In our basket | Four new features under the microscope

It’s shopping time! Our team selects new products for you to put – or not – in your mouth.

Dehydrate: anti-waste solution

It is with the stated aim of reducing food waste that Jonathan Dumas founded the Dunord company in the summer of 2022. The house specialty: vegan ready-made meals prepared with local ingredients, which have been dehydrated to extend their shelf life. Three products (all very tasty) are currently offered: a forest risotto, a Gaspé ramen and a boreal daal. The ramen is particularly successful with its just spicy broth, organic ramen noodles, shiitake mushrooms, red miso and sea lettuce hand-picked from the Gulf of St. Lawrence. In fact, each of the ready-to-cook products contains at least one wild ingredient from Quebec. These go hand in hand with vegetables that might otherwise have ended up in waste. The company hopes to add other products within two years, until it offers an entire menu. The preparation is very simple: add the contents of the sachet to water and a little oil, heat and that’s it. Proof that dehydrated vegetables can find a beautiful and tasty path to our tables.

Ready-to-eat Dunord

Suggested price: $12 per unit (two servings), available online (company and Lufa Farms websites) and in some 100 points of sale in Quebec

A chocolate-caffeinated delight

Coffee lovers with a sweet tooth will be delighted by this hazelnut, dark chocolate, cocoa nibs and coffee spread, the result of the collaboration between Montreal companies Café Pista and Allo Simonne. An explosion of flavors is revealed in this spread where hazelnuts are the first ingredient on the list, which gives it a rich and creamy texture. 100% dark chocolate was used in the confection to echo the discreet bitterness of Saison de Pista coffee, which the addition of organic cane sugar cleverly counterbalances. Made in Montreal, without preservatives and without added oil, it was able to convince us on pancakes accompanied by a good espresso, and would undoubtedly be all the rage with chocolate-caffeinated desserts.

Hazelnut spread, dark chocolate, cocoa nibs and Pista coffee from Allo Simonne

Price: $15 for 220 g, available online

For a satisfying lunch

Oatbox has concocted a brand new flavor of its cold vegan oatmeal, made with organic Canadian oats: orange and dark chocolate. This blend of bitterness and slightly sweet citrus provides enough contrast in each bite to escape the characteristic blandness of traditional oatmeal, thanks to the added pieces of orange and dark chocolate. Super practical, cold oatmeal is prepared the day before by simply mixing a portion of the sachet with milk or a vegetable drink. It’s the chia seeds that give it all its texture, in addition to adding a good dose of nutrients. It can also be garnished with fresh fruit or nuts when serving, which will enhance both its taste appeal and its already very interesting nutritional value. Note that Oatbox offers four other flavors of cold oatmeal in its collection: wild berries, almond butter and cherry, cocoa and raspberry, as well as carrot cake.

Oatbox orange and dark chocolate fridge oatmeal

Price: $6.50 for 280 g, available online for a limited time (while supplies last)

Passion snack

Snacking is popular and the new online market Nutterie wants to capitalize on this trend. How ? By offering snacks made from nuts, seeds and dried fruits, but also a selection of DIY nut ​​drinks that can be ordered online by the piece or in a box. The brand image is successful and charms the eye. Through its sister company, Canadian nut importer Canada Nut, and a more direct supply chain, Nutterie promises the freshest products possible. We really liked the mini pretzels as well as the roasted corn kernels and the mixed nuts. Small downside: the company claims that its products come from “small local producers” on its packaging, but it actually sources its products from agricultural farms around the world. When the word “local” has a broad back…

Nutterie, various products, selection of organic products

Price: discovery box starting at $53.99, available online