I have created my own Love It! List. These lists will be monthly compilation of products or services that I love. Some will be food but it can include books, cookbooks, veg-friendly products, veg services or just general things that I think are worthy of the list. Hope you are encouraged to try new things and enjoy the lists!

Disclaimer: I have purchased (unless otherwise specified)  all these items with my own money. I can’t exactly suggest you go spend your money on an item or service if I haven’t spent my own on it. Makes sense right? If a company or person does send me something to try out, my opinion will not be persuaded and I will write honestly.

Love It! List #1: Feb 2014

Blood Oranges

I bought my first blood orange by mistake. They were all just mixed in with the regular oranges and the skin did not have a hint of red on it. I got home, cut it open and thought my orange had gone bad or I bought a weird grapefruit (I am not a fan of grapefruit). I picture texted my friend Sarah, who is a professional recipe developer and asked her what the hell was wrong with this orange. She told me it was a blood orange and that they are delicious however with a slightly unappetizing name.

She was certainly correct in that they are delicious! Now I am in love with their garnet-red flesh and the slightly tart almost berry like taste. They are much less sweet than a regular navel orange and can be used wherever you would use an orange. They are a beautiful contrast against deep greens in a salad or just sliced up on a plate. One of my favourite ways to eat them is in a salad with spring mix, shaved fennel, blood oranges and some olive oil-simple and delicious. Sometimes your orange won’t be as deep red as the one photographed but will have flecks of bright orange in them which is just as delicious and reminds me of stained glass.

To Buy: buy oranges that have no spots of mold or bruises and one that seem heavy for their size-these ones are juicier.

To Store: These will only keep on the counter a few days but will last in the fridge for about 1 – 1 ½ weeks.

Nutritional Benefits: Blood oranges get their red colour (as do cherries, red cabbage, blueberries etc.) from anthocyanin- a powerful antioxidant and we can always use more of those to fight free radicals. Plus you get a bunch of Vitamin C, fiber, potassium and calcium so go on and get some of these oranges. Hurry they are only in season for another month of so!

Infused Water

No, I am not referring to those bottles of “enhanced” water you would find at a gas station. Those are just glorified sugar water. At one point in my life I thought they were good for me and I even bought diet enhanced water. Oh silly Jessica, how far you have come. Now if I have something with aspartame in it, I get a splitting headache and this is from a recovered diet pop/ Crystal Light addict.

This water I am talking about it light, refreshing and handy when you get that “I want something more than just water” craving. It does happen sometimes unless I am the only crazy person who gets this craving. Hopefully not!

These waters are really simple to make at home and have endless combinations to them. You just mix the fruits and/or herbs together in a Mason jar, fill with water, put a lid on it and let the water infuse. It does not add a lot of calories or sugar (or aspartame…yikes!) and they are actually hydrating (unlike sugar water).

Mark loves the cucumber and mint while I prefer the berry and basil but play around with combinations and see what you like best.

From left to right: Mixed berry and basil, mango and mint, cucumber and mint

David’s Tea Timolino

I own a total of 7 travel mugs. I am dead serious. They are all collecting dust on top of my fridge and I haven’t used them beyond the first try. They all leak. Every single one. On a bumpy bus ride, my hand would be covered in hot coffee and my mitts soaked. When I finished my coffee or tea I would put the mug in my bag (literally a teaspoon of liquid would remain in the mug) and it managed to leak even then. I would get so frustrated every time I opened my bag and found everything to be slightly damp. Paying for my lunch with moist money was fairly embarrassing and I had enough of these crappy mugs.

I had bought my old roommate Ashley a David’s Tea Timolino for Christmas and it claimed to be leak-proof. When I asked her if the mug held up its claim she beamed at me and told me that she even trusted it in her bag with her laptop. I went out and bought immediately (along with some teas of course: Pumpkin Chai and Santa’s Helper are my favs)

Though this travel mug is the priciest one I have ever bought (12-ounce $29.50), I had spent more collectively on all of my leaky-I-will-never-use-again travel mugs. Not only is this travel companion leak-proof it also keeps your tea super hot for a lot longer than any thermos I have ever purchased.

Just go and get one- it is 100% worth the money and it is the last travel mug you will ever buy. They come in an awesome selection of colours and now have a 16-ounce size ($34.50). Don’t live near a David’s Tea? You can also order them online.

Soma Chocolate Maker: Chocolate

This wonderful chocolate shop is a real gem with two locations in Toronto (King West and the Distillery District). The shop itself (I went to the King St location) is beautifully laid out and the staff is informative without being snobby (a huge plus in my books).

The woman helping me pick out chocolate answered all of my questions with patience and seemed pleased to answer them. I had picked out a few bars and she immediately handed me a little basket to put them all in. She said she did not want the chocolate melting in my hands while I shopped. Most of their chocolate is wrapped in clear packaging, which is really important when purchasing this treat since you can tell if the chocolatier has temped the chocolate properly and there are no signs of blooming (the whitest stuff that looks like dust of your chocolate) Click the link to learn more about blooming.

Not all of their chocolate is vegan however they do have a great selection of dark chocolate bars ranging from 70%-100% cocoa. The selection of vegan truffles is not as wide but the truffles that they do sell are outstanding (Orange Marzipan was Mark’s fav).

Why this chocolate shop verses many others that Toronto offers? All of Soma’s chocolates are house made, organic and fair trade making it stand out compared to the rest (plus I love the brands Brave New World reference).

They also serve coffee, tea and hot chocolate so you can have a hot drink while enjoying their chocolate. I like to put a square of chocolate in my mouth and then take a swig of coffee. It gets all melty and mocha-y and I think the coffee enhances the taste of the chocolate. Weird part is I don’t really like coffee-flavoured chocolate. A chocolate I don’t like? That’s even weirder.

Check out their site: http://www.somachocolate.com for more info and pictures of their decadent treats.

 Gillian Flynn Novels

I know this is not food or vegan related but reading is my most favourite pastime and these books are addictive reads. Flynn has this ability to write deeply flawed and sometimes unlikeable characters but you get hooked to these thrillers. Gone Girl is my favourite book by this author (now becoming a movie and here is hoping it doesn’t stink—a lot of books to movies can be bad news) however her other books: Dark Places and Sharp Objects I consider must-reads. I have missed my subway stop a few times because I was too deep in her well-written world. Visit her site here.