Products

Fuel Foods

It's almost been four years since I've gone on this journey to become a food blogger/digital content creator, and what I've realized in doing so is this job comes with a blessing a curse. The blessing is I get to indulge in all of the incredibly delicious food on a weekly basis, and the curse is....I get to indulge in all of the incredibly delicious food on a weekly basis. One of the most common questions now I get asked all the time is "How are you still not fat?" A valid question because part of my job now is essentially eating things whether they are healthy or not. The notion of "It's For the Gram" is for better or worse part of my life now, and in coming to this realization over the past year I've learned to put my body and health first above all else.

It started with a total revamp of my lunch diet where portion control, salads, and fruits became the daily norm. Going to the gym consistently started do become a new lifestyle, and just being more mindful of what I'm putting in my body especially when I have control over it at home needs to be the new mentality. So of course when Fuel Foods reached out to me to try their nutritious meal options designed for people looking to live their best and most healthy life I was all on board. I need as much help as I can get!

Fuel Foods is a Toronto based company made up by Health, Wellness, and Nutrition professionals combining over 30 years experience, with an additional 20 years in the kitchen. They are a meal delivery service that understands the importance of readily-available, convenient nutrition that many of us working unfortunately just can't find the time or have the know-how on preparing meals that strike a healthy well-balanced lifestyle.

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I tried one of their meal boxes that was delivered right to my door step which consisted of nutritious main entrees, breakfast items, snacks, and even a cold-pressed juice to help get my eating schedule on track for the next few days. One of my favourite parts of their delivery process was that you receive text messages the day of the delivery that notifies you around what time you should be receiving your package. My text message said it would arrive in about 17 minutes and so it did!

Upon opening up the box, all the meals and snacks are well-portioned to ensure you are not over-eating, but still gaining all the nutrients one requires per day. Each meal is very clearly labelled on the front for complete transparency into how many calories, protein, carbs, and fat are in each meal/snack. For the main entrees it also explicitly states the exact date the food was cooked, and in my case it was cooked for me on Sunday and delivered on Sunday. Definetly made fresh to order!

Below you will find exactly what my meal box consisted of.

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Thai Green Curry Thighs

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Middle Eastern Ground Beef

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AAA Sirloin with Pesto Barley

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Gremolata Whitefish

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Protein Pancake Roll

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Bliss Bowl

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Chocolate Coconut Protein Bites

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Date Blueberry Protein Muffin

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Protein Cookie

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Arouse

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Having all these meals cooked, pre-portioned, and ready-to-eat saved me so much time after work each day which allowed me to do other things I enjoy. Not having to worry or think about what to make for my next meal was amazing, especially with the added bonus in knowing that what I was consuming through Fuel Foods was healthy and good for my body. If you struggle like me to strike a healthy lifestyle balance, I would highly encourage you all to give Fuel Foods a shot and let them help us reach our dietary and fitness goals in our daily routines. We only have one body so lets take care of it and make sure we fuel it up the right way.

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Starbucks Rewards - Ready To Drink Beverages

I was a man on a mission years ago trying to get my Starbucks Canada gold card, and now collecting these stars has never been easier! Starbucks Rewards are now available when you purchase Starbucks Ready to Drink beverages like their bottled "S'mores Frappuccino" or their "Vanilla Doubleshot Energy Coffee Drink" at your local grocery stores.

Just snap and submit your receipt digitally to automatically earn stars in your Starbucks app. Visit starbucks-stars.ca for more info!

Summer Fresh Perfect Pairings - Grilled Portobello with Pesto Chicken Topped with Bruschetta & Italian Sausage Stuffed Peppers Topped with an Artichoke Dip

Summer is slowly fleeting away as another month has come and gone. It seemed just like yesterday where we shared our Canada Day long weekend recipes featuring some of our favourite Summer Fresh dips and salads that could easily be grilled and assembled with less than 10 minutes to prep. In case you need a refresher the Canada 150 celebrations were kicked off with our Greek Burger topped with Tzatziki Feta & Cucumber sauce, and also a Roasted Red Pepper BBQ Pizza on Naan. If you haven't tried these recipes it's not too late to do so!

With another long weekend looming just around the corner, we've developed two new recipes perfect for another summer barbecue for this Civic long weekend using more of our favourite Summer Fresh products. They craft healthy, preservative-free gourmet salads, hummus, and dips using real and simple ingredients you can find in your own kitchen. They are a Canadian based, family run company with a manufacturing facility based in Woodbridge, Ontario. It's there where all the magic happens to package their products in their iconic containers with the bright green lids you'll find in your local grocery store.

Below you will find two of our original recipes that are easy to prepare, fun to grill, and even sweeter to eat. Both of these recipes can be deliciously paired off with the Summer Fresh Greek Couscous Salad.

Grilled Portobello with Pesto Chicken Topped with Bruschetta

Recipe:

1) Marinate some chicken breast and place it on the grill
2) Grill the portobello mushrooms whole on the grill
3) Once chicken breast is fully cooked, cut into small pieces and mix in 1/3 cup of prepared pesto
4) Place the pesto chicken on top of the portobello mushrooms, sprinkle Mozzarella cheese on top, and grill again for 2 more minutes or until cheese has melted
5) Top it off with Summer Fresh Brushetta

 

Italian Sausage Stuffed Peppers Topped with an Artichoke Dip

Recipe:

1) Place some Italian sausage on the grill
2) Cut the peppers in halves, take out the seeds, and place it on the grill
3) Chop up the grilled Italian sausage in cubes and stuff it inside the grilled peppers
4) Sprinkle Mozzarella cheese on top, and grill again for 2 more minutes or until cheese has melted
5) Top it off with Summer Fresh Artichoke & Asiago Dip

For even more recipe ideas with Summer Fresh, visit HERE to check out Summer Fresh's current Perfect Pairings guide to get even more grilling inspiration. This is real food you can feel good about everyday. Let us know how you like these recipes by sounding off below. Have a great long weekend everyone!

Limited Edition McDonald's Boombox

We've all been there before. We're out with a group of friends at the beach ready to have a good time and everything seems to be going right. Except for one thing. There's no music because no one brought the speakers! I think we can all agree that a party without music is really no party at all. McDonald's gets it and wants to make sure that problem never happens again by introducing something truly unique yet practical at the same time. Canadians will have a fun way to enjoy the summer tunes thanks to the limited edition McDonald's Boombox - an innovation on the recyclable drink tray that enables it to double as a portable speaker! Yes you read that right. McDonald's just went all Transformers on us and I'm lovin' it!

The McDonald's Boombox was developed in partnership with the University of Waterloo's Audio Research Group and also the industrial design group Stacklab. It may seem low tech but the McDonald's Boombox incorporates plenty of high tech thinking including foil-embossed double cone speakers that help raise sound volume and quality while minimizing sound leakage to effectively double your phone's built-in maximum volume.

Check out a behind the scenes video of how the McDonald's Boombox came to life!

So how do you use this 100% recyclable McDonald's Boombox? You simply just flip your drink tray over and pop out the two metallic red speakers on each side with your fingers. You then just insert your phone in a special slot in the middle designed for phone stability and easy menu control. Turn up the music on your phone and listen as the beats from your tunes get amplified to everyone around you!

The McDonald's Boombox will be produced in extremely limited quantities and only available while supplies last as part of a one-time promotion for McFlurry desserts at Woodbine Beach in Toronto on July 28th from 2pm to 7pm. They will be handed out at no cost in conjunction with celebrating the McFlurry dessert's 22nd birthday in Canada, (which is another made in Canada innovation proudly made with milk and cream from Canadian dairy farms). You can trust me that this is one collector's item you are going to want to get your hands on!