Woman in Real Life

I love to sample new natural and organic products. And I love to save money on my grocery shopping! That's why I always keep an eye out for the Healthy Shopper coupon book at my local health food store. It contains loads of coupons for the natural and organic products I prefer to buy for my family.

So you can imagine how thrilled I was to receive this package, pictured above, recently. The nice people at the Healthy Shopper sent me their healthy picks for the fall of 2013. The package contains products from some of my family's favourite companies, like Pamela's. I'm looking forward to using the flour blend and the chocolate cake mix. Both are wheat and gluten-free.

My kids were excited to see Kiju Organic juice boxes. Although I generally send them off to school with water, I feel good about giving them organic juices once in a while. I'm hoping we won't need Hyland's Homeopathic Cold 'n Cough remedy for kids any time soon, but I'm happy to have it on hand just in case. It's a non-drowsy, safe and effective way to ease the symptoms of colds and coughs. We are regular users of Simply Natural products around here, and we were happy to get more of their organic ketchup and mustard varieties. They are made without the use of preservatives, chemical additives, food colourings or genetically modified ingredients.

7 Scary Ingredients to Avoid

Andrea Donsky and Randy Boyer, the health-savvy women behind the Healthy Shopper picks, want shoppers to watch for the "Scary 7" ingredients on labels:

• Glucose-fructose (high fructose corn syrup)
• Artificial sweeteners
• Monosodium Glutamate (MSG)
• Artificial flavours
• Trans fat
• Artificial colours
• Preservatives

"If you can't pronounce an ingredient, put it back on the shelf," says Randy. The Healthy Shopper seasonal picks were created to encourage people to take small steps to weave organic and natural choices into their lives. Visit thehealthyshopper.ca for e-coupons!


Now on to What I Ate Wednesday! There's snow on the ground today (as much as I hate to say it) so it's now officially time for soups and stews. I enjoyed this rice and navy bean soup the other night. If you are hunting for soup recipes, try this chickpea quinoa soup or my favourite lentil soup.



We enjoy easy quesadillas on a regular basis around here. Mine usually has black beans and Daiya shredded vegan mozzarella.


I had an easy lunch made up of a Gardein veggie burger with a side of edamame one day.


I have been munching on fruit for breakfast because I have to cut it up for the kids' school lunches anyway.


My Tuesday meals started off with a breakfast of a whole lot of watermelon! Again, I was cutting it up for the kids, so I made up a plate for myself. And then I got working on the computer and forgot to eat again until lunch.


At lunch I had leftover pasta and tofu French bread pizza. I succumbed to my craving for iced green tea again. And I remembered to take some Vitamin D. Very important now that the sunshine is virtually non-existent.


I made one of my favourite stews for dinner last night. Find the recipe for Sumptuous Shepherd's Stew here.


For a little snackie in the evening, I had a couple of KinniToos chocolate vanilla sandwich cookies with tea. I probably ate a bit of Halloween candy too, but don't tell the kids!

Have you started making soups and stews yet?



Linking up to: