It’s Easy Eating Green – Our Foodie Picks at The Green Living Show
When you hear the word “green,” do you think of hybrid cars, solar panels, and the struggle to determine which recycling receptacle to properly throw your trash in to? We don’t blame you, but, when we visited The Green Living Show, we discovered our favourite way to contribute to the preservation of our environment – by eating amazing local food! Check out some of the delicious vendors that are helping us eat well, with Mother Earth in mind.
We got things started at the Ontario Culinary Explorers Pavilion. The Ontario Culinary Tourism Alliance have curated a tasty pavilion with food and drinks from across the province. With items ranging from $1-$4 (purchased with food tickets), we were able to sample more than we could handle.
This photo requires few words. I mean…look at it. This team serves up local and seasonal delights using only the freshest ingredients available to them. And we’re left begging for more.
This Toronto tea house prides themselves on serving ethically sourced, locally blended, and small batch teas. We sipped their ‘Southbrook Berry Blend’ ice tea, made with Niagara grape skins, mixed dried berries, and hibiscus. A great mix of hydration and flavour, we’ll be craving these throughout the summer months.
The Table by Carol is a green endeavour at it’s finest, using hyper local ingredients to make soup for families in need. Stopping by their stand doesn’t just mean getting your fill of carrot ginger soup, but, knowing you’re helping farmers feed families too.
This restaurant specializes in handcrafted pizzas and pastas for gluten free and vegan eaters, but enjoy bringing variety to their fans. A long line waited patiently for their boisterous host to serve golden samosas, complete with a spicy chutney. The ambitious food purveyors have another booth outside of the pavilion, serving up grilled cheese sandwiches.
Just when you thought arancini balls couldn’t be any better, we sampled these ones dipped in pesto and marinara sauce. At $1 a ball, this booth was working overtime to toss them out to hungry attendees. We suggest you catch at least one of these when you can!
This winery goes beyond your normal wines. They serve up some incredible honey, mead, and wax products like candles. A sample will certainly sweeten your day. You can also find Krystina Roman, the winery’s director of marketing, on the Food Stage talking about the ABC’s of bees!
Small batch crafted spirits and bitters mean upping your cocktail game tenfold. Dillon’s knows you might not have the coordination to be a flair bartender, but can have the ingredients to be a green bartender.
Entering a full on food coma, we decided to walk some aisles to beat our fatigue. We were met with a variety of incredible snacks, drinks, and even some fresh produce. There was tons of action in and around the pop-up Gluten Free Garage, making sure many dietary restrictions were met.
It’s time to bring this Mexican tradition to your home. This all natural, gluten free, peanut free, sugar free, low sodium and vegan sauce makes the perfect condiment or marinade. Don’t be afraid to try all the varieties, our own founder, Steven, won their hot pepper challenge once.
We read ‘peanut butter cookie dough,’ and there was no stopping our beeline to this booth. While we were chewing, we were informed that these treats are organic, non GMO, and soy, dairy, and preservative free. They care about the planet just as much as they care about fuelling your next workout, and we thank them for that.
We’re still surprised when we see people who haven’t gotten on to the kombucha wagon yet. This naturally fermented tea is raw and made of high quality ingredients, sharing many medicinal benefits for our digestive system. From glass to mouth, it’s like a light cider, bubbly, refreshing, and exactly what we needed to wash down all our food samples. Take a selfie with your Rise Kombucha, tag it #RiseAndMe and you’re entered to win a whole case of bubbly at the show.
The Foodies on Foot team is divided on the subject of granola, but, come together to agree that jk gourmet granola is too good to pass up. To become gluten free, they remove the average oat ingredient, and, focus on just nuts, seeds, and dried fruit. A bag of Cranberry Cashew would not last long in our office.
A staple at seven farmers markets around the GTA, earth & city are responsible for some seriously delicious vegan and mostly raw foods. At GLS, they’re sampling their flax crackers and curried onion hummus, a perfect pairing. They’ve also got the crowds attention with $5 green smoothies, and, bags of macaroons.
Want to sip your way to better health? Registered nutritionist Shelby Kroach wants you to do just that with her line of wellness teas. Focusing on detoxification, digestion, relaxation, energy, metabolism, and immune health, there’s a tea for everyone. We couldn’t help but sample ‘slim’ after a full day of eating.
The Green Living Show continues on April 26 from 10:00am – 7:00pm and on April 27 from 10:00am – 6:00pm. Bring your appetite, a reusable bag that’ll accommodate lots of shopping, and, be sure to tell ’em Foodies on Foot sent you!
Photography and blogging contributed by Eva Lampert.