"Disposable Plates" Review

Dinner & Side Plate, Bowls and Tumbler (blue colour was not available at the store I was at)

Like many other people I know they love the convenience or safety of having disposable plates for outdoor eating but feel slightly guilty about the environmental damage that they cause.

I was wandering through The Real Canadian Superstore the other day and came across a PC Eco Living line. It was somewhat sandwiched between all the other table setting and greatly reduced, so I am not sure if this is a line they will always carry, if it is seasonal or a discontinued line that didn't sell as well as expected. The line consisted of two plate sizes, tumblers, bowls and a serving bowl, all coming in a tan and off white. (Although I did find the above picture showing the off white and blue, so I am not sure if blue is available at other locations) I purchased the dinner and side plates and we tried them out.

They were sturdy enough that you can use them as you would a regular plate (cut meat on them, put hot items on them), without having to worry about your kitchen tableware dropping and leaving your deck covered with glass. They are dishwasher friendly, and came out looking like new. They are biodegradable and made 70% out of cornstarch, so when you are done using them in less than a year of entering a landfill or compost they will have biodegraded. The down side was that they have a slight odor to them, similar to corn starch and they don't go in the microwave (but no one should be microwaving plastics anyways, but we can get to that another day).

Blue Menu Yogurt Smoothie Review

The other day in the grocery store with my son I came across the "New!" PC Blue Menu Yogurt Smoothie. They only had mango flavour in stock but according to the website there is vanilla, strawberry and mixed berry flavours available as well. I decided this would be the perfect 'treat' for my son.

I remember my mom buying us Yop as children, if we were good in the grocery store. We fell for this 'treat' every time. Our own individual drink and it was pretty sweet too. . . we loved it. My mother wasn't big on processed stuff. Until we were old enough to really voice our opinion she bought plain yogurt and added homemade jam to it. So this really was a treat!

This drink was on sale for $1.49 usually it is around $2. It has 190 calories, only 1.5g of fat (only 1 being saturated), and 38g of carbs. It has 4 grams of fibre, which is 16% of your daily recommended value. That is defiantly a plus for this drink. I am allergic to dairy, but did taste a tiny amount. It was good, sweet but not too sweet. It had a smooth texture and the mango tasted like real mangoes, as opposed to some chemical tasting yogurts that I have tried. My son inhaled it!

Would I buy it again? As a 'treat' yes, but as a regular addition to my grocery list, no. Smoothies are so easy to make and I like to know the quality of fruit going into my smoothies. If my son was to drink 1 a day that would be $14, while not bad I could make a lot of smoothies for that.

Just Like Sugar

Like many people out there trying to stay on the healthy track, sugar is one of the things that I am trying to cut down on. If only I didn't have such a sweet tooth it would be much easier! There are many different sugar substitutes out there.  The problem is they all seem to have rumors swirling about them. One study discovers a health risk, the next find that to be incorrect and so on. Headaches, migraines, laxative effect, even some cancers have been linked back to sweeteners. Whether or not these side effects are true or not remains to be seen.

I have been reading about a sweetener called Just Like Sugar. It has been featured in various magazines and I have read some very positive reviews about it. It is made from only 4 ingredients; Orange peel, Chicory root, Calcium and Vitamin C. It can be used anywhere that sugar can and in the exact same measurements (1 to 1).

I finally located some today and purchased it to try. First I tasted it directly on my tongue. It did taste 'just like sugar', always a good sign. I was impressed that it didn't have an aftertaste. I notice after trying Stevia that I had a slight bitter taste in my mouth. Next I put it on oatmeal. It blended in perfectly and made my oatmeal extra yummy. It can be used for baking but with one downside, the price. The bottle has 165g (just under a cup) in it and I paid $6.99. I don't mind spending extra for something healthy but for some cookie recipes, which generally aren't healthy anyways, you would need 2 of these bottles. That would be $14.00 before adding any of the other ingredients. I guess you would be farther ahead buying pre-made baked goods from a grocer like Whole Foods, who now carries some products made with J.L.S.. They would purchase it in volumes and I am assuming would get it for a wholesale price, making baking with it more affordable for them.

All in all I will continue to buy this product for things that require sugar in smaller amounts! For more of the benefits and  information on this product check out the Just Like Sugar website.