You know you should read the ingredient list before you put that box of energy bars in your basket, but who really knows what half those ingredients are? And their impact on your health?
To the rescue: Yuka mobile app. Just open the app, tap “scan,” point it at the product’s bar code, and get an easy-to-understand colour-code score out of 100. Tap on the rating and you get the positives and negatives that contributed to the product’s score and links to backup research.
Yuka can rate cosmetic ingredients, too, on their potential impact on your health and the environment.
Download Yuka for free — iOS and Android — at the Apple or Google app store.
Salt Spring Kitchen Co.
This woman-owned jam factory has been making small-batch sweet and savoury jams, preserves and hot sauces since 2012, creating meaningful employment on the tiny island off the B.C. coast. Culinary entrepreneur Melanie Mulherin launched with Spicy Tomato Savoury Spread, a next-level topping for sandwiches, burgers and more, selling it at local farmers’ markets, to rave reviews. Today, Salt Spring Kitchen Co. offers a range of savoury, spicy and sweet jams and sauces — Candied Jalapeño Relish and Sour Cherry, Rhubarb & Rosemary Spread are favourites — to pair with cheese and charcuterie, wow up your sandwiches or turn classic mains like beef brisket into something Michelin-worthy.
Order online (saltspringkitchen.com) or visit local gourmet food stores across Canada.
Cuisinart Hurricane Pro Blender
In my family, fall marks the start of soup season. If that’s true for you, visit your local farmers’ market, pick up some just-harvested vegetables and fruit, and blend up a velvety, restaurant-quality bisque. Cuisinart’s new Hurricane Pro Blender with innovative BlendLogix technology ensures consistent blending speeds regardless of density or volume of your veg or fruit, and the memory function lets you adjust preset times, then remembers the new settings.
Available online at cuisinart.ca, amazon.ca and kitchen-supply, hardware and electronics stores.
Caramunchies
If you’re looking for a new snack to enjoy on a cozy movie night, look no further than Alberta-based Caramunchies, clusters of creamy, melt-in-your-mouth caramel tumbled with crispy cornflakes. They’re handcrafted in small batches, packaged in resealable bags and come in fun flavours like Salted Caramel, Chocolate Drizzled, London Fog Latte and Reese’s Pieces.
Available online at caramunchies.com — you’ll find a store locator there, too.
Love and Lemons: Simple Feel Good Food
Much-loved food blogger Jeanine Donofrio’s new cookbook serves up 125 plant-focused meals I’m pretty sure carnivores will also love! Each chapter in Love and Lemons: Simple Feel Good Food — breakfasts, salads, soups, stews, dinners and desserts — is broken down into two parts: one for recipes you can make with minimal prep, and the other for food you can prepare ahead of time. Donofrio’s easy recipes include trusted tips and flow charts that offer visuals on how to mix and match ingredients.
Available at Chapters Indigo.
