Popeye's Walkley Rd opening day review!

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Popeye's Chicken Tenders just opened my meal!

Finally!!!

It is about time the Popeye's Louisiana Kitchen opened- first they were saying opening Labour Day weekend on their Facebook, then "they" (Popeye's head office) was claiming their Facebook was not their site and fake and that they never said they would be open then.
Oh, then Popeye's was claiming someone hacked their Redit? site and was making up dates.
I have never even seen the Redit/Reddit? site and just follow the Popeye's official Facebook page that links from their commercial site.
That they were making up such silly things is really just dumb-now "they" (Popeye's) is saying the same fake Facebook page is their real social media page.
People are not stupid, so nice try.

I went to Popeye's the very first day it was open. The Walkley Rd location is a short walk from my house. The first thing that hit me when I was walking to their restaurant was the smell of cooking oil in the air- even before I could see their store.
I've been living in the area 10 years and can say that no other place that serves food has left a cooking oil scent in the air.
Maybe that should be a separate post, but I am really not pleased about that.

But now on to the food, which is what most people want to read about.
The store was not very busy when I visited Thursday night. There was no wait in line and a lot of chicken was already cooked- so no wait at all for food.
I had a 3pc chicken tenders combo with 2 sides. The meal came with a biscuit and a soft drink too.
Bonus points for having Barq's root beer- that is my favorite root beer from the commercial kinds.
For my sides I had mashed potatoes w gravy and the mac and cheese.

The picture at the top of this review is how my meal was served when I was at the restaurant. I did not yet open the potato or mac and cheese. This is what the chicken tenders look like.
I have never had Popeye's before, so this is different.
Most places I get similar kinds of chicken, they seem to call them chicken fingers or chicken strips in Canada, it seems.
I thought the tenders looked very crispy and are a different presentation than what I am used to.
First I tried the biscuit when I got my order- the biscuit was good. It is a regular biscuit-if you like biscuits, these are fine and not too much to really say about these.
Well, I make amazing biscuit- so unless there is something really different about these I am a bit indifferent.
The biscuits I make have organic maple bacon and medium cheddar in them and are so good!

Tenders Combo w Mac and Cheez, Mashed &Gravy

This is what my Tenders combo looked like once I unpacked my meal at home.
The mashed potatoes with gravy were good, but I was not expecting there to be bits of chicken and meat in the gravy.
I have never had Popeye's before and no one at the store or even on Popeye's website make it clear that there is meat in this. Cajun gravy? well that does not really tell me too much about the item- that is has Cajun spices I guess.
When the gravy was hot, it was good on the mashed potatoes. The mashed potatoes were quite smooth and not lumpy at all. I'm not sure if this is from the potatoes being from one of those mixes or maybe they get these in a bag like the mash potato you get at the grocery store.
I could not find anything on Popeye's site about how these mash potatoes are made, so I kind of doubt someone is sitting there boiling and mashing these all day long.
When I tried the gravy once my potatoes had cooled off, the gravy was very gelatin-like and not that appealing.
I asked what the mac and cheese was like (I know, a silly question-but I had never been here before).
I asked if it was more like a pasta salad or like with an actual cheese sauce. The girl at the cash said it was similar to kraft dinner.
I did not look at the mac n cheese until I got home and I guess it is similar to the premium kraft dinner- the one that had the cheese pouch you just heat up. The cheese in this is somewhat like Velveeta. If you like mac and cheese, then this one is good.
This is probably one of the few not fried, no meat items on the menu here!

Chicken Tenders a closer look!

This is what the chicken tenders looked like when they are cut up. You can see that it is just white meat inside. These were well cooked and mild. The breading was very crispy. I could not finish my whole meal and so put some of the chicken tenders away for later.
I had to put them in a ziplock bag to keep the scent of oil out of my fridge.
Also when I did go to reheat these, my kitchen smelled like oil for quite a while until I ran my fan and aired out my place a bit.

With my meal I had the mustard sauce and the sweet heat sauce for dipping.
The mustard sauce was similar to Dijon and had a lot of mustard seed in it. I will surely get a lot more of this mustard sauce,I really liked it.
The sweet heat sauce was true to the description. The sauce was sweet and spicy- more spicy than I expected.

Overall my meal was good and I will be back to try more of the food.
One small issue I was unaware of was I had ordered the Combo Dinner or whatever it is called with the two sides. I did not realize until I got my receipt that I was charged a EXTRA 30 CENTS for a large Coke.
I was not told that there was an extra charge and also just wanted a medium drink- esp since I did not even fill my cup halfway with soda.
Also, the ice in the soda machine was not working very well- the ice cubes jammed and could not come out....so no cold soda, or st least not cold for very long.
If I have to think of any other issues so far, it would be that the menu is not always clear and it is on some computer screens that change their images all the time.
So one minute you see just the shrimp and fish prices, then the chicken comes up on the same screen afterwards. So, unless you read quite quickly, this can be slightly confusing if you are not familiar with the menu and have never eaten here before.

I was able to take a picture of the menu while there.

Popeye's Menu Dec 2015

Fried Chicken waiting to be sold!

Above you can see the menu and also how the chicken is cooked and ready to be packed up for orders. There is pretty much no wait as they are always cooking more chicken.
You can also see how the menu screens are always changing- the top one shows desserts and sandwiches, the one below then shows drinks and shrimp.

Here is my receipt, this is what I ordered:

My Receipt 

Have you been to the new Popeye's on Walkley Rd?
What did you order? Any suggestions on what menu items to try next??

Whole Foods Vegan holiday, Thanksgiving and Christmas dinner review!

With the holiday season here,I figured it would be a great time to post about my experience ordering a holiday (Thanksgiving) meal from Whole Foods in Ottawa, Canada.
Whole Foods just opened in Ottawa in November of 2014 at the newly rebuilt Lansdowne Park.
I ordered my meal online and entered my credit card info and then did not hear back from the store,so assumed my order was fine.
No issues when I went to get my food, an employee unpacked my bag to show me all the items and even told me how to reheat each item.
This was very helpful and unexpected.
One small issue I did have,but did not mention was that the Vegan Roast was different from the description-but the employee did not mention anything about this.
It was not a huge issue, as I had never tried any of the vegan roasts before,but thought the hazelnut/kale/cranberry roast sounded so good.

First I will post how each item came in the package and then a nice picture of my food arranged on a plate.

Gardein Veggie Roast and package.

This was what I was given instead of the "Vegan Roast en Croute (454g), made with cranberry,apple,hazelnut and kale".Instead I got this Gardein roast that was almost 1kg and also had 2 gravy packets in it.
The roast was still frozen when I got it,but I did slice it easily and ended up just cooking a portion for me-I was the only person here when I made my food.
But since the roast was frozen,I did save half in the freezer-that way I can eat some later-the best before is 2016 sometime.
The Gardein roast was good and it is the first time I tried one of these products. Usually I like tofu,so thought I would like this. The rice stuffing with this was very good too.
Whole Foods carries this roast year round and it costs $20 in the frozen foods section.

Gardein Roast sliced

This is what the roast looked like uncooked. The appearance is very similar to real turkey!
I have a very good chef's knife, so slicing this still mostly frozen was very easy to do!

Vegan Mushroom Gravy and Cranberry Sauce.

Here is the Vegan Mushroom Gravy (454ml) and what was supposed to be Cranberry Relish (226ml).
The mushroom gravy was the correct size and was very tasty-but it reminded me more of a soup as it was not really thickened. The taste was great,so that this was a bit thin did not bother me-you could put this on vegetables, turkey or even have it as a soup if you want!
The description for the cranberry part was written "Cranberry Relish (226ml)", but what I got was 454ml of cranberry sauce.
I like cranberry sauce,so not really a huge issue,but no one seems to be able to tell me what cranberry relish is supposed to be and I did ask at least 5 different employees at the store.
I usually make my own cranberry sauce and do not buy canned cranberry sauce,but if you do not want to make your own this one here is really good.

Herb Stuffing and Green Beans

On the left side of the picture is the Traditional Herb Stuffing (340g). I did not weigh the stuffing and am not really sure what traditional stuffing would really be as everyone I ask has a different version.
Some people just buy Stovetop, my mother makes stuffing with celery,herbs and some fancy bread. Others use rice or even meats or tofu.
This stuffing had some cranberries in it and was very good. There seemed to be a bit more than 340g of stuffing-next time I will remember to check on my kitchen scale.
On the right side is the Green Beans with Toasted Garlic and Leeks (340g). The green beans were very fresh and still crunchy when I got this dish-maybe if I did more than just reheat a small portion the green beans would have been more cooked? I eat green beans uncooked all the time and did not want to heat the whole dish as it is too much for one person.
There was not too much garlic, so this was good. I do not usually have green beans seasoned like this,so it was a nice change.

Vegan Mashed Potatoes

The vegan mashed potatoes (340g) were very good and made with soy milk instead of dairy. I actually like this better and usually do not eat mashed potato often. I do not remember what herb was in this,but it was good!

Final Presentation!

The pic above is the final presentation or plating for my meal. I wanted to make my food look nice for myself and thought this turned out quite well!
The plate for this meal is made by Fiesta in the US.

Another plate of food!

Above is another plate of food! I was hungry enough to eat 2 big plates of food that day.
If you have any vegan guests, this meal package is a great deal and everything tasted really good.
The price was also $29.99 and this is supposed to serve 2 or 3 people-but that even seems like a lot of food for 3 people.
I do plan on ordering this same meal package for Christmas dinner, as this was very tasty and would be good in case any vegetarian family members do decide to drop by.
Hopefully this review is helpful in deciding what to feed y our vegan friends and family!

-Have you tried any of these dishes? What did you think?

Popeye's fried chicken Walkley rd Ottawa update.

I live very close to the new and "opening soon" Popeye's Louisiana Chicken and thought I would finally get around to taking some pictures in case anyone might be interested.
So far Popeye's had said they would open the Walkley rd store labour day weekend, then they posted on their "official Facebook" that someone was posting fake info and this was not written by them.

They (Popeye's Canada official Facebook page) had even said that it was people on Redit that made this up.
Well, I have never even been on Redit, Reditt? and saw this info on Facebook.
But it was quickly deleted.
Then the next for sure opening date was going to be Thanksgiving (of what year,haha....).

Now Popeye's has gone back to saying they have "some issues" and will be opening soon.

Here are my pictures, I took these Sunday night!

Popeye's Entrance!

Still being built...

Coming Soon!!!

Well, that is about it! Wonder how long it will take to open?
Have you been to the St Laurent rd location? How did you like it?

Super Duper Pizza review! Ottawa pizza delivery, super tasty and quick delivery!

Pizza still in the box!

I've been ordering from this local pizza place in Ottawa south for quite a few years,but just never get around to taking pictures of my pizza to review.
Super Duper Pizza has been around quite a few years-not exactly sure how long,but I've lived in the south end of the city for at least 10 years so far.
Tonight I really was hoping for some fried chicken and they were all sold out :(, but my second choice was the pizza.
Actually I was going to get chicken and pizza and have a bit of both.
My order was for a small pizza with bacon and pineapple (not a ham fan), and this pizza had almost too much bacon (if that is possible), there was some pineapple- but not too much. There was also a lot of cheese,I was going to ask for less cheese but did not this time.
My small pizza weighed almost 670 grams on my kitchen scale and one slice was aprox 180grams.
The dough on the pizza is quite thick,so even just one slice is quite filling. I had almost 2 slices and then put the rest in my freezer for another day (you can reheat the slices nicely in the oven, wrapped in foil).
The small pizza is 10" and the cost was around $16 including tax. Small one item is $10.85 and extra items are $1.25.
There is also a special on Mon/Tues after 4pm that is much less than other days-I just need to remember to order then...
If I had to compare this pizza to any other kind in this city,this would be very similar to Colonade pizza.
This is not one of those thin crust,fancy ingredient kind of pies. I like those too,but for a thick crust,really cheesy pie this one is Super!

A slice of Super Duper Pizza!

Where else do you get pizza from in Ottawa? I'm always looking to try new places and types of food!

Food at the Capital Fair 2015, Waffle on a stick,mini doughnuts,fried Mars bar and poutine. A petting zoo too! (former Gloucester Fair, The Ex).

The 2015 edition of the Capital Fair just opened and is running until Aug 30.
Admission is FREE and it is located at the Rideau-Carleton Entertainment Center.
This is the same venue where they hold horse races and some concerts.
I have not been to any fair in quite a few years and thought it would be fun to check out for the petting zoo, stunt dog show and the food!

First I'll start with the food.
There was the typical fair food-poutine,fries,slush,pizza,mini doughnuts and a stand selling some waffles on a stick.
That sounded like an interesting item to try-I had a pepperoni and cheese filled waffle that came with marinara dipping sauce.
The waffle was made when I ordered it and the cheese was in the middle,with the pepperoni and batter on the outside. This was not a big sized item,but was very tasty- very similar to a pizza. I would definitely order this again.
There was also a grilled cheese and bacon waffle and that looked good too. There was some kind of bacon "bomb" waffle meat thing,but that was sold out-so did not get to try that.
Cost was $5.00

WAFFLE ON A STICK:Pepperoni and cheese!

Inside of the waffle on a stick!

Tom's Doughnuts and Cotton Candy from a vendor.

I also bought some other typical fair foods to take home-mini doughnuts and some cotton candy!
The doughnuts were from Tom's doughnuts and cost $5 for 18 from the stand when you come in the fair. There is also a Tiny Tom's doughnuts in the fair and they are $5 for a dozen.
My doughnuts were made right when I ordered them and were piping hot,so I thought they were really good.

Also had a lot of fun at the petting zoo,the goats and llama were very friendly!

Topbox July 2015 contents and review!

Hope everyone is having a great summer and enjoying the warm weather!
I have not done any Topbox reviews lately as I had some computer issues (broken laptop) and some injuries too...
But I plan to catch up with my reviews eventually...

One small issue I have with Topbox is that I have been subscribing since the very first box and lately the items are quite repetitive. Mascara almost every month, nail polish, eye liner, Arden skincare (yet again...).
Now I do eventually use my samples,but lately could not use any eye products as I had a lot of contact lens problems. My eyes were super irritated and even the sun bothered me a lot.
I seem to be fine for now after not using anything at all in my eye area and use only single use eye drops,so it must be my allergies acting up...

Finally I will just get to the contents of my July 2015 Topbox..... 

JULY 2015 TOPBOX!

*BareMinerals Lash Domination Volumizing Mascara: sample size 1.5ml $3.00/ full size 10ml $18.I do not use mascara every day, at most a couple times a week. Will try to use this soon...



*Blinc eyeliner: sample size 0.7g $3.25/ full size 6ml $26.
I like Blinc products and own their eyelash curler. I did not know they had a eyeliner,but have heard so much about their famous mascara-yet have never tried it.
This sounds really neat- a eyeliner that "peels off" with water and some pressure. I will try this soon...


*Elizabeth Arden Ceramides Capsules Daily Youth Restoring Serum: sample size 7 capsules $9/ full size 60 capsules $74.
This is a generous sample size and trial with a week's worth of capsules. I'm pretty sure I've tried these many times before and they seem decent. I already like a different product that comes in a similar format from another brand (a 10% vit C product).
But I will try this out for a week and report back...



*OFRA Cosmetics Universal Eyebrow Pencil: full size "sample" 1.13g $13.
This pencil looks like it will last me quite a long time. I naturally have very dark brows and do not really use anything on them. I will try and use this pencil a few times this week and see how that goes.



The total value of my samples this month was...........$26.25
That is good considering the cost of my box is
around $13.
As long as it is not pouring rain this week,I will use my samples and report back.

Topbox info card.


Did you receive a Topbox this month?
What did they send you?

Ottawa Night Market at Lansdowne Park 2015 photos!

The Ottawa Night Market is one of the first festivals held at the newly renovated Lansdowne Park.
The "night market" is also on for one more day, Sunday July 19 from 2-8 pm.
I was there on the Saturday evening and it was very crowded and there were quite a lot of food tents to check out, but the lines were quite confusing- it was hard to know where to line up and where to pick up your food.
Also a bit hard to tell what kinds of dishes were being sold. There were signs mostly with "Asian text" and the price shown in Canadian dollars.
There was also, oddly enough quite a lot of non-Asian food for sale- like Greek food,Churros,Gelato. frozen custard, blooming onion and potato stand....
There was also a lot of tents selling grilled items and the air was quite smoky due to this.
A lot of places has grilled squid and lamb and there was even Balut for sale.
I saw one guy eat one of those eggs with the baby bird in it and kind of unfortunately said "interesting food,but I do not eat eggs with baby birds in them", but if you like them then good...
I do not eat much meat,and there is a lot of animal products I do not eat,but if other people want to eat them.
Well the Balut was only $3,that is all I have to say about it.

Grilled squid at the market!

I did not get around to trying the squid, it was hard to know where the line started and the lineups were also very long and did not seem to be moving.
The squid was served on a stick and in a paper bag. Watching the workers cook was interesting though.

Oyster omelette!

The oyster omelette seemed like a interesting dish to try,but I did not feel like having eggs. Also,I do not really eat oysters. But if someone gave me this dish I would eat it.
Usually I eat omelette with mushrooms or mushroom and cheese or a vegetable version.

Sign from omelette stand.

Shrimp cakes with fish sauce.

I did buy some shrimp cakes with fish sauce. This was from a Vietnamese table. These were served at room temperature and had vegetables with a shrimp on top. Not too sure what the entire filling was, there might have been eggs in it.

Sticky rice with coconut, sesame and peanut.

After a long walk around I ended up going back to the same table and buying some sticky rice with coconut,peanut and sesame seeds. I think the rice had green tea on it also.
I eat a lot of Vietnamese food,but the place I go to does not really have desserts,so this was interesting to try.

If you have the chance, check out this event. It is free admission and outdoors.
It is also cash only and there are bank machines on Bank st and Whole Foods does cash back also.
The market was neat to attend,but they really need to have more organized lines and maybe some explanations about the foods. I know maybe what half the foods were and the rest,well the signs were not in English,so that did not help me as I was not there with anyone who reads other languages.

Does anyone have any recommendations for what other foods to try. I can always go back Sunday for lunch or dinner....

Feb 2015 Topbox review!

Finally getting around to reviewing my Feb 2015 Topbox!
It seems I am much slower at posting my reviews about Topbox. I think that one of the main reasons for that is that I have gotten quite a few products that are not as suited for my everyday use.
I have a ton of makeup brushes and so many eye products that it is hard to even use them all up.
At this moment the only subscription to anything I have is Topbox- I've been a "subscriber" since their very first box!!!

Feb 2015 Topbox!

These are the items I received in my Feb 2015 Topbox:

Eyeco: Hydrogel Eye Patch: Sample size- 1 pair, $4.50/ Full size 4 pairs $18.
These eye patches were very refreshing and relaxing to use. My eyes did feel more refreshed after using these. The eye patches are made of a kind of thick gel that is shaped like a half circle.
You just put these under your eyes and then relax for up to 20 minutes while your eyes get a nice treatment.
These would be good after a long day or being in the sun quite a lot.
If you put these in the fridge, they are even more refreshing.
I did not see any change for my dark circles,but my eye area did feel more refreshed and rested.
Also if you are careful and put the eye patches in a ziplock bag it is possible to get one more use out of these. (I did reuse these a couple days later,so I think that would be fine. not weeks later as this is for the eye area).

There is fragrance in this product, but it did not bother me and was not very noticeable.
I would buy this product, it was a relaxing treat.


L'Occitane: Almond Shower Oil: Sample size 30ml, $3/ Full size 250ml $24.
This is a product I have always wanted to try!
I was quite happy to receive this shower oil as my skin is extremely dry during the winter.
The shower oil had a light almond scent and was not overpowering at all.
Usually I use a fragrance-free shower oil, but this was a nice change.
If you use this oil with a bath puff there is a lot more foam and bubbles that if you used just your hands or a washcloth.
You do not need a lot of product when using this. I would buy this shower oil next time I pass by one of the Occitane shops!

Dermadoctor, Inc. :KP duty lotion: Sample size 30ml, 
My Topbox card said I should have received the Picture Porefect pore minimizer. I was sent the famous KP duty lotion instead.
I will have to try this on my dry elbows as I do not have "KP chicken skin".
The tube has a picture of a chicken and I keep on reading about this brand and how KP looks like chicken skin....
30ml is a good size to try and see how a product works for you!

SPRING! is finally here! Great time for some new resolutions...

Hi all!
Spring is finally here and all the snow has melted in my city.
The trees and grass are green again, what better time to make some new spring resolutions.

My first resolution will be to post more on my blog. I have really slacked off on this for too many reasons to list.
I am going to aim for one post every two days.
Now I am not sure if I should keep my blog format the same- posting about cosmetics and some food posts.
Would a separate food blog be better?
I do have a ton of food related posts and it might make more sense to separate the two subjects.

Resolution #2 will be to get out more and enjoy all the local festivals Ottawa has to offer.
The tulip festival is on right now and there are tons of lovely tulips all over the city!

My indoor gardening!

I'll end my post with this lovely flower that I grew indoors this winter.
This was from a Amaryllis kit purchased from the grocery store! My plant got so tall and ended up being higher than my kitchen counter.

Topbox Jan 2015 review! First box of the year!

This is my first Topbox for the new year!
I was very exited and was hoping my box would be better than the last few. My last couple boxes were good, but too similar and quite repetitive and I just never got around to posting my reviews.

I have been a Topbox subscriber since the very first box and I find lately there is just too much anti-age and eyelash items. I only have one face and have so many creams I may never run out.
Some of the products not suited for me are always passed along- family and friends are always pleased about that!

What was in my mailbox...a cute tube in the purple envelope!

My January 2015 Topbox items:

My first thoughts on this box are that it seems allright. I was kind of hoping for some body products as it is winter and I use so much body cream and have very dry hands too....
The first item I opened was:

So Susan Dual Brow Powder: full size! 4g, value $18
I  do not really use brow products and already have dark brows. But this seems like a nice product and I will try it out. It has 2 matte brown shades and a nice angle brush.
I will update once I tidy up my brows and use this a few times.
This is a British brand and the packaging states the powder is formulated in Italy and packaging made in China. That is good to know!

Update: I still have very dark brows and do not really use anything on them. A clear brow gel would have been a better product for me.

Matrix Oil Wonders: 10ml per packet- shampoo and conditioner x2, value:
There is enough for me to try on my hair twice. My hair is curly and past shoulder length. Matrix is a good salon brand,so I will see how this stacks up to the other Argan oil products I've tried from the salons!

Update: The shampoo was nice and I did manage to get 2 uses out of each packet. My hair type is dry, curly and thin hair. This shampoo was nice and the scent was fine. It would have been nicer to have the matching conditioner to try...


Elizabeth Arden Flawless Future spf 30 cream: 7ml, sample jar. Full size 50ml $60
Another spf cream. I guess it is useful as you need to wear sunscreen during the winter too. I will try this out the next couple days and report back....
My first impression is the cream is very light on my hand, but also quite fragranced. I am quite sensitive to fragranced face products.

Eyeko Mascara Off Eye Makeup Remover Wipes: 10pc package, value $12
This looks like it is a full size product. It sounds like a good product, but I do not use waterproof mascara often. I will try to use this soon...

Update: I did some travelling and brought the mascara wipes wipes with me, but did not wear any eye makeup the whole week. Usually I do not wear waterproof makeup, but with all the rain here this spring that might change...

*If you have used any of these products I'd like to know what you thought!

Foodiepages January 2015 Tasting Box!

Finally! I got my hands on one of the very limited edition Foodiepages.ca January 2015 Tasting Box!
Well, that was quite a mouthful of words to say....YUM!
I will do a "virtual unboxing". Here is how my box came in the mail:

First opening of my Jan 2015 Foodiepages box!

Next, I dug out all the well packaged products for this lovely picture...

Foodiepages items I received!

I started tasting the many items in my box as soon as I opened it. The Bushman's Bar was opened and very tasty- I might have forgotten to take a picture of the opened bar. The Coconut energy bites were tasted, as was the granola. I also made some nachos with the spinach sauce.
So far the only item I have not opened was the hot sauce. A more in-depth review will follow...


Granola Granade from Lovin' Every Batch (Toronto,ON):
This was one of the first products I tried. The packaging was really cute and has that handmade feel. The tag for the kind of granola was handwritten and pinned to the product bag. I like how there is a little heart cut out on the product tag- there is a lot of attention to detail in how this product is made.
The product description states the granola is vegan and gluten-free, that is always good to know!
There was a lot of nuts in the granola and it was not too sweet. It was quite filling and good for a snack or in between meals.
I did not see the company info up on Foodiepages yet and there was no website other than their Facebook page at the moment, so I'm guessing this is a fairly new company...

Lovin' Every Batch Granola Grenade!

Jalapeno Gin Hot Sauce from Andy the Butcher!

Jalapeno Gin Hot Sauce from Andy the Butcher (Ottawa,ON): 
I like that this product is made in Ottawa because I try to buy a lot of local and Canadian foods when possible. I have not opened this sauce yet,but I am sure it can be used on so many things- like vegetables,meats,soups. I do not eat very spicy foods,so I'll try this sometime soon....

Nomz Energy Bites!

Coconut Energy Bites from Nomz (Toronto,ON):
These energy bites were quite tasty and more filling than I expected.
There was 6 bites in the package and each one is 19g. That is a good size for a snack and it is easy to eat one of these. The energy bites also travel well and did not fall apart in the package.
I also like how the ingredients are simple and this is a low sodium product. The bites are made up of PECANS,DATES,ALMONDS,COCONUT,ORGANIC COCOA, COCONUT OIL.
If you like dates and nuts with a bit of chocolate then this is something you would like!
I am going to try and check out the other bites by Nomz soon!

Tomato Sauce from Aldanel!

Spinach Carnival Tomato Sauce from Aldanel (Charlottetown PE):
The description for the sauce lists it as being versatile for pasta,nachos,vegetables and more...

All Canadian Ingredient Nachos!

The sauce was opened as soon as I read this as I was hungry and it was dinner time. I made some nachos with the sauce and they were delicious. This sauce would be great on pasta or pretty much anything.
This is not a spicy sauce and that is great as many people can not handle too many spices. The portion size is also great for one or two people with not too much left over or waste. This sauce is also affordable and the company charges a flat rate for shipping!
My nachos were made with all Canadian ingredients- local cheese and tortilla chips.
The nachos deserve their own review.
Even my place mat was locally made by a lady who does weaving!

Bushman's Bar!

The Bushman's Bar from Boreal Berry Bar (Austin MB):
This is a bar that is made of dried berries and seeds that are blended together. I kind of expected there to be pieces of berry and seeds and not such a solid "blended" bar.
I thought I had taken a picture of the bar before I ate it and I guess I did not...
The bar is quite filling and was good- there is a lot more ingredients than I expected for a berry bar- was more expecting just a bar with seeds,berries and honey.
This reminds me more of the sports bars and is a kind of bar that would travel well if you do sports. The nutrition for the bar is very good- there is 9 grams of protein in a 60 gram bar and 9 grams of fat. Also 240 calories and 10% of daily iron and calcium requirements!
If I see this bar I will pick a couple up.

Overall I enjoyed the January Foodiepages box and had never heard of any of these products before!
So this was a very fun and tasty experience!

New year!! More writing coming soon...

January has crept up on me and before I knew it the month is almost over!
I did not get around to posting any holiday posts, but hopefully everyone is keeping warm this winter.
This year there will be a lot of reviews, food and how-to posts coming soon......