Category: Product Reviews

Written by Erika Martin BSc Nutrition Candidate

Reviewed by Andrea Miller MHSc, RD

“I need to get my steps in for the day” is something you might have heard from a friend, family member or someone at work. Some people are highly committed to taking 10,000 steps each day, tracked by their watches, smartphones or step counters. Are these people on to something? Is it really important to take that many steps – EVERY day? Put simply, there are many benefits to being as active as possible, and the right step counter can help you gauge how much activity you are really getting in so that you can adjust accordingly.

Written by Erika Martin BSc Nutrition Candidate
Reviewed by Andrea Miller MHSc, RD

Now that summer is just around the corner, it is the perfect time to start thinking about fresh summer salads! Lately I have been using my spiralizer as a fun way to add different vegetables to my salads, as well as for making “zoodles” to use as a fresh base for tomato sauce. Here is all you need to know about spiralizers, and some recipes to try for yourself.
There are many different types of spiralizers, which all have the same basic function: to turn any vegetable into noodles. There are handheld versions which are generally the least expensive; electric spiralizers, spiralizing attachments for your Kitchen Aid mixer, and my personal favourite, countertop spiralizers which are hand-cranked. No matter which kind you choose, the result is lovely vegetable noodles which can be used to top salads, as a replacement for spaghetti, as noodles in a soup or as a topping on a wrap.
The best vegetables to spiralize are:
– Beets
– Zucchini
– Carrots
– Cabbage
– Sweet potatoes
– Cucumber
– Turnips
– Butternut squash
– Potatoes

Written By Sharon Charles BSc Nutrition Candidate

Reviewed by Andrea Miller MHSc, RD

Immersion blenders! What are they? How do you use them?  Are these the questions you ask yourself when you think of an Immersion Blender? Well, you’ve come to the right place. Let me welcome you into a life made simple with the most compact and convenient kitchen tool of all – the Immersion Blender!

Written by: Lara Malak BSc Nutrition (Candidate)

Reviewed by: Andrea Miller MHSc, RD

One evening as I was grocery shopping, I came across miniature eggplants, called Thai eggplants. I was fascinated with this discovery, as this eggplant did not have the dark purple shade common to traditional eggplants. These eggplants were green with white stripes and they were the size and shape of a golf ball. They had a slight firm texture. I decided to bring some home. In relation to the taste, the Thai eggplants had a slightly more bitter flavour than traditional eggplants and the longer I left them to mature, the stronger the bitter taste became. They also had small golden seeds, similar to traditional eggplants. The seeds also had a bitter taste.

By Sharon Charles BSc Nutrition (Candidate)

Reviewed by Andrea Miller MHSc, RD

In our everyday busy routines, Western culture seems to be shifting towards food on-the-go. Especially for the younger generations, cooking has become a skill that is slowly disappearing.  More often, people are reaching for on-the-go foods and take out meals.

Erika Martin BSc Nutrition (Candidate)

Reviewed by Andrea Miller MHSc, RD

Recently, I’ve been enjoying skyr, a yogurt that has been eaten in Iceland for thousands of years, and has been gaining popularity in North American grocery stores. When I eat it for breakfast, I find that it keeps me satisfied throughout the morning, which works great with my busy university schedule. As a food and nutrition student, I was curious as to why this product was becoming so popular, and how it compares to regular yogurt or Greek yogurt. Essentially, skyr is higher in protein than regular or Greek yogurt. This is because it technically is not a yogurt at all. It is a cultured dairy product, which is actually a strained cheese, allowing it to be thicker and higher in protein than other yogurts, while also keeping a lower sugar content. Below are some nutrient comparisons between yogurts, all plain (unflavored, unsweetened):

Written by Erika Martin BSc Nutrition Candidate

Reviewed by Andrea Miller MHSc, RD

We have all heard that breakfast is the most important meal of the day; essential to starting the day off right. I often like to include cereal in my breakfast, but with so many cereals claiming to be “healthy choices”, it can sometimes be overwhelming to choose.

Written by Sierra Steele BSc Nutrition, Candidate

Reviewed by Andrea Miller MHSC, RD

Iron Pots – Low levels of iron in the body is a global issue. Interestingly, iron can be obtained through the use of iron pots or pans. Iron from the pots leaches into foods cooked in them, increasing the iron content of whatever you are cooking.  In some cases, this could make up approximately 20% of the recommended daily intake of iron. Iron is most easily leached when cooking with foods that are acidic or high in vitamin C, such as tomatoes or tomato sauce.

Kelsey Hamilton BSc MScFN in progress

Reviewed by Andrea Miller MHSc, RD

As a graduate student and future Registered Dietitian, I am always on the lookout for quick, nutritious and tasty snacks that I can have while studying and that are easy to pack with me to go for my internship placements. I am usually wary of snack foods- all too often, foods that make health claims such as “low fat” or “sugar free” are deceptive- if you take out one thing, a whole lot of others are added! However, when I came across ShaSha Bread Co.’s buckwheat snacks, I was intrigued. They are marketed as gluten free, raw, vegan, high fibre as well as a source of prebiotics and probiotics. I picked up a package of the blueberry apple flavour to try. I was pleasantly surprised with this snack. It is similar to granola in that it contains a mixture of dried fruits, nuts, seeds. However, instead of oats, buckwheat groats are used, which enable the product to be completely gluten free. I found the product to have a nice flavour- not an artificial fruit flavour- and it had natural sweetness but it was not too sweet. It was definitely very filling, and I could see myself pairing it with some yogurt for a quick, nutritious breakfast in the morning, as well as packing some as part of my lunch for when I have to go to work/placements. Overall, it is a nutritionally sound product- it does not have any artificial ingredients or preservatives and it is a source of a number of different vitamins and minerals. In fact, a 1/3 cup serving provides 20% of the daily value for fibre. Often, fibre is something that many people find difficult to get enough of in their diet. Therefore, ShaSha Bread Co. buckwheat snacks can be an easy, tasty way to increase your fibre intake. I find it a little pricey to include in my diet on a daily basis, however, I could see myself eating a few times per week to increase my nutrient intake in a tasty, easy way. They are available in your local grocery stores.

Written by Hilary Rock BSc, Nutrition

Reviewed by Andrea Miller MHSc, RD

The other day I was strolling around my local farmer’s market when I came across yellow watermelon. This is the first time that I had ever seen this fruit. Being the curious and food driven person I am I just had to try it. I assumed it would be pretty similar to the more common pink watermelon but the one I tasted wasn’t as sweet and almost had a slight sour taste. To me it tasted more like melons such as honeydew than the traditional pink watermelon. However, it did still have tender crispness and watery texture as pink watermelon. Very intrigued about my new discovery I wanted to do a little more research about yellow watermelon.