My Life in Moderation
Fitness. Food. Lifestyle hacks.
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I originally purchased this to use when making stovetop popcorn, because I didn't like my popcorn tasting like coconut. Well, fast forward a few months, and the only thing I use regular coconut oil for is washing my face and moisturizing my bod. Check out their website for a ton of really amazing products. I get mine from Save-On Foods, but it can be purchased online right from Nutiva, or from iHerb.com and Well.ca!
Must. Have.
Listed below are a few of my favourite things. These products are staples in my kitchen, and ones that I cannot live and/or cook without.
One quick look into my kitchen, and you'll notice I'm a jar junkie. I can't get enough. I store everything I possibly can in jars. I have several different sizes and shapes, all serving specific purposes, and keeping my kitchen superbly organized. Did you know things keep much longer in glass jars? Throw your next carton of berries inside a mason jar and see how long they last!
Where would I be without my immersion blender? BOTH of my immersion blenders, actually. I have this beautiful, high powered, Cuisinart one in my kitchen, and then I have an awesome little red Kitchenaid one in my Fifth Wheel. Well, for starters, I'd have all of my fingers intact (don't clean it without unplugging...), but I'd also be a total failure at making my Homemade Mayo. Trust me, you need one of these in your life!
What can I say about my beloved Vitamix? I burned through 3 blenders in 4 years, so I decided to bite the bullet and splurge on one of the most highly recommended blenders on the market, and I've never looked back. I absolutely love that I can puree hot soups and drinks without the top blowing off, and the fact that I can make my own nut butters, ground coffee, and flour? Unbeatable. I purchased mine from The Bay, but you can order right from Vitamix, or through a number of other fine retailers.
My mom calls us her calves- we drank SO much milk. My sister and I could kill a gallon of milk in 2 days, and my husband and I could polish one off in a day if we drank as much milk as we wanted. Reality set in, my mega metabolism slowed down, and I realized I couldn't drink milk like I did in the good old days. I tried almond milk, and used it for baking, but there was no way I could ever happily drink a glass of it as a dairy milk alternative. Enter cashew milk. It is so good, so creamy, and so nutritionally superior! Use it EVERYWHERE you'd use regular milk... do it!
I cook in a cast iron pan a LOT. The result and taste from cast-iron cooking cannot be attained any other way. If your grandma doesn't have a spare, perfectly seasoned pan (or 3, like mine did), to hand down to you, take a look at these ones from Stargazer. They are beautiful and high quality, aaaaaand they come pre-seasoned! Click here for a little tutorial on caring for your cast iron pan.
Sports Research: Premium MCT Oil
MCT is a healthy fat that your body uses strictly for energy, and cannot be stored. There are so many uses for MCT oil (flavourless & odourless), but my two favourites are in my Bulletproof Coffee Cubes & Homemade Paleo Mayo. Try it as the base of your next salad dressing! So healthy, and satisfying.
Coconut Secret: Coconut Aminos
Use coconut aminos anytime you'd reach for the soy sauce. This product is 100% organic, non-gmo, soy free, no MSG, gluten free, and vegan... AND it contains 17 essential amino acids! Available in most grocery and specialty food stores.
Vital Proteins- Collagen Peptides & Beef Gelatin
I don't really even know where to start with all of the amazing VP products, but these two are staples and I can't go without them in my day to day life. My husband and I both use these two products religiously, and he's noticed serious improvement in his joints and mobility (he's a hard-working tradesman, and an athlete). My hair has doubled in thickness, and my skin has never looked better. We're talking grass-fed, organic, real food kinda fantastic here! Order online from Vital Proteins!
But what is Ghee? I get asked this question all the time. To quickly summarize, it's clarified butter, and it's the shit. If you want the real lowdown, click here! Lee's is my fave, and it comes in a variety of different flavours. Did I mention it's Canadian? Eh!
KitchenAid: Splatter Screen, Odour & Smoke Control
Y'all know I cook a lot of stuff in my cast iron pans, and because I don't have a really strong exhaust fan, my house used to always get smoked out. I'm also pretty OCD about my stove being clean, so I set out to find a new splatter screen, and stumbled across this find at Canadian Tire (Target, for you USA peeps). While it was a bit more expensive ($30), I went for it because of the promise to filter smoke and reduce odours. THIS THING WORKS LIKE A HOT DAMN! Go buy one. Right now. Do it. I promise you won't regret it.
I use my stand mixer on a very regular basis, and I would wholeheartedly say they are worth every penny. Ever mixed ground meat with a stand mixer? Well, once you have, you'll never do it any other way. I'd also highly recommend picking up the spatula attachment, as well as the larger glass bowl, the spiralizer attachment, and the ice cream maker. It's the end-all, be-all, of kitchen gadgets.
This is a new one for me, as I just received my Sous Vide cooker as a Christmas gift, but I am already obsessed with it. It is so easy to use, and the tastes of the meat and seafood I've cooked so far cannot be compared to anything else. I'm going to have to start getting experimental soon, to really use it to it's full potential, but if the only thing you ever cooked in yours, was steak or shrimp, you could die a happy foodie.
All of them. Every single one. I can't really pick a favourite, but I use the Lemon Garlic, and the Everything Spicy A LOT. They're all natural with no preservatives, MSG, or GMO's. They're gluten-free, and all but one (Ranch) are certified vegan. You can order directly from Chris's website, or I've found them locally at my health food and supplement stores.
If you don't have the spiralizer attachment for your Kitchenaid stand mixer, I'd suggest grabbing one of these for a fraction of the price. Spiralizing zucchini into zoodles, to replace traditional pasta, is a game changer in your low carb lifestyle!