La Belle Verte Gatineau review of raw foods!

I was at the Raw festival in Ottawa earlier today.

There were many health food stores and local restaurants that were giving out food samples and selling plates of food.

Finally after browsing the many choices available- there must have been at least 15 different booths selling food.

Settled on a "raw" plate from La Belle Verte in Gatineau (Hull).

That was one place I had never heard of before and I'm not very familiar with raw sandwiches or "cooking" as you could say.

For raw food preparation, I know food can not be heated as that destroys the enzymes and other good things, usually to make breads grains are soaked and dried in a long process.

The plate I had contained a "pizza" like flat triangle (not pictured and already eaten) that was composed of a chewy flat bread made from grains (much like the sandwich in the pic) and topped with tomato, avocado and some sprouts.

The picture here is of a sandwich made of a sprouted grain bread that seems more like a dehydrated cracker or a very dense bread- it was actually quite filling and slightly sweet.

The filling was some hummus? a kind of garlic seasoning, marinated onions (they were pink),some pickle,sprouts and not too sure of the other vegetables. There was also some patty that was made from nuts (and not too sure what else).

The "sandwich" was quite good and the filling seemed very fresh.

I am not sure of the prices at the restaurant as this was eaten at a festival and not a full sandwich.

There was also quite a lot of garlic used in the seasoning of the sandwich,but it was quite tasty.

Hopefully I will have a chance to be in the Hull area to see the actual restaurant one day.

The location is at:

La Belle Verte

166 rue Eddy, Gatineau

819-778-6363

open from 1 to 18 Mon/tues

11 to 21 Wed/Sat

the flour shoppe! new cupcakery on Bank st!

I was just walking down Bank street today on the way to the Raw foods show and saw there was a new cupcake bakery that has opened in the Glebe area.

Had to stop in as I do like sweet pastries.

The cupcakes I got were to go in a cute take-out box as I was on the way somewhere else.

The people working at this little cupcake store were very friendly and the display in the store with cupcakes on small platters behind some glass at the counter is also nice looking.

The first cupcake (on the top) that I tasted was the Lemon Earl Grey- the one with the small specks in it.

The size of these is not gigantic, but enough of a portion for a dessert or snack.

These seemed to be the size of small muffins (or the "standard" muffin tin size).

The wrappers on all the cupcakes are dark brown so it is hard to see the cupcake in a picture without taking off part of the wrapper.

Now to the actual tasting of the cupcake:

The cake part was just right, not too dry and not too oily either. There was not a very strong Earl Grey taste and it was very light. The icing was piled very high in a pretty swirl and just about as high as the cupcake base.

The icing was a nice and fluffy buttercream.

The specks in the cupcake,I think are either vanilla bean or bits of earl grey tea leaves-did not think to ask about that.

If you buy two (or several) cupcakes you can get them in a nice cardboard box that has a cardboard tray so your cupcakes travel better!

Carrying cupcakes around several hours is probably not reccomended if taking a photo.

Now on to the second cupcake tasted (on the right).

That was a Rootbeer flavored cupcake.

The Rootbeer flavor was very light and almost hard to notice.Was actually expecting a much stronger kind of flavor.

Icing was a meringue type of icing and thicker than the buttercream. The icing did not seem to have a Rootbeer taste that I could tell (but then I had eaten something with very strong garlic and it was harder to taste more subtle things).

Going to this new store was fun and enjoyable and I will go back to try the flavors that change almost every week.

Cupcakes cost $2.50 each and that seems like a very good price.

There is also tea and coffee for sale and you can sit in the store and eat your treat there.

If you also feel the need to exercise, there is a 24 hour gym a few doors down from this bakery!

While I was there I also saw a cupcake called "father's day" that has maple icing and a peice of caramelized bacon on top.

Did not have the chance to try that,but looked very interesting.

There was also a "spicy" cupcake.

the flour shoppe is located at 617 Bank Street,Ottawa.

http://www.theflourshoppe.ca/

My Pretty Pink Box! April 2010 review.

Guess I'm kind of late in reviewing the April 2010 My Pretty Pink Box.

But better late than naver.

MPBB is a company that has a monthly pink box with cosmetic items from smaller, new companies and some established brands.

You can not subscribe to this at the moment and it is only by going to the MPBB site every month that you can get this limited supply box.

There are not tons of these available as the company running this program is fairly new and quite small still!

Here is what I got in the April 2010 My Pretty Pink Box:

Surgeon's Skin Secret beeswax moisturizer, Honey & Almond scent (1 oz jar/28ml)

Exuviance Performance Peel AP25 (2 use sample kit)

NYX liquid eyeliner in Ocean

Mark calm & composed moisutizer packet (1.5ml)

Mark Rio perfume scratch card (like a postcard with a perfume peel off sticker)

Yagolicious Bonita lipstick in Matador Red

Body by Brigitte wax strip sample (a small packet with 4 strips in the eyebrow of facial size).

Overall I'm quite satisfied with the contents of the My Pretty Pink Box.

I've had the chance to try a few products in it and so far one of my favorite items is the Body by Brigitte wax strips.

They actually work and are extremely easy to use.

The strips do not stick to your skin and somehow magically just remove the hair!

A longer review is to follow on this item soon.

One item that did somewhat annoy me was the Yagolicious lipstick.

There is no ingredient listing on the item (which is fine as it could be on a separate paper even), and when I went to the Yagolicious website- there was no ingredient listing either.

Usually I like to know the ingredients in what I am using and some people they might have allergies or for other reasons want to avoid a certain ingredient.

I have not tried the Yagolicious lipstick yet for the above reasons.

If you want to get one of the My Pretty Pink Box their website can be found at: www.myprettypinkbox.com

Also wanted to add that this program is run by a small company so sometimes they are a bit slow to respond to emails.

Shipping to Canada also takes a month. But at least they ship to Canada!

L'Occitane store opening in Ottawa soon!

I just got an email about this recently!
There is going to be a new store in the Rideau Centre..L'Occitane.
They carry a lot of different french made bath and skincare that is very nice smelling!
The store will be open Wed June 23, 2010.
Not too sure where in the mall it will be located. Will update once I find out!

My Pretty Pink Box! May 2010 review.

If you are not yet familiar with My Little Pink Box, it is a monthly surprize package of new and upcoming cosmetics companies.
This is a fun way to treat yourself to some brands you may not have heard of and also some items you have always wanted to try.
The companies that participate can be anything from handmade smaller companies to some very big brands.
You usually get around 6-8 items with at least two being full size products.

Here is what I received for the May 2010 version of www.myprettypinkbox.com

Nissim shampoo and conditioner sachet (10ml each)
Avon Moisture Therapy hand cream (45ml)
Lost River Rags & Candlelights small duck goats milk soap (melon ginseng scent, from a small Etsy store)
Moi Minerals eyeshadow sample (comes in a small ziptop packet, they are a small Canadian company!)
Nyx eyeshadow base in Pearl (always wanted to try out this item).
DermaPro Skincare- quite a few sachets of product (Gel Tox 3x 3ml sachet, Ion Mask 2x 5ml,Pineapple Cleansing Scrub 5ml x2).

Overall I am happy with this box and there are quite a few neat products to try.
Shipping to Canada seems to take exactly 4 weeks.
The boxes seem to sell for around $10, plus $5 shipping.
My Pretty Pink Box is run by a lady named Linda and it is a small company for now.
The boxes go on sale monthly and sell out quite quickly.
I think this would make a fun surprize gift for a friend or a nice treat for yourself.

Red Bean and Pecan bun from Golden Baguette Bakery bank st!

Just came back from picking up some lunch at Golden Baguette bakery on Bank st.
The bakery is very small and easy to miss, it is located at Bank and Lisgar st (near Edible Arrangements store).
I have not bought anything there in a few weeks and today there were some new items in the pastry selection!
So, of course I had to get one of these new treats.
Has anyone ever heard of a red bean filled bun, topped with sesame seeds and pecans?
That is one of the new items for sale, along with a bun filled with Green Beans (will review that one next :)
Once I figure out how to add a picture I'll update this post as well.

Now on to the red bean paste filled bun.
It looked very fresh and is quite a substantial size at 5" round and 1 1/2" high!
You could easily eat this for lunch with some fruit and be quite full.
The bun smells very fresh and when I bit into it, the bread was very fresh and tasty.
There was some sweet red bean paste throughout the bun-but not a huge amount of it.
The sesame seeds on top of the bun add some nice taste, as do the crunchy fresh pecans.
This is an item that I would buy again, as it is nice for a quick lunch and quite portable too.
But if you go too late in the day you might be out of luck. When I was there only three buns were left.
Golden Baguette is located at 242 Bank St. and open Monday to Saturday from 7? am until 6pm.
If anyone has the chance to try this asian pastry I'm curious to know what you thought!

Raw Festival and Pie contest in Ottawa!

Saturday June 19, 2010 from 10am-9pm there is going to be a raw foods and health festival in Central Park.
Located at 19 Clemow Ave-rain or shine!

There is also no cost to attend and there will be a Raw pie contest!
Contest info can be found on the festival's website at: www.rawfest.ca

The entry fee for the pie contest is $10 and there are prizes such as a Vitamix blender.
Celebrity judges will also be judging the pies.

Central Park is located sort of where the Glebe ends and before the downtown part of Bank Street starts.