Food & Drink

During the summer months, I rarely cook in the kitchen. Instead, we totally take advantage of BBQ season and use the grill as often as we can. I LOVE BBQ-ing primarily because Kyle is in charge and I’m only responsible for marinating and whipping up a side to go along with our grilled meats. However, as much as we enjoy a good BBQ meal, by the time September comes around, we suffer from “BBQ Blues” – essentially when I’ve ran out of creative BBQ ideas – you can only grill a piece of meat so many ways!

Thanks to my friends at DELISSIO®, they’ve came up with a solution to solve the BBQ Blues problem AND managed to marry two of our favourite meal ideas! Kyle was extremely stoked to realize that he could BBQ his most loved freezer item – the frozen pizza! Last night, we decided to tackle BBQ #PizzaNight with DELISSIO RUSTICO™ Margherita alongside with some additional toppings, it was scrumptious! This super easy meal will certainly help those of you who are busy bees and also getting your kids back to the school routine!

As promised from an earlier Instagram post, I’m running a few giveaways to start kick September. To celebrate our new discovery for BBQ #PizzaNight, I am giving you the chance to win a Portable Backyard BBQ Gas Grill (similar here) and three DELISSIO RUSTICO pizza coupons!

Throwing a summer soiree this weekend or headed up to the cottage?! I’ve got a simple yet delicious BACARDÍ Pineapple Mojito recipe to get your geared up for some summer time fun! I LOVE mojitos, it’s definitely by far my favourite drink of choice. I love the taste of fresh mint and lime. To add an extra kick to the already delicious BACARDÍ mojito, I added some fresh pineapples to my version.

I hope you’ll enjoy my last pineapple inspired recipe, for more pineapple goodness, see DIY Pineapple Split and DIY Pineapple Banana Mint Smoothie!

I’m all about efficiency when it comes to my daily routine. Lining up for my morning coffee, breakfast, and midday lunch certainly doesn’t speak to efficiency. As much as I enjoy browsing through my morning Instagram feed and checking missed emails during the time I’m waiting for my lunch to be prepared, I’d much rather skip the lines, get my food, and get on with my busy day.

Totally glad I was recently introduced to RITUAL, a mobile app that allows you to pre-order your meal in your neighborhood and ready when you arrive to pick up. No lines, no payments during pick up – if that’s not efficiency… I don’t know what is!

July 24 marks National Tequila Day! Why not celebrate in style by mixing up a sweet and tantalizing cocktail! Tequila is often a misunderstood drink – usually reminding us of spring break in Cancun, salt rimmed margaritas and cheesy shot glasses. I’m pleased to share with you this classy cocktail that is good enough for you and George Clooney.

I was recently introduced to Casamigos Tequila and unlike my past experiences with tequila, I was given the opportunity to try several Casamigos Tequila cocktails at The Keg that were delicious and soon altered my perception of how you can enjoy this spirit. Therefore, I thought I’d attempt to create a tasty and refreshing tequila cocktail of mine own.

This Pink Berries Basil Margaritas calls for simple, fresh summer ingredients! I hope you enjoy!

To help you get through the start of the week, I’ve got a cheeky and fun recipe I’d love to share with you. I mentioned in my recent smoothie post that I’ve been playing around with pineapples, I know you’ve all tried a banana split, but how about a Pineapple Split? This creation was inspired by my new favourite food magazine – Ricardo. Trust me the photos are drool-worthy so I urge you to pick up the latest Summer Issue!

Summer is all about fun and colour. This easy, peasy Pineapple Split is a sure crowd pleaser for the young and old!

I love summer for many reasons, but one of them is certainly the assortment of fresh fruits that are available during these warm, sunny months. I love pineapples, but typically don’t buy them whole (pre-cut speaks to the lazy side of me!) BUT, a few days ago, I decided to bring a few pineapple friends back home with me and I spent the day making not only one but THREE tasty pineapple treats that is sure to tantalize your taste buds. I’ll be sharing the three recipes over the course of the next couple of weeks – first up is a simple yet tasty smoothie that is good enough for breakfast, lunch, or a refreshing afternoon pick me up!

Read further to see how easy it is to whip up your own Pineapple Banana Mint Smoothie!

I am a big fan of subscription services. I like the idea of surprises showing up at my doorstep and being able to try new things on a frequent basis. I’ve tried many subscription services in the past, primarily beauty subscription services. However, I’ve really enjoyed the food and drink subscription services I’ve been introduced to lately. They’ve made our diet more interesting and fun!

Here is a round up of a few food and drink subscriptions services that I’d recommend, all of these are available for delivery in Toronto and some across Canada.

With Summer fast approaching, I’m looking forward to hosting friends and family for afternoon and evening get togethers. Aside from summer BBQs, I love a good tea party, but tea parties don’t always have to involve mini sandwiches, english breakfast and pinkies up! You can certainly modernize your tea parties with many tea options! On this fine Saturday, I’m here to share a couple of DIY Tea Party ideas with Alokozay Tea that is sure to wow your guests.

Read further to two options for a great DIY tea party: Earl Grey Macaron Tea Party and Iced Peach Mango Tea Party.

Who doesn’t love a good pasta right? I’m a total pasta and general noodle lover. Actually, one of those people that order Spaghetti and Meatballs but only to eat all the noodles and leaving all the meatballs behind. However, where possible, we select healthier options such as whole wheat noodles.

On my rainy day off, I decided to cook up a simple pasta dish with Barilla’s newest line of pasta products – Barilla PLUS. Barilla PLUS delivers 27% more protein than Barilla’s traditional semolina pasta. The high source of protein comes from ingredients such as chickpeas, lentils and egg whites. In addition, Barilla PLUS is also a good source for fibre and Omega-3 polyunsaturated fatty acids.

As part of our New Year’s Resolution (I know the New Year seemed so long ago!), Kyle and I made a pact to eat healthier and also to introduce organic foods (without truly understanding the benefits) into our diet. After all, you know what they say? You ARE what you EAT! With little time to do a bunch of research, we decided to flip on Netflix and watched a ton of food documentaries – many of which had us convinced that we were to go 100% organic, immediately! I reached out to my dear friends at Loblaws and asked them for some advice on choosing organic foods at the store.

Lucky for me, Loblaws introduced me to their complementary Dietitian In-Store services which I was totally unaware of.

I jumped right on it and set up a visit with Nema McGlynn, the in-store dietitian at the Loblaws at Maple Leaf Gardens in Toronto.