The blend of Canadian prairie rye and wheat is distilled with pristine spring water from the Canadian Rockies. It is aged to perfection in charred oak barrels, creating its sophisticated sweet and smoky flavours. proof is bottled at 42% alc./vol., to give it that extra edge. Enjoy it on the rocks or in our swanky signature cocktail – the Urban.

July is officially ice cream month, but with the hot, humid days of August thoughts of the cold treat are often a welcome escape from the heat. Still when your mind wanders to the grams of fat and those pesky calories per serving, the guilt alone is enough to make your muffin top expand.

Relax; no one is insisting you give up your favourite indulgence, at least not the team at Breyers.

They have introduced a low fat, guilt-free, extra delicious ice cream: Breyers Smooth and Dreamy. With half the fat of regular ice cream, that’s 3.5-4 grams and 130-140 calories per ½ cup serving, it’s their proprietary Cream Press System that makes it extra good.

Skin care doesn’t need to be a difficult chore. With a simple daily regiment of exercise, drinking plenty of water and eating healthy foods, you not only promote a healthy body but you will have beautiful skin. Beauty expert, Cheryl Gushue, offers a few simple facts and tips on how to maintain radiant skin all year around.

“Exercising everyday increases endorphins which will give you more energy and help you feel less tired.” Just by walking or biking you oxygenate your cells, improve fitness and muscular endurance which translates into increased energy and a fresher complexion.

“Our bodies are made up of a high percentage of water so it’s something that we need to replenish everyday. Water helps your bodies to clear toxins, flushes out impurities and keeps your skin looking plumper and healthier; it’s important to drink up to two litres of water per day - that means eight glasses.”

The folks at Caramilk are betting that you can and they are putting up $250,000 to prove it with The Search for the Caramilk Golden Keys contest. It works like this:

Caramilk has randomly hidden ten golden keys in Caramilk bars distributed across the country. The lucky Canadians who find the keys and qualify will travel to the Cadbury Chocolate Factory in Toronto this fall. The person whose key unlocks the famous Caramilk Vault will become the Protector of the Caramilk Secret and win $125,000. Another $125,000 will be awarded when the Caramilk Secret is safely returned in six months, unopened and untouched.

At the Women in Film (WIF) Celebrity Golf Tournament in Malibu, CA in July and I got a chance to talk to Canadian entrepreneur Rhonda Goldberg of Olive-It International. Her welcome included a perfectly mixed dirty martini and when I found out that she was Canadian we were soon talking like old friends. She was in the US to spread the word about this Canadian company in an effort to increase their presence in the US market. Olive-It carries over 19 kinds of stuffed olives in their gourmet line and in Toronto you can find their olives at Sobeys, Kitchen Table, several independent shops in the city and online at Olive-It International.

I took some olives home and created a simple breakfast recipe the next day after rummaging in the fridge to see what ingredients I had. The olives got me thinking about a sandwich I had in New Orleans called a muffaletta; it originated in the French Quarter and is made with good crusty bread and an olive salad. I decided to use the ingredients in my fridge to make a Muffaletta Omelette or at least my version of one. The recipe is as follows:

Ingredients:
• 2 eggs
• 2 Tbsp. whole milk
• 1 serrano pepper (you can substitute with ¼ cup green pepper if you don’t like the heat or remove the seeds for less heat)
• 2 strips of bacon crisply fried
• 2 oz goat cheese
• ¼ cup Bick’s® Hot Mixed Pickles
• 4 garlic stuffed olives, chopped (I used Olive-It’s Garlic Stuffed Olives)
• ¼ teaspoon sweet basil, dried not fresh
• Salt and ground black pepper, to taste
• 2 Tbsp. clarified butter or whole butter