Oats, Crackers, Cookies and More!

Oh where do I start...

Snacking has been a guilty pleasure of mine ever since I could remember, 

When I'm bored or stressed or simply hungry I would snack on pretty much anything that looks appetizing.

So when I saw that Narin's was offering an opportunity to review their line of Scottish oat crackers I could not wait to sign up.

Since receiving the product samples, I have gone from snacking on instant noodles and junk food to nibbling cookies and crackers from Narin's. They have a great selection of crackers and cookies that contain oats (for those who don't know, oats are a great source of fibre which we all need in our diets, more benefits listed below). I have never been a huge fan of vegetables, especial those with little to no sauce or dressing so these crackers and cookies is a wonderful substitute for me. And the only time I eat oats is in oatmeal raisin cookies, or granola bar.. you se the trend.

BENEFITS OF OATS

According to The Whole Grains Council, Some benefits of oats include:

• OATS MAY REDUCE ASTHMA RISK IN CHILDREN
• OATS MAY BOOST NUTRITION PROFILE OF GLUTEN-FREE DIETS
• OATS INCREASE APPETITE-CONTROL HORMONES
• OAT BETA GLUCANS IMPROVE IMMUNE SYSTEM DEFENSES
• OATS HELP CUT THE USE OF LAXATIVES
• OATS MAY HELP REDUCE THE RISK OF TYPE 2 DIABETES
• OATS MAY IMPROVE INSULIN SENSITIVITY
• OATS LOWER BAD CHOLESTEROL
• OATS HELP CONTROL BLOOD PRESSURE
• OATS #3 OVERALL, #1 FOR BREAKFAST, IN SATIETY INDEX

Information above was taken directly from The Whole Grains Council website. Read more about this in detail here.

INITIAL THOUGHTS
Opening the box, I noticed that Narins products were packed in smaller portions, I  really love this as it is so convenient to take out and share with the people around me. This is also a good way to prevent your snacks from going stale if you forget to eat it and can help in portioning your snack size so you over eat (or so I don't over eat).

TASTE
The cookies came in three different flavours:
- Dark Chocolate Chip
- Mixed Berries
- Stem Ginger

They were not too sweet and made a perfect afternoon snack. I did not put any toppings on this as it had enough flavouring, but you may add jam or cream cheese if you like .

There were four kinds of crackers:
- Scottish Oat Crackers Organic
- Scottish Oat Crackers Cheese
- Scottish Oat Crackers Roughly Milled
- Crisp Baked Oat Crackers with Sunflower Seeds

 These did not have overpowering flavours, which makes them the ideal candidate to put toppings on. 

TOPPING IDEAS
Some of my favourite toppings are:

- Blue cheese and honey

- Tuna and mayonnaise topped with caviar

- Cheese, tomato and balsamic vinegar 

* Trugs Gourmet Garlic and Onion Jam (It maybe smelly at first but its so, so good)

If you do happen to try these combinations, please comment below. I would love to hear from you all!

Don't forget to Like Narin's on Facebook and tweet them (@NarinsOatCakes)

SPICES!

Hu Tong

2942 W Broadway Vancouver, BC V6K 2G6 | (604) 559-6622

It was date night, and K wanted to take me to this place that had good Hainanese Chicken on Broadway, but as it turns out the place was closed so we decided to go for a stroll.

That was when we came across Hu Tong, The exterior reminded us of those "old towns" in Taiwan, we didn't think much about it but the smell was what caught our attention. If you weren't hungry to begin with, the aroma of the food will make you hungry. K and I both have never had traditional Beijing food so we decided to give it a go.

K is a fan of really traditional Chinese decor, if he had a house this may be what he would want it to look like.

Bacardi cups for water? Why not?!

Spinach with Peanuts and Sesame Seeds

The waitress made it sound so saucy, but in reality it was kind of sour and did not see any sauce, was upsold.

Lamb Hot Pot

We were told this may not be enough for  people, but it was more than enough for us, intact we had leftovers to take home. 

Price:  $$
Food:  ☆ ☆ ☆ 
Service:  ☆ ☆ 
Ambience:  ☆ ☆ ☆ ☆ 

Conclusion: Can be a little pricey, but everywhere you go for "traditional food" is a little pricey. I would most likely come back again sometime.

Hidden Gem in Kerrisdale

George's Pizza

6109 West Blvd Vancouver, BC | (604) 266-0411

So I've been hanging out in Kerrisdale for many years now and for some odd reason I have never noticed George's pizza until recently. Maybe it's because it's located in the outskirts of Kerrisdale away from where all the shopping is, but I'm telling you if you're looking to get away from Vancouver for an hour or two this is the place to go!

It's friendly staff knows exactly what to suggest for you, and the interior of the restaurant accompanied by the Italian-esque melody being played in the background places you right in the middle of Europe.

Spinach Tortellini

Never been much of a pesto/green sauce fan, but if I had to choose, this would be my favourite green sauce pasta.

1/2 Greek 1/2 Hawaiian

Please don't make me choose between the two, they are both so good!

Dinner Special of the Day: Penne with Chicken in Rose Sauce

K doesn't like red sauce pastas, but he loved this one, couldn't stop talking about it for days.

George's Special (minus green peppers)

Price:  $$$
Food:  ☆ ☆ ☆ ☆ ☆
Service:  ☆ ☆ ☆ ☆ ☆ 
Ambience:  ☆ ☆ ☆ ☆ ☆ 

Conclusion: Usually I would say something along the lines of I will be coming back. But in this case, I have already been back.

We probably stayed here for hours forgetting the time, the staff here as so amazingly friendly, I swear I brought friends here and stayed for over four hours (until closing) and even though all the customers already left and they were closing up, they did not come to our table to ask us to leave once. We had such a good time here we lost track of time and that has never happened anywhere else.