What foods am I excited about at next week’s Expo Manger Santé et Vivre Vert? A lot.
That’s why I had to talk fast this morning on Global Montreal with the lovely Laura Casella. Here’s everything I didn’t get to say about the companies that were kind enough to give me samples.
Why go to the Expo?
- Prices are always better than at stores, and you can try a whole line of products (e.g. all the flavours of vegan protein powder, Miels d’Anicet honey and raw vegan crackers) to find your favourite flavours before investing in a large box or container.
- To get a natural high off of all the superfood juices, organic dates, figs and goji berries and vegan ice creams.
- To renew your Montreal Vegetarian Association membership and get their bag of freebies and discounts.
- Because when you’ve walked so much that your feet are tired, you can sit and try out the detoxifying foot spa…
The Expo Manger Santé is actually one of the highlights of my year. Sometimes I go on two of the three days because my grocery cart isn’t big enough for just one trip…
What did you bring on Global Television to taste?
Cookie Stefanie: I make it my mission to try every gluten free bread every year and this Cookie Stefanie makes my favourite. It’s a gluten free bakery on St-Jacques Street just east of McGill.
They also have very good muffins and a Queen Elizabeth cake that’s incredible.
Knosh Tempeh: This is an artisanal, small batch tempeh I hadn’t seen in Montreal before. It’s actually made here using locally grown organic beans and seeds.
The owner of the company, Kali, brought us in her mung bean & hemp seed tempeh and her Soybean & sunflower seed tempeh.
She seasoned one her own version of a Montreal steak spice and the other with a sweet, salty and spicy Indonesian sauce, which you can easily do at home.
Then you just bake, steam, sauté, grill, stew or fry the tempeh and it’s a great vegetarian protein source.
Emile Noêl: these gluten free crispbreads come in walnut, pumpkin, sesame and flaxseed and are made with the nuts and seeds left over from pressing their organic oils.
They’re rice flour and corn flour-based with a little cane sugar for sweetness.
Kemia: These Mediterranean preserves are super high quality. They include sundried tomatoes, artichokes and artichoke spreads, shakshuka spread, olives, Tunisian harissa, preserved lemons and all sorts of delicious things soaked in or blended with extra-virgin olive oil, so perfect for salads and appetizer platters.
Impress Foods: We had probiotic waters (I said juices on the show – oops!) from impress Foods. The waters have a little cold-pressed juice juice for flavour, but with digestion-aiding probiotics added and a little maple for sweetness. The high-pressure pasteurization keeps more nutrients in the juices and more probiotics alive.
Fermented Organic Protein and Greens: We had chocolate, tropical and vanilla chai flavoured protein powders from Fermented Organic Protein and Greens. They’re safe for women who are pregnant (like Laura) or breastfeeding and they have 21 g of vegan protein per serving (and are high in iron, as Laura pointed out). Just add them to water for a quick breakfast or lunch that will definitely fill you up.
All the fruits, vegetables and grasses are grown at the company’s organic farm in the Okanagan –and they’re sweetened with stevia.
Madame Labriski: We had date puree from Madame Labriski. It’s so convenient for adding to baked goods in place of refined sugar. It’s higher in iron and fibre and has a richness like maple syrup. We also had her oatmeal cookies and her brownies, which you could smell from the moment I opened the package. They’re baked fresh in grocery stores, so you’ll smell them the next time you hit the bakery aisle at IGA or Metro. Founder Mériane Labrie is a marathon runner, mom and entrepreneur. Happy International Women’s Day to her too!
GoGo Quinoa: We had cauliflower, chickpea and lentil and quinoa fusilli from Quebec-based GoGo Quinoa. We also had quinoa flakes and buckwheat flakes – perfect for making gluten free porridge in the morning, or like I do and make gluten free oatmeal cookies or apple crumble. There’s a contest on at the Expo from this company to win a trip to Bolivia, so don’t miss their booth!
Smart Sweets: Then for dessert, we had candies from Smart Sweets, made without all the sugar, artificial colours and artificial flavours of regular candy. They use chicory root fibre, which is naturally sweet, and stevia, so they have about 1/8th of the regular amount of sugar per candy and about half the calories. And they’re gluten free and non-GMO.
Solo Fruits: These Quebec-made soy-based frozen desserts are delicious. The vanilla, chocolate and coffee cream-less ice creams are vegan, non-GMO and only use a little organic cane sugar. The raspberry and mango sorbets have no sugar added (they use juice concentrates) and I believe the lemon sorbet has a little sugar just to balance the delicious sour flavour of the fresh fruit.
How much are tickets to the Expo?
$15 or $12 for students and seniors
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