PRODUCT REVIEW: Life Choices Foods & Yamba Yogurt

One of my most favorite parts of being a Culinary Nutritionist is having great companies approach me to develop recipes, review products & assist with their marketing.  It gives me the chance to get into my kitchen, feel out the product & create some approachable recipes.

Last week I was approached by Life Choices Foods & Yamba Yogurt, two great Canadian companies to develop new recipes and review some of their top selling products.  Last Sunday ended up so nice that a barbeque with some friends seem to be the best option to trial some new recipes and grab some feedback from my fellow foodies!

Some of their TOP Products

LIFE CHOICES FOOD:
 Gluten Free Organic Chicken Burgers, Gluten Free Organic Angus Beef Burgers, Hormone & Antibiotic Free Beef Sausages, Bare & Gluten Free Chicken Nuggets, Sustainable, Wild & Multigrain Fish Sticks & Hormone & Antibiotic Free All Beef Sausages

YAMBA YOGURT:
Plain, Blueberry & Strawberry Yogurt (All Natural)

Here's what I made, included are all the recipes when applicable! Yay!

The Lovely Michelle Rivard (@queenwestgirl) reaching for the Beef Sausages!

Accompanying dips:

Honey Mustard

Equal parts:
Raw Organic Honey (lightly menteld down)
Organic Whole Grain Dijon Mustard
Mix together and let cool.

We also used plain Dijon and a Sweet Chili sauce which paired well too!

The Sustainable Multigrain Fish Sticks (baked)

I made a Tartar Sauce with The Yamba Yogurt and Homemade Mayonaise

 

Tartar Sauce 

1/4 c Yamba Plain Yogurt
1/4 c Mayonaise
2 tbsp Fresh Parsley (chopped)
4 small Organic Dills (minced)
1/2 Lemon (juice only)
Sea Salt & Fresh Ground Pepper to season
Mix together and enjoy.  Dill is a great herb to use as a variation.

Mini Fish Taco w/ Sprouts and Tomato

Getting hungry yet?

BBQ'd Nude Chicken Nuggets

We decided to barbeque the nuggets to give off a great lightly grilled flavour.  Baking them would be just as DELICIOUS! 

100% Angus Beef & Chicken Burgers doing their stuff on the barbeque!

Had to put this shot in.  Mmmmmmm.

There were a few gluten free guests (as I am) and I must note it was a great having many quality options for myself and them.  We did a variation of Collard Green Burger Wraps & Local Onion Buns for the Gluten Lovin' Men :)

Greek Salad, Two Slaws and Organic Potato Salad kept the Vintage BBQ theme going.

Greek Salad

1 Cucumber (roughly chopped)
2 Tomatoes (diced)
2 Red Peppers (roughly chopped)
1 Red Onion (diced)
1/2 c Feta (sub out cheese for Vegan option)

Easy Greek Dressing

1 part Extra Virgin Cold Pressed Olive Oil

2 parts While Wine Vinegar (experiment with others?)

1 tsp Dried Oregano

Sea Salt and Pepper

Mix and dress salad.

Potato Salad

1 lbs Organic Potatoes (boiled and roughly chopped)

3 Eggs (boiled and roughly chopped)

1/2 c Yamba Plain Yogurt (more if desired)

3 tbsp Fresh Parsley (rough chop)

1 tbsp Whole Grain Dijon Mustard

2-3 tbsps Red Onion (minced)

Sea Salt & Pepper

Mix and Enjoy!  Other options could include adding Jerk Spice, Curry Powder or Dill.

Asian Slaw

1 Granny Smith Apple (Julienned)

1 c Radishes (julienned)

Handful of Pea Shoots

Dressing

1 part EVOO

1 part Sesame Oil

2 parts Rice Wine Vinegar

1 tbsp Raw Honey

1 tsp Dijon Mustard

Mix and Dress Salad.

Chicken and Collard Wrap W/ Salad Trio!

I would like to send a big THANKS to Life Choices Food & Yamba for all the treats and loved every minute of it!

As well as Thanks to Michelle Rivard Joshua Linde , Katie Gregory , Carolyn Weston

and Michael Brown for being such great help and the best Tasters a gal could ask for!

XOXO

Rachel Bies

CURRIES: Cashew and Coconut Thai Curry (Vegetarian/Vegan)

Happy almost Spring!

I must admit I've been very busy the last few months, which as a result made me very neglectful of my poor little food blog.  In keeping with my new year & spring resolutions (better late than never, right?), I will be feeding life back into & rejuvenating my blog! 

Last night I was craving some spicy Thai flavours so decided to make a quick & nutritious Cashew & Coconut Curry, which within moments of posting an image my Instagram (thehealthybies) I had friends/people asking for the recipe which is what inspired this fresh new post.  Hope you enjoy

.Cashew and Coconut Curry.

Here's what you'll need:

1 can or organic coconut milk or cream
1 sprig of lemon grass (chopped into large pieces-only to infuse flavour)
1 bunch of fresh basil (thai basil if you can get your hands on it)
1/2 large red onion (diced)
1 handful of green beans (whole or cut in half)
1 large sweet potato or yam (chopped)
1 handful of fresh peas
1 red/orange pepper (chopped)
2 tbsp organic, all natural cashew butter (and one more for eating!)
2 tbsp organic red curry paste (I'll post a homemade one soon)
1 tsp dried chilis (optional)
2 tbsp organic coconut oil

Here's what to do:

.The Final Product.

Sauté onion in coconut oil, until translucent.  Add in sweet potatoes and sauté until they begin to soften.  Add peppers, beans and peppers.  Cook for 3 minutes.  Add in curry paste and let heat for 1 min.  Slowly add in coconut cream and cashew butter, gently stirring.  Add lemongrass.  Bring to a boil, and then simmer for 10-15 mins until begins to thicken (spoon test~sauce should easily coat the back of a spoon).  I prepared this vegetarian last night, but adding shrimp or chicken would be equally delicious.  Finish off by removing lemongrass and topping with fresh basil leaves.  Great on its own, paired with brown/wild rice or rice noodles. 

***Shout-out to Fresh City Farms for my weekly organic vegetable delivery!

Here's ours from last night --->


Happy Cooking,

Rachel xox