Jodi on 
Erin on 
Eric on 
Bill Evans on 
I got an email last month from a marketing company working on the Healthy Insider’s Report campaign and the launch of 138 new Blue Menu products for President’s Choice: would I be interested in reviewing some of their new items?
I’m already a big fan of PC — the in-house brand of Real Canadian Superstore and Loblaws supermarkets — and its low prices, so I said yes. (But for the record, I’m not a fan of Superstore’s wonky grocery carts and crowded aisles.)
A few weeks later, a big box of stuff arrived. They couldn’t ship anything that had to be refrigerated of course, but we got a sampling of about a dozen new items.
It was pretty fun to taste new products, and especially ones I wouldn’t necessarily gravitate towards in the supermarket (barley!). I really enjoyed the cereal and seltzer; not so much the fat-free dressing or coffee.
I put each review in the slideshow below; click on each photo, and roll over “notes” on the right side. For longer text notes, click and drag the right scroll-down bar.
(Disclaimer: No fees were paid for this review and the assessments are my own unbiased opinion.)
Yikes, I don’t know about that omega oil…. sounds like a really weird combo to me. Maybe for salads, but most people would probably try to cook with it, and I can’t see how heated flaxseed oil would become anything but rancid.
Glad they are making products in a “healthier” direction, but it is much healthier and easier on the pocket book to actually cook…. (I don’t mean for you… but the general public). Barley is REALLY cheap, and so are bean soups. But there’s no money in that
Good points! I wonder if the PC products will prompt people (like I did) to try things like the barley box, and then realize how easy and cheap bulk barley is … Maybe?
And I better go clarify what I used the oil for… Thanks!
Presidents choice pancake mix (the blue box – extra fluffy I think?) is the best! Much better than Aunt Jemima in my side-by-side comparisons…
Nice reviews – I just wish they weren’t in that slideshow thingy, but that’s me
DM
We’ve made the commitment to shop cheaper (i.e. Superstore, not the Safeway right by our house), but this goes hand in hand with a commitment to buy less in boxes. Thanks for the reviews though, you never know!
I test for PC from time to time and I generally like Blue Menu products, but not every last one. (Btw usually if they want you to test a frozen product they send coupons in your package to redeem at your local store for a free product.)
Recently tried their Blue Menu soybean baked beans and blech! The texture was just wrong…like the beans were undercooked. There are just some things that soybeans can’t be used for imho(this from a former vegetarian). Now the Rice Chips on the other hand are a total hit… one of those if-I-open-them-I-might-eat-the-whole-bag things (for me anyway).
Pre-ground coffee will always be horrible- it might be passable after the very first cup, but ground coffee stales IMMEDIATELY and the idea of drinking any that has been not only pre-ground but also sitting on a grocery shelf for weeks or months- no thank you, ma’am. Do they make a whole-bean version? I hope so!
I don’t get wiki saying that soda water has “added salt” since I’ve never seen that in my cans of Safeway brand soda water. But it’s clear from that article that “seltzer” and “soda water” are the exact same thing- read it again.
John: I don’t think PC came out with organic coffee beans, just that ground stuff.
The diff websites I looked at said seltzer was plain carbonated water, but that club soda “MAY contain a small amount of table salt, sodium citrate, sodium bicarbonate, potassium bicarbonate, potassium citrate, potassium sulfate, or disodium phosphate, depending on the bottler.” (That last one’s from Wiki)
[...] over at Are You Gonna Eat That? reviewed some PC Blue Menu products, and showcases a nifty little slideshow gadget on her blog. Tagged Edmonton, food, notes, [...]
are these blue menu meat organic?
Marie: I don’t think they are certified organic which requires very stringent rules to be followed.
Thanks for the reviews. I’ve been eating Blue Menu items for a while now and some are really good. One of my favorites is the “Thick and Juicy Lean Beef Burgers” which really are thick and juicy and very lean. They are amazing! I’m glad companies are starting to think healthy. I commute from Canada and work in Texas from time to time and it is almost impossible to find any kind of healthy food choices!