Good afternoon!
My day is going fairly well. I spent most of the morning on the phone with the government tax office sorting out my PST tax application. I also had to decide on my filing period. My first one is coming up on August 23rd, so I am a bit freaked out! I am going to have to talk to my brother in law who is an accountant for his tips. While I am glad that I applied for a GST and PST tax number (it really does set a professional tone for any business), it does create a ton of more work on my part, especially since I didn’t know anything about tax before I started this business. I am sure that once I get used to the process and figure it out, it will be old hat in a year or two. Can’t wait for that day!
After that, I started calculating the nutritional information for my Glo Bars. Since I recently changed the size of my bars, I now have to re-do all of the nutrition labels. A lot of my food products are not in the database I am using, so I had to custom entry many of them this morning. I now have my first official label complete for the Classic bar and I must say I am really impressed by the stats! I will be sharing this information shortly after I create and input it into a table (Nutrition Data does not permit the online use of their nutrition labels- only for print. Don’t ask me why! :( ).
And then came lunch! It was quick and easy so I could get back to work.
The weather here is cool and cloudy today, so I thought some hot soup was fitting. Do you have a favourite yukky weather meal?
This is the only brand of soup I have been able to find that has no salt added:
Click to enlarge:
You know me, I am big against heavily salted foods, so this is pretty much the only brand I buy now. They were on sale 3 for $5 at Loblaws last week, so I got 3 cans.
I had the whole can for lunch, along with a dollop of hummus, and 2 slices of whole wheat bread (yup, still buying no name!). I am happy (sad?) to say that I have not broken down and purchased the expensive Ezekiel bread since I challenged myself to stop buying it last winter!
I added some pumpkin seeds for some flavour (and an awesome crunch!) that this unsalted soup is definitely lacking. The hummus also adds some flavour too and made it nice and creamy (it sunk to the bottom!).
This soup is filled with veggies and beans…I just love it!
Japanese Sencha Loose leaf is still going strong! Today I was feeling frisky and had it with a bag of Green Ginger Tazo tea.
I Tweeted about this the other day. One of my biggest pet peeves is when my loose leaf holder opens up and spills out all of the tea into my mug. This happens to me quite a bit. It is probably because my tea holder is cheap. Does anyone recommend a good loose leaf tea holder that works nicely? I think mine is from the Dollarstore. :D
Dessert was pure Heaven!
I have everyone hooked on these new Heaven bars now. I think it just might be my #1 favourite Glo Bar now. It tastes just like a peanut butter brownie!
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Ok, back to work!
Canadians: Don’t forget to enter the Neal Brother’s contest! There aren’t many comments over at Green Monster Movement so your chances of winning the awesome prize pack are really good!!!
Enjoy your Hump-day. :)
Oooh, hummus in soup…that’s a good idea!
Have a great afternoon! :)
hummus and soup is genius! and i love brownie anything!
I’m sure you wrote about this, so I could go back and look but I thought I’d ask here first – why did you stop buying Ezekiel bread?
Hi there! I have been waiting for two things before placing my order for your Glo Bars: 1. Nutritional Data (I’m excited that you’ll be posting this soon!) and 2. That you can ship to the United States (how is that going by the way?).
I can’t wait until you can get your bars in the US – the heaven sounds SO good.
Soup is a fave for dreary days like today for sure. I’d also be interested to know why you stopped buying Ezekiel bread!
I can’t wait to see the nutritional info for the bars – even though the most important info is that they’re made from whole foods and by you! :)
Your lunch looks delicious and so satisfying on a cool, rainy day. Have a wonderful afternoon!
My loose leaf tea holder is called an “English Muffin”. I’ve seen it described as a “pincher tea infuser spoon” or something like that as well. It is basically a mesh tea ball with a handle that you pinch to open. I’ve never had it leak.
The new glo bars sound really good- I might just have to try them.
I’m also a runner, and I want to add that you really shouldn’t be avoiding salt in your food–especially in the summer, and more especially if you’re a heavy sweater. You don’t have to drown your food in salt, but you definitely need it in your diet–don’t want to risk hyponatremia! It’s one of the benefits of being a distance runner, we don’t need to limit our salt intake nearly as much.
I can’t wait till you can ship to the US! I’m dying to try ALL of your bars!!!!!!
I was just going to post to recommend the same type of tea infuser that Kristen suggested.
Looks kind of like this:
http://www.chah.co.uk/ekmps/shops/chahltd/images/tea_infuser.jpg
Never had a problem!
I love to use tea filter bags (http://shopstashtea.com/700196.html). I also use a tea strainer that rests at the top of your cup (http://www.fantes.com/images/3341tea_infusers.jpg). Hope that helps!
I’ll have to try hummus in soup.
I’m excited for you that bakery stuff is going so well! Again, can’t WAIT til you can ship those babies to the US!! :)
I had lentil soup today because it is rainy and yucky here too!
This is my absolute fav tea maker (it works with any cup, you don’t need to buy a special cup) http://www.teavana.com/Tea-Gift-Center/Gifts-by-Price/Tea-Gifts-under-20/Teavana-Perfect-Tea-Maker-16oz.axd
My only reason for not buying the Ezeikel bread was due to the high price ($4.99 a loaf). I challenged myself last winter to stop buying it (I was buying 1-2 loafs a week and it was adding up). Since then we have been buying no name bread for about $1.19 a loaf so we have saved lots of money. Not the most exciting bread, but I try to buy my pitas and wraps to change it up now and then! I do miss my sprouted grain bread though….sigh….. What I really need to start doing again is making my wraps from scratch!! Just not enough time in the day lately. ~A
The concept of ezekiel bread seems great to me, but I’m not sure I’m a huge fan of their texture/taste along with their price! I think they only taste okay toasted, and even then they are not AMAZING. Good for you for saving money though Angela! :)
I love soup or chilli to eat when the weather is less than stellar!
PS…I left a comment over at the GM site!
GST and PST can seem daunting at first, but after a while you get to be comfortable with them. Good accounting software can help you keep track of that sort of stuff :).
so when can i start getting your bars to my house in the states?!?! Im dying to try this heaven bar your going on an on about..(what a tease!).not to mention my deep love of peanut butter..i want to try the original glo bar too!! let me know as soon as i can place my HUGGEEEE order!!
I agree with elizabeth up above…I LOVE my Teavana perfect tea maker!
http://www.teavana.com/Tea-Gift-Center/Gifts-by-Price/Tea-Gifts-under-20/Teavana-Perfect-Tea-Maker-16oz.axd
And, yes it does work with all of the mugs that I have! Its awesome! :)
I would love to be able to try your bars they sound so delish!
Mmmmm…Heaven looks like Heaven :)
I love your clear bowl! Kinda looks like a soup aquarium!