The Healthy Shopper ~ Healthy Foodie Picks for Spring 2014

The Healthy Shopper is a nifty Canadian website that focuses on all natural, organic, healthy choices, and offers coupons for healthy products.  The Healthy Shopper is the brain child of Andrea Donsky a Registered Holistic Nutritionist (R.H.N.) and Randy Boyer a life-long advocate of healthy living and eating. These ladies are dedicated to sharing the benefits of a natural and healthy lifestyle with the world. They believe you can have it all, just without the chemical additives– which they refer to as ‘The Scary Seven’ – a list of ingredients including: High-Fructose Corn Syrup, Artificial Sweeteners, MSG, Artificial Flavors, Trans Fat, Artificial Colors, and Preservatives. (For further insights on healthy food alternatives check out their book UNJUNK YOUR JUNK FOOD, Healthy Alternatives to Conventional Snacks).

Earth Balance Crunchy & Creamy Peanut Butters This was one of our favourite Spring picks. My daughters loved all four of the Peanut Butter varieties that we tried. I love the consistency; super creamy, easy to spread and no stirring required. I also love that it’s sweetened with agave syrup instead of sugar, and that they sneak extra good stuff into the mix, like coconut oil or flaxseeds. Earth Balance Peanut Butters will definitely be making regular appearances in our grocery cart from here on in. Earth Balance produces a line of delicious buttery spreads, shortenings, nut butters, coconut spread and snacks. All Earth Balance products are plant-based, vegan, made without artificial ingredients and hydrogenated oils, are free from gluten, lactose and eggs, and made without genetically modified ingredients.

Simply Natural Organic Barbecue Sauces Simply Natural is a brand I was originally introduced to via The Healthy Shopper’s Spring 2013 picks. Their organic tomato sauce remains one of my pasta sauce favourites. This time around the spotlight is on their BBQ sauce line up, Smoky, Tangy or with Honey. Perfect for grilling season, they offer the convince of a bottle sauce with the taste of homemade. All Simply Natural products are made in small batches to ensure quality control and a delicious taste. They are also made without the use of preservatives, chemical additives, food colourings, irradiation or any genetically modified ingredients.

Maison Orphée Organic Oils We tested out the Extra Virgin Olive Oil, Unrefined Sunflower Oil and Virgin Coconut Oil.  I loved the taste of both the olive oil and the sunflower oil. The sunflower oil has a distinct taste to it that I really enjoy in homemade dressings. I wasn’t sure what to do with the coconut oil, as I’m not much of a baker. Browsing the Maison Orphée website I found a few promising looking treat time recipes which call for Coconut Oil; Super Stamina Cocoa-Coconut Truffles and Chocolate Banana Cake in a Cup. Maison Orphée oils are made the traditional way using state-of-the-art equipment. Cold extraction involves crushing the oil bearing fruits and seeds at the lowest temperature and then the oil undergoes a gentle filtration. This process retains the natural nutrients and rich flavour for better health and nutrition. These premium oils are packaged in unique dark bottles to preserve freshness.

Olympic Dairy Organic Yogurts and Cream Cheeses Olympic Dairy yogurts are a favourite in our house, the greek style Krema is still one of my personal favourite snack time treats. I also love their Lemon yogurt, one of the Healthy Shoppers picks for Spring 2013. Olympic Dairy also produces an organic cream cheeses, which I’ve been meaning to try. It’s billed as Canada’s first probiotic cream cheese (I’m always trying to find more ways to sneak probiotics into my husbands diet as they can be helpful with keeping his colitis in remission). 100% Canadian owned and operated, Olympic Dairy makes its yogurts with only natural ingredients and its products don’t contain any preservatives, gelatin or gluten.

You will find these items and many more featured in The Healthy Shopper’s 2014-2015 coupon book. They offer online e-coupons as well as a physical coupon book (which you should be able to find in stores across Canada. And if that doesn’t work you can always order a copy online for just $4.50 shipping and handling).  Even aside from the coupons, the website is well worth checking out as it also features product reviews, articles on healthy living, and recipes.

For further info:
* visit The Healthy Shopper website.
* connect with The Healthy Shopper on Facebook.
* connect with The Healthy Shopper on Twitter.