Looking for Equal at Walmart Canada | #Cbias #EqualCanada

Every dietary restriction has its challenges, I know first hand what it means to live a life without gluten and feed a child with sensitivities to gluten, dairy and soy.  Food is important to me and finding a way to eat the food I love regardless of dietary restrictions is not optional in my opinion.  My continued search for Equal Sweetener has really made me stop and  think about all the people that can't have sugar. Of course my thoughts immediately went to all the goodies that I could make with a canister of Equal, but that's just me.  My very good friend's husband is diabetic and she's lactose intolerant, so I'm definitely going to make them something tasty.

My sister Kat and I headed off to the Queensborough Walmart in New Westminster BC, which was recently expanded into a Supercentre with a complete grocery store.  On our last trip I spent so much time in the food we barely had a chance to look at the rest of the store.

As we shopped the grocery aisles I assumed that I would find the Equal with the sugar and baking supplies and when I didn't find it there, it took me a moment to remember to check the pharmacy, which is exactly where I found it.  The yellow Equal Canister I was looking for was on the middle shelf , but I found it kind of odd that the blue Equal products were on the bottom shelf with a different brand of sugar alternative on the shelf between the two.

 The Equal yellow canister is their new sucralose sugar alternative and it can be substituted 1:1 for traditional sugar which makes baking adaptations easy.  The 275g canister  is equivalent to 5lbs of sugar and at a price of $7.97 it feels like a pretty good deal, particularly for a specialty item.  Although the yellow canister was on rollback price, only the blue Equal products were displaying rollback tags.

After a quick stroll through the clothing, we headed for the checkout.  We accidently ended up in the express lane; somehow we didn't see the sign that the central area of cashiers were all express.  Fortunately it wasn't very busy and our cashier was very gracious about the situation.

After our shop both Kat and I were feeling thirsty so we headed to the McDonalds for a smoothie, but were dissapointed they didn't have any.  We ended up grabbing some french fries and hitting the Starbucks drive through on the way home instead.

Although I had noticed them outside on the way in, the inside recycling and garbage cans were completely photoworthy and thus worth mentioning.  I love garbage cans that emphasize recycling and I think its great that Walmart is making an effort to help their customers, help them, reduce their waste.

Now I just have to find the perfect recipe, something gluten and dairy free that will travel easily from my home to my friends.

You can find #EqualCanada on the web, on Twitter and on Facebook and you can view the rest of my pictures from this trip on Flickr.

This shop has been compensated as part of a social shopper insights study for Collective Bias #Cbias however all opinions are my own.

Lunch on the run at @McD_Canada while on the hunt for #EqualCanada #Cbias

I've never really been one for fast food, even before I was gluten-free, though I've always had a weakness for McDonalds cheeseburgers.  The hubs however, has a bit of a love affair with fast food and eats out a little more than he probably wants to admit.

In the past, we have taken the boy to the Ironwood McDonalds (in Richmond, BC), as its the only location that still has a Playplace, but we've always just had a beverage and shared some fries among us all.   Now that we are re-introducing wheat, dairy and soy into the boys diet I'm excited about heading out for more than fries.

So when my Mom and I were out with the boys doing a few errands and lunchtime was upon us, I knew exactly where I wanted to go.  We drove across town to Ironwood to pick up some coffees and chicken nuggets.

I haven't tried the coffee since McDonalds unveiled their new McCafe branding, though I'd heard good things about both the taste and flavour.  I was happy they had decaf, though I did find that it tasted a little bit old (which frequently happens with decaf).

My Mom uses sweetener in her coffee, so when I was ordering ours, I inquired about Equal sweetener and found they didn't carry it.  I was surprised to find that they only have one sweetener option available.  I explained to the cashier that it would be great to see more sweetener options as many people are very specific about their sweeteners and also mentioned that Equal is available in Canada in two varieties, including the popular sucralose option.  In general I think that having more options for something as simple as sweeteners can really make a difference to the customer and as such is good for business.

To ensure that my opinion was heard I inquired about a comment card, however that cashier didn't seem to know what I was talking about and the assistant manager simply informed me there was no comment box available and that decisions 'like that' were made at a national level and would require discussion at the highest management level.  After explaining that was exactly why I wanted to leave a comment, the assistant manager was able to confirm that I could leave my comments on the website listed on the back of the receipt and that she would pass my comments on to her superiors.  Of course, I followed up with the online form when I returned home.

While I was ordering food and discussing Equal sweetener with the staff, my Mom and the boys had a quick play in the playplace before we ran home to enjoy our delicious McDonalds take-out.

You can connect with Equal and McDonalds on Twitter @EqualCanada and @McD_Canada and on Facebook at Equal Canada and McDonalds Canada.

“This shop has been compensated as part of a social shopper insights study for Collective Bias #CBias, however all opinions are my own.

Searching for Equal Sweetener at Starbucks | #Cbias #EqualCanada

Absolutely no question about it, I love coffee.  I love the way the scent permeates your nose and the flavour washes over your mouth.  I just love it.  And my coffee of choice, for a long time, has been a Starbucks Americano.  These days my americano's are decaf and without cream but still equally delicious.

So when I had the chance to go for a coffee in search of Equal I knew exactly where I was going.  I was hoping to go for a leisurely coffee with my mom, where we'd have time to sit and chat, sans children and just relax.  Unfortunately, time to myself hasn't been in the cards for the past week. If you follow me on Twitter or Facebook, then you probably already know the boy has mono (I had no idea toddlers could get it) and I've barely left the house.

So when I had the opportunity to run some errands with my sister for an hour, I jumped at the chance, as long as there was time for a Starbucks run. For me, even in the midst of the chaos, Starbucks always feels like a momentary break.  I particularly love when the red holiday cups come out and all the festivity that follows.

While waiting on my coffee, I had the chance to talk with my Barista about sugar substitutes and was pleased to find that they carried three different options, including Equal.  During the course of our conversation she explained to me that drive-through customers have the opportunity to choose the sweetener of their choice and that most people have a brand specific preference.  We also discussed Equal Surcalose, now available in Canada.


I think its great that there are so many sugar substitute options at Starbucks Canada and I took the time to fill out an online Starbucks comment card to let them know that I appreciate the sweetener choices they provide their customers.  I also wanted to compliment the helpfulness of the baristas.

And because I'd love to be able to buy the boy a kids 'steamed milk' and I because I miss dairy myself, I also requested the presence of a non-dairy, non-soy milk alternative such as rice or coconut milk.

You can find #EqualCanada on their website, on Twitter and on Facebook.

This shop has been compensated as part of a social shopper insights study for Collective Bias #CBias, however all opinions are my own.