-cucumber salad and the sauteed mushrooms turned out lovely! Don't you love when salads are so hearty and satisfying, they're almost capable of replacing meals?

my favourite bars

Whoever doesn't like the combination of chocolate and coconut is a big fool. Just joking.
On a serious note... Nature's Path Choconut Bar is crazy chewy, yet it still has texture and
bite. Crisp rolled oats, flecks of dried coconut & dotted with mini chocolate chips... perfect
for an on-the-go snack. And though I always find granola bars to be too sweet, this bar hits
the spot just right, in a semi-sweet kinda way.

I am a BIG fan of fig bars, and I have fond memories of poppin' them back like there was no tomorrow back as a yout. Today, I've found that all the fig bars out there are just too sweet for my liking. Even PC Blue Menu's Fig Bars. And don't even get me started on Nutri-Grain bars. But lo & behold, Kashi's Blackberry Graham Bar comes to the rescue! 50% filling and 50% crumbly, bread-y exterior. Just like a new school fig bar should be.

OMG LÄRABARS. These bars can't get any realer. Call me crazy for tryin' all 16 flavours, but heck, they're so damn good! The Pecan Pie LÄRABAR is my absolute fave. Pecans, almonds & dates are all that's in this bar!!! None of that methylcellulose, high fructose, words-I-can't-pronounce sh.t. Plus, the founder, Lara, has such a great entrepreneurial story. Furthermore, the branding and packaging design of LÄRABAR is just dope.

I ♥ PC Blue Menu

I am absolutely gaga over PC Blue Menu products. It seems the company has won the hearts of so many not only because everyone has decided to try n get healthy lately, but because the company does indeed offer healthier alternatives for the calorie-conscious. More than any other product shown here, I am itching & scratching to try these Double Chocolate muffins!!!!! Whole grain whole wheat flour??!%$#?%?! I'm down.

Actually, the only product here I have tried is PC's Yogurt Spread. And it is absolutely DIVINE; a lil taste of heaven's heaven, if you will. A cross between yogurt and cream cheese in terms of taste... GAhhh no pt tryina explain! You simply MUST try it. With some kinda berry jam. On whole grain toast. 'Nuf said. And SO WHAT if Philadelphia's Fat-Free Cream Cheese has only 15 calories per tbsp and PC's Yogurt Spread has 25 calories per tbsp??? Phillie's long list of ingredients = fake, preservatives-ridden CRAP.

kitchen-sink lunch

Healthy, delish food to-go. A foreign concept in the GTA. Y oh Y must supermarkets here underwhelm me so? Whole Foods does a decent job of offering us healthy food choices on-the-go with their hot & cold tables. But lo and behold, finally, a Canadian company has made the attempt. GOOOOOO newest Longo's location @ Bathurst & Rutherford!!!

In a starvin' fury, I grab a take-out container in the cold salad bar section of Longo's and scoop up wheatberry salad with cranberries & pumpkin seeds, creamy, lime-green avocado slices, hunks & chunks of hard, spicy tofu, and juicy, pillow-y pieces of button mushrooms. Soon as I get home, I hastily hard-boil 1 egg (10 minutes max), squash it into irregular pieces with a fork, throw it into the take-out container, and voila! Kitchen-sink lunch is good to go.