We The North!  Williams Food Equipment is so proud of the Toronto Raptors and their historic run to the Finals of the NBA!  Upon writing this, we are up 2-1!! Great Raptors game last night in Oakland at the Oracle Arena! With that said, these Big Dudes need some nourishment to fight off Six-Time NBA Champs, The Golden State Warriors.  To eat and drink like one of the Raptors indicates you are or are looking to be in shape.  To eat and drink at home, like you are eating and drinking at the Scotiabank Arena, well, that’s a different type of nourishment…Both have the times when needed in life.  Let’s discuss both.

Reading an article recently about Ryan Gallagher, the Raptors Chef at their training facility at Exhibition Place, and how he handles cooking snacks and meals for over 55 people, made us think about cooking healthy in volume.  Ryan runs his crew of three daily in the kitchen to provide the foods and drinks that over 50+ people will be enjoying that entire day.  The Raptors themselves have special foods and drinks they love to eat and drink.  So too, do all the people who work for the organization.  Let’s face it, not everyone is a pro athlete…And, pro athletes, if not satisfied with the food choices at the Training Camp, Gallagher said, they will just order food from somewhere else.  So, he must make if fun, healthy, and abundant.

A recipe The Raptors do like a lot to eat is Ryan’s take on protein bars.  You can grab and eat on the run.  Veggie protein is the protein base.  Along with puffed quinoa, and nut butters, this snack is quick, easy, tasty, portable, and healthy.  Complete the snack with a huge glass of water to drink.  Our take on the Raptors Protein Bar Recipe is:

RAPTORS PROTEIN BARS

INGREDIENTS

15 cups puffed quinoa

2 ½ cups cashew or peanut butter

2 ½ cups soft Medjool dates

2 ½ cups almond milk

1 ¼ cups cacao powder

2 ½ teaspoons sea salt

2 ½ teaspoons cinnamon

2 cups crumbled dark chocolate

5 tablespoons coarsely ground pistachios

DIRECTIONS

1: Lay out 3, Oxo 13” x 18” Non-Stick Pro Banking Pans.  These pans are awesome!  They don’t stick!  But, if you are super worried about sticking, try the Silpat Non-Stick Baking Mat.

2: In a 16 Cup Breville Sous Chef Food Processor, blend the dates and nut butter you have chosen, on high until smooth.  Add the salt, cinnamon, cacao and milk to the blender canister.  Pulse until mixed thoroughly, but not a formed paste.

3: Incorporate the puffed quinoa and the mixture.  Work in batches if needed.  Reduce the recipe if needed for your family.  Press into the Baking Pans.  A tip for pressing this large mixture is to use Superior Dishwashing Gloves.  Rub a little coconut oil onto the gloves and press the mixture evenly into the Baking Pans.  These gloves are approved for food handling by Agriculture Canada.

4: Place Baking Pans in the freezer for a half an hour.  Or refrigerate for a few hours until set.

5: In an Orly Global 2.5L Strauss Double Boiler, melt the chocolate.  Spread evenly over the sheets of bars with a Johnson Rose 3” Curved Nylon Pastry Brush.  Sprinkle evenly the pistachio bits over the chocolate before it sets.

6: Return to the fridge or freezer to allow to set a bit more with the chocolate.  Slice equally with a Zwilling J.A. Henckels Twin Pure Pizza Cutter.  This recipe returns 80 bars typically.

This is just a healthy snack.  The Toronto Raptors have strict expectations on themselves on what to eat and drink.  Many have personal chefs.  Mr. Gallagher is just over at the training facility.  Obviously, thanks to Ryan and his staff for nourishing and hydrating our guys to the Championship!!  And thanks to everyone involved in this awesome season!  Whether it’s what The Raptors eat and drink, to the T-Shirt Vendors inside Scotiabank Area, this 2019 is Unforgettable!

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In the world of hydration and nutrition, The Raptors and many pro clubs around the world believe in smoothies to drink.  From drinks to soup, to many other options to eat are available using one of our many products for high quality blending.  Whether it be the Vitamix, the KitchenAid, or the Wolf Gourmet, Williams Food Equipment offers them all!  Being a pro in the kitchen comes easy when you draft one of these multi-taskers on your kitchen team.

Now, with that said, The Raptors need us, the fans.  And, We The North, love to eat and drink!  At the arena, we have a multitude to eat and drink.  Here’s a list:

• Carved Prime Rib & Turkey Sandwiches
• Bacon Wrapped, Coney, Cheeseburger and Dorito Dogs
• Chili Cheese, Chicken Kimchi, Chorizo, and Greek Fries
• Gourmet Grilled Cheese’s including a Mac n’ Cheese Grilled Cheese
• Whole and Sliced Pizza of all kinds Imaginable
• Buttermilk Chicken Tenders
• Pulled Pork & Smoked Brisket
• Shawarmas
• Peameal Bacon on an English Muffin
• Burgers
• Sushi
• Tim Horton’s
• Molson Brewhouse

With The Raptors on their way to the 1^st of many NBA Championships: TIME TO HAVE A PARTY!  Looking at all this delightful food and drink.  What’s to eat and drink is the next and only question!?  We know where we will be Friday and Monday.  Watching us win it all!  Hopefully Monday will be one of Canada’s biggest parties.  If not, we can be the nice, patient people we are, and celebrate Thursday night!  The latest we must wait for the Championship to be ours will be Sunday the 16^th here at Scotiabank.  We all know we can win it in 5 though!

Thanks to everyone who has helped, rooted, cheered, worked, and played for The Toronto Raptors this amazing year!  This has been a collective effort to have us, WE THE NORTH, bring this NBA Championship to Toronto.  Remember, James Naismith was the great Canadian who invented this great game in 1891 at the age of 30.  Cheers to Mr. Naismith, The Raptors, and all of Canada.  Time to eat and drink because, WE THE NORTH!