Treats and Taste Tests at the Vegetarian Food Fair

Last month, the 29th Annual Vegetarian Food Fair came to the Harborfront Centre and I was stoked to be attending for my fifth year in a row! (2009, 2010, 2011, 2012 posts) It was also the first year that I wasn't actually working at the show, but solely attending as a guest. With a snazzy media badge.

The TVA did an awesome job of organizing an agenda of great speakers and events throughout the weekend. Sadly, the rain on Saturday put a damper on some of the outdoor events, but that did not stop thousands of people from visiting everything else the festival had to offer over the course of the weekend! There were speakers on all kinds of topics relating to vegetarianism, delectable food demos and interesting panels covering a wide variety of perspectives.

I've previously expressed my frustration in lack of options for vegetables and healthier food choices at the Food Fair. One would think that an event of this nature, I would be surrounded by an abundance of Ashley-friendly options, but this has not always been the case. However much I enjoyed all the sweets and special treats, I just think there's more to vegan / vegetarian cuisine than what is often depicted by the food vendors that are represented. We have so many AMAZING vegan-friendly restaurants in the city and I'd love to see them better represented at the Fair. That being said, it seems that the options are getting a bit better and I was super stoked to see that Green Zebra was back with lots of gluten free, vegan eats. I opted for the mac and cheese with a side of kale salad.


It was pretty delicious and I was certainly pleased to be having some kale at the Food Fair. It provided me with some great nourishment before sampling quite a few desserts. There certainly were a lot of treats!! I got to sample a new gluten free vegan cupcake from my friends at Sweets from the Earth. I didn't manage to snap a photo before it went into my mouth. Super chocolately and pretty delicious, Ilana continues to do great things with gluten free and vegan baking. I also enjoyed some treats from Bunner's (always so brilliant) and picked up some salted caramel (!!) marshmallows from APieCalypse Now to take home.


One of my favourite moments of the night came whilst wandering around the various booths. Corbin and I happened upon the awesome folks at Peanut Butter & Co. and a hilarious blind taste test ensued, all in the name of science.

We declared Mighty Maple the ultimate winner, but really it was us who won, making new friends in the people at the booth (and those around us who saw the whole thing) and buying enough peanut butter to pretty much start our own pb sandwich shop. So good.

It was great to attend the festival for another year and it makes me happy to see continuing to get bigger and better. Looking forward to what's in store for the 30th festival next year!

Friday Joy, Giveaway Winner and Veg Food Fair Anticipation

Happy Friday!

First off - congratulations to Maya who won my giveaway for Meghan's Fab Uplift Detox! If you weren't lucky enough to win a spot, registration for the program is now open and the detox goodness starts very soon! Can't wait to play along once again.

Secondly, it's Friday! This week has been crazy with excitement and change and also recovery from my NYC weekend. 

It's easy to recover with this adorable face looking up at you (though he does make it a little challenging to look at your music). Ash and I were over at Tara's for our first rehearsal for the next Ashleyx2 cabaret. We're super stoked to have Tara on board once again for this show and if the first rehearsal was any indication, it's going to be a great show. Random(ish) question - what's on your bucket list?

I'm looking forward to the 28th Annual Vegetarian Food Fair this weekend! As always, there will be a whole lot of deliciousness to be found, but I'm especially looking forward to seeing my friends at Sweets from the Earth (who are launching new things!), Apiecalypse Now!, Bunners, Bloomers, Delicious Knowledge, and so many more. There's a lot of awesome stuff happening on all the stages including a demo by my sweet friends Lisa and Nicole (who just launched a new e-book!), appearances by some of my fav vegan cookbook authors (Isa Moskowitz and Terry Hope Romero!) and a vegan Cupcake battle. I will be around on Saturday and Sunday, so be sure to check out my Twitter feed and say hello!

I am hoping that all of this kale is going to help counter-balance the treats I'll be enjoying. The detox is coming. I WILL remember moderation. 

There's so much happening in Toronto this weekend, with a lot of TIFF buzz and celebrities around town. What are you looking forward to this weekend?

That time Spinzo saved me and paid for my groceries

A couple weeks ago this happened
 

So let's back up a little bit... it started when I saw some tweets to a new company called Spinzo and joined in the fun of their #SpinzoSavesTO contest

From Spinzo: Spinzo is a smart-buying company dedicated to offering great experiences at affordable prices, that aren't the typical 50-90% deals. Spinzo cares about merchants and is dedicated to Savings! The #SpinzoSavesTO contest was started to create awareness of Spinzo's presence in Toronto. In advance of offering smart-buy deals, Spinzo is giving out what people really want: cash savings of anything! All contestants have to do is tweet at @spinzotoronto or post on our Facebook page their requests and we draw winners weekly who receive cash savings in person from the Spinzo team. 

While shoes and clothes are fun, I was trying to be practical and tweeted about saving money on groceries. Spinzo made mention of lots of expensive cheese and when I said I didn't eat cheese, the hashtag #dufflebagfullofkalechips was created, which was definitely much more up my alley! I ended up being selected as one of the first winners, which was awesome!! It was even better when they gave me 100% of my grocery bill back in cash.

Fruits and veggies, stuff for juicing, coconut water, almond milk, almond butter, yummy raw granola, tahini, tamari and a whole lotta kale were all part of my haul - it was all very exciting!!

I want to disclose that I'm writing this blog post to say thank you to Spinzo - it wasn't required as part of my win. It was really cool to have my groceries taken care of and I was definitely smiling when I was making dinner the night I won! I'd also like to see more people win and since the #SpinzoSavesTO contest is happening until September 10, you've still got time! Go tweet. Or head over to their facebook page. I'm curious to see what Spinzo has in store for Toronto down the road!

If you could, what would you save money on?

My March Love List

Things I’m loving right now…

All things green (and not just because it’s St. Patty’s Day)

Including green juice and E3Live every dayI’m seriously feeling unstoppable as a result of the combination of these two things every day. E3Live is “100% Aphanizomenon flos-aquae blue-green algae (AFA for short) that is an all-organic wild-harvested aqua-botanical considered by renowned health authorities to be nature's most beneficial superfood.

Physiologically, E3Live® helps restore overall body/mind balance in numerous ways. Its field of action simultaneously includes the immune, endocrine, nervous, gastro-intestinal and cardio-vascular systems.

Nutritionally, E3Live® provides 64 easily absorbed vitamins, minerals and enzymes and has more biologically active chlorophyll than any known food. It is the most nutrient dense food known to mankind.”

Dan Mangan

Next to Adele and Jessie J, he’s the one thing I can’t stop listening to in my room and on my ipod. He’s amazing and I NEED to see him live ASAP.

Raw FoodSo sexy green juice isn’t the only thing that has stuck around since reading Crazy Sexy Diet… I’ve been eating a lot of raw food and feeling amazing. Lots of big salads, greens, sprouts and other goodness. I’m just listening to my body and working on doing what is best for it in this moment.

Great Fiction

I read a lot of non-fiction (especially in the form of cookbooks and other books related to health and wellness) so it’s a treat to read really great fiction. I recently finished Into the Forest by Jean Hegland and The Gargoyle by Andrew Davidson. Both were brilliant in very different ways.

Only Kale Can Save Us Now Shirt

Um, I kinda need this shirt from Herbivore Clothing. My birthday is just around the corner…

What are you loving right now?

Colour & Kale, Two Things I could Never Live Without

Seriously though, how awesome is kale?

Kale and its offspring, the kale salad, pop up in the blog world all the time and it brings me so much joy. I knew that my kale from the farmer’s market on Thursday was just crying out to made into a salad, so, inspired by my favourite salad at Live Organic Food Bar, I created this baby.

Salad
1 bunch kale, washed and torn/chopped into small pieces
salt
1 beet, scrubbed
1 carrot, scrubbed
2 tbsp walnuts
sundried tomatoes, soaked in warm water

Dressing
1/4 avocado
1 tbsp apple cider vinegar
2 tsp flax oil
2 tsp wheat-free tamari
salt, to taste
agave, to taste

Place washed kale in a bowl. Add a few dashes of salt and let it sit until kale wilts and softens. Read this trick this morning and it definitely worked!

Combine all dressing ingredients in a bowl and mash together to get a creamy consistency. Measurements can be adjusted to suit your tastes. I added the agave at the end for a hint of sweetness and it was perfect.

Massage the dressing into the kale. Give it some love! Resist urge to lick dressing off your fingers once kale massage is over.

Shred beets and carrot in food processor using the grater/shredder attachment. Chop softened sundried tomatoes.

Place shredded beets and carrot on top of greens. Add walnuts & sundried tomatoes and enjoy!

It was the best lunch I’ve had in a long time. So satisfying and full of flavour!

What is your favourite salad?