Eat Healthy the Easy Way with The Organic Supper Club

Have you noticed how you don’t get together with even your closest friends anymore?

It’s because we’re all so crazy busy with our schedules spread out across the entire day – and night. So things that we used to spend time doing – grocery shopping and cooking – has gone out the window and now we eat with one hand while typing on our phone with the other.

But it can be challenging to find prepared food that:

1. Tastes good and

2. Is good for you.

That’s why if you’re in the Toronto area, you should get yourself signed up with The Organic Supper Club.

Founded and run by Jessica Esposito & Eddie Orso, everything they use is natural and organic. Their entire menu is vegan, organic and they also offer many gluten free and allergen-free options. And if you’re looking for something even more personalized, they’ll create a menu for you and just you!

They also provide fantastic services such as a personal chef, home and office delivery, their “One Week Vegan” program, workplace lunch delivery and special occasion meals.
The couple has a ‘no junk’ ingredient policy, which  means they “will not use an ingredient that can’t be eaten on it’s own.” Jessica and Eddie believe that “If you follow that rule, you will be free of chemicals, preservatives and other junk that seems to make it’s way onto the grocery shelf.” They also strongly believe that “there is a way to eat right.” This means “natural foods, grown without chemicals, the freshest possible vegetables, sweets free of refined sugars, ingredients sourced locally when possible, and food prepared in small batches by hand.”

The prepared meals and dishes have their ingredients listed on the containers so you know everything that’s in your food and they have extensive menus that include everything from breakfast items to dessert.

I tried their  Three Been Chili with Pineapple, which isn’t one of those thick, stomach stretching conconctions that you might be used to. Huge chunks of tomato and pineapple play off of pinto, white, and black beans kidney beans, sautéed garlic and onions  in a thin broth that makes it almost a tomato stew. What I like about it is that there is a ton of heat – they’re not afraid of spices here – and that they”ve used a lot of cumin (it’s a cumin-infused tomato sauce with rice vinegar and chipotle peppers), making it feel very exotic and far removed from “regular” chili.

Their Fiesta 7-Layer Dip employs cashews and brazil nuts to act as the “cheese”  and sour “cream” making it perfect for vegans and vegetarians. Thick refried beans, guacamole tomatoes, spices and green onions are  layered underneath. With blue corns chips, it makes for quite a filling snack, or paired with soup or salad, a hearty meal.

There are many dishes to choose from. So if you are short on time, but want healthy, nutritious, organic food, order from The Organic Supper Club.

Their line of organic, prepared foods can also be found at:

Organic Dufferin Grove Market

Every Thursday from 3pm to 7pm

Dufferin Grove Park

The Distillery District Sunday Market

Every Sunday from May 15 2011 to September 25 2011 10am-4pm
55 Mill Street, Toronto

Check out their Packages & Pricing and get yourself some good homemade food in a hurry.

Ontario Honey Gets Buzz. But is it the Right Kind?

One of my favourite times of year has arrived – the opening of the CNE.

The food is certainly a draw, as always, but I enjoy the buildings and exhibits just as much.

For the fifth year in a row, Ontario honey and beekeepers are a part of the show. You can learn all about the process of making honey (Ontario’s honey is produced yearly from July to September) as well as purchase health and beauty as well as food items made from local producers. You can even view live bees in one of the three observation hives.

I got a sneak peek before the Ex opened, and was greeted by Tibor Szabo from Szabo Queens.

This third generation bee keeper from Guelph gets a queen bee to sit on his face and then the rest of the hive joins her. The picture I took above is of him after just a few minutes of talking to the press. Take a look at what he looks like after about 10 minutes in a picture taken by Erin Hatfield for Inside Toronto.

Is this really the way to spread the message about Ontario’s bees and honey? Tell me what you think.

Laura Heaney & Katrina Atkinson At Broadview Espresso

Striking. Exhilarating. Thoughtful.

These are all words that I could use to describe artist Laura Heaney, but actually I’m talking about her latest works in the Food Show, with fellow artist Katrina Atkinson that is currently showing at Broadview Espresso until the end of August.

Laura’s  work appears to be photos at first glance, but this is just her deft hand with coloured pencils of all things. Her stunning  images of snack food icons such as Lay’s Dill Pickle Chips, Cheetos and Pringles are juxtaposed against fine draperies as in Dutch masters painting, illustrating that any food can be art – it doesn’t have to be foie gras atop a scallop to qualify.

Colleague Katrina showcases her mostly bold black-and-white works – a mix of ink and graphite – of the disconnect between us and our food and have the feel of old illustrations from the 60s and 70s. The mix of harvest and concrete is compelling. The work above is a vignette and one of Katrina’s larger pieces at the cafe. This mixed media drawing was composed with coloured pencil, watercolour pencil, graphite & graphite wash on mylar.

View these vivid images while nibbling on sweet treats and sip on what I consider the best cup of coffee in the city.

Food
Drawings by Katrina Atkinson & Laura Heaney
August 1 – 31 at Broadview Espresso, 817 Broadview Ave.
Gallery hours: Mon-Fri. 7am-7pm, Sat. 8am-6pm, Sun. 9am-5pm

P.s. Another artist that does great food is Shelley Savor. And if you’re food-obsessed like I am, you’ll want to get a whack of these artist-made tees, too.

Lunch with Tori Spelling

Normally I tend to steer clear of mainstream brands, but I was intrigued by McCain Foods choice of Tori Spelling as their spokesperson for their new Ultra Thin Crust Pizzas.

After all, Tori is a celebrity and mogul with numerous books, reality television shows with her Canadian-born husband Dean McDermott and children, and products on the market as well as InvenTORI, a store featuring home and beauty products. How does pizza fit into her life?

It turns out despite her fame, she is a warm, giggly ray of sunshine who has a Mom’s club and is like many women – trying to do it all and keep her kids and husband fed in the meantime. On Wednesday on the Rooftop Patio at the Thompson Hotel in Toronto, she seemed genuine and all of this, 7 months pregnant looking stunning in a gorgeous vintage Valentino yellow floral dress.

She remarked that her son Liam doesn’t like vegetables, but liked the pizza, which she saw as a great thing. And that’s when I realized that while Tori could be a hands-off mom if she wanted to be – she’s got the money for it – she chooses to have playdates and people over and eat frozen pizza. I really admire that. And her.

The pizzas themselves  – Roasted Mushroom & Garlic, Pollo and Spinach & Provolone -  were undoubtedly well-researched, as they have a cracker thin crust, making you feel like you aren’t having any carbs at all, and the ingredients are all things you’d pick up at the grocery store – breadcrumbs, butter, onions, etc.  They are also quite tasty and don’t feel have the usual frozen supermarket pizza acidic flavours that linger long after you’ve eaten.

A representative from McCain told me that the company had considered other folks to be the face of the campaign - Bethenny Frankel , amongst them – but having seen Tori Spelling in person this week, I think they made a very smart choice.