Cooking Quidnunc: March 2016

KRAVE Jerky

Straight from Sonoma, California, comes KRAVE Jerky; a tasty and healthy snack option for MEAT lovers such as myself.

KRAVE Jerky really sets itself apart in the jerky department as their products are made with all-natural, whole-muscle cut, hand-sliced pieces of meat. The meat stays nice and tender thanks to a 48 hour marinating process and then a nice slow bake in the oven. The result is flavourful and moist pieces of jerky that are high in protein and free of yucky nitrites and MSG.

KRAVE offers beef, pork and turkey jerky that are all equally wholesome and satisfying chunks of lean meat. The jerky comes in a wide variety of flavours so you'll never get bored of snacking. The current flavours are: Black Cherry Barbecue Pork, Sea Salt Original, Basil Citrus Turkey, Chili Lime Beef, Sweet Chipotle Beef, Garlic Chili Pepper Beef, Lemon Garlic Turkey, Pineapple Orange Beef and Sweet Grilled Teriyaki Pork.

I tried a few of the flavours and here are my thoughts:

This was my favourite of all the flavours I tried. It was very natural tasting with just the right amount of sweet chipotle flavour. I love that the jerky didn't have any salty seasoning added to it, instead just natural flavours marinated deeply into the meat. The texture was softer than most jerky I have had, but still had a nice chew to it. I could easily eat a bag of this stuff and not feel guilty about it.

This jerky had a bit of a funky smell to it. I guess when you open a bag of lime and chili flavoured beef it's going to generate an interesting whiff. Luckily it doesn't taste as weird as it smells. The lime flavour was subtle, which I was happy about because the thought of overly powerful lime flavour with beef isn't that appealing to me. The chili was a bit more prominent which I liked since I'm quite the spice fan. The texture of this jerky was much softer than the chipotle which was interesting considering they both are premium pieces of beef.

This jerky is made with pork and the texture was a lot tougher compared to the beef, but the pieces were slightly thinner. I really loved the taste of this jerky although I didn't really notice the black cherry flavours but more of a peppery barbecue flavour which was really nice. I ended up pairing this jerky with a Newcastle Brown Ale which was a match made in beer-jerky heaven.

This one was probably my least favourite only because it was a tad too sweet for my liking. The 'teriyaki' flavouring wasn't too strong, leaving behind just the sweetness of the marinade. I can see how this flavour would appeal to a lot of people but I guess I'm more of a savoury jerky eater.

Overall I'm really happy with the products by KRAVE Jerky and will definitely keep these in my regular snacking rotations. For me, this is the perfect snack for after the gym or during a long hike because it will allow you to stay full for longer while minimizing your calorie intake and providing you with 8-12 grams of protein per 1 oz. serving.

KRAVE Jerky is available at select groceries stores in the GTA and I've also seen it at a few Shopper's Drug Mart locations as well. Each bag ranges from $7 to $8 and is well worth every penny. The packaging seal keeps your jerky nice and fresh so you can snack on it throughout the week, or in one sitting if you're feeling extra beefy.

#jerkylove

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food delivery

UberEATS Toronto

Food delivery has come a long way since the days of only being able to order pizza or Chinese food from a few chain restaurants. Today, there are so many options available to those who want to have hot food delivered to their doorsteps. Services such as Just Eat and UberEATS have joined up with a multitude of restaurants in Toronto to provide hungry customers with an array of cuisines at the click of a button.

UberEats has been around for a few months now and first started off with an ‘instant lunch delivery service’. The service is connected to your Uber app, making it easy to connect and browse through the 4 to 6 lunch delivery options of the day. Within 10 minutes, your prepared lunch is delivered to you curb-side and charged to your Uber account. Shortly after the launch of the Uber lunch delivery service, UberEats was announced.

UberEats provides you with a wide selection of full menu items from 100+ local restaurants and is available from 10 am - 10 pm, seven days a week. The impressive app will locate your location, formulate a list of restaurants that deliver to your area, estimate the delivery time, and provide menus of the items available.

I tried the new UberEats app at work and my first impression was that the app had an excellent list of notable Toronto restaurants. Some of the restaurants feature their full menu, while others just offer some of their most popular items. Whatever you’re in the mood for though, the app has something geared toward your craving.

I ended up going with a huge salad from Oats & Ivy. The salad was about $11.99 plus there was an automatic delivery charge of $4.99. After submitting the order, I received a confirmation response within a few minutes letting me know that the restaurant was preparing my salad and that it would be sent out with a driver shortly. Once the driver had picked up the salad, I could follow his route on Uber to find out when it would arrive. It took about 40 mins from placing the order to receiving it, which was quite reasonable. The service was quick and efficient and my food was well-prepared and tasty. It was nice to try out a restaurant I’ve been dying to go to without actually visiting it, although I would gladly make my way to the restaurant to dine in now that I know the food is delicious.

My experience so far has been great with UberEats, but I only use it in dire situations. It can get very pricey especially with the $4.99 delivery charge and if you’re placing just one order for yourself. It would be ideal to use UberEats with other people so that everyone can split the delivery charge and have an awesome meal together. I find myself using the instant delivery lunch option more often since the delivery is included in the food price and most items always range from about 8 to 13 dollars. It is important to note that UberEats will deliver to a wide range of areas in the GTA but the ‘Uber Instant Lunch’ service is only available in the highlighted areas:

Download the UberEats app now and receive $10 off your first order - https://ubereats.com/toronto/

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Cooking Quidnunc

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Dixonlicious 2016

KRAVE Jerky

Made With Love 2016

[Recap] Recipe for Change 2016

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