Canada has a very special celebration on July 1st, you guys. So, it happens to be Canada Day. Buuuut, it’s not only Canada Day – it’s Canada’s 150th birthday!! How cool is that? Any celebration involves food, am I right? I called upon fellow food blogger friends to compile a bunch of iconic Canadian dishes or recipes featuring popular Canadian ingredients (helloooo maple syrup). There are 15 recipes in this round up from cocktails, apps, mains to desserts; lots to get the celebrations started! Before we get to that, though, let’s get our ‘Canada on’ with a little low down on the place I call home….woot woot! Check out this yummy round up of all kinds of Canadian dishes for your Canada Day celebrations!
cool things about Canada
neat LITTLE FACTOIDS
So some neat facts about Canada according to Huffington Post –
- 77% of the world’s maple syrup comes from Quebec, a province in Canada?
- Mac and cheese is the most purchased pre-packaged item
- Canada has more donut shops per capita than any where else
- Canada has more lakes than all other countries combined
- Basketball was invented in Canada
- 15,500 of the world’s 25,000 polar beers live in Canada
More Neat Little Factoids (in the Event you’re on a Game Show, or somethin’?)
- Canadians talk about temperature in terms of degrees Celsius, not Fahrenheit
- Canadians talk about speed in terms of kilometres, not miles
- Canada is the world’s second largest country by land mass
- And, mind blown, when I heard this on the radio the other day – the only province in Canada that is officially a bilingual province is New Brunswick. You may think that it would be Québec, but nope! Oh là là!
HUH? WHAT DID YOU SAY?
There’s no surprise Canadians also have their own unique words and expressions, eh (just kiddin'<—FYI – not all Canadians, myself included, use this expression). So what are some other popular expressions ’round here?
- Give’r (meaning go for it<—-I use this A LOT)
- Double Double (meaning a coffee at a popular coffee shop in Canada containing two sugar and two cream)
- Tuque (a winter hat)
- Chesterfield (meaning sofa or couch)
YOU’RE SPELLING IT WRONG, DAWN
We Canadians spell certain words the same as the British spelling, not the American spelling (see, I wasn’t spelling these words wrong all along, lol) –
- Colour, not color
- Favourite, not favorite
- Cheque, not check?
- Metre, not meter
SNACK TIME – WE GOT IT GOIN’ ON
And junk food? Well, we got some unique stuff here, let me tell ya!
- Ketchup Chips (a personal fave, but, then again, salt & vinegar is pretty awesome too)
- Coffee Crisp Bar (coffee flavoured wafers coated in chocolate, that’s light and crispy)
- Smarties (similar to M & M’s, but not quite)
- Crush Cream Soda (pink and oh so good)
- Jos Louis buns – sponge cake with a creamy vanilla filling
- Poutine – though it’s reach has expanded, it originated here. Fries + cheese curd + gravy = pure taste bud heaven
RECIPES to celebrate Canada day – BRING ON THE FOOD!
Without further adieu, here are some delicious recipes for you to enjoy. Fair warning – you may just get a little hungry…grab a snack ?
Whiskey Maplecino from Sugar Love Spices (pictured below & photo credit)
Ultimate Caesar Cocktail from me (Girl Heart Food)
Coconut & Maple Apple Oatmeal with Cinnamon from Fuss Free Flavours (pictured below & photo credit)
Canadian Beer Cheese Dip from Simply Fresh Dinners (pictured below & photo credit)
Mussel Chowder from Bacon is Magic (pictured below & photo credit)
Hot Chicken Sandwich from The Foodolic (pictured below & photo credit)
Authentic Canadian Poutine from Seasons and Suppers (pictured below & photo credit
Sweet Hot Coriander Salmon with Strawberry Tomato Salad from Simply Fresh Dinners (pictured below & photo credit)
Simple Maple Chipotle Barbecue Chicken from Healthy Seasonal Recipes (pictured below & photo credit)
An Outstanding Burger from Food Well Said (pictured below & photo credit)
Homemade Quebec Maple Baked Beans from She Loves Biscotti (pictured below & photo credit)
Homemade Maple Walnut Ice-cream from The Cookie Writer (pictured below & photo credit)
Maple Syrup Pie from The Grey Bell (pictured below & photo credit)
Country Style Plum & Saskatoon Berry Pie from Satori Design for Living (pictured below & photo credit)
Gluten Free Maple Syrup Butter Tarts from From Our Hideaway (pictured below & photo credit)
So, tell me, how will you be celebrating Canada Day? Or what’s your favourite thing about Canada ?? ?
Happy Canada Day everyone! Hope your celebrations are fun and food filled ? !
Until next time, take care & chit chat again soon 🙂
~D
P.S. If you’ve enjoyed these Recipes to celebrate Canada Day, please be sure to hit that little Pin button down below. Many thanks, you guys! XO
Oh man, you know I love me some trivia, Dawn…and this post is packed full of fun Canadian facts! I was surprised when I saw the donut shops per capita thing, but then I remember Tim Hortons. You guys love your Timmy Horton’s up there! 🙂 Anyways, I love these recipes. I am a huge sucker for both poutine (we can occasionally find it around here since we’re only about 2 hours from the border) and maple syrup. I’m a little delayed in seeing this post due to our vacation, so I missed Canada Day. But I think these recipes are perfect for any summer day if you ask me! Great collection here. 🙂
I know you do 😉 !! Oh, boy, Tim Horton’s is definitely popular around here! OMG – you can’t beat poutine – I mean fries, cheese and gravy?? So good, right?? Thanks David!
This is just a beautiful tribute to Canada, Dawn. And, honestly, who doesn’t love Canada and, especially, Canadian people. I am a BIG fan.
I want to try everything on your list. And your Ultimate Caesar Cocktail has me swooning!
Thanks so much, Marissa!! You’re too sweet 🙂
You are a wealth of Canadian 411, my friend! My favorite is poutine and I always get it if it’s on a menu wherever I go. I also make it at home a bunch because we can get fresh cheese curds from local farms…and because I like to eat fries covered in gravy 😉 I’ll have to make a poutine for the blog so next year I can be included in this spectacular Canada Day celebration! lol! 🙂
I try, I try 😉 I LOVES me some poutine and if calories weren’t a thing, I could totally eat every single day, no doubt. Lots of vinegar on there for me too. Thanks sweets! Have to get ya next time for sure 😉 xo
Dawn – thanks for sharing these Huff Post Canadian Facts – am sitting here on my “Chesterfield” having my mind blown reading that “Canada has more donut shops per capita than any where else!” My mom brought back some Canadian maple syrup a while back after she visited some of her family there and gosh – it was so good, I contemplated moving closer to the border so I could hop over when I needed my maple fix – all the better if the maple was in donuts eh?! 🙂
Such a fun read – and such delightful dishes!
Happy Early Canada Day – I cannot wait to check out your IG stories on Saturday to see all your Canada Day shenanigans! 🙂
Hehehe! Gotta love that maple syrup 🙂 Thank you so much, my friend! xo
So many of those facts were new to me! Does that make me a horrible Canadian?
Haha! There’s just a lot to learn, I say 😉
This was such a fun post to read! I knew basically none of those little factoids, so now I feel a little smarter too. 😉
All those recipes looks so yummy, especially the poutine. That’s one food I’ve been wanting to try for ages and have just never gotten around to it!
Haha – so happy you enjoy it, Tracy 😉 Gotta love little factoids! You have GOT to try poutine. Seriously sooooo good! Thanks girl!
Funny how we express the temperature in Celsius yet cook with Fahrenheit eh? I guess the “eh” is Canadian too ! Regardless of our quirks up here in Canada, I must say that I’m super proud of all this Nationally inspired food. Look how damn good it all looks! GO CANADA!
It is funny!! Thank you very much for the kind comment, Markus! So happy you enjoyed this round up 🙂 Have an awesome Canada Day!
I love your little factoids Dawn! Donut (doughnut?) shops, huh? Who knew?? 🙂 These recipes look amazing. Wish I could make them all in time for the big 1-5-0. I think I’ll start with butter tarts. I need to learn to make them. Got any big plans for Canada Day? We’re just driving off to cottage country (is that a Canadian thing too?) and chilling (as is usual haha). Hope you guys have a wonderful long weekend!
Thank you Jolina!! Canada Day? Not sure yet, but something fun 🙂 Oh, and lots of good food (obviously 😉 ). Hope you have an awesome weekend!
What an awesome roundup post Dawn!! I love all the knowledge and details you are sharing with us! I am drooling all over this maple syrup heaven! Have a great weekend!
Thank you Gaila! Have a great weekend too! xo
I have such great memories of celebrating Canada day at a friend’s house in Estes Park! He is a very spirited Canadian and it was so much fun! This spread you have going on is amazing! Love me some poutine. If I lived in Canada or at least Wisconsin, closer to cheese curds, I’d be eating poutine all the time and spending the rest of my time at the gym…Basically, every time I visit Canada I ‘export’ a few poutine kilograms on the way back as weight gained around my waist and hips:) And the PEI soup – yum! And then you have the cold beer cheese dip which I am yet to try, so headed over there with a Cesar cocktail in hand, will introduce myself by saying ‘Dawn sent me’:) Happy almost Canada Day!
Glad to hear that, Milena! Isn’t poutine the best?!! Soooo good! It’s worth having to go to the gym, I think 😉 Thanks very much for the sweet comment, my friend!
Thank you for this excellent roundup of recipes and the very interesting and entertaining trivia tidbits. I enjoyed your post very much!
Thank you so much Denis; happy you enjoyed it 🙂
What a fun round up to make for Canada day! Love all the funny facts in there! Just one little detail… I think it’s “Tuque” for the winter hat. Lovely compilation! Starving for some Canadian food now! Miss ketchup chips soooo much! The other day I had to dehydrate ketchup to make my own… but wasn’t as good as the ones from home. Keep on the good work Dawn!
Thank you Marie! Can’t beat those ketchup chips 😉 Hope you’re having an awesome weekend!
Happy Canada Day! I love all your little facts and info! Who knew basketball started in Canada! Not surprised about the maple syrup though! Happy day of celebrating to you! You have a fabulous collection of recipes! 🙂
I know, right?? Thanks so much Kathy 🙂 Have an awesome weekend!
Basket ball?! We invented that ? Cool… Now a memory of a little vignette is sort of coming back to me.. –
actually had a Canadian feel 🙂 Great post!
Yes! Definitely cool 🙂 Thanks Terri!
Thank you for compiling this great collection of Canadian recipes!
It’s interesting to learn which of the things we take for granted are unique to Canada. I’m constantly coming across words that are spelled differently in the US!
Happy Canada Day!
Thanks Cathy! It was fun 🙂 Happy Canada Day to you too!
HI Dawn,
This post is such a fun read! And I learned some surprising things about our fabulous country. I love that Canadians are proud but in their own quiet way – except when the Olympics are on, lol. Then we can be rather loud!
Such a fun round-up and the butter tart is one heck of a wonderful creation, lol. Thanks so much for including my recipes!
Thank you Robyn! It was my pleasure 🙂 Have a wonderful Canada Day!!
What a great selection of recipes! My mouth is watering!
Luci’s Morsels | fashion. food. frivolity.
Thank you Luci 🙂
Yay for Canada Dawn! I have never been, but asked Tom to take me to Quebec City this fall for my birthday! I’m not getting any younger and it’s on my bucket list! I’m so excited. Love this post and all the interesting facts and recipes for the celebration!
Oh, you will love it, Mary Ann! Don’t forget to try poutine and a smoked meat sandwich 😉 Thanks so much!
Happy Canada Day! I really enjoyed reading this post with all the fun facts about Canada. My parents were from Nova Scotia so it was fun seeing all these Yummy recipes as well. Maybe that’s why I have a strong love for Mac n Cheese..:)
Thank you so much, Stephanie! Gotta love mac n cheese, don’t ya? So good! Have a fantastic weekend 🙂
Love Love all these recipes!!! And all the fun facts and real facts were so interesting to know! I’m starting to use some Canadian expressions as well, now 😉 . Thank you for including us in this wonderful round-up. I’ve shared it on all social media!
Thank you Nicoletta!! Happy to include your yummy drink and thanks for sharing it with me 🙂 Have a wonderful weekend!
Loving all this great Canadian food and facts! And thanks so much for including my poutine (my favourite food, bar none! 😉
Thanks Jennifer and it was my pleasure 🙂 Love your recipe and poutine is one of my favourite things too (I have to control myself around it, lol).
I’m loving this post, Dawn! I’m such a trivia geek :). I can’t believe New Brunswick is the only bilingual province. I never would have guessed so I’m filing that away for my future Jeopardy appearance. And I love that Canada has all those donut shops. Maybe I need to come for a visit so we can check a few out? Oh and ketchup chips? My FAVORITE! Ridiculously good. PS, Happy birthday, dear Canada!
Yay! Thanks Kelsie – appreciate that! You’re all set for Jeopardy now 😉 Happy to hear you like ketchup chips too – those are ADDICTIVE, aren’t they?? xo
Happy Canada Day, Dawn! What a fun post to tribute your country with! And I love the facts that you included! I do notice different spellings and meanings of certain words, so it’s interesting to see what you added to the list. And all of these recipes look AMAZING! Like I want them all, which is not a good thing since I haven’t had breakfast yet! 🙂 Hope you have a wonderful day and enjoy your weekend!
Thank you Gayle! Appreciate the kind words! Have an awesome weekend too 🙂
This is awesome!! Love the little facts (and not surprised about boxed mac and cheese being our number 1 seller, lol.) Can’t wait to dig into these (and I must say, your Caesar is our kind of drink!)
Thank you very much, Kacey! Gotta love a Caesar, especially when it’s extra spicy 😉 Have a wonderful weekend!
I definitely should have grabbed a snack… I’m salivating already… great recipe round up! This was a fun and informative post. Now I have more reasons to be a proud Canadian.
Thanks for including my beans 🙂 I am off to share. Happy Canada Day ♥♥♥
Hehehe! I hear ya 😉 ! Thank you very much, Maria! And I love your bean recipe!! Happy Canada Day to you too 🙂
Happy early birthday, Canada! This is such a fun post, Dawn! I love that you included some fun facts about Canada along with the recipes! How funny that ‘Canada has more donut shops per capital than any where else’!! After reading that I’m thinking there is a strong possibility I’m part Canadian. Lol! Now if only I could get ALL these delicious dishes in front of me pronto. That would be heaven! Cheers! xo
Thanks Cheyanne!! Little factoids are always fun like that, aren’t they 🙂 ? Have a wonderful weekend! xo