Trip To Eastern Market & DeVries & Company 1887 – Detroit

Eastern Market & Devries & Co. 1887 - Our Visit To Detroit

If you are local to the Detroit area, chances are you have been to Eastern Market at least once in your life. If you are a foodie like me then chances are you have visited several times. Eastern Market is a bustling area of visitors looking for the best deals on fresh produce, other food items, and flowers. Through Groupon, we have also discovered a miraculous place nestled down there in all of the action, DeVries & Company 1887. We regularly purchase Groupons to get some good bargains there and we went equipped with one yesterday to stock up on some unique foods.

Each and every time you visit Eastern Market it is a different experience because there are different vendors.

Give It A Whirl Girl in Eastern Market with a rainbow rose

Rainbow roses at Eastern Market in Detroit, MI

Our trip to Eastern Market in Detroit and DeVries & Company 1887

My family of three really values these trips down to the city to explore all of the foods that Eastern Market has to offer. Yesterday it was just my husband and me on a little day-date while my daughter hung out with her friends. Our first stop was DeVries & Company 1887 and we got a wonderful haul there. Then we stopped into the sheds at Eastern Market with our canvas shopping bags and filled those bags up with a plethora of foods. When I come home from these trips I unload my bags and marvel in all of the glory of having these available in the Give It A Whirl Girl kitchen. My day is always made on these trips and I treasure them in my memory and mind.

There are beautiful murals all over the Eastern Market area

Eastern Market in Detroit, MI - The home of many food vendors selling produce, meat, cheese, plants, and flowers. — Eastern Market in Detroit, MI – The home of many food vendors selling produce, meat, cheese, plants, and flowers.

First stop – A visit to DeVries & Company 1887

DeVries & Company 1887 – Detroit, MI

Cheese and Meats at DeVries & Company 1887- What they are best known for

DeVries & Company is a large historic building with three levels of fun finds. Yesterday we only explored the lower level where a majority of the foods are kept. The other two levels are gift shops where you can obtain some neat things.

This place is well-known for their cheeses. We have bought some in the past from DeVries & Company 1887 and had a cheeseboard full of them at a Wine & Onesies party and the cheeses were a big hit. There are numerous to choose from here and if you like cheese there is a cheese for everyone that can be located here. Check out their Facebook page to see their cheese offerings which are regularly posted. They also have a variety of interesting meats to pair with your cheeses. You will have the best cheeseboard in town if you stop in here to stock up!

DeVries & Company 1887 cheese station

DeVries & Company 1887 meat station

DeVries & Company 1887 – Detroit, MI

Not just meats and cheese

DeVries & Company 1887 is more than just a meat and cheese shop. This place is like a little grocery store with gourmet foods and uncommon, specialty food products. Pro tip: grab a Groupon and save some money here. You can get a $50 voucher to shop with for around $20-$25 and get more bang for your buck here.

Balsamic vinegars & oils

If you recently stumbled upon my 100th post on the blog I discussed two different, unique balsamic vinegars used to create a chocolate-raspberry nice-cream. This is the place where you can pick up some bottles of those (there are several to choose from and they are all imported from Italy). There is also a wide variety of various oils by the same brand (Fanchone Gourmet) that you can sample here. You won’t leave empty-handed after trying these out. They all have interesting flavor profiles and they will help take your cooking to the next level. The Meyer Lemon oil was fascinating and I really should have bought that one because that would likely result in the greatest chicken piccata known to man!

Various oils to sample at DeVries & Company 1887 – Detroit, MI

Various balsamic vinegars to sample at DeVries & Company 1887 – Detroit, MI

A few items that I took home with me

I am a curious eater and I live for the adventure of trying new foods. You all know that. That’s why my blog is titled, “Give It A Whirl Girl”. In the photos below I am letting you see a sneak peek of a few things I took home with me. I am super duper pumped and excited to experience these foods.

Raspberry salsa

I have a major mad addiction to anything raspberry flavored and I couldn’t pass up this Traverse Bay Farms Raspberry Salsa. This was my first time seeing a raspberry salsa so I had to swoop this up! My husband also talked me into bringing home some mango salasa bag of chips from Aunt Nee’s.

Hibiscus sugar

Then I spotted this Mr. Gigglepants Hibiscus Sugar. I was instantly intrigued by this sugar made by Beautiful Briny Sea. It is described as:

A fun, tutti fruitti treat for your cupcakes, French toast, fresh fruit fancy drinks, just about anything that needs a giggle.

I really don’t have a plan for this sugar just yet. It was my big splurge item at DeVrie’s. It was $11 for a 14 oz can. I will figure something out soon though. Maybe I can whip up a batch of cupcakes next week and incorporate Mr. Gigglepants into it.

Root-beer BBQ sauce

Let it be known, I think Guy Fieri is annoying as hell. (insert lols here). I spotted his Root Beer Barbeque Sauce and could not pass it up. I bought it with the intention of making some pulled pork sandwiches with it. Whenever I made pulled pork sandwiches I always cook my pork in root-beer. Sounds weird right? But it is so good!

Our Visit To Eastern Market

When you go to Eastern Market there is a ton of stuff to take in and see all around you. There are tables set up with fresh fruits and vegetables, there are people selling their homemade salsas, honey, fresh pierogi, succulents, and flowers, etc.

There are two different ways to visit Eastern Market. You can arrive early when everything is all set up and available. Or you can arrive mid-afternoon when the vendors are about to close up for the day. They want to sell what they brought with them so you will be walking by and the vendors will be shouting out deals to you. It happened to me yesterday. We came late in the afternoon and I scored some great deals. I got a carton of strawberries for a dollar. I also got some blackberries for a dollar. Those prices sure do beat the local grocery store prices.

I do realize I made a bit of a boo-boo with my photos here. I must have been just vegetable obsessed because I just realized I did not shoot any photographs of fruit and Eastern Market has a huge load of fruit to choose from at really reasonable prices. So I am very sorry about that. Next time I visit I will be sure to snap some photos of fruits.

Ornamental Indian corn at Eastern Market

Bundles of rainbow carrots at Eastern Market – I can not leave this place without taking home some purple and white carrots

Jumbo stalks of Brussels sprouts at Eastern Market

Purple kale at Eastern Market – what a gorgeous color and it appears to be so fresh!

Quail eggs and duck eggs for sale at Eastern Market – now that is something you do not see every day!

Spice Miser at Eastern Market – This vendor is a must-see! Spice Miser offers a huge variety of seasonings and spices. Be sure to take home a bag. I always make sure I bring something home from the Spice Miser.

Mushrooms galore at Eastern Market! Many exotic mushrooms to choose from that are grown in Chesterfield, MI. Give and Grow Mushrooms LLC

Give and Grow Mushrooms LLC offers a wide variety of exotic, gourmet mushrooms at Eastern Market

This was a first for me! Black garlic but $5 a bulb. I was tempted. Eastern Market - Detroit, MI — This was a first for me! Black garlic but $5 a bulb. I was tempted. Eastern Market – Detroit, MI

Flowers and eggplants at Eastern Market in Detroit, MI

Fresh and local honey at Eastern Market in Detroit, MI

Pepper obsessed! Eastern Market, Detroit, MI

So much to choose from and great prices on vegetables at Eastern Market

Be sure to see the murals

There are gigantic murals painted on the buildings all over the Eastern Market area. Be sure to take a stroll around and snap some pics of the art.

Mural in the Eastern Market area of Detroit, MI

Eastern Market in Detroit, MI – The home of many food vendors selling produce, meat, cheese, plants, and flowers.

Ladies and gentlemen!

Here is my haul from both DeVries & Company 1887 and Eastern Market

As you can see here I have a pretty decent haul from both DeVries and Eastern Market. I love getting home and unloading all of my newly acquired foods. I am already looking forward to my next trip back.

Haul from Eastern Market and DeVries & Company 1887

Have you ever visited DeVries & Company 1887 in the Eastern Market district? Will you be purchasing a Groupon to shop there?

Have you ever went to Eastern Market in Detroit, MI? What is your best memory? Please share by leaving a comment.

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You might enjoy these posts at Give It A Whirl Girl!

September 23, 2018 3

Cacao, Coconut, Granola, and Collagen Smoothie Bowl – RECIPE – Let’s Talk About Cacao!

In this post I will discuss how I made a collagen smoothie bowl with cacao, coconut, and granola. Hope you enjoy!

One of my favorite Thunderbird Bars is the Cacao + Hemp + Walnut. I am a sucker for anything chocolate and this bar wins me over big time! This bar is paleo and vegan friendly. Thunderbird Bar does not mess around with any crap ingredients. What you get in a Thunderbird Bar is REAL FOOD.

I will tell you the ingredients so you can see for yourself:

Dates
Hemp seeds
Walnuts
Coconut shreds
Cacao
Cacao nibs
Chia seeds
Mint
and Himalayan sea salt

But how on Earth can something like chocolate be good for you? Chocolate gets a bad reputation often and gets classified as junk food. If you consume chocolate in it’s purest form it is surprisingly great for you!

I am going to talk about the health benefits now:

Cacao is chock full of antioxidants. Antioxidants combat cancer invasion and can be used as a preventative measure of cancer. It can help prevent a decline in the aging process.
Cacao is an iron powerhouse. Of all the plants in the universe, cacao has the most iron. If you are anemic cacao can be used to boost iron intake.
Cacao is high in magnesium
Cacao is high in calcium (more than cow’s milk!)
Cacao is known to be a mood elevator and can help lift you out of a bad day
Cacao has fiber. The brand that I used has 2g of fiber per tablespoon.
Cacao is free of sugar!
Cacao contains vitamin C. The cacao that I had has 10% of your daily value.

Continue reading “Cacao, Coconut, Granola, and Collagen Smoothie Bowl – RECIPE – Let’s Talk About Cacao!” →

August 20, 2018 3

Epic Exotic Fruits Smoothie Bowl & How I Created It With Knowrish Well Blue Dream

Epic Exotic Fruit Smoothie Bowl & How I Created It

If you read my last post you would see that I stocked up on some interesting fruits at Meijer through the Instacart grocery delivery service. I ended up getting some nice produce delivered: bananas, dragon fruit, kiwi, starfruit, passion fruit, papaya, and a kiwano horned melon. I had the ultimate exotic fruit smoothie bowl already planned out in my mind. What I came up with did not disappoint!

How I created the Epic Exotic Fruit Smoothie Bowl

To make a great smoothie bowl you need to have some frozen bananas. I will usually use two bananas in my bowl. I love to work with Knowrish Well freeze-dried fruit powders to infuse my smoothie bowls with an extraordinary flavor and a color that is pleasing to the eyes! I was going to use the Knowrish Well pitaya (dragon fruit) powder but then realized that I was out. So I ended up using the Blue Dream powder which is another great flavor enhancer. Not only does this powder give your smoothie an incredible flavor but it is also loaded with nutrients. It is made of butterfly pea flower and contains the following superfoods: maca, inulin, lucuma.

The other ingredients in this epic smoothie bowl were 1/2 a dragon fruit (inside of the smoothie) and I topped it with some sliced star fruit, kiwi fruit, a blob of passion fruit, and used more dragon fruit.

Having these fruits is a really a special treat for me. The cost of a dragon fruit is pretty ridiculous. I wish they were as cheap as something like apples and oranges! I also have a big passion for passion fruit. The taste can be described as a bit sweet and a bit tart. It is more sour than sweet so I have no clue how they came up with the name of this fruit. It also has a strange appearance and texture. I love it though! The star fruits are just fun to eat purely because of their incredible shape. I didn’t get a chance to try one until I was an adult, and I remember begging my mom to buy me one when I was a little girl.

The overall taste of this bowl was mindblowing delicious. Also, I believe this big fruit smoothie bowl would be chock full of nutritional benefits. Aside from the natural sugar content, I was feeling pretty good about this being a healthy bowl of yumminess. I don’t eat smoothies like this all of the time (anymore) so I am not too concerned about the naturally occurring sugars in the fruit. I often say YOLO (you only live once) so if you want the fruit~ eat the fruit!

The greatest part about this smoothie bowl was seeing how much my 8-year-old daughter, Chloe, loved it! She has always been my #1 fan of my smoothie bowls. I used to make one almost daily last summer. She proclaimed that this one was my best yet and I wholeheartedly agree with her. Hearing that definitely put a smile on my face.

Have you ever had an exotic fruit smoothie bowl? How do you enjoy your smoothie bowls? What are some of your favorite toppings? Leave me a comment below.

THIS POST CONTAINS AFFILIATE LINKS. I DO RECEIVE A SMALL COMMISSION IF ITEMS ARE PURCHASED THROUGH THESE LINKS (no extra cost to you). ALL OPINIONS STATED HERE ARE MY OWN.

July 18, 2018

Two Hiccups In The Kitchen In One Day

You know what? We eat our mistakes here. Sometimes you end up with a happy accident. Well, that happened today! There were two obstacles that I had to overcome in the kitchen today. It was one of those days where everything seems to go wrong but in the end, it turns out alright.
The first hiccup in the kitchen occurred during lunch. I used Enjoy Life Foods gluten free pancake/waffle mix and put some LivFit cacao powder in the mix to make chocolate waffles. I have been craving breakfast foods like crazy and I had a craving for some waffles.
I forgot to spray the waffle maker to make it nonstick sooooo…
Here are my chocolate [messy] waffles topped with Enlightened Red Velvet ice-cream. I was so lucky that I was able to salvage these waffles because they tasted incredible. It was my first time trying out this gluten-free waffle mix. Enjoy Life is free of many common allergens: wheat, dairy, soy, sulfites, peanuts, tree nuts, casein, egg, and more! That makes this mix vegan and paleo friendly!

36895073_10156483341224420_2261293714339004416_n — Chocolate Enjoy Life Waffles with Enlightened Red Velvet

36910223_10156483341339420_3575802978226929664_n — Enjoy Life Gluten Free Pancake/Waffle Mix and Enlightened Red Velvet

My daughter and I grabbed two forks and fought over every bite… it was that good! The presentation was not there but the flavor combo of the waffles with the ice-cream was on-point! And we also had to add a bit of maple syrup because a waffle is always deserving of that.

If you are looking for a healthy option for ice-cream look no further than to Enlightened! The entire pint of this particular flavor is only 280 calories and only 5g of net carbs. I will be doing a post in more detail soon about this product. The Red Velvet paired perfectly with the chocolate waffle. This flavor has a cream cheese frosting and chocolate flavor.

The second obstacle that happened was during the dinner hour. I was whipping up more breakfast food. Whenever I have breakfast for dinner I like to call it “brinner”. This time I was making some paleo-friendly French Toast with chia and flax seeds. I am trying to boost my fiber intake and adding those seeds really assists in some smooth moves. I also really enjoy paleo baking. I have this thing for making fresh, gluten-free breads. It brings me a lot of joy.

This particular recipe for the bread used coconut flour. I used a square baking dish and that gave me 4 nice, thick slices of bread to work with. The batter was egg-free and I used a mashed banana mixed with some unsweetened almond milk and cinnamon. I also made some caramelized bananas, using coconut sugar, to top the French Toast.

I had my bread baked and cooling on the countertop. My batter was prepped and prepared. The bananas were caramelized. All I needed to do was cook the slices that were dipped in batter. Then all of the sudden out of nowhere we experienced a power outage! It was totally unexpected because there was no inclement weather. I was a little bit freaked out at this point. How was I going to cook the rest of my dinner without any power? Thank goodness my hubby came home from work. We brainstormed and came to the conclusion that our best bet was to bust out the cast iron pan and finish “brinner” off on the grill outside. Genius plan! It totally worked too.

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I am so happy to report that my little family of 3 enjoyed this meal. Each one of us joined the Clean Plate Club and were left wanting more. It was so delicious! Next time I make this dish I will be sure to have more bananas because those were like eating candy!

37000430_10156485192889420_8491919443985694720_n — Candied Banana Paleo French Toast

Cooking sure does require a lot of critical thinking and problem-solving skills. Knowing what to do when things are not going your way is critical. My two problems in the kitchen turned out awesome in the end. So when you are cooking do not be discouraged if things are not going the way you intended them to.

Disclaimer: This post contains Amazon affiliate links. I do receive a small commission if items are purchased through these links. All opinions stated here are my own.

July 11, 2018 4

Tag: bananas

Trip To Eastern Market & DeVries & Company 1887 – Detroit

Our trip to Eastern Market in Detroit and DeVries & Company 1887

First stop – A visit to DeVries & Company 1887