Green Living Show highlights

The Green Living Show is back again at the Metro Toronto Convention Centre and I checked it out on Friday afternoon.  Here are some of the highlights of the show and a few things I picked up.  I wasn't planning on doing any shopping,  just lot's of sampling and seeing what's new.

When I first got there I decided to start at the Food End of the show of course and walked by my friend Richa's booth for Good food for Good but she wasn't at the booth so I walked through the aisle and stumbled on one of the stages and who was on stage doing a presentation but the energetic and funny nutritionist Julie Daniluk.  I always learn something new every time I listen to her speak so I plunked myself down in the front row so I wouldn't disturb anyone since she was midway in her talk.  Julie was speaking about hugging and the power of touch and walked over to me and said hi and used me as the example to connect to someone.  I think she knew I would be a safe bet to get her message across but it was nice that she used the moment as the perfect time to say hi.  She had talks scattered throughout the weekend.  As I write this it's the last day of the show. I wanted to write this post earlier to get the info out but didn't have a chance to.   I hope a couple of you get a chance to stop by before it ends or plan to go next year.
The show did seem a little different this year. It was very quiet on the friday and it seemed like there were less food companies this year.

But returning again with a huge booth were my other friends at Organic Garage.  They have the best booth at the show since they have a whole bunch of their vendors set up sampling.  I liked a couple of the samples so much that I bought them.  I picked up Organic Garlic Coconut Oil which they sampled on popcorn.  It was amazing and I think it would be amazing for bread dipping or garlic bread or in dressings.  No more garlic hands from peeling garlic.  I also picked up Organic chocolate covered almonds because they were just so good.

I wandered around by myself for a while then a couple of my friends joined me after they finished work.  We saw Chef Rodney Bowers and my friend got excited and got a selfie with him.  He was in the ticketed food section.  We didn't end up getting anything there and just tried a lot of the samples around the show.

This year they were giving out Powerbars and free entrance to attendees that brought in e-waste.  You know if everyone at the show brought in e-waste or walked away with an eco power bar that would make a huge difference in energy and also in landfill waste.  Great initiative.

Besides all the food products including food using insects as the protein ingredient, there was also beauty products.  I stopped to check out one booth and was impressed by the creator who said she created it for her own use.   I was struck by the packaging.  I saw Mature to Dry Hotty Balm.  When do you ever see that stand out on a beauty product?  They always cater to young skin even though everyone wants anti ageing which is usually what it says.  But I liked the idea of a balm for your face because my skin has started to lose it's youthful glow. Yeah I know I lost it a long time ago but let's see if this can bring some of it back.  It made my skin feel soft without being sticky or smelly.  It's made with beeswax and jojoba oil and shea butter and host of other natural ingredients. I like that it's a balm so that I can carry it around in my bag without worrying about a mess.

This show is all about Eco in any area of life.  There were sections for kids with a sandbox even.


There was a row of wood home decor products, jewellery, clothing, cars, bikes, healthcare products, suppliments and beauty products and even things like a lightbulb that lasts for 40 years.  So while everything might not interest everyone, there is something that will help everyone that attends.
My friend picked up hot/cool silicone packs for himself and his mom.

If you are interested in finding products to swap that help the environment instead of harm it then this is a good place to check it out.  And even if you don't want to buy products it's a great place to listen to people like Julie Daniluk and other health and business experts speak about interesting topics.

Go Green.... save the planet and check out the Green Living Show.

Farm to Fork Toronto NO GMO"S

This flyer popped up on social media and was also sitting on the seats in the subway while I was on my way downtown for another event.   I know there was March against Monsanto last year but I wasn't able to make it.  I couldn't do the long March on Bloor Street so I headed to Christie Pits Park for the Farm to Fork GMO Free Festival instead.

It really was the perfect day for this festival.  The weather really was in their favour, not to hot, not too windy, cool enough to keep the food and people fresh.

Julie Daniluk the nutritionist and TV personality was leading the charge while dressed in her Tomato fish costume.  Julie is very passionate about health and does everything she can to get people to make the right choices with their food.





Do you know if your food has been genetically modified?  Well if it has nobody is going to tell you that is.  That's what the March and festival were for, to spread the word and get petitions signed to get governments to make producers label GMO foods.  While it might be a long way away from banning GMO's because the big companies will tell you it's better for sustainability and for the future of food.  But do we really know what the long term effects to our health or the planet will be?  Would you choose a GMO labelled product?  Companies that export some products overseas already have to use mandatory labelling so why don't they just do it for everywhere?  Therein lies the problem.  The big secret that all the Monsanto's of the world hide from the public.  What we don't know won't hurt us... well actually it may be the opposite case in fact.

Anyway..  you can research more about this issue and see if you can get involved in letter writing, petitions or Marches but I just want to tell you about this event for now.

It was a lovely event with speakers like Julie and other people involved in different areas of expertise and there was also music too.

Then my favourite part, the food vendors.  Chef Brad Long left his Brickworks Cafe Belong to be there to serve up some cookies, brownies and butter tarts.  There was a nutritionist that decided to set up a booth to serve really fresh assorted vegetable and grain salad.  I had this salad for $6 it was packed with flavours, colors and a health boost.

They were also handing out Tilda rice to everyone so I walked away with a bag of free rice.  I also picked up a juice box of lemonade from Kiju.


I sampled some interesting flavoured Ghee,  some Neal brothers samples, Raw food dips and I bought some great looking tomatoes and garlic chives and one of my favourite Honey's Dutchman's Gold.

I wasn't planning on buying anything and was just there to check it out and maybe get something to eat but it's hard not to support all these great vendors who are trying to do the right thing.

You gotta support local, GMO free, and as free of anything but what real food is.

It's a GOOD THING as Martha Stewart might say.

For more info visit www.toorntoNonGMOCoalition.org  #farm2forkTO

Word on the Street books for foodies

Do you love to read cookbooks or books about health and diets and healthy living?  Then you should have spent the day at Word on the Street this past Sunday around Queen's Park in Toronto.

I sat in on a full afternoon at the Penguin Random House Living Well Tent.  
I missed a couple of sessions and caught the tale end of Tosca Reno's talk and I walked in just as she was talking about going to the bathroom but hey it's all about your health and that's a big part of it. Tosca has written many books about Clean Eating and is an expert fitness trainer.

The weather cleared up in Toronto just in time for the Word on the Street Festival to start for the day and it the blue sky and beautiful warm weather stayed throughout the whole time of the festival.  God must have been a reader or mother nature wanted some time sitting in the sun with a good book.

The day was moderated by host Gillian Deacon, she is one of Canada's best-known environmental writers, an award-winning broadcaster and host of Here & Now (Toronto) on CBC Radio One. She is the author of the bestsellers There's Lead in Your Lipstick and Green for Life. Her most recent book is a memoir, Naked Imperfection, about her experience with breast cancer. Gillian lives in Toronto with her husband and their three sons.


EXERCISES AND DIET TIPS
Tosca Reno is an internationally known nutritionist, weight loss specialist, fitness trainer, motivational speaker and bestselling author. Her Eat-Clean Diet book series has sold more than two million copies worldwide. Tosca speaks approximately ten times per month all across North America, and appears at book and health events, bookstore signings and school events several times a year

EATING TO HEAL INFLAMMATION
Julie Daniluk is the bestselling author of Meals That Heal Inflammation, and the co-host of Healthy Gourmet, a reality cooking show on the Oprah Winfrey Network (OWN). Julie has appeared on The Dr. Oz Showand is a resident expert on The Marilyn Denis Show and Reader’s Digest. www.juliedaniluk.com
Julie and Peggy spoke about food intolerances, sensitivities and allergies and the boom of gluten free diets and how they both got into their respective fields.

KITCHEN CURES
Peggy Kotsopoulos is a Registered Holistic Nutritionist and Culinary Consultant focused on teaching real health through lifestyle and dietary choices that are easy and delicious. Peggy spent many years as an investor, and then realized her passion for nutrition and healthy eating was her true calling. Peggy is dedicated to promoting long-term health and vitality. And she’s on a mission ... to make REAL health mainstream!www.peggyk.com @bevibranthealth  Her Book is Kitchen Cures

SMITTEN KITCHEN FOOD BLOGGER 

Deb Perelman is a self-taught home cook and photographer, and the creator of SmittenKitchen.com, an award-winning blog with a focus on stepped-up home cooking through unfussy ingredients. In previous iterations of her so-called career, she’s been a record store shift supervisor, a scrawler of “happy birthday” on bakery cakes, an art therapist and a technology reporter. She likes her current gig—the one where she wakes up and cooks whatever she feels like that day— the best. The Smitten Kitchen Cookbook is her first book. Deb lives in New York City with her husband and delicious baby son.   

Deb demonstrated spaghetti squash tacos while answering questions from the audience and speaking about her new apartment move and cooking for her family.

TRENDS & TASTEMAKERS: A CONVERSATION WITH DAVID SAX
David Sax is a freelance writer specializing in business and food. His writing appears regularly in the New York Times, Bloomberg Businessweek, Saveur, The Grid and other publications. His first book,Save the Deli, was a Los Angeles Times bestseller, and won a James Beard Award for Writing and Literature. He lives in Toronto with his family, and looks forward to many cupcakes, or Cronuts, or whatever food trend comes next  His current book is Tastemakers.

David spoke about the food trends that catch on because of culture or marketing.  He spoke about the trend in the 80's for muffins compared to the current trend of cupcakes and the New York success of the Cronut that was copied throughout the world.   Foods come and go in their popularity over generations, like the 70's popularity of fondue and current trends for popups and chefs that are trying to push food further or if someone creates something new they become the expert that people begin to copy.

It was an interesting afternoon listening to all of their perspectives about the food industry and health and trends.  

I realized after attending these panels that i already have a lot of their books.   The only one I didn't have a book for was Peggy who was new to me but her book Kitchen Cures looks very interesting.

I have David Sax's book on audio so I was able to listen to the whole book but still working on going through the other books.  I am much slower to read through everything as I am usually busy working on this blog for you to read.  If you have some time and interest pick up some of their books and learn a thing or two about food and maybe try a few good recipes too.

Amaranth what is it?

What is Amaranth anyway?

Well it's an ancient grain that has incredible health properties.

am·a·ranth/ˈaməˌranTH/
Noun:
Any plant of the genus Amaranthus (family Amaranthaceae), typically having small green, red, or purple flowers.

This was my first attempt at making AMARANTH Porridge. I never had this growing up but I have been trying to experiment with foods I am unfamiliar with that are high in nutrition value and this is one of those things.

There is a recipe for this in Julie Daniluk's book Meals that Heal Inflammation http://www.juliedaniluk.com

My first attempt was close but I would recommend cooking the amaranth until it's lost it's grainy consistency.

It takes about 30 minutes to cook in simmering water. After it was fully cooked I added cinnamon which also has a lot of healing properties and I added agave to sweeten it and a touch of brown sugar just for the flavour. I tossed in some fresh blueberries to bump up the antioxidant boost and also for flavour and fibre.
You could add maple syrup for flavour and sweetness or even something like coconut oil or milk would be good.


This is the nutritional value breakdown of Amaranth.

Amaranth, cooked

Nutritional value per 100 g (3.5 oz)
Energy 429 kJ (103 kcal)
Carbohydrates 19 g
- Dietary fiber 2 g
Fat 2 g
Protein 4 g
Water 75 g
Thiamine (vit. B1) 0.02 mg (2%)
Riboflavin (vit. B2) 0.02 mg (2%)
Niacin (vit. B3) 0.24 mg (2%)
Vitamin B6 0.1 mg (8%)
Folate (vit. B9) 22 μg (6%)
Calcium 47 mg (5%)
Iron 2.1 mg (16%)
Magnesium 65 mg (18%)
Manganese 0.9 mg (43%)
Phosphorus 148 mg (21%)
Potassium 135 mg (3%)
Zinc 0.9 mg (9%)
Percentages are relative to US recommendations for adults.
Source: USDA Nutrient Database

I am still working on my experimentation and I hope to find a balance of great nutrition and great taste. If it's healthy but it doesn't taste good you aren't going to eat it so might as well make it taste good.

Julie Daniluk meets the EcoLosers

I had the pleasure of filming Super Nutritionist Julie Daniluk at the Big Carrot Organic Grocery Store on the Danforth in Toronto today for a new Documentary called Eco Losers. It's about an Oakville family trying to lose weight and reduce their waste production to lower their Eco footprints. I am directing and filming the documentary and kind of acting like a food consultant along the way.

Heather and Paul are finding it challenging to choose the best food products that will give them the nutrition they need as well as not putting an eco burden on the Environment. Julie assisted them in choosing some great food products that will boost their ability to lose weight without boosting their Eco footprint. I think Heather and Paul learned more today about food than they have in a very long time.

As we are only in the second month of filming I hope that Julie's great advice will carry them forward to making better choices that will affect their weight loss goals over the course of our year of filming. I even learned a few things today.

Julie has just released her new Book called Meals that Heal Inflammation available at the Big Carrot, Indigo, Amazon and other booksellers, and it has great tips, information and recipes that Heather will now be able to use to guide her way through eating healthier foods.