Posted at 11:00 a.m.
Mealtime with Julie Snyder
Personalities who launch their ranges of food products, it’s not new and the result is not always happy. We were therefore not convinced in advance when we learned that Julie Snyder was launching a range of the same name on the shelves. But it is clear that the producer and host did things right, supported by her business partners Amélie Léger and Marie-Pierre Gaudreault. The products are all vegetarian or vegan, with a strong desire to offer healthy, easy-to-cook options with a short list of ingredients and no artificial flavors. The variety is great: tofu and tofu spreads, peanut or almond butter, sauces (vegan bolognese, vegan tofu or ricotta lime, our favourite), olive oil and vinaigrettes, our favourite, especially the caesar lemony, very tasty. A good healthy choice, made in Quebec too!
Julie
Tofu and tofu spreads, peanut or almond butter, sauces, olive oil and dressings. vegetarians or vegans
Between $4.99 and $12.99, products offered exclusively at Metro
Drink apple cider vinegar… without wincing!
PHOTO PROVIDED BY MAMA SHRUB
Mama Shrub’s ready-to-drink
Apple cider vinegar is popular, and is credited with many benefits, such as aiding digestion and regulating blood sugar. But nobody wants to drink from a spoon. The new Quebec brand Mama Shrub (by the company Alimentation Biodev) has made it the star ingredient of its 100% natural and organic sparkling drinks. The ready-to-drink is obtained from a “shrub”, i.e. an acidulous syrup resulting from a maceration of fruits, sugar and vinegar, here with apple cider, to which is added sparkling water, quite simply . It’s very low in calories (between 35 and 50 calories per can), very thirst-quenching, and the vinegary taste is subtle. Even son, 7 years old, adopted the four flavors offered: raspberry and lavender, strawberry and pink pepper, ginger and lime, grapefruit and rose water. To be enjoyed as is or to be incorporated into your summer cocktails by taking inspiration from the recipes offered on the website.
Mama Shrub
100% natural and organic sparkling drinks
$11.19 for a pack of 4 cans, available at several points of sale, including Provigo, Uniprix and Les Marchés Traditions
Surprising sauce bars
PHOTO PROVIDED BY THE FOODIE FAMILY
Bar to Cook cooking sauce bars
Apprentice cooks, busy workers or overworked parents, Bar to Cook cooking sauce bars could become your great allies at dinner time. This culinary innovation created by the Montreal company The Foodie Family is surprising. By adding water to this chocolate bar-like product, a creamy and tasty sauce is created in about twenty minutes. The taste of Bar to Cook products is a thousand miles from that often too salty of dehydrated sauces and broths. These bars are made primarily with deodorized cocoa butter, organic spice powder and organic vegetable powder as well. Five bars are currently offered: Moroccan, Indian, Provençal, Spanish and Tex Mex. Each of the boxes contains a very easy to follow recipe. What to cook a tagine, a paella or a curry like a chef.
Bar-to-Cook
cooking sauce bars
$32.50 for the discovery box containing the five varieties, available for pre-order on the Bar to Cook website
A leap to the Middle East and North Africa
PHOTO PROVIDED BY AL’FEZ
Recipe ideas are available on the Al’Fez website.
With Al’Fez products, it is quick and easy to make your taste buds travel to the Middle East or North Africa. The British brand recently offered in Quebec offers a range of varied products inspired by the stalls of the souks. Shawarma or shish taouk marinades are ideal for spicing up meats. They become very tasty without being too spicy. Al’Fez is also sauces, harissa paste, tahini and sets of side dishes, like couscous. The majority of these products are vegan. We really liked the Lebanese-style falafel mix, which makes it possible to prepare balls of chickpeas in just five minutes, without a food processor. Less dishes on a weeknight, that’s joy! However, we would have liked the mixture to contain less salt.
Al’Fez
Shawarma or shish taouk marinades, sauces, harissa paste, tahini and side dish sets
From $3 to $6, products available at Metro, IGA, Provigo and Walmart