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Wonder+ SimplyFree

Long Weekend with WONDER+ SimplyFree!

August 2, 2011 By Lena

Bliss. Another hot, lazy long weekend is winding down. Last time, I shared highlights from my family barbecue with y’all – including some juicy hamburgers courtesy of Canadian Living, Summer Fun Comes Naturally and WONDER+ SimplyFree.

This time around, we moved the barbecue indoors. 

I’m sure you’ve seen me mention this before, but I am just fed up with the extreme heat and humidity that Toronto has experienced this summer. My poor toddler has been having regular nosebleeds, my husband’s asthma is acting up, and I can’t take all these frizzy, bad hair days! So while we considered celebrating the long weekend with another barbecue, we opted to bring the festivities indoors instead.

Boy, am I glad that WONDER+ SimplyFree buns are so versatile! I decided to make Tuna Salmon Melts from Canadian Living’s Simply Better BBQ’s, and was pleased that I could use the hamburger buns as a perfect, soft roll for this yummy sandwich.

(WONDER+ SimplyFree is the first Canadian National branded line of hamburger & hotdog buns FREE OF artificial preservatives, artificial flavours and artificial colours. They are also made with NO high fructose corn syrup, and like all products from WONDER, made with unbleached wheat flour. LOVE!)

The original recipe calls for canned tuna, but I substituted canned salmon as I prefer the omega 3’s and added calcium from crushed bones.

INGREDIENTS

2 cans flaked tuna (or salmon), well drained
3 tbsp (45 mL) finely chopped gherkin pickles
2 tbsp (25 mL) finely chopped celery
2 tbsp (25 mL) ketchup
2 tbsp (4 mL) finely diced onions
3 tbsp (45 mL) mayonnaise
4 Wonder+ SimplyFree hamburger buns
1/2 cup (125 mL) shredded Cheddar cheese

DIRECTIONS

In large bowl, combine tuna, pickles, celery, ketchup and onions; stir in mayonnaise until well mixed. Spoon onto bottom of buns. Top each with about 2 tbsp (25 mL) cheese.

For barbecuing, wrap in foil and heat for about 4 minutes, turning once, to heat through and melt cheese. Makes 4 servings.

So I cheated and actually placed the buns open-faced under the broiler to toast the bread and melt the cheese. Bonus: it only took about 3 minutes and we didn’t have to heat the barbecue!

Here’s my sandwich, waiting to be tucked into:

It was quite delish! Way more flavourful than your standard salmon salad sandwich, and the addition of toasted bread and gooey cheese really put this one over the top. My husband had two!

With only one long weekend left in summer, I’m hoping this heat wave subsides soon so we can once again be grilling up a storm. Until then, I’m quite happy to enjoy more delicious sandwiches like the one we tried today.

I am participating in the Wonder+ SimplyFree program by Mom Central Canada on behalf of Weston Bakeries. I received a gift card and free product coupons as a thank you. The opinions on this blog are my own.

Filed Under: Food Tagged With: BBQ, summer, Wonder+ SimplyFree

BBQ’ing with WONDER+ SimplyFree!

July 4, 2011 By Lena

Ah, another long weekend winding down – the sights, sounds and tastes of summer still fresh in my mind. Of course, this Canada Day long weekend was slightly less than perfect since I’m still getting over a summer cold. However, nothing makes a gal feel better than family, food and fun!

We decided to postpone Friday’s Canada Day celebration until earlier this afternoon so that I’d have a chance to recuperate. My parents, brother and sister-in-law came over for a BBQ-licious good time, and we had a blast! I was a little worried about the heat (we have full afternoon sun and the humidex temperature creeped up to 35 degrees Celsius) but we moved lunch inside and saved the outdoor fun for when the 4:00pm shade settled in.

Inspired to create a new burger, I checked out the WONDER+ SimplyFree recipes available through the Canadian Living, Summer Fun Comes Naturally site. I decided that the Juicy Extra-Lean Burgers were good to go; I had all the ingredients on hand, loved that the prep work was quick and easy, and I’m always looking for healthier, lower fat options.

Here’s my resident grill master with the burgers:

MY SUMMER CHEF
EXTRA LEAN BURGERS ON THE GRILL
VEGETARIANS NEED NOT APPLY

We also added a few turkey sausages in the mix, but I can’t take the credit for making those :) We teamed ’em all up with WONDER+ SimplyFree hamburger and hot dog buns, which are the perfect complement to a scrumptious BBQ. WONDER+ SimplyFree is the 1st Canadian National branded line of hamburger & hotdog buns FREE OF artificial preservatives, artificial flavours and artificial colours. They are also made with NO high fructose corn syrup, and like all products from WONDER, made with unbleached wheat flour. Loves it!

LOVE THOSE WONDER+ SIMPLY FREE BUNS
THE SPREAD

(For those of you WONDERing, they taste exactly like the regular WONDER buns you’ve come to know and love. Seriously, there’s no difference at all – they’ve taken all the bad stuff out and left the good stuff in. A win-win!)

Here’s my fam digging into the yummy meal…

MY LOVELY SIL, DAD AND MOM
HUBBY, RYDER AND MY BRO

Want to throw a BBQ of your own? When you purchase WONDER+ SimplyFree buns, enter to win a BBQ party worth $5,000 through a unique PIN found on specially marked packages. The grand prize includes a Weber Genesis Propane BBQ (!), $50.00 CDN worth of WONDER+ SimplyFree product coupons, a $500 CDN grocery gift card, a $1,500 gift card towards a patio set (!) and a $1,450 gift card towards an Outdoor stereo system. Holy Hannah! I just entered two PINS… cross your fingers for me! Party at Lena’s!

How did you spend your long weekend? Was BBQ on the menu? I cannot wait until the next one comes along… food, family and fun… I can get used to this!

I am participating in the WONDER+ SimplyFree program by Mom Central Canada on behalf of Weston Bakeries. I received a gift card, BBQ kit and free product coupons as a thank you for my participation. The opinions on this blog are my own.

Filed Under: Food Tagged With: BBQ, Canadian Living, healthy living, summer, Wonder+ SimplyFree

It’s the Official Start of BBQ Season!

May 23, 2011 By Lena

Woo! My “May 2-4” weekend was a blend of sheer craziness and sheer relaxation. I’m currently in a chillin’ mode, which I must admit is my favourite way to be :)

Saturday morning began with Reid’s first birthday party (I know, where has the time flown!).

We had a “small” party; just about 35 friends and family. I was joking with my girlfriend that as we get older and families expand, it only takes about 10 invitations to families of 3-4 to pack the house! I’ll blog about some of the party highlights in a separate post later this week.

After the party, hubby and boys crashed while mommy cleaned up… but that’s okay, because I have a pedicure with my name on it tomorrow. I can’t remember what time I went to sleep that night, but I’m sure it coincided with the sunset.

Sunday we were out and about. I had been holding on to about 6 items that needed to be returned, so I dragged the family to Square One in order to put $$$ back on the Visa. As much as I like purchasing goodies, sometimes it can be just as satisfying to sign a refund slip :)

Today, we decided to keep it low key and have a lunchtime BBQ. With grey skies and heavy clouds overhead, my husband ran out to throw some burgers on the grill. Here’s a quick pic of our BBQ Master in action…

I can’t tell you how excited I am to kick off the official start of BBQ Season!

This year, while burgers and hot dogs are always on the menu, we’ll be complementing our yummy fare with products from Wonder + SimplyFree. It is the first Canadian national brand of bakery products (including NEW white hotdog and hamburger buns) that are made with unbleached wheat flour. SimplyFree buns have absolutely no:

– artificial preservatives
– flavours
– colouring or dye
– high fructose corn syrup

In other words, ENJOY! You can now have your buns, and eat them (guilt-free) too! Seriously folks, you’re gonna LOVE them.

But don’t just take my word for it… head on over to Facebook and “Like” Wonder+. You’ll have the opportunity to grab money saving coupons, participate in fun promotions, and grab scrumptious recipes made especially for the grill.

Speaking of recipes, you can also check out Canadian Living, where they’ve teamed up with Wonder+ SimplyFree to provide some of most drool-worthy burgers of the summer, including these Zesty Chicken Burgers and Juicy Extra Lean Burgers.

As someone who’s still got a few pounds to lose, I’m all for healthier alternatives such as burgers made with lean ground chicken. Will be whipping up these babies soon!

How did you spend your long weekend? And, did you have a chance to fire up your BBQ? Do tell!

I am participating in the Wonder+ SimplyFree program by Mom Central Canada on behalf of Weston Bakeries. I received a gift card and free product coupons as a thank you. The opinions on this blog are my own.

Filed Under: Food Tagged With: BBQ, Canadian Living, Mom Central, summer, Wonder+ SimplyFree

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Lena Almeida

Toronto Blogger, Social Media Strategist for Listen to Lena Inc. Television & Radio Personality, Columnist and Speaker. Family Travel Expert. Star Wars Fanatic. Perfecting the Art of Conversuasion. Read More…

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