Look Who’s Cooking With #Equal Canada #cbias shop

The Prologue: (This is my first shopportunity. So what is a shopportunity, you ask? Well recently mama signed up with Collective Bias and Social Fabric. I was curious to see what they were all about. Here is my Google plus story about it. My first job was this week, so let me tell you a little bit about that experience. The shopportunities combine a passion for brands, blogging and shopping. And for this one, a little bit of kitchen skill.

Once upon a time there was a lady who liked to shop, write and bake. 

That’s her – on a good day.

So on a recent Sunday afternoon, she worked out, took her daughter, the one who likes to crack eggs bake, to her swimming lessons and hauled her husband into the Walmart over at Argyle Mall and we went shopping. That’s frankly as close to a date as we get at our house lately. Our mission – find the yellow cannister of Equal for baking. It looks like this, without the hair (see below!)

So here we are in the baking section. I used to spend a lot of time here at this Walmart when my kids were babes, but not so much any more. So we were all hunting high and low. Up and down the food aisles and I was starting to panic. I took some pictures and told my husband I thought we might have to hit a different Walmart, when he reminded me that I might just ask someone if  they had it hidden.

So I hunted again for a person working in the food aisle. Not so easy, because it was a busy day. Anyways, eventually I found a sweet helper gal in a different department and she called for a helper who never came so she started hunting with me. I should have taken her picture, because she literally went up and down the aisles and was ready to make the same conclusion I did, when I thanked her and went to find my hyper kid playing hockey with her Dad in the sports section. We were about to leave when the customer service gal tracked me down. Big big props for that one! “Miss, I found it over here,” she said. And there it was on rollback in the pharmacy. $7.97. My first mission for Collective Bias and Equal Canada – success! 

So why is it in the pharmacy aisle? I found it and also had help on the twitterverse from my London connection @sassymodernmom and my St. Thomas girl @anniecannie, but if it is a sugar substitute then perhaps it should be in the baking aisle, n’est-ce-pas?

SCORE!

We snagged a couple of other bargains at the Walmart and then got tired of chasing my overstimulated child around the store, asking her to stop touching everything. And off we went to the biggest lineup ever. Not really. But it was a big lineup. I hate waiting. Anyways, long story short, husband slinging kid over his shoulder we weren’t too happy but then heavenly clouds aligned or something and a new cashier opened up and what’s even better three ladies tried to butt in front of me and the sweet angel of mercy told them to wait because she was taking next in line and that – my friends – was me. Yes ME!! So there you have it. It was a hunting expedition that eventually became this. 

And yummy apple muffins made with Equal were the end result. 

I was a skeptic because we never cook or bake with Equal. Also the container was so light and my husband well, he’s a doofus I mean, he has a refined palate (COUGH!) and he swore up and down he could tell the difference. But ha! Joke was on him because we had a delicious roast for dinner and sauteed asparagus. Oh yeah, it was good! And then we had these fabulous apple muffins.

Three cups of flour

Two apples, peeled and diced

One cup of unsweetened apple sauce and

I tsp of baking soda

1/2 tsp salt

One egg

1 cup of Equal

Bake at 375 for 30 minutes

And husband finished the dessert without noticing any difference at all. SUCKA!

If you are looking for some fabulous recipes that your family can use, go here to the Walmart Facebook APP and pick one. There are some great recipes here. I can’t wait to try the cinnamon roll muffins, but they didn’t require sugar and were made with Pillsbury Cinnamon Rolls, so another time. Also several recipes have nuts in them and I was not keen on cooking with nuts on a weekend when I am visiting my niece and nephew who have nut allergies. There are some great recipes there though. I love recipe apps, so I will be back.