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Simply Tina | Tina Gravalos

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Healthy Easy Recipe, Food Photography, Food Blogger

5 Reasons Why I love Shopping at Farmers Markets

June 30, 2020 · In: Lifestyle

The summer months in Ontario, where I live, are truly a magical time! Luckily, mother nature supplies us with an abundance of fruits and vegetables to fill our kitchens with.

My favourite thing to do on the weekends is go to local farmers markets and browse all the things they have to offer.

Of course the products are the main reason why I’m there, but really, shopping at farmers markets has a deeper meaning for me.

Connecting with the community

With all the local vendors, you can make some pretty sweet connections and really see what your community has to offer. There’s more than just produce. Bread, honey, spices, baked goods and more!

You get to meet the farmers

This is one of my favourite things to do! It’s nice to see the face behind who is growing your food. It’s also an opportunity to ask how it was grown, or any tips or tricks they might have, etc.

Reduce your carbon footprint

When you buy local, the food doesn’t have to travel far to get into your hands.

You get to support your local economy

I think more than ever right now, we need to support our local economy as much as we can! While a lot of businesses are suffering right now during this pandemic, I try my best to support whenever I can because I want these businesses to thrive again!

Eating in season

Fruits and vegetables always taste better when they are in season! This means that produce is fresh, ripe and not picked before it’s ready. In colder months, this happens and we get produce shipped from other countries. Eating in season maximizes the nutrients in the produce, too.

Some of my favourite summer (early fall) farmers market produce + when in season

Peaches – July to September

Strawberries – May to October

Blueberries – July to September

Cherries – June to July (short lived but always worth the wait!)

Cauliflower – June to November

Cucumber – June to October

Watermelon – July to September

Tomatoes – July to October

Snow peas – June to September

Peppers – July to October

Zucchini – July to October

Corn – July to October

Lettuce (assorted) – June to October

For a list of in season produce in Ontario, click here .

*While things look a little different now and we have to adapt to what’s going on in the world, farmers markets might look a little different. Check out your local farmers markets for more details on how they are operating.

By: Tina Gravalos · In: Lifestyle

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PINEAPPLE BLOOD ORANGE MOCKTAIL 🍍🍊 How bea PINEAPPLE BLOOD ORANGE MOCKTAIL 🍍🍊 

How beautiful are blood oranges? 😍

I’ve been playing around with mocktails and I think this might be one of my faves! 

Here’s the how to:

1/2 cup pineapple chunks
Juice of 2 blood oranges
1-2 tsps raw honey
1/2 cup coconut milk
Sparkling water
Ice

In a glass or cocktail shaker, add the pineapple, blood orange juice and honey. Muddle until the pineapple is mashed.

Pour in the coconut milk and stir. With a fine mesh sieve or strainer, place on top of a glass and pour about half of the pineapple mixture into it and use a spoon to get the juices out. Repeat with another glass.

Add ice to the glass and top with sparkling water. Garnish with a slice of blood orange. 

Enjoy! 💛 

* you can add a pinch of sea salt
* you can eat the muddled fruit or add a tsp or 2 to your drink!
* use pineapple juice if you prefer 

#mocktailrecipes #easyrecipes #simplerecipes #recipeoftheday #recipedeveloper #foodphotographer #wellandgoodeats
PRODUCT SWAPS PART 4: Baking! 🧁 I mean…look PRODUCT SWAPS PART 4: Baking! 🧁 

I mean…look at this baking section at @naturescanada 😍 They literally have ALL you need for all lifestyles. Whether you’re gluten-free, dairy-free or just looking for some healthier options, they have you covered! 

Extracts: Look for extracts with no artificial flavours or colours

Flours - These are some of my favs: cassava, coconut, almond, spelt and a gluten-free blend. I like to use rolled oats a lot too and you can make your own oat flour with them.

Chocolate - I use cacao powder, allergen friendly chocolate chips and chocolate bars (broken up into chunks).

Fats - Grass-fed butter (salted or unsalted) and coconut oil.

Eggs - locally sourced goodness! 🤗

Sweeteners - Maple syrup, honey, cane sugar and coconut sugar. 

Liquids - I like to use unsweetened coconut milk from a carton or can.

And just for fun, marshmallows! 🤭

Remember, it’s not about being perfect. It’s about making better choices and ENJOYING life! ❤️ 

What are some of your favourite ingredients to bake with!? 

#productswaps #healthierswaps #simpleingredients #healthierbaking #bakingsupplies
Counting down the days until peach season in Canad Counting down the days until peach season in Canada so I can make this peach jalapeño popsicle recipe I whipped up for @jillian.harris's blog. 😍 It features a jalapeño simple syrup!
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I made a link in my bio with the recipe. Check it out. 🤗
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Happy weekend, ya'll! ❤️
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#popsiclerecipes #icepops #simplerecipes #easyrecipes #peachrecipes #simpletreats #easytreats
PRODUCT SWAPS PART 3: Cooking! Ok ok this one is PRODUCT SWAPS PART 3: Cooking!

Ok ok this one is definitely a favourite for me! 👩🏻‍🍳

Let’s take a moment to appreciate the spices section @naturescanada 😍 I mean, what don’t they have? Having so many amazing options to choose from makes me feel confident I’m making healthy choices for me and my fam. 🤗 

So let’s dive right in.

Cooking oils - I know this is a hot topic but these are the things I cook with. Greeks (like me lol) have been using olive oil forevvveeerrr so I’m going to also use it foreva because it’s a part of my culture. 😉 Avocado oil, coconut oil, grass-fed butter and ghee. When buying olive oil and avocado oil, look for darker glass bottles to prevent oxidation. Also, don’t be afraid of butter! 🤗 Grass-fed butter is packed with healthy fats and fat soluble vitamins. Ghee is great too. Ghee is made by melting butter. It gets separated into liquid fats and milk solids. The milk solids get removed and then voila you have ghee! 

I personally don’t buy vegetable oils like canola, sunflower oil, etc. They are highly refined and processed and just no bueno for me. 🙅🏻‍♀️

Spices - make sure to read labels! You would I be surprised at what gets added to spices. If you’re buying dried dill, the ingredients should just be dill. 

Salt - same thing as spices…there should only be salt as the ingredient no fillers or any other nonsense! I’m a big fan of @redmondrealsalt ! 

As always, let me know if you have any questions. 🤗 

#productswaps #healthyliving #simpleingredients #healthylifestyle

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