Subway Trees

Some Torontonians may know this - or you may not...but there are trees growing in the tunnels between St. Clair and Summerhill stations. Those trees make me both happy and sad - they also have me completely perplexed. How in the world did they get there and how is it that they are still there? I mean, there's no sun there to speak of, and while there may be tons of water - I don't know - it's likely all street run off full of gross street stuff - and yet, there they are. Grey trees growing in the dark and swaying in the breeze of the subway trains flying by. In any case, this post has nothing to do with whole foods...actually, my life lately has had nothing to do with whole foods as I am struggling just to keep my head above water in everyday life. I am trying to find my foothold in this city, and doing everything I can to survive in the greyness of it...but it's summer now, so I am seeing some sun and that is shedding some light on the situation. Since last Friday I have been on a gastro-adventure of epic proportions and I thought maybe you guys would be interested in heaing about it. First, after months (like pretty much almost a YEAR) of solitary confinement, I have had visitors, and that means venturing outside. First, I have to tell you about a fabulous little middle eastern place that is way too close to my place for comfort...it's called Tabule and it is fabulous. Great labneh (strained/pressed yogurt like Greek style) that they serve as a dip with za'atar sprinkled on top....mmmmm....I still like my labneh as a garnish for things like awesome Lebanese kebbeh, or as an after-dinner sweet with honey and a sprinkle of pine nuts (or almonds) but the labneh dip is yummy too! I haven't had anything bad there yet and I have sampled pretty much the whole menu from my two visits there (I steal food from other people's plates! Hahahaha!) My guests (Hi DV and AMC!)gifted me with a beautiful BBQ cookbook by famed Québec chef Louis-Francois Marcotte - I cannot wait to try some of those recipes - like grilled apple and cheese sandwiches! MMMM! We also tried pur hand at making our own sangria, which I must say turned out pretty good - even though we winged alot of it (beacuse some people can't read recipes! hahahahah!)

I also finally had the chance to spend some time at the Bier Markt - the flatbread pizzas called FLAMMEKUECHES are pretty good - HIGHLY recommend the Smoked Meat one - mmmmm - It's the beer that makes the place! I really like the one on the Esplanade because the menu has a real Québec flare! And the beer - I tried about 12 varieties and they have over 100 (like with food, I will steal sips from other people's glasses too!) - I have some work ahead of me! Hahahahahaha! I love the Esplanade because it reminds me of Montréal - the outdoor patios, the vibe of the people - very very much like my hometown!

Speaking of which... I had to go to Montréal for business and along with that means business lunches and dinners :) The best part of work if you ask my general opinion! We went to a place across from our office called Vinizza for lunch....first I have to say I really liked the decor - any place that features a bright red Vespa behind the bar already has my vote!!! I am not a big pasta person, and this place serves either pasta or pizza (or stinky fish, as my coworker unfortunately experienced!) but I ordered an unassuming linguini style pasta with mushrooms and spinach - after one bite I realized that it was definitely no ordinary or unassuming pasta dish! OMG! It was divine!!!!!!!!! Service was great too! Upstairs was a book and DVD place called "Cheap Thrills" - ahhh Montréal, you never disappoint me when I need a smirk on my face!

That night, we went to a place in old Montréal called Garde-Manger (The Pantry for you Anglophones). Chuck Hughes, whom I've never heard of to be honest, owns it...I have always wanted to go to one of these chi-chi restaurants in Vieux Montréal - but often find myself down there alone, and am not brave enough to dine alone in higher end establishments- but my friend has taught me the art of bar-sitting - which is a way better way to do things for foodies because you get to chat with the staff who also give you treats and samples of stuff...plus you get the inside scoop and you even get to order stuff that's not even on the menu! This night, I ordered off the menu and had a GORGEOUS Bavette with a fried egg on top. Bavette is a cut of meat similar to...well I don't even know what it's similar too - it's new to me, and seems to only be available in Québec (where they also have Smoked Meat, Raclette and other meaty treats unknown to Ontarians!) It's like a single portion of roast beef, but more like a roast beef steak because it melts in your mouth! Mine was served with these potato croquettes and a gravy/sauce that is akin to heaven. I am serious - one bite and my whole body reacted! Holy smokes soooooooo good! The fried egg on top was a novelty to my dinner companion, but I am not new to egg on non-breakfast foods - being a HUGE fan of bimimbap (a Korean dish of rice, veg, sometimes galbi (BBQ meat), with spicy (burn your face off) red pepper sauce with an egg on top - it's their fast food over there - but I just love it! The next day for lunch we hit up Cavalli - The decor and vibe of this place is like the essence of Montéal bottled. Crazy colours (fushia and pea green) neon lights, banquettes, hot wait staff, open front - I guess you'd have to be a Montréaller to know what the heck I am talking about - but it even smelled like Montréal in there....craziness I know! I have a weird relationship with my birthplace - I don't miss it much until I am there for a few days then I always entertain the idea of moving back....weird I know! Anyhow, the ambience here was electric and distracting - especially because I was supposed to be paying attention to the meeeting. The food was pretty good - I had swordfish with a mango salsa...pretty good (but made me homesick for Bermuda wahoo!) I also had to have me some Smoked Meat so that night I hit up Nickles...which is owned by Celine Dion - I went there only because it was close to the hotel (I usually hit up Schwartzs for the BEST smoked meat in the world!!) and I also had to see what it was about because Mme Dion has just purchased Schwartzs and PROMISED that she would not turn it into a Nickles - and she had better not because Nickles honked on bobo! The meat was fine, but the bread was soggy so I had to eat my sandwich with a fork and knife! OH THE HUMANITY! The pickle was NOT kosher dill...and we won't mention the concoction they tried to pass off as poutine (and I have had me some really BAD poutine in my little life).

With my friend in town this weekend, we have had Thai at The Golden Thai on Church in Toronto - pretty good, service is great! And tonight we tried a new place called Terroni Bar Centrale...again with the Italian :) I had polenta for the first time in my life - but definitely not the last time! I also had something that I cannot for the life of me remember what it is called - it is basically an Italian rice ball - but they use risotto, and stuffed it with a lovely ragu with cheese and peas - either one of the appetizers wuld make a nice light dinner or lunch if you tack on a salad (which I did) - the place is a comfortable neighbourhood place and has a pretty impressive charcuterie selection - and a very impressive stock of Nutella! Hahahaha (tons of it!) This place is going to be VERY VERY VERY dangerously bad for me for a few reasons - a) they have a bar singles can sit at (and a nice patio too), it's pretty affordable, nice wines, and it's practically next door to the sewing school where I;ve just signed up for an 8 week course - bad bad bad....I can see myself stopping in after work for a bite before my 6:30 class every week - thank goodness my favorite place down by my painting class is just a little wee coffee shop (with yummy green tea!) I hope this switch on topics is cool with you guys - I am sad to say that I have strayed from a whole food lifestyle (because FOOD was the main part of my day and I just couldn't keep up with the shopping and cooking and planning) but I really missed blogging on here and my good friend (Hi Daniel) told me tonight to just write about 'whatever' so here I am!!!! XOJ

All things yummy!

My friend (Hi Susie!) has a fabulous little shop in Kitchener (Belmont Village - go check it out K-W peeps!)called All Things Tea. I love tea and I love the tea from her shop! Well, Susie has just ventured into a world that I have quickly fallen in love with ---> SPICES!!! And she has just started a blog - her very first post is about my absolute favorite thing - VANILLA! I love how vanilla smells, I love how vanilla tastes, I love how vanilla looks (well, when the seeds are in something, because the actual bean isn't all that sexy - although seeing a vanilla bean makes me happy because I know great things can be done with it!)

Check out her store's blog here: ALL THINGS TEA

ENJOY!

p.s. for non-K-W peeps Susie is planning on opening an online store! EEEK! Trust me I will let you know when that happens!

Iodine

I was recently honoured with a special baking request that led me to do a little research on Iodine and what it is and why we need it and where can we find it naturally. Back in the day (during The Great Depression) people were NOT getting enough iodine in their diets resulting in an epidemic of iodine deficiency. "So what?" you may be asking - Iodine deficiency is pretty serious my friends! A lack of iodine causes things like enlarged thyroid (goiter), hypothyroidism, and brain damage! It can also cause abnormalities in growth and development. (I am not making this up - LIVESTRONG has a great info page on this!!!)
In an attempt to stem this serious issue governments had the salt manufacturers add Iodine to their product and that is the reason we have iodized table salt today - even though we don't really need it anymore! We are pretty fortunate to have many foods available now that have naturally occurring iodine in them so we can meet our daily requirements (about 150 micrograms for the general adult population). These foods include:

Sea Salt
Stuff that comes from the sea (fish, seafood, sea veggies)
Dairy (all of it! I found this very interesting!)
Prepared meats (and some of the stuff that comes from the butcher case at grocery stores is 'seasoned' aka prepared - I was most disappointed to see that the PC Blue Label Skinless Boneless Chicken Breasts in my local shop have chicken and 'seasoning' even though they don't look seasoned and don't taste seasoned - all this means to me is they plopped some 'stuff' on my chicken that I don't want there - makes me sad but reminds me to READ LABELS ON EVERYTHING! Preferably before I buy it!)
Soy (which is in pretty much every processed thing on the planet)
Egg yolks
Frozen peas
Potatoes

This means that we no longer need iodized table salt - like not at all.
Again, you may be asking yourself "So what?" - well, lemme tell ya: too much of a good thing = a bad thing. When you over iodize yourself you can cause hypothyroidism (which ironically can be caused by iodine deficiency!) and autoimmune thyroiditis (I don't know what that is, but it doesn't sound fun!)

It's also important not to confuse 'salt' with 'iodine'. As you can see from the list above, something may have no sodium in it but still be rich in iodine.

Your choice is this: load up your system with iodine from natural sources, or load it up with iodine from processed food. My research found(and again, I am not a doctor, nutritionist, dietitian, or scientist)that if your food came from a FACTORY it had plenty of iodine - more than enough - if you generally eat foods from FARMS you should be getting just enough in your diet!

Another argument for FARMS not FACTORIES :)

It's a Revolution!!

A lot of us are now conscious of the crap they put in our food - there are more options out there for us, and we're not all so willing to believe the 'healthy' labels they put on food anymore.

We're waging our personal battles against things like sugar, chemical laden food, eating out at not so great places (McDonald's I am talking about you!), and healthier packaging (BPA FREE PLEASE!!!) and we are starting to take to the internets to share ideas, recipes, and record our journey - the most important part of this whole revolution is DIALOGUE and information you can trust (i.e. no one is getting paid to advertise this junk). I occasionally post links to great sites that I find have great information - and I am always on the lookout for these so please feel free to share - and here is the most recent addition to my awesome site collection:

Less Sugar Naturally

It's a blog type site from a courageous woman who has decided to breakup with sugar!I love her writing style (her first entry is quite funny!) She has some great posts about her journey so far with tons of suggestions and tips and links to recipes, product reviews, and she even has sections on how to save money (woot woot)! Check it out and enjoy!!!!

Mish-mash

Sooooo people...having met Tosca two weeks ago had a huge impact and geared me back up to 100% back to the Eat Clean Diet - not that I wasn't eating clean, but I wasn't on the Eat Clean diet anymore (for so many reasons, the biggest being LAZINESS.) And I have to report that I feel GREAT! Why oh why do I waiver back and forth so much? It's hard to cook all your food - especially for a single person - and then I get discouraged and just eat whatever (although still eat clean 'whatevers' for the most part).

One thing I did this week was try to down the apple cider vinegar before every meal - boy - that did NOT work at all - not for me anyway...I felt really 'acidic' and gross, so I am going to go back to just taking it before lunch. It really does help with digestion (I can feel it), but taking that much of it really had an adverse affect for ME (you may have a different result)...After just going back to a 1 a day shot, I redid the 'test' that Tosca taught us and I am good to go as far as tummy juices go, so maybe I only needed a little wee boost and some other people need more (or less). I also religiously drink a glass of `lemon water` each evening after work to help out my liver.

Another challenge I gave myself this week was to steer clear of sugar - unless of course I was eating fruit - it was a fine challenge, and I did well, but when faced with a dining out experience I was SO SUPER PROUD of myself!!! It was Winterlicious in T.O. - a great festival of food (restaurants I might not normally be able to afford offer prix-fixe menus with some yummy choices) and my friends and I normally hit up Lolita's Lust on the Danforth (LOVE THIS PLACE! HIGHLY RECOMMEND IT!)because they have the most sinfully delicious chocolate mousse that they only serve on the 'licious menus...it is seriously to die for, and you can taste the REAL ingredients (but I'm betting the sugar is refined, although you gotta stray once in a while!) This time, however, I skipped the mousse in favour of the "pressed yoghurt with pine nuts and honey" and I am REALLY glad I did! ALL Restaurants should serve this as a choice of dessert - IT was equally sinfully delicious as well! YUMMY! And I got a bit of a sugar fix with the honey too!

I also bought Tosca's Eat Clean Diet Cookbook to help me through my journey and boost up my motivation. Part of the problem that I had before was that I got bored of the same old foods/recipes...but now I have a whole arsenal of choices that I truly can't wait to try! Watch this space for updates! There's about 15 recipes I want to make TODAY (although I'm going to settle on 2).

The biggest challenge in this whole lifestyle switch has been making things a habit. It's sooooo easy to slip when you've had a long week or are tired or are sick. I have found some great stand-bys although there have been a few instances in the last few months where I just let it slip entirely and ate out or ordered in just for simplicity sake (but tried to keep it as clean as possible) and other times where that hamburger and fries totally won out!

One super quick meal idea I have been eating like there was going to be a world-wide shortage of soba is soba noodle soup. I love my Asian food, and although I am not a big pasta fan, put a bowl of steaming hot Asian noodles in front of my face and I will eat the whole thing! It's so quick and easy (and surprisingly filling!) that I have it for dinner often! I buy buckwheat or kamut Soba noodles (totally found in the natural food section of Loblaws/Zhers) I also make a ton of roasted pork loin, then chop it up into suitable portions and freeze it. This makes it easy and quick - I defrost the pork loin in the microwave, I boil up the noodles in one pot, and in another I boil up some low sodium chicken or vegetable broth, put a pinch of sea salt and a whole whack of frozen peas (love the organic ones in the white bag from Loblaws/Zhers because they stay really firm and taste really fresh) and some edamame beans (not the pods) in the broth to boil...when the meat has defrosted, I chop it up into bite sized chunks and throw it in the broth too...when the noodles have boiled, I drain them, put them in a bowl, plop the broth and stuff over top, sprinkle with tamari (or low sodium soy sauce)- and if I am feeling especially creative, I sprinkle some chopped green onion and/or a sprinkle of sesame seeds and YUM! Awesome food in 10 minutes. I have been eating a lot of Asian inspired meals lately (read: not take out!) because a)I freaking love Asian food b) I AM GOING TO KOREA AND CHINA in the fall and I have to practice my chopstick skills!

Wow...what I thought was going to be a quick report on how the apple cider vinegar didn't work for me turned into a whole big post! :)

Have a great weekend!

Tips from Tosca's Talk

Hey peeps:

So, I know I was light on details with regards to things Tosca talked about at her seminar last week - but there's a method to my madness and I wanted to try most of them out before I went and typed them out for you here. Remember this blog is not a scientific blog, and I am just sharing my experiences and opinions. If you want cold hard facts, I will do my best to point you in the right direction to find them - but if you need/want more information that is not found here, you should research this stuff and see what works for you!

Apple Cider Vinegar
The number one successful tip that Tosca shared was the magic of Apple Cider Vinegar! Tosca had us do a simple test on ourselves (that's too complicated to type out here - just know that the majority of us failed it - for lack of a better term) to see if we had enough acid in our bellies to fully and properly digest our food - which most of us did not - so Tosca suggested that before every meal we drink 2 tbs of pure apple cider vinegar in some really cold water (to make it go down more easily). To sum it up, you hopefully already know that you need stomach acid to break down your food so that it can go through your digestive system which absorbs all the yummy nutrients (and fat) and then it can go out as waste. If you do not have enough stomach acid to do this process properly, food can sit in your belly and fester (and now we'll be getting kinda gross) and basically rot there until you eventually manage to pass it through your system as waste...and of course your body will store the fat, but won't necessarily get all of the nutrients it needs from the food. Apparently, after Elvis was autopsied, 65 pounds of waste was found in his system! BARF!

Still being gross here...I am a pretty regular girl - my sister laughs at my 'like clockwork' system - but maybe that's just because she is jealous? Some people do not have regular bowel movements and are actually walking around constipated most of the time...and some people don't even go #2 on a regular basis, never mind everyday!!!!Apparently, even though I feel pretty good about my bathroom habits, I could use a little help too - and what amazing help it was!

For the last week, I tested out the Apple Cider Vinegar trick and downed 2 tbs in a (super tall) glass of cold water (someone I know just downed the vinegar as a shot!) before my largest/heaviest meal of the day - lunch- and let me just tell you - the digestive benefits of this were IMMEDIATE. And I'm not saying that there were any laxative effects or anything, I am saying I felt that my entire digestive system was "ON"! It's now known as my SUPER DIGESTIVE SYSTEM! Wow! I really liked these results so for the next week, I am going to try to do a shot before EVERY meal! :)I'll let you know how that goes!

Flax Flax Flax Flax - oh and coconut oil
So, you may already know that I love flax (and so does Tosca) I put flax on my yogurt and cereal and I love it. Flax works as nature's scrub brush, and basically is like brushing your teeth, except, you're brushing your digestive tract clean...I like how it tastes and I like how easy it is to put into things. You have to freshly grind the seeds in order to reap the most benefit from them - even though you can buy already ground seeds (which you will sort of get the benefit from) you don't get any benefit from consuming the seed whole because your digestive system can't break it down...go and get some flax today! You can also plop some in your smoothies - which I don't do because I don't like a whole bunch of floaties in my drinks and I like my smoothies velvety smooth.

Coconut oil - I love this stuff. I have been using it in place of butter or margarine in recipes religiously for about a year now. I also use it in place of olive oil when I am cooking. It's light, and has a high tolerance for heat (unlike olive oil) and it's good for you - a vegetable source for good fat - and there's virtually no flavour to it. Even if I am doing an asian stirfry, I will use coconut oil with a little bit of sesame oil (for flavour). Tosca eats a couple of teaspoons a day so that she gets her daily dose of good fats. I am good with just using it in cooking...I tasted it, and there is no a very high chance that I will ever just eat it off a spoon for any reason at all - for good fat I will just continue eating my nuts and nut butters....you can also use this oil as a moisturizer for your skin and hair...it's so clean!

Wet Water

Yes, we all know water is already wet, but did you know that due to 'stuff' in our water supply, we may not be reaping the hydration benefits of all that we are drinking? Tosca already advises we get at least 3 litres of water into our bodies per day - let me tell you that is no small feat! I drink alllllll day long and I usually do get 3 litres in, but I'm a thirsty girl and my body is used to that amount of water! I remember back when I first started reading Tosca's book, at the time I was getting 2 litres in - maybe- and when I started to push for 3 - my visits to the ladies room were quite a bit more frequent! Now my system is used to that amount of water, so I was surprised to hear that my body may not be as hydrated as I think it is. To make water wet (so it will stick to your insides and hydrate those cells) take a 1 litre bottle of water and plop in 2 tbs of lemon juice and a small pinch of salt and enjoy. Now I already have my lemon water in the afternoon to help my liver, so I haven't really done this new wet water thing everyday, but I have tried it, and have found that it at least makes the water taste fresher and cleaner. I will keep on with this tip and will let you know how it goes!

SUGAR IS A DRUG
I think we all know this in the back of our minds, and of course it's mentioned in Tosca's books already, but lately she is REALLY freaking out about this. Sugar is a drug - and my dear friends, I am an addict. I am not ashamed. Admitting it is the first step. In my attempt to get back on the Clean Eating Diet, I have been avoiding sugar like it is the plague. When I get a sweet craving I mow down on some mandarins or cherries like they were candy (which, in the fruit world, they definitely are in my opinion!) Funny thing, at the seminar, they handed out samples of clean peanut butter 'back pack kisses' (I have the recipe card and can scan and send it it you want) and they were TOO SWEET for me! Imagine! And I don't think there was even 1 drop of sugar or honey in them! It was all dried fruit & peanut butter (natural pb of course). I liked the idea of them though, and I am going to see how I can modify the recipe to make them less sweet - like maybe use dried raisins and cranberries instead of whatever they used.

It's kind of funny how your body gets used to something. A good example? Peanut Butter - ever since I was a kid, I had regular old peanut butter - you know - the one with all the sugar and salt and emulsifiers and whatever else - and when I was switching to clean eating I was definitely NOT in love with natural nut butters - ugh! They were gross...but NOW, I love them! And I can't stomach regular peanut butter AT ALL....now THAT is gross to me....blah! My favorite snack in the world is apple slices dipped in natural peanut butter...mmmmm maybe I'll go have some of that now :)

PINK SLIME!

WATCH THIS

BARF!

Although we are somewhat better in Canada with what crap is allowed to go into our food, I somehow don't really believe this:

Ammonium hydroxide is not used at McDonald’s in Canada a spokeswoman for McDonald’s Canada told the National Post. She said the only ingredients used in their burgers are 100% beef, salt and pepper.

TOSCA! TOSCA! TOSCA!

Sooooo...today I met Tosca Reno! And in honour of the experience, I decided to write a little something I like to call "Ode to Tosca"

Tosca,
You are awesome.
That is all.

:)

This is a woman who decided one day to take control of her life and made it happen - and in her 40's became a fitness model!


Inspiration has a name: Tosca Reno


The new Loblaws at the old Maple Leaf Gardens hosted a presentation by Tosca Reno. For $10, my pal Jenn and I (Hi Jenn!) got to hear Tosca speak, get our books signed, meet her, and they even gave us a nifty little gift bag! It was fabulous! Tosca has a really easy speaking style and her passion for the subject of eating clean is not like one of those hyper-this-is-the-only-way-to-live kind of things. She is very easy going and no nonsense about how to live a clean eating lifestyle - and not preachy or condescending(not that I expected her to be- I guess I am just comparing her to other fitness types who just seem to be that way). When I got to meet her, she was very warm and engaging and she signed my book and let us take pictures and it was just awesome!!!!!!!!!! And inspiring. I absolutely need to get back into this lifestyle!


I have a ways to go yet, but with the tools Tosca talks about, I know I can do it!
(ignore how gross I look because I dragged my sorry-sick-@ss down there and I tried not to infect anyone with my gross cold! Jenn, however looks positively radiant despite the early (for a Saturday) start!)

Now a word or two on the new Loblaws at the old Maple Leaf Gardens: HOLY CRAP! (Two words - ha!)

This store is AMAZING! HUGE! And has everything a girl could want! See the pics:


Dunno what these were, but they were with the baby cauliflowers...


Baby cauliflower (with the Adventures in Whole Foods blog's official hand model! hee hee)


100% Vegetable sushi! Sooooo pretty!


More baby cauliflowers


Baby beets


Not sugar cane - but Banana pods! Dunno what the heck these were doing here nor what you'd do with them!


Beautiful Tropical fruits!


An alien citrus! (and baby pineapples!)


Wall of cheese!


ALWAYS READ THE LABELS - even before touching food! Case in point - these catus pads have SPIKES! OWEEEE! (I'm leading by example just for you all!)


Baby Apples! Hee hee!


CENTRE ICE! Hahahahaha! And no! I was not the only dork to take a pic!

Comfort Food = Dessert

Hey all:

So, it's finally winter here in the big smoke and although I knew it was inevitable that it was coming eventually, I still can't help but miss the nice fall weather we were having. In any case...to help me cope with the yuckiness outside, I have been craving some comfort foods (I had a yummy steak & mushroom pie last night with mashed potatoes and I don't even like mashed potatoes!)- I also like me some yummy desserts like custard and pudding and cake (but I am not making a whole cake just for me!)- yes, I know desserts are not healthy, but every once in a while, they are necessary! I had a huge hankering for Chocolate pudding (and whipped cream!) so off to the grocery I went. The only recipe I know for chocolate pudding is: open box, pour contents into a bowl, add milk, mix it up, wait for it to set, enjoy...well, let me tell you that's all fine and dandy, but do you know what's in that box? Nope,neither do I as I couldn't pronounce half the stuff in it!:( That made me sad...when I went to the dairy aisle to pick up a carton of whipping cream (because at least I can make custard from scratch!), for kicks I looked at the ingredient list on that - fully expecting to see: MILK or CREAM and that's it - well, was I EVER surprised to see that MILK or CREAM is NOT the only ingredient in whipping cream!!!!!!!! SERIOUSLY! I was really surprised! It had a bunch of stuff that I couldn't pronounce! Something as 'wholesome' as pudding with whipped cream was actually some factory produced fake food! So sad!

Well my friends, I am happy to report that I have a solution for the pudding thing at least! I was flipping through a pretty book of organic cakes and saw an easy recipe for CHOCOLATE PUDDING tucked in the back! OMG! AND - it is SO EASY. Why oh why do we need to buy 'instant' pudding, when it's pretty close to being 'instant' all by itself?

This is what goes into real choclate pudding:

Cocoa powder
Sugar
Corn starch
Milk
and a bit of vanilla

it took all of 10 minutes to make and then it needs to cool, but whatevs.
Why oh why does 'instant' pudding have all that crap in it??? My recipe for chocolate pudding has nary a digliceride, nor any phosphates, nor any artificial colour, nor even any salt!!!!!!! Oh yeah - and it tastes SOOOOO GOOD!
Instead of whipped cream I had to settle for frothed milk (sad, but there's way less fat anyway!) and it did the trick! I still can't believe that there is 'other crap' in whipping cream!

To celebrate, I should make some custard too! (pretty much the same ingredients as the pudding, except remove the cocoa powder and replace it with egg yolks and throw in some butter at the end!)


Chocolate pudding = not the sexiest thing to photograph!