We went to the Whole Life Expo and I think this year it was better than last. The show is divided into three sections: 1) Food, 2) Health related products and 3) Health related services. As foodies we tend to stick to the food section and were happy to see a bunch of familiar faces.
This picture makes the show look calm, but let you tell you when people have their back packs on and aren’t paying attention this get crowded FAST.
First, we stopped at Upaya Natural’s booth – they had a wide selection of raw, vegan, organic foods and appliances. I took pictures, but I realized after we left they were blurry. I’d go so far as to say they have the most selection of any raw/vegan store, they will most likely have anything you can think of and they are always adding more products to their mix. We bought our Blendtec and Excalibur dehydrator and Omega Juicer through them – oh, and our spiralizer as well. They are more than equipment, they have every raw/vegan food item you can imagine from: dehydrated mulberries, to enema bags, to Earthings grounding shoes and more.
Giddy YoYo is a company out of Orangeville, Ontario and they make raw chocolate amongst other things. They recently change their packaging and increased the size of their chocolate while maintaining the same price. That is pretty impressive. You don’t hear of a company giving you more of a product and not charging you for it. We are addicted to the mint raw chocolate. I cherish it and eat it one square at a time. Too good. I asked Mark, one of the owners, about the shelf life of the chocolate and if it’s okay not to seal it once opened. He mentioned it was fine, oxidation does not occur, but chocolate can age like a fine wine. Mind you raw chocolate from 1960 wouldn’t be suitable to eat, but month old chocolate is okay.
Cruda Cafe was very busy with their raw tacos and desserts. These were the same tacos I reviewed at the CNE this summer. Cannot say enough good things about how good the tacos were then, we had already eaten before we came, but that really shouldn’t have stopped me now that I think about it. Ah well. If we’re in St. Lawrence market on a weekend I’m sure we’ll venture to the basement level to find the storefront of Cruda Cafe.
Rawfoodz is an organic raw vegan salad dressing company and they recently started making a raw chocolate spread that’s not on their website. I tried it during the Raw Food festival. What is on their site is their new Butter style spread both in original and garlic. That I can totally get behind – freaking tasty. I’ve tried the dressings and the spread and each are pretty darn good. I have a preference to Italian Idol, but don’t let that discourage you from trying others. They’re creamy and intensely flavourful, it’s hard to believe the dressings are raw. The dressings are great on kelp noodles, raw coleslaw, veggie dip just to name a few uses.
A new face on the raw vegan scene is Rawlly Delicious. They are operated by a husband/wife team Natalie and Derek Neal based in Caledon, Ontario. On my high raw days I have resorted to carrying nuts and seeds with me to snack on. Sure that does the trick, but why not have a fulfilling treat that provides 5g of protein per serving. Rawlly Delicious has five flavours of Energy Ball: Hulk Energy, Nuts About Hazel, Almond Crunch, The “Seed” and Coconut Bliss. They have since added one NEW product: Chaga-Maca Brawnie.
Chaga-Maca Brawnie
What I love about these Energy Balls a) they all taste amazing, yes I have stuffed my face with them and b) they’re sprouted/raw/organic. I asked Natalie how long does it take to make each Energy ball batch and her answer – four days in total. That’s commitment. I like the idea of having a product that I can eat on the go and not feel guilty about. In fact, I feel pretty darn good after eating them just because they are easier to digest. Rawlly Delicious has an auto-ship program so you can opt to have a customized order shipped to you so you never run out. I can see this being very helpful in keeping up with my new addiction.
This is the six pack of all of the Energy Ball products. At the show the price was $20. I’m not sure if this is going to be sold on their website, but hopefully it will. 
What kind of Air Eater post would this be without the Nutritional Value information? (Click to enlarge) The Chaga-Maca Brawnie info is missing as it’s still being finalized. Here is a link to their Facebook, Twitter and Youtube account. Amazing that this little company has already been featured on CTV.
Overall, I am very glad we went to the Whole Life show, it was worth the parking and crowds to get the great deals we did. I felt hilarious walking around with so many raw food items, but I refuse to feel guilty about healthy pleasures.
Happy eating!
