Where have I been since 2005 when Loblaws started introducing Blue Menu items? Maybe because they have improved the look and made it easier to spot the nutrition attributes of the products. I have tried a few before but never consciously went back to buy the healthier lifestyle products that Loblaws now carried. Now they have developed over 400 great tasting products offering more of what nutritionists urge us to eat and less of what they tell us to limit.
Each product focuses on one or more attributes like omega-3, fibre, fat, and sodium as well as calories, probiotics and more. I always thought I rarely used packaged products but obviously I do even when shopping the perimeter of the store. So now that I am aware I will try some more of the PC Blue Menu alternatives rather than reaching for the usual choices. Now the products are easy to understand by including plus (+) and minus (-) symbols on the package so you can see what the products contains more of, or less of, right away.
The Blue Menu panel includes a dietitian, doctor, a chef and two moms and they give you some healthy tips in the free Insiders Report that you get at Loblaws. Today I tried Blue Menu thin multigrain bagels. I was looking for something like this after I had bought a similar product in Florida. The little arrows on the front say (+) high fibre and (-) low sodium and they taste pretty good. They are 160 calories a bagel which is pretty low for a bagel.
I also bought PC Blue Menu Artichoke and Asiago Dip. The Blue Menu one is 50% less fat than the regular PC Artichoke and Asiago dip. I think it will be a good veggies dip and they suggest you use in in deli sandwiches instead of mayo or on tossed into pasta salad instead of dressing. They also made the Blue Menu version of Baba Ghanouj, Spinach and Traditional Tzatziki dips.
Every once in a while we all feel like a sandwich instead of a salad so the idea is how do we build a better sandwich? Today in the deli department they had the Blue Menu Oven Roasted Chicken Breast with Flax Oil on sale. They tout this product as having 40% less sodium than PC Oven Roasted Chicken Breast. They also say it has more Omega -3. So my sandwich today was on a Multigrain Bagel thin. I put in paper thin slices of chicken breast. I moistened it with honey mustard and piled it with fresh baby arugula. It was delicious. Unless they told me, I wouldn't have felt I was getting less sodium.
I haven't bought ice cream for a while now but I thought I would take a crack at frozen Blue Menu Greek Yogurt Smoothie Bars. The little arrows say (+) probiotic and (-) low fat. They are 100 calories. I haven't as yet tasted it but each bar has 1 million active probiotic cultures to help promote a healthy gut flora. I will let you know how good it is.
Well, that's a start. It is nice to see healthier choices within reach in a grocery store. It cuts the guilt of eating out.... or at least gives it more balance.
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