Ode to Olive Oil: Soffritto Olive Oil Review!

My newest purchase: Cinnamon Pear White Balsamic and Blood Orange Infused Olive Oil

How I adore Olive Oil, it is truly a magical oil and because of its many health promoting properties it's really no wonder Homer dubbed it "liquid gold".  Did you know that only 2 tablespoons of Olive Oil a day can lower your cholesterol, blood pressure and blood glucose levels in as little as 2 weeks? Some people are even able to take Olive Oil instead of Statins (talk to your ND about this!) and therefore never have to risk the nasty side effects of prescription medications.

The problem isn't with taking it (2 tbsp a day is easy if you make it into a dressing for your salad!) but rather the problem is finding REAL, QUALITY OLIVE OIL amidst the world wide Olive Oil scam that was described in Tom Mueller's book Extra Virginity: Truth In Olive Oil.  Basically, there are people out there that are selling you something labelled as pure extra virgin Olive Oil but is in fact only about 30% Olive Oil and 70% heart clogging oils like Sunflower, Safflower, Soy and Canola oils.  And these people are actually....THE SUPERMARKETS!

Yup, because there are no laws that limit what you can put on an Olive Oil label the big shady multinationals are constantly selling people an inferior product that is actually incredibly unhealthy in order to make a few million dollars.  Completely unethical and heart breaking (quite literally), I know.  

The good news? You can find little shops run by people who are ridiculously passionate about offering a real and honest product because they love the taste and want you to love good food too.  In Calgary, one of these shops is called Soffritto and it is run by an uber passionate, super friendly, extremely knowledgeable man named Gordon.  Gordon deals with high quality olive oil by sourcing it from the orchids directly and cutting out the middle man so that he gets all the high quality olive oils delivered fresh to his store.  Not only does he offer traditional Olive Oils, there are also infused Olive Oils (blood orange and truffle, to name a few) as well as a plethora of gorgeous Balsamic Vinegars.  Soffritto saves you money and ensures freshness by offering their oils and vinegars in big bulk canisters that they use to fill individual dark glass bottles to keep the light out (remember, light and heat make your Olive Oil go rancid more quickly).   Check out some of the different flavours below.

Raspberry Balsamic 

Dark Espresso Balsamic 

My favorite: Traditional Style Balsamic.  There are no words...

The man himself: Gord making a kick-ass Quebec cheese tray (Soffritto caters,too!)

Truly life changing and if you are in Calgary, you'll want to check out Soffritto.  If you aren't in Calgary but have a bit of money to spend, you can give Gord a call and he will ship you out anything you want!

Soffritto 
380 Canyon Meadows Drive SE
Calgary, AB
403-278-6670

Living Food

For my birthday, my bestie J took me to a raw food "cooking" class in the popular St. Lawrence Market. The lady teaching the class (the owner of Cruda Cafe) was SO inspiring in her views of food as medicine that I have been obsessed with raw food ever since!

On a recent trip to Vancouver, I was completely spoiled as my hotel was within walking distance from 2 amazing raw food restaurants: Gorilla Food and Organic Lives.

Since I believe a picture is worth a thousand words, feast your eyes on my recent pics and see if they also inspire you to take up raw cuisine!

This breakfast crepe was from Organic Lives and was filled with fresh strawberries and pear slices and drizzled with a mouth-watering strawberry maple sauce. The crepe itself was so thin and delicate and a perfect mate for the fresh fruit. I also got the fresh almond milk to round out the meal and was pleasantly surprised at how much better fresh raw almond milk is than the boxed variety!

The above 2 photos are of the Kunda Linguini Rising and the Choco Gorilla Almond Shake at Gorilla Foods. The linguini is zucchini noodles tossed in a pesto sauce and layered with tomato marinara sauce and a tenderized kale mix with a sprinkling of crushed nuts. Even after 8 hours of walking all around the city and working up an appetite, I still wasn't able to finish this meal all in one sitting!

Finally, the Ocean Wrap (again, from Gorilla Foods). It was a perfect lunch on a hot day. The salty walnut pate balanced the sweetness of both the nori and carrots, and the rest of the veggies offered that satisfying, refreshing crunch.

Gorilla Food

gorillafood@gmail.com
604 684 3663
101-436 Richards St.
Vancouver, BC

OrganicLives

info@organiclives.org

777 588 7777

1829 Quebec St.
Vancouver, BC