One thing that John and I look forward to most on the weekends is a proper breakfast. From Monday to Friday we’re starting the day with coffee and a muffin, or sometimes a breakfast sandwich. When Saturday and Sunday roll around, we either take a morning trip to the market or try out some of our city’s best eateries to get our dose of eggs.

The Egg Farmers of Canada have recently launched a mobile application (for iPhone and Android) that helps you cook eggs at home. Whether you’re boiling, poaching, frying, scrambling, or combining them with other ingredients, the app set out to educate Canadians about the seemingly endless array of egg preparations – for any meal.

Egg Timer iPhone App

I downloaded the free app to give it a whirl. It caught John’s eye right and we played around with the settings. We usually get our eggs over medium so I clicked on the pre-set timer. You could just use your iPhone’s default timer for this, but the benefit of using the one within the app is that it will pair up with recipes, and let you know when to flip.

I do cook from home often and I use various recipe applications. The Egg Timer app has dozens of recipes for breakfast, lunch, dinner, kids meals, and quick snacks. It’s been added to my food app arsenal for my future endeavours with quiche, macaroni bake, risotto, gnocchi, or burger melts.

Egg Timer iPhone App

To promote this new tool, the Egg Farmers of Canada have offered up 5 egg-tastic prize packages to give away. Each package includes:

• A Get Cracking apron
• A cookbook: The Perfect Egg Cookbook, by Alex Barker
• A cookbook in French: Les Oeufs, Plus de 130 recettes, par Michel Roux
• A microwave egg cooker
• Spiced French Toast mix
• A Get Cracking egg turner

To enter to win, leave a comment on this post naming your favourite place to eat eggs in Vancouver. You could say eggs benedict at Cafe Medina, the big bowl breakfast at White Spot, a frittata from Campagnolo, or the scrambled eggs you make with your kids at home.

I will draw 5 winners next Wednesday, January 18, 2012 at 10:00am. Prize packages will be delivered to each of the winner.

Update The winners are Shelley, Rachel, Jan, Mike, and Vaughn!

The BC Ministry of Health has recently launched a free mobile application that helps residents locate their nearest health services.

I took a quick spin around the BC Health Service Locator and did a search for something I had to find before. I looked for the travel clinic I found last February when I needed to get my Yellow Fever vaccination for my trip to Ghana. The results came up within a couple clicks on the app and included the location, hours, link to the clinic’s website, and a button to save this information to my iPhone’s contacts.

Search results appear in a list view but you can click on the settings icon (that looks like a cog) and change it to a map view or “Sort by Distance”. For this feature to work you’ll need your location settings turned on so it can give you directions. You can also click to get the latest government health alerts, direct from BC HealthLink.

It’s a handy tool for those on the go. Having this information in the palm of your hand is useful since you’ll need to call to make appointments and it can easily locate services that are closest to you.

The BC Health Services App is free to download from the iTunes store but I haven’t been able to find it on my desktop iTunes, only directly from the app store on my iPhone. I also haven’t been able to locate a link to any other mobile marketplaces from the HeathLink BC website but I have sent an email to one of the volunteers who worked on the app to find out if they have plans for an Android version. The official launch is January 20, 2012 so I’m sure more information will be available after that time.

Update Thanks to Gillian for the additional information. The application has now officially launched and there is a website available with additional information.

The beloved Woodward’s Windows return to various locations around downtown Vancouver this year as a part of Christmas at Canada Place. The classic, animatronic displays that have been a part of the holidays for decades have been restored and setup at nine different venues.

The main displays are at Canada Place but you can also find them at Bentall One, Bentall Three, Bentall Four, London Drugs at the old Woodward’s location, and the Vancouver Christmas Market. Make your way to each stop with the help of the Christmas at Canada Place iPhone & Android app or this brochure (which can be downloaded).

Click to download the iPhone & Android app

On the app, you can “check-in” to each location to receive a virtual ornament. Check into every location and you’ll be entered to win a $2,000 shopping spree at London Drugs. The app will tell you how close you are to a window, the hours of the venue (in case you want to get close up) and register your check-in.

If you don’t use the app, there are paper contest entry forms at each Woodward’s Window. Fill out the skill-testing-question for each and you can enter to win as well. You can visit every location until January 4, 2012 except for the Vancouver Christmas Market which will close December 24, 2011. Brochures are also available at Starbucks locations around the downtown core.

Grab the kids, some hot chocolates, download the app, and do the self-guided tour this season for your chance to win the shopping spree.

Miss604 is proud to once again partner with Christmas at Canada Place and sponsor the Woodward’s Windows and Breakfast with Santa which supports the Strathcona Community Centre’s Food Security Program.

The Woodward’s Windows returned in 2010 after being tucked away for years following the closure of the Woodward’s department store in Vancouver.

Municipal elections are taking place in Vancouver November 19, 2011. You can find out various information about your registration, where to vote, and more from the election office or online. However, if you’re on the go and want all of this information in your purse or pocket, there’s also an app for that.

The City of Vancouver’s “Vancouver Votes” application is free to download from the iTunes App Store and offers voter information, candidate listings, news updates, and even a quiz about civic politics. Election results will also be available on the app after the polls close.

Last summer the City of Vancouver expanded its street food program to include over a dozen new mobile dining options. After a public survey and an application process, 19 new street food options (with a heavy lean on tacos) have been announced.

Cartel
Location: West side of 500 Dunsmuir
Type: Korean fusion; beef, pork, tofu Korean tacos.

Chawalla
Location: East side of 800 Howe
Type: Indian teas, sweet and savoury parantha

Didi’s Greek
Location: South side of 1700 Robson
Type: Meat and vegetable souvlaki, tzatsiki, spanakopita, Greek salad

Feastro the Rolling Bistro
Location: Thurlow at West Cordova
Type: Seafood taco, prawns, fish & chips, pork taco, chowder, bisque, yam/sweet potato fries

Finest at Sea
Location: SE corner of Robson and Hornby
Type: Fish sandwiches, fish tacos, coleslaw, vegetable kebab

Gourmet Syndicate
Location: East side, 900 Burrard St
Type: Asian fusion, sliders, soba noodle soup, banh mi, salad, chicken karaage, fruit

Kiss Kiss Banh Banh
Location: North West corner, Howe and Robson
Type: Sub sandwiches, salads, coffee

Mangali
Location: North side, 900 West Georgia
Type: Mediterranean; shish kebob, lafah, couscous, salads

Mom’s Grilled Cheese Truck
Location: 600 Hornby
Type: Grilled sandwiches, soups, chili

Off The Wagon
Location: 600 Howe
Type: Tacos

Osa Tako Hero
Location: South side, 800 West Pender
Type: Takoyako

Roaming Dragon 2
Location: East side, 800 Burrard
Type: Sandwiches, matzo balls, shepherd’s pie, soup, chili, fruit

Soho Road Naan Kebab
Location: West side, 900 Howe
Type: Indian fusion, chicken tandoori burger, beef kebabs, masala fries, chai

Tacofino Cantina
Location: 1800 Morton St
Type: Mexican, tacos, burritos, tortilla soup, fruit and vegetable skewers, juices

Nu Souvlaki
Location: North side, 800 Dunsmuir
Type: Meat and vegetable souvlaki

The Hut
Location: South side, 1200 Pacific Blvd.
Type: Vegetarian, wrap, veg burgers, quesadillas, sweet potato fries, wraps

The Juice Truck
Location: 200 Abbott
Type: Juice. Fresh fruit, vegetable juices and smoothies

Re-Up BBQ
Location: South side of 800 Robson
Type: Beef brisket sandwich, black bean and corn chili, Southern sweet tea, fruit sodas

Trailer
Location: West side 1100 Burrard
Type: Asian BBQ, meat, fruit, vegetable

In addition to the Google Map (above) that has been put together you can also choose from two apps for finding the best and nearest street food cart in Vancouver.

The Vancouver Street Vendor App

And the Eat Street app that has launched along with the new Food Network Canada show, Eat St., that was developed locally by Invoke Media (who brought us HootSuite, among other things). The app will work hand-in-hand with the show to highlight the country’s best food carts.

With the new line-up (on top of hotdog, Japadog, and other vendors already on the menu) it will be a good time to try something new this summer. Grab a taco, whether it be fish, pork, Korean or Mexican, and sit in the sunshine on the Art Gallery steps or watch the ships sway back and forth in English Bay.

February is Heart Month across Canada and through various campaigns and promotions the Heart and Stroke Foundation of BC & Yukon hopes to raise awareness about heart health. 

Two days ago, my 89 year old grandmother had a heart attack and we have been in and out of the hospital to visit her. My family is taking this very hard as she’s not only the matriarch whom even my childhood friends refer to as “Oma”, but we lost my Opa to a heart attack when I was a teenager. I was already planning on running a promotional campaign with the Heart and Stroke Foundation and the events this week are even more reason for me to write about Hearth Month.

To find out if you are at risk, please download the free “My Heart&Stroke Health” application for your smart phone. It will take 8-10 minutes to fill out the survey and find out if you have any risk factors.

The Heart and Stroke Foundation of BC & Yukon website also provides recipes, fitness tips, and tools for healthy living. Things as simple a taking the stairs versus the elevator in your building can make a different when it comes to heart health. Please take the time to look through some of this information and consider donating to this cause. 

One of the many lifestyle choices that can help us reduce our risk is being physically active for that reason we have teamed for a contest offering up a hotel stay in Whistler, one of the most active communities around. You can take walks around the village, ski or snowboard, snowshoe, and hike in the summer months (which is one of my favourite activities).

The winner and a guest will enjoy a one night stay at the luxurious Four Seasons Resort in Whistler (approximate value $685) as well as two one-day EDGE cards for Whistler Blackcomb. March is Family Month in Whistler with a focus on active and healthy lifestyles.

Here’s how you can enter to win:

I will draw one winner at random from all entries next Thursday, February 17, 2011. I sincerely thank you for considering this cause, and your own heart health.

Update I jumbled up some scheduling while away in Africa so I will actually be keeping this contest open until February 19th – keep those helpful entries coming!

Update The winner is Michael (@striverecruit) – congratulations!

Fine print for the hotel contest: Subject to space availability, not redeemable for cash and may not be re-sold, subject to cancellation without notice if sold or otherwise auctioned, excludes applicable taxes and gratuity, not replaceable in case of loss. Please present the gift certificate upon check-in (no copies). Gift certificate is non-transferable to another Four Seasons Hotel or Resort. Open only to residents of BC & Yukon.

The official Vancouver 125 anniversary year campaign kicked off last week and everyone from the Parks Board to Vancouver Archives is participating or organizing celebratory campaigns of their own. This includes CBC Vancouver who has launched an iPhone application called “Vancouver 125″ featuring archived video footage (synced with Google Map locations) of significant, televised moments in our city’s history.

“This free mobile app allows you to experience Vancouver’s history through the CBC Archives. From Vancouver’s first major protests and riots, to royal visits, to Olympic celebrations. The videos stretch back to Vancouver’s incorporation 125 years ago, and take you to the present day. Use the Map to show where the events took place, and explore your history.”

It would be great if the information they provided on the site that promotes the app would also be included in the application (things like podcast audio and images). Also, there are only a handful of listings but since this is version 1.0, I hope they will continue expand the listings throughout the year. Since I’m a sucker for the Miracle Mile footage I’m pretty pleased with it so far, I just hope they add a few more gems.

You can check it our for yourself by downloading the CBC Vancouver 125 for free from the app store.

It’s no secret that I’m on the go quite a bit and thanks to local radio stations having iPhone apps, I can take a little piece of home with me wherever I roam. One of such stations is The Peak. Their iPhone app is new this summer and it even includes an alarm clock that will wake you up to their tunes.

I started thinking about how radio is just as portable now as it ever was, just using different platforms or tools. As such, I thought I would put together a little contest.

Here’s how it works:

1. Download The Peak’s iPhone app

2. Go out and about this summer and tune into The Peak by way of the app (if you can get service or wifi).

3. Take a photo of your iPhone playing The Peak from that setting (could be from the beach, on a boat, up a mountain etc.)

4. Upload that photo to the contest page (using the super-slick Strutta platform).

5. Tell all your friends to vote for you since the winner of the photo contest will be by popular vote/star rating on the images.

Here’s an example that I took from the Field of Dreams movie site in Dyersville, Iowa.

I contacted The Peak about this contest and they got on board to sponsor the grand prize which will be a shiny new 32GB Apple iPad.

To recap, all you need in order to participate is an iPhone, the free app, and a camera to take the overall picture. There are a few more requirements than my regular contests but I’m hoping to get some really cool entries.

The contest starts right now so you can get the app (if you don’t have it already) and start taking photos while you’re out and about. Once again the winner will be decided by popular vote so you’ll want to let everyone know that you’ve entered.

Update I have extended the voting-only round until August 25th. No new entries will be accepted after August 20th. Please vote for your favourite by using the star rating system.

Update The Strutta platform has assigned a winner and after looking at several criteria (including the entry date) the winner of the iPad is Stuart Rowlands for his “The Peak in Victoria” entry.

Congratulations Stuart! This was definitely a learning process in terms of running contests in a new way for me. I thank everyone for their participation and patience. We had some many great entries and over 12,000 views of all the images. I hope to try another contest like this in the future and all the feedback has been helpful, constructive, and will make things run that much smoother next time around.

About a week ago the Vancouver 2010 iPhone application was launched on iTunes. I hear they had 15,000 downloads even before making any kind of official announcement and I can see why.

After downloading the app, I can see why. It’s a fully comprehensive directory for sporting events, cultural events, Games schedules, venues, and maps all rolled into one.

The application is free and available in the iTunes store. If you download it be sure to give it a shake (yes, shake your iPhone) to find a neat surprise that the kids will love.

They have a few more Olympic related apps on iTunes such as NBC Olmypics (which may not work in Canada), CTV Olympics, and the super fun Cowbell 2010 / Bell Cowbell applications.

The National Film Board of Canada (the NFB) has released its own application for the iPhone which includes hundreds of films, animated shorts, history vignettes, and classics all free of charge. My sister put this on my radar when she posted about it on Twitter so I thought I would check it out.

When I went to the iTunes App Store on my phone to get it I noticed that it was the “app of the week” since the NFB icon is the current main icon for the entire “entertainment” category. Upon downloading the app I discovered why it’s being showcased and has already received top reviews from sites like Gizmodo.

Some features I enjoy are the search and the ability to “favourite” videos. This allowed me to find The Cat Came Back and The Logdriver’s Waltz, save them, and play them back for my American husband. You can play clips on demand or click to have them download for future viewing.

I must have spent about 45 minutes sifting through all the amazing content and using specific keywords to find either documentaries I remembered or content I haven’t yet seen. How to Make an Igloo is an oldie but a goodie and I could spend about 4 hours going through the entire “History” section. You can also download and view a 57 minute documentary about the Greatest Canada, Tommy Douglas, made in 1986 — all for free and on-demand.

The app is clean, sleek, and having that search option or capability to see the Most Popular is a great way to bring back memories or introduce classics to new users. If you do not have an iPhone, much if not all of this content is available through their website as well where they even featured the first version of their iPhone app… circa 1980.

Links: iTunes App Store download link, NFB blog post outlining the features of the app.