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In Gift Guide

Foodology Holiday Gift Guide 2019: Small Kitchen Appliances Edition

The holidays are in full swing and I spent the year trying out different gadgets for the kitchen. As a cook and a new mom, I love gadgets that help make life easier preparing a meal and of course makes cooking a breeze.

Here are a few of my favourite gadgets for 2019 that you might want to consider getting your loved ones. Do note there are no affiliate links, but some of these items were gifted to us throughout the year to give it a test.

Here are 10 of our favourite items.

Instant Pot

Instant Pot is a slow cooker, rice cooker, yogurt maker, pressure cooker, egg cooker, sautees, steams, and so many other things. No wonder, this is one of the hottest appliances out there. It can do it all. Of course, the most popular function is the pressure cooker as it can create meals very quickly. Great for a busy family.

Website:
https://instantpot.com/

Nespresso Vertuo

I’ve been skeptical about Nespresso machines until I got one. I would go out for coffee often just to get a nice strong latte, but then I realized I could just do it at home and the quality was pretty good and there are so many options for the capsules. I especially love making iced lattes in the Summer.

Website:
https://www.nespresso.com/ca/en/vertuo-coffee-machines-ranges

HUROM Citrus Juicer

If you love making juice, it’s easier than ever with the HUROM Citrus Juicer. It’s able to squeeze as much out of the fruits as possible. Much better than with hand. It’s perfect for not just juice, but cocktails, mocktails, or anything else that needs juice and pulp.

Website:
https://www.hurom.com/products/cj-citrus-juicer

Zojirushi Rice Cooker & Warmer

When it comes to rice, we are really serious about how our rice is cooked. Whether it is white, brown, or mixed rice, it must be very fluffy. I have had my Zojirushi Rice Cooker for 2 years now and I would not use anything else. I’ve tried cooking rice with the Instant Pot but it really didn’t cut it.

As we aren’t a large family, we opted with the 3-cup version for just our family of 3. There are setting for white/mixed riced, sushi rice, brown rice, GABA brown rice, long grain white rice, steel cut oatmeal and quick cooking. It does take a little while longer to cook brown rice, but it tastes amazing.

Website: https://www.zojirushi.com/app/category/rice-cookers

SodaStream

I’ve grown to really love sparking water and I just hate how many bottles accumulates and it is very wasteful. When I got my SodaStream many years ago, I always had sparkling water at my fingertips. Over the years, the machines got better and better, thus meaning more gas. I love my sparkling water really fizzy. You can use it in cocktails, mocktails, and whatever else that needs sparkling water.

Website: https://sodastream.com/

T-Fal Acti-Cook & Stir

Another great kitchen helper for whipping up a meal is the T-Fal Acti-Cook and Stir. It can create a plethora of different meals without monitoring, stirring, and just one appliance to get it done. If you need an extra hand in the kitchen, their intelligent stirring paddle will help. Imagine stir fry, curries, pudding, soup, and much more. There is also 18 different preset cooking programs to cook many things.

Website:
https://www.t-fal.ca/en/acticookandstir

Vitamix Ascent A3500

The powerhouse of all high powered blender is the Vitamix. From smoothies, dessert, soup, dips & spreads, it does a great job turning simple ingredients into a smooth smooth puree or whatever you need pulverized.

We absolutely love it.

Website:
https://www.vitamix.com/ca/en_us/shop/a3500?skuId=062436

Zojirushi Micom Water Boiler and Warmer

Another Zojirushi appliance, but I have my water boiler on all the time. It make making a bottle of milk easy for the baby, and a pot of tea for myself. I grew up with these water boilers and it’s an Asian household essential.

Website: https://www.zojirushi.com/app/product/cdwcc

Hamilton Beach Sure-Crisp Digital Air Fry Toaster Oven

Having an oven at home is great, but we cook a lot of smaller batched dishes that don’t require the use of the full over. Hamilton Beach has their Sure-Crisp Air Fry Toaster Oven and we have been loving it over Thanksgiving. There are 6 different settings – Air Fry, Toast, Bake, Broil, Pizza & Rotisserie. It’s a pretty good size that it can fit 6 slices of bread and even a 12″ pizza. From air fried cauliflower to pizza pockets, it worked for us.

Website:
https://www.hamiltonbeach.com/sure-crisp-digital-air-fryer-toaster-oven-with-rotisserie-31193

T-Fal’s Thermo-spot Frying Pans

I have been using my trusty T-Fal pans with the thermo-spot for about 5 years now. I love how it takes the guess work out of figuring out when the pan is hot enough to start cooking. The spot turns solid red and it’s ready to get cooking. They are also very durable and non-stick.

I love how when you can get the pan hot, it gives steak a nice sear. Also, I love it for making dumplings too.

Website:
https://www.t-fal.ca/en/cookware

Final Thoughts

Well, there it is, 10 of my favourite appliances in our house. Each one has a purpose and has made our life easier in the kitchen. Of course, having all 10 would be overkill, but pick and choose the items that works in your space.

What is your favourite small appliance in the kitchen?

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In news

Ready: View, split and pay your bill on your phone in Vancouver

When dining at restaurants, sometimes I’m in a hurry and can’t be bothered by the slow process especially if its super busy. My friend and I like to maximize on our experience before heading off to our next location either for more food or a show.

Vancouver-based technology – Ready allows diners to view and pay their check with their phone by scanning a nearby QR code. This means no wait, no app download or sign-up needed unlike other competitors in the space.

Ready helps alleviate the stress on servers while providing a more seamless experience for guests. 

We went to Tap & Barrel in Vancouver to check out how Ready works. If you see the QR code at your table, you’re ready to go. Just make sure you have a smartphone that can scan QR codes.

Scanning QR Code with iPhone 8
Viewing bill

I found it relatively and intuitive to use, but then again I am exactly their target market and I work in the tech sector. Nonetheless, I was able to review the bill and pay with Apple Pay. They also take all major credit cards and Google Pay as well. You get an emailed copy of the bill after too. Unfortunately, they cannot accept gift cards at the point in time, but it is on their radar.

There was also the option of splitting the bill, which is awesome if you’re in a group. We all know how painful it can be when figuring out who had what and doing the math. Ready does it all for you and can do many transactions.

It’s good to see this option but it did feel a bit strange promptly paying and then go. It’s slowly becoming prevalent at more casual restaurants around town which gives customers more options.

Website:
https://readytopay.com

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In product

HUROM Citrus Juicer: Review

HUROM just released their brand new Citrus Juicer. Ever since I was a kid, juicing oranges were a chore but it did give your arm a good workout. Much has changed since then, so electric Citrus Juicers have made juicing your favourite citrus fruit a lot faster and easier.

The HUROM Citrus Juicer has a beautiful design where you can keep it up on the counter or store away in your cupboard. You can juice all your citrus fruits and yield the maximum amount of juice leaving the rind empty. Fruit isn’t cheap these days, so getting the most out of it is important.

Automatic Squeezing

When the citrus juicer handle is pressed down, the motor will work to automatically mimic the motion of hand-squeezing a fruit. We were really surprised it worked so effortlessly and efficient.

If you really love freshly squeeze juice in the morning, you can now do it.

Drip-stop Juice Outlet

You can open and close the juice outlet to control the amount of juice you’re pouring into the glass. This is to avoid any drippage just incase you cup is too big or small.

I personally like it to drip into a larger jar or pyrex cup to easily distribute the juice later on.

Quiet Motor

Unlike a blender, the motor is quiet. If you’re whipping up a special breakfast and need to make some juice, you won’t wake anyone up.

Safety

All HUROM juicers are UL-certified for customer safety and come without any blades or sharp parts, making it safe for the entire family. This is especially important if your kids are helping you juice too.

Citrus Juice Medley

My husband loves grapefruit and tangerine juice from the grocery store, but there is definitely something extra special about freshly made juice. I was at the grocery store and saw that navel oranges, grapefruits, limes and lemons were in season. I decided to incorporate these 4 citrus fruits into an exceptional beverage.

Ingredients:

  • 4 Navel Oranges (or any type of orange that is in season)
  • 1 Grapefruit
  • 1/2 Lemon
  • 1/2 Lime

Directions:

  1. Cut all citrus fruits in half.
  2. Trim the stem/top of fruit for easier extraction.
  3. Put a jar in front of the juice outlet.
  4. Put the citrus halves in the squeezer cone.
  5. Press the handle to extract juices.
  6. Repeat until all citrus fruits are squeezed.
  7. Drink and enjoy.

Sparkling Citrus Mimosa

The classic brunch accompaniment is a mimosa made with orange juice and champagne. Why not add more citrus to it?

Ingredients:

  • 3 Navel Oranges (or any type of orange that is in season)
  • 1 Grapefruit
  • 2 mini bottles of Champagne (200ml bottles)

Directions:

  1. Cut all citrus fruits in half.
  2. Trim the stem/top of fruit for easier extraction.
  3. Put a jug in front of the juice outlet.
  4. Put the citrus halves in the squeezer cone.
  5. Press the handle to extract juices.
  6. Repeat until all citrus fruits are squeezed.
  7. In a glass, pour in champagne, then the citrus juice.
  8. Drink and enjoy.

Cleaning Up

To clean the Citrus Juicer, all you need to do is disassemble the part that touch the fruits and juice. Just 4 parts which you can wash in running water and soap. You definitely do not want to put it in the dish washer. Hand washing is best.

You can then wipe the exterior of the machine with a damp cloth.

Final Thoughts

Overall, it was very effective in juicing all the citrus fruits easily. It was able to squeeze as much out of the fruits as possible. Much better than with hand.

We did find that the citrus juicer was a bit tall, so storing in or under cabinets might be difficult depending on the height. There is no lock feature to bring the handle down when in storage.

If you are a huge citrus fan and like a bit of pulp in your juice, definitely check out the HUROM Citrus Juicer.

Website:
https://hurom.ca/products/cj-citrus-juicer

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In Dessert

Quick and Easy Frozen Yogurt Station at Home

If you’re at home hosting a few people over or even just having a fun evening with the kids, why not get creative in the kitchen and make your own frozen yogurt at home?

Some high power blenders like the Vitamix have a frozen dessert preset, so it creates items like ice cream and frozen yogurt a breeze.

We took this and decided to make 2 frozen yogurt treats – mango frozen yogurt and mixed berry frozen yogurt. With very similar ingredients, we were able to have a wide range of flavours to cater to different people’s flavour preferences by swapping out the fruit.

All you need are a few ingredients – fruit, yogurt, and honey to create frozen yogurt in seconds. The honey is used to add a touch of sweetness depending on what yogurt and fruit you choose.

I like the use of frozen fruits as they are picked at the peak of ripeness so you never have to worry about the quality. Also, saves you time from chopping and freezing them.

Once you blend everything up, you can serve it straight from the blender, or you can store them in tupperware containers for them to firm up a little bit more in the freezer and serve at a later time.

The Frozen Yogurt Station is fun and interactive. Plus, there is no mystery to what’s inside your frozen yogurt.

Mixed Berry Frozen Yogurt

Serves 2

Ingredients:

  • 1 cup frozen mixed berries
  • 1.5 cups of 2% Greek Yogurt
  • 2 tablespoons of honey

Directions:

  1. Add mixed berries, yogurt, and honey into a high powered blender.
  2. Blend for 30s – 1 minute on high to get it all blended nice and smooth.
  3. Scoop into bowls or cones.
  4. Enjoy.

Mango Frozen Yogurt

Serves: 2

Ingredients:

  • 1 cup frozen mango
  • 1.5 cups of 2% Greek Yogurt
  • 2 tablespoons of honey

Directions:

  1. Add mango, yogurt, and honey into a high powered blender.
  2. Blend for 30s – 1 minute on high to get it all blended nice and smooth.
  3. Scoop into bowls or cones.
  4. Enjoy.

Well, there you have it, frozen yogurt made at home with only 3 ingredients and very easy to make in a high power blender. So easy that you can create a frozen yogurt bar at home in a breeze.

I really enjoyed making it with the family and they had a blast.

We were gifted a Vitamix Ascent A3500 for use in creating this blog post, but all opinions are our own.

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In Recipes

Saving Time in the Kitchen by Making Soups and Smoothies in a blender

Being a new mom, having time to prepare and eat nutritious meals has been a challenge as taking care of Baby E has us always on our toes. A lot of families with new borns just don’t have the energy to cook a full meal for a little while. A lot of my friends with kids rely on other family members cooking for them, getting take out, or making frozen meals.

There are some quick ways to meal prep nutritious meals to get in the vitamins you need for the day. Two of the most common items to make in a Vitamix blender are smoothies and soups. As being a high performance blender, it does an amazing job at making smoothies, hot soups, dips & spreads, as well as frozen desserts.

Here are 2 of our favourite ways to make smoothies and soups much quicker with these short cuts while using a Vitamix blender.

Portion Out Smoothie Ingredients for Quick Blending

Buying fresh produce can go bad quickly if you lose track of what’s in your fridge and when certain items expire. What our family likes to do is to portion out smoothie ingredients into containers and freeze them. You can make the same smoothie for the week or mix and match the items that go into each one.

When it’s time to make a quick smoothie, all you need to do is dump the container of ingredients and pour in your favourite liquids like almond milk.

Kale Ginger Smoothie

Ginger is an ingredient that is known to keep your blood flowing, warm your extremities, and keep away the chills. During postpartum, I had a lot of ginger because with all the blood loss from giving birth, I was cold and pale for the first 2 weeks.

Serves 2

Ingredients:

  • 1 Tbsp fresh ginger, skin removed
  • 1 1/2 cups chopped frozen mango
  • 1 small ripe frozen banana
  • 1 large handful spinach
  • 1 small handful kale
  • 1/2 medium lime, juiced
  • 1/3 cup light coconut milk
  • 2/3 cup unsweetened plain almond milk
  • 1 Tbsp raw hulled hemp seeds (optional)

Instructions:

  1. In a container, freeze ginger, mango, banana, spinach, and kale ahead of time.
  2. Add almond milk, lime juice, light coconut milk, and the ingredients in the frozen container into a high powered blender.
  3. Blend for 1 – 2 minutes on high to get it all blended nice and smoothly.
  4. Pour smoothie into a cup and top with hemp seeds.
  5. Enjoy.

Prepare Soup in a Blender and Freeze leftovers for the Future

Nausea doesn’t just happen in your first trimester, it can happen postpartum as well when all your hormones are trying to settle back to normal but new mom’s bodies go through quite a bit of change hormonally to adjust to life without a baby inside their belly.

If it’s yourself making the soup or someone else, it is a lifesaver to have some frozen in the fridge for a quick meal as it can last 4 to 6 months. You just need to defrost and heat it up. Also, to cut down on dishes, you can make the soup in a blender. The friction of the Vitamix blades can make steaming-hot soup in under 10 minutes, right in the container with less mess.

Creamy Brussel Sprout Soup with Bacon

Serves 4-6

Ingredients:

  • 8 slices of thick cut bacon
  • 1 small onion, chopped
  • 300g Brussel sprouts, halved
  • 1 large potato, peel and cut into cubes
  • 2 garlic cloves, chopped
  • 2 thyme twigs
  • 4 cups of chicken broth
  • Salt and Pepper

Instructions:

  1. Cook bacon in a frying pan or oven until crisp. Follow instruction on the package. Let cool and cut into bite-sized pieces, then set aside.
  2. Add onion, Brussel sprouts, potatoes, garlic, thyme, salt and pepper into a pot on medium high heat to cook until veggies soften.
  3. In a blender, add the cooked veggies, 2 tablespoons of fat from bacon, and chicken broth. Blend the soup on high for 10 minutes until the soup is smooth and piping hot.
  4. Serve and top it with bacon bits and Brussel Sprout leaves.

Tips for Freezing Soup

  • Let soup cool before freezing. To speed up the process, you can put it in an ice bath.
  • Don’t full up containers to the top. Leave 1 inch to give the soup room to expand and limit contact with the air, which may cause freezer burn.

There you have it, 2 quick items to make in a Vitamix blender to make a quick smoothie and soup for new mothers who are already super busy taking care of a newborn. Any time saved can be used to tend to boding with the newborn baby.

We were gifted a Vitamix Ascent A3500 for use in creating this blog post, but all opinions are our own.

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In Home

Weber Spirit II E-210: Liquid Propane Gas Grill Review

Summer is here and that means we need to get grilling outdoors. It was Father’s Day and we wanted to do something different and we really never have BBQs in the backyard. The family debated which BBQ to get and we finally settled on the Weber Spirit II E-210, which uses liquid propane gas as it’s source of fuel. We had 2 previous charcoal BBQs, but it was time to move to propane and get something a bit fancier. Just remember, the propane tank is separate so you’ll need to buy this in addition.

Weber Spirit II E-210

This two-burner grill is built to fit small spaces, but there is the larger E-310 version with three burners. The grill has 450 square centimetre of total cooking space, which is good for 3 -4 people. We had 7 people and didn’t find this an issue at all since we were all taking our time and casually eating through the evening. We used the warming rack to cook our tinfoil packs of veggies. With side tables for placing spices, containers and whatever else you need, it’s convenient to have the extra space. One of the side tables is collapsable if you want to make it more compact for storage or to fit it into an even smaller space.

The burners were very strong and we were able to preheat the grill to 500 degrees. With the built in lid thermometer, this was easy to keep track of. Preheating is key as you want to get beautiful grill marks on your food and helps create a nice crust on your steak. One thing we found a bit problematic is that you can’t turn on the secondary burner (right side) on its own, the primary burner (left side) needs to be on at all times.

Some Assembly Required

When we got the BBQ home, there is some assembly required. With my mom and I, we spent about 1.5 hours on it. I dubbed it adult Lego. There were so many parts, that we had to be organized and read the instructions carefully. You can’t be half paying attention or else, you have to redo steps like what we found out several times. Sometimes hardware stores will provide free delivery and assembly, but we opted for no tax since we couldn’t wait almost a week for it to be delivered from the local store. We wanted to make sure we had it ready for Fathers Day.

Grill, Grill, Grill the Food

The Weber Spirit II E-210 was a great upgrade to what we had previously. We got it for $549 CDN at Lowe’s, which is a good price and we didn’t have to pay tax as there was a promo going on. No regrets getting this as we will be using it for years to come in the Summers.

Website:
https://www.weber.com/CA/en/grills/gas-barbecues/spirit-ii-series/

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In Promotion

How to save money this Thanksgiving with YP Grocery

With a traditional Canadian Thanksgiving dinner, it can cost anywhere from $250 to over $350 on average. My family and I have a huge thanksgiving dinner every year and it definitely is not cheap. With costs going up each year, there is an easy way to see coupons and deals from your local stores all in one place. This Thanksgiving, be thankful for cost savings this year with YP Grocery.

The YP Grocery App is free and the digital grocery experience allows consumers to create shareable grocery lists, browse the best deals from your favourite stores, keep all your loyalty cards in a virtual holder, and more. You can find 500+ flyers from 6,000+ stores across Canada, syndicating all the best deals from stores you already shop at, right to your phone. Definitely easy to manage shared grocery lists, compare prices, price match, and find deals and coupons to save on your grocery bill.

Based on a case study that tracked deals on ingredients for a typical turkey dinner over a one week period, dinner hosts can save over 25% on their groceries just by using the YP Grocery app. For a $337 dinner, this could save shoppers up to $86 at the same stores where they already shop.

Start planning your Thanksgiving meal for this long weekend and begin saving at your local grocery stores.

Download now: https://grocery.yellowpages.ca/

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In product

Sudio Sweden: Vasa Blå Review

sudio-vasa-1

Sudio Sweden produces earphones with a nice aesthetic look. With the new iPhone 7, they removed the earphone jack, so bluetooth earphones was on my list.

sudio-vasa-3

Dealing with cords is a pain and if you need to carry an adapter around for wired headphones, it’s just more items you need to carry on the go. Sudio’s wireless bluetooth line of earphones – Sudio Vasa Blå was sent to me and I gave it a try for a month to see how it compared to my other headphones and wireless earphones.

The Look

sudio-vasa-3-2

The wireless earphones come in 4 colours – black/rose gold, pink/gold, blue/gold and white/rose gold. All of them come with the rose gold or gold accents on the ear bud. I went with the black since we have the matte black iPhone 7. Black earphones seemed to make sense.

The box comes with:

  • Vasa Blå earphones with 4 pairs of extra sleeves
  • Owner’s Manual & Quality Assurance Card
  • Genuine Leather Carrying Case
  • Metal Clip
  • Charging Cable
  • Battery

The Performance

sudio-vasa-2

I listen to a wide range of music from EDM to soft piano/violin instrumentals, so I put these earphones to the test.

I didn’t have any issues with battery life, it did last quite a long time without needing to be recharged. You get up to 8 hours of playtime. If they are inactive, the batteries last up to 10 days.

The sound quality is decent, but it is missing more of the bass that I look for when listening to music. I enjoy earphone and headphones that have more range and make you feel immersed in the song. I felt like these missed the mark.

The Price

sudio-vasa-2-2

The Sudio Vasa Blå retails online for $140 and it’s on par with a few other wireless earphones. When it comes to electronics, I do tend to invest more into it so it lasts longer. You’ll have to evaluate if you want these to be your primary earphones or if this is more on the go.

If you feel like it’s for you, you can use my promo code – foodology15 for 15% off.

Final Thoughts

sudio-vasa-1-2

Overall, the Sudio Vasa Blå are decent earphones, but it wouldn’t be my personal favourite for wireless earphones. It was missing the heavy bass levels that make you feel immersed in the songs. If i’m travelling and needed something convenient to carry around, I would consider this.

 

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