Now, I should mention that I didn’t realize the Ines Rosales Tortas were so thin. I say that because I got my packet and planned on a Spanish tapas night, but it’s only when I opened the packet that I realize these little tortas were super thin. You’ll be able to read about my tapas night a little later on.

Ines Rosales Tortas are imported from Seville (Spain) and they are these thin flat bread that are made with extra virgin olive oil, but they are slightly sweeten and there is a delicate licorice taste to them from natural anise essence.

Before I tell you more about what I ate with my tortas during my Spanish tapas night, I should let you know of the history behind these delicious little pastries. Spaniards have been eating Ines Rosales Tortas for nearly a century now since 1910 when Ines Rosales recruited villagers and widows in her town to help bake and build a business.

It’s incredible that such a simple little snack has been produced for nearly a century and that it’s only now that I find out about them!I know that most North Americans will look at these tortas and wonder why they are called pastries. The Europeans still sit down to drink their espresso (as opposed to drinking coffee on the run) and don’t forget that “prendre l’apero” (cocktail hour) is still a traditional on the other side of the Atlantic. If you are going to sit down at 11 am to have a coffee or at 4 pm, you don’t want to always eat something that is too heavy and you’ll notice that in Europe they often have these small little pastries that are perfect because you get the sweetness without the heaviness of traditional North American desserts.

You’ll find that these Ines Rosales Tortas are perfect little snacks to have with coffee.

My Spanish tapas night

As I said earlier, I didn’t realize the Ines Rosales Tortas were so thin.

Here’s a photo of Ines Rosales and her workers:

On a Saturday night, I open my packet of goat cheese; I cut up tomatoes and sprinkled olive oil, salt pepper and a bit of balsamic vinegar; I pulled out my Moroccan sun dried black olives; I prepared a massive salad and then poured myself a nice glass of Sauvignon Blanc (from New Zealand). When everything was ready, I opened my packet of Ines Rosales Tortas (which are all individually wrapped) and that’s when I realized how thin they were.

It made for a lighter dinner than expected, but I was able to compensate with a small dessert.

I ate my Ines Rosales Tortas with the goat cheese and had my wine at the same time. The combination of the Ines Rosales Tortas and the goat cheese is sinfully delicious. You can eat the tortas on their own as well, but I quite like the creaminess of the cheese.

I ended my meal (I had four tortas in one sitting) with my tomato salad and my olives and then attacked my massive salad.

I’ll tell you, I was so impressed with these tortas because they are so delicate and so flavourful.

They aren’t cheap because six tortas will set you back $8.99. This is surely not a snack to pull out at your next backyard BBQ, but this is a treat that you savour on your own or with someone who can appreciate food as much as you do!

You’ll find more details on where you can buy these Ines Rosales Tortas in Canada by contacting the distributor: 1-866-929-7756. I don’t have a feeling the Ines Rosales Tortas are in the US yet, but I’d contact Serrano Imports to confirm!

OVERALL RATING:

I truly would never have believed it had I not tasted it for myself, but this concept is brilliant, refreshing and simply a must have for your summer parties or just to kick back at the end of a long week.

I was taken from the very first sip and could not believe that someone actually thought of transforming jasmine tea in this way.

The concept is quite simple; jasmine green tea that’s been brewed and then mildly fermented in the same way you would a sparkling wine and the end result is a non-alcoholic beverage that will leave your taste buds surprised and wanting more.

When you look at the colour of the Golden Star White Jasmine Sparkling Tea, you’ll see that it’s the same golden yellow that you’d expect from any sparkling wine, but when you taste it you are greeted with a beautiful sweet and floral bouquet of flavours.

When you look at the list of ingredients, you quickly see why it’s being featured on Eat Smart Age Smart: water, organic jasmine green tea and organic raw cane juice.

The product has been a huge hit in the U.S. for a while now, but the product just made its entry into Canada.

You’ll be able to find it at fine grocers like Pusateri’s in Toronto and you’ll find it at the Whole Food flagship in Vancouver. Other Whole Food stores across Canada should carry the Golden Star White Jasmine Sparkling Tea soon.

In the U.S. you can contact the producers directly to either order online or find out where the product is sold: Golden Star Tea Co. And in Canada you can contact the Canadian distributor Global Wine Merchants at sales(AT)globalwinemerchants.ca to find points of sales in your area.

The Golden Star White Jasmine Sparkling Tea retails for $19.95 CAD/$13 US.

OVERALL RATING:

I’ve been using Genuine Health’s Perfect Skin and drinking their Healthy Skin with Greens+ power mix for months now to help control my adult acne.

It took me about four months to see great results, but I’m so happy I stuck with the program because nothing else up to now had helped me control my acne in this fashion.

I’ve also recently started talking Genuine Health’s o3mega +glow as an internal way of dealing with the signs of aging. The combination of Perfect Skin, Healthy Skin with Greens+, ‘Health’s o3mega +glow’ has not only helped me with my acne, but I’ve noticed that my skin was not as painfully dry as it usually is during the winter months.

So back to these new Healthy Skin Chocolate Soft Chews!

The chocolate chews contain one of the main ingredients of the Healthy Skin with Greens+ powdered mix: cocoa seed extract. The formula also contains other powerful ingredients like polyphenol-rich, hydrolyzed collagen, vitamins B2, C and E, lycopene, zinc and selenium.

The Healthy Skin Chocolate Soft Chews are a great complement to the Healthy Skin with Greens+ powdered mix and they are also an additional way for you to keep your skin as hydrate as possible to ensure that you can maintain or improve its elasticity and thickness as you age.

One thing that you might find interesting is the fact that these soft chews actually can health decreased UV-ray irritations that might be caused by exposure to the sun.

Healthy Skin Chocolate Soft Chews contain 70 calories (for 3 morsels of chocolate chews) and they contain no fat or sugar; nor do they contain any artificial flavours, colours, sweeteners or preservatives. They’re also free of common allergens including eggs, soy, wheat and yeast.

You basically need to chew three Healthy Skin Chocolate Soft Chews every day and you’ll see great results in as little as 21 days!

These will be available in most health food stores in Canada in May 2009. For U.S. and international readers, I’m afraid there might not be an alternate product you can use that I know of. You might have to wait to come to Canada to buy it!