Merry Christmas From The Elements of Review

Wishing all of my readers a merry Christmas.  May your Christmas wishes come true!

Cameron's Coffee Review

I love coffee and my Keurig coffee maker. I'm always on the lookout for new brands of coffee. While in the grocery store several weeks ago I came across Cameron's Coffee. It really caught my eye because it was a few dollars cheaper than the other k-cups. I decided to give it a try.

I bought the Woods and Water Breakfast Blend.  I was very surprised that it had a great flavor for such a low price. Cameron's Coffee prides itself in making premium coffee while minimizing their carbon footprint. Cameron's Coffee states that their roasting facility in Minnesota is the greenest in the world.  Cameron's Coffee only use certified specialty grade coffee beans.  The coffee comes in a box that has a bag inside to help keep the k-cups fresh.

I loved the Breakfast Blend so much that I tried other flavors like the Chocolate Caramel Brownie and Toasted Southern Pecan.  The Chocolate Caramel Brownie has a delicious chocolate flavor with a hint of caramel.  The Toasted Southern Pecan has a sweet nutty flavor.  I was so giddy about those two I decided to find out what other flavors they had.  I went to their website and found out they have many more flavors.  The one that really caught my eye was the Holiday Grogg, it has an undertone of brandy, overtone of cinnamon and finishes with a nutty flavor.

I couldn't find Holiday Grogg anywhere here.  I ordered it from Amazon. It is a delight to drink this coffee on cold evenings with a piece of pie or just by itself.  Delicious and full of flavor. Like Christmas in a cup.  I see why it sells out often.

They have so many other flavors I want to try.  Please visit their website to find out about their other products. You can also order Cameron's Coffee from Amazon.  In Canada I have found Cameron's Coffee  at No Frills and Loblaws stores.

I'm Baaack!

Sorry I've been away so long. This move to Toronto has taken us longer than usual to get settled. I'm hoping to soon bring you more reviews. We've been on a few road trips and actually made a trip back to Chicago.  It's been great moving back to a big city.  Thanks for being patient and I'll see you soon!



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Toronto here I come!

I will be MIA for awhile.  We are moving to Toronto and won't have internet for a few weeks. So the blog will be on hiatus for awhile.  I'm hoping to see a lot of Toronto and try much of the cuisine.  That means plenty of reviews, right?!

Toronto's CN Tower

So it's goodbye for now and I will see you soon;-)

$100 Visa Gift Card Giveaway

Co-hosted by:

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Just in time for summer fun!

$100 Visa Gift Card

June 16  To June 30 11:59pm EST.

Valid only in the Continental United States.

Void where prohibited

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Winner is chosen through random.org

All entries are optional.

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Good Luck!

Disclaimer: The Elements of Review  is not responsible for the awarding of the prize. If you have any questions about this giveaway, please email the host at nysavingspecials@gmail.com  This blog, Facebook, Twitter or any other social media network is not associated with this giveaway.

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Toronto Food Review

My husband and I spent five days in Toronto.  It was a chance to have a little vacation and also to find a place to live.  We will be moving to Toronto in July.  Because our hotel didn't have a continental breakfast we ate out for every meal. In this post I will be telling you about a few of my favorites.  We were very lucky to be staying at a hotel downtown.  The hotel was on a street with many restaurants.

Sushi Time 325 Queen St W, Toronto, ON M5V 2A4

(416) 977-2222 Sun-Thurs 12:00pm-11:00pm Friday & Saturday 12:00pm-12:00am.  We ate here twice.  The service was quick and food was very good.  The lunch special was an excellent value! 

 

 

Salmon and Avocado Roll

 

Hot and Spicy Asian Fusion 227 Queen Street West
Toronto, ON M5V1Z5 (416) 792-8877: Garlic Prawns-Delicious with plenty of prawns and the asparagus was done just right!

Garlic Prawns

The Jerk Joint  238 Queen St W, Toronto, ON M5V 1Z7

(647) 748-7011 open daily 11:00am -9:00pm: Jerk Chicken Wrap-Was not too spicy, but full of flavor and it kept me full until dinner.  Colin the guy who made it for me was awesome and gave me many great sightseeing tips! Colin also told me he was creating new dishes to add to the menu.  Can't wait to get back and try more!

Jerk Chicken Wrap

Prebiotic Supplement and Metabolism Booster: Yacon Syrup Review

The good people at Quality Life Essentials sent me a bottle of their Yacon Syrup.  I've never heard of Yacon Syrup.  It's an alternative to artificial sweeteners.

According to Quality Life Essentials the Yacon syrup can be used as a prebotic supplement  to increase digestive health.  It's a metabolism booster and is an excellent appetite suppressant. I did notice that when I used it I wasn't hungry for hours and had more energy.  It's pure and all natural. It contains fresh Yacon Root.

 

I was pleasantly surprised by the flavor.  The flavor to me was kind of a smokey sweet. The syrup was thick and a very dark brown color.  I liked putting it on my toast, pancakes and in my oatmeal.  I didn't try it in my coffee, but it could be used in there too. Yacon Syrup is very low in calories.

Yacon Root

Check out the Quality Life Essentials page on Amazon.com.

Have you tried Yacon Syrup?! Please leave your comments below.

Disclaimer: Quality Life Essentials sent me a sample of their Yacon Syrup to review.  I am under no obligation to provide a positive review.  The opinions are my own and results may vary. I received no monetary compensation for this review. There are affiliate links in this post. If you click on a link and buy a product, I will receive a commission. 

Special K Nourish Hot Cereal Review

I'm always looking for new things to try while shopping in the grocery store.  While grocery shopping in Chicago I saw Special K Nourish Hot Cereal.  I like most of the Special K products, so I decided to try it.

The flavor I chose was the Cinnamon Raisin Pecan.  The pecans and raisins are located on top in a separate section. You heat up the cereal in the microwave and then sprinkle the pecans and raisins on top. The cereal contains quinoa, wheat, barley and oats. When mixed together with the cinnamon, pecans and raisins has a nice flavor and only 190 calories, 5 grams of fat and 7 grams of protein.

Ate the Special K Nourish Hot Cereal for breakfast with a piece of toast and I was satisfied for hours. The Nourish Hot Cereal other flavors are Cranberry Almond and Maple Brown Sugar Crunch.  Go to SpecialK.com to find out more about the Nourish Hot Cereals and other products.  It seems like in the US they are putting out new products every week!

Still Not Losing Weight?! Have You Tried FitnessBlender.com?!

I love FitnessBlender.com!  They have some of the greatest workouts and fitness advice. So happy when I heard they would be offering a meal plan.  For me the hardest part of weight loss is the diet.  Working out is something I do every day, but eating right...eating clean is really tough for me.

I decided to try their meal plan.  The meal plan is for 4 weeks.  Daniel and Kelli worked with registered dietitians and nutritionists to create this program. I decided to go with the Omnivore plan.  They offer a vegetarian and vegan programs. There are 3 meals and 3 snacks. Most of the food you need to buy for this plan is what I usually by every week.  There are 5 different calorie allotments. Because I workout hard almost every day I chose the 1800 calorie plan. It's easy to get enough food to satisfy me.  I don't feel hungry between meals.

The meal plan is very simple to follow. They measure everything out for you.  Instead of just telling what to eat they provide precise measurements. For example one of the meals has .66 cup of oatmeal.   I have noticed that there are many meals and snacks with eggs.  I do find myself substituting lean meats for the eggs.  Also I do the same with any meals that contain mushrooms. Here's a sample meal from the plan!

I like this plan because each meal and snack is real food.  Not a shake, smoothie or soup.  It's very thorough and it doesn't feel like a diet, but a way of life. Go to FitnessBlender.com to check out their workouts and meal plans. I highly recommend them.


Disclaimer: Please consult a physician before beginning any fitness or diet program.  Results may vary. 

Sugar Twin Stevia Review

I was excited when I saw that Sugar Twin offered a Stevia sweetener.  Stevia is a natural sweetener.  I've used it before, but it was always a few dollars more than the Splenda.  To save money I would get Splenda.  The Sugar Twin Stevia is a couple of bucks less than Splenda. The taste?!  Another reason I didn't buy stevia is because I really didn't find it sweet.  It wouldn't sweeten my coffee like Splenda.  I have to say that the Sugar Twin Stevia is no different.  I just don't think it's as good as Splenda.

Stevia supposed to be better for me and I would say that I will keep using it hoping that I will eventually get used to it, but unfortunately it says that Sugar Twin Stevia contains 29.3 mg of Saccharin in each packet.  Now I'm trying to be more health conscious and move away from artificial sweeteners I'm wondering by using this product if I'm doing that.  Just thought I would let you all know it's out there.  If you try it let me know what you think of it.

To find out more about Sugar Twin's products and recipes go to their website SugarTwin.ca or follow them on Twitter, Facebook,  Pinterest & Youtube