Urban Eat - Lemon Chicken Wrap

On Friday I found the Lemon Chicken Wrap in Sainsbury's after a while hunting. I got back to my office to give it a go.

The wrap consisted of chicken pieces, lemon mayonnaise, lettuce, tomato and dill. The ingredients are very similar to the wrap Costa offer for us gluten free lot!

Much like the egg wrap that Urban Eat also produce (which is awesome may I add!) the wrap is a rectangle shape and are identical in texture and taste of the Warburtons gluten free wraps, so if you love them, you'll love the bread of this wrap.

The chicken pieces are of high quality and the salad was crisp, I couldn't really detect the lemon taste but this may just be me and I'll elaborate more in a minute as to why.

The texture of this wrap is very pleasing to eat. The chicken slices are tender and there is a good juxtaposition between this and the crisp lettuce and tomato, this makes the wrap a very filling but light feeling meal.  

There is 400 calories in this wrap, much like the egg wrap I feel Urban Eat have been cautious to give a balanced wrap which is not too calorie laden. It also feels 'safe to eat' as its certified gluten free, so I do feel very safe with Urban Eat gluten free options particularly at work.

My one issue with this wrap which would mean I would not buy it again is the dill. I was so excited at the prospect of more than one option of gluten free sandwich I did not really read the ingredients until I started to eat the wrap. I normally wouldn't use the word hate as it is quite strong, but the only food product I hate is dill, this is completely my fault for not reading but I could not finish the wrap as this flavour overpowered the wrap for me. If you love dill, you must try this wrap, and also if you don't mind the taste of dill I think you'd enjoy this wrap. But for me even a pinch of dill is too much!

So unfortunately I will not buy this again but this is purely down to my personal preference but I feel the texture and other flavours within this wrap are fantastic and I thought I would love it because through the clear window it looked just like the Costa one I love!

Maybe Urban Eat will release another wrap in similar vain just without the dill, If they do I know I will love it, it is just unfortunate I have such a strong opinion on dill!

Despite this I would 100% still recommend this wrap because firstly my personal preference on flavours should not unfairly judge the other flavours, the quality and  the texture of this wrap as it is second to none. For those who like dill this is a brilliant option for lunch! (and after asking around everyone else seems to like it other than me!)

I will just stick to their egg and tomato wrap for now!

If you want to find out more about this wrap they have a whole product page here


Hannah x

Angelic Gluten Free Rosemary & Sea Salt Savoury Biscuits

Angelic are a relatively small business from Scotland.  When I met them at the free from show I fell in love with their products, packaging and their concepts. As they are not as large as others they are not yet in supermarkets. They are growing fast but for now you can find your local stockist here!

These Biscuits did not fail me, I love rosemary and makes me feel very wintery/Christmasy (yes I said it!) As I was eating them they made me feel like its finally getting autumnal.

This product is very delicate so take care as you are smothering it in cheese, I did have a little crack develop as I was doing my best plastering impression on my biscuit!

The plain biscuit itself has a powerful aroma of rosemary and the second I opened the pack I could smell it, which made me much more hungry! There is a strong taste of rosemary, but this is not overpowering and the salt gives a little bit of edge and makes this savoury biscuit very pleasant to eat alone.

As I said they are quite delicate but they are not crumbly, they crumble in the mouth as they should but this is because they are a slightly softer consistency to what you would expect from a product of this nature. I assumed it would be much like a cracker and quite dry and snaps but I was wrong! This product does not leave a dry feeling in your mouth so I feel they have got the balance just right.

The box suggested pairing the savoury biscuits with blue cheese, which sounded amazing. But as I work in an office I didn't think it would be acceptable to bring in a huge block of smelly cheese so I opted for blue cheese Laughing Cow, all the flavour but with none of the smell!

I would have never naturally put blue cheese and rosemary together but they married together well and gave the cheese a kick and lifted the flavour. This is for sure the absolute best way to eat them! I think I would have eaten the whole box if I had more cheese, complete lack of will power!

I love these biscuits and I think I am going to try these with tomato soup instead of a roll. I think the rosemary will go great with the tomato. Christmas here I come!

If you haven't heard of Angelic or you would just like to know more they have a great Facebook and Twitter account as well as a website.

Hannah x

Frankie and Benny's Gluten Free Menu

This weekend I ate in Frankie and Benny's, and we found out they have a full gluten free menu. The choice is obviously not as extensive as the normal menu, but it's great to know you are safe to eat these dishes, and the choice is quite varied.

What's on the menu?

What I ate?

Starter
To start I had the chicken wraps which were marinated chicken, cooked onion and mushrooms in a piece of little gem lettuce, there was three of these as a starter. The flavours were very interesting together, as it was balsamic vinegar that was used as a marinade it gave a wonderful contrast of flavours with the onion and the lettuce gave the flavour a little lift!

Main
I then had a rack of ribs, it was really really huge and was served with mash (even though it said jacket potato) and a lovely salad, it was a shame there wasn't chips available as I really wanted some!

The salad had lettuce, diced onion and tomato, cucumber and some greated cheese and oddly enough was my favourite aspect of the dish. The ribs were cooked to perfection with the meat falling off the bone and only had a light layer of BBQ sauce. I was very happy with this as I don't like things swimming in sauce.

 The mash did disappoint me however as it was so dry, I don't know if that is always the case but I left that as I did not enjoy that at all, I would have much preferred a larger salad or chips.

Dessert
The dessert concept was my idea of heaven as I picked the fruit with chocolate dip and it was amazing, the chocolate sauce was rich and smooth and slightly warmed. I was left just a little unimpressed with the price though as for almost £5 the fruit I received was 6 small squares of pineapple, 1/4 of a banana and half a strawberry. I am actually allergic to strawberries but I didn't tell the staff as someone else in my party wanted to eat them. I am not sure if it was meant to be that small or if it was down to running out as they were busy but I did expect a little more than that!

Overall I enjoyed the meal and think with a couple aspects which I feel could be improved it would have been a perfect meal. I am just hopping it was due to the busy time of day but nevertheless a whole menu that is gluten free from such a large chain is unexpected and a welcome addition particularly with such a wide diverse range of options!

Hannah x

Amy's Kitchen Mac and Cheese

As the new school term has started, I've started to get quite busy, although I neither go to school or responsible for somebody who goes to school, I do work for a youth group that runs in term time as well as a drama group among other things!

Managing so many evening tasks and paperwork that this creates. I sometimes have to rush food before going out. This is where Amy's Kitchen steps in.

I would say although these are great to microwave as a quick fix, these are a million times better if you actually bake them. However this does take about an hour, but it gives a nice crispy top to this dish in particular. So I do this when I have the time or my family are eating something I can't.

Amy's Kitchen is an all natural ready meal, so no need to worry about any nasty chemicals inside which is something that concerns me most about ready packed meals as you have no control of preservatives.

The mac and cheese is 400 calories a portion which I found very surprising for a cheese laden product, particularly considering it also contains pasta! Although it is quite light in calories for a meal of this nature it is incredibly filling and satisfies me for the whole evening.

The cheese sauce has a smooth cheesy flavour, but is not overpowering, the macaroni pieces are quite small but there are a lot of them so perfect to eat with a fork or spoon, without a knife.

The ready meal pictured today followed the microwave instructions, I just added some uncooked pepper and some lightly dry fried red onion and courgette. I do normally eat this meals as it is but I wanted some veg, so I added a bit of a side. The red onion added a good twist to the dish and I think I will most certainly add this next time I cook this meal as I love cheese and onion flavour.

I believe they have also now released a mac and cheese which is also dairy free under the name of mac and cheeze, but I have yet to see these in the shops, but online they are easy to find, so if you're also dairy intolerant there is an option for you out there.

I love all the Amy Kitchen range that I have tried so far so I will be doing a review in the near future, the thai curry is the best thai curry I've ever had so keep your eyes open for that in shops!

Hannah x

Gluten free Deals I've found this week!

As an avid Couponer, I just wanted to give you all a quick heads up on the latest gluten free deals that are about this week!

Lets first look at what I got that everyone should be able to access!

Nakd Bars
You may have seen there is a coupon around for free nakd bars, I only picked up one but in Sainsbury's they are 5 for 4 so you could get a great deal on these. You receive one coupon per email address so as long as you have a few emails you can get as many as you'll like! But as I have TONS of food to get through I only went for one.

Warburtons Thins
These are £2 in Sainsbury's currently so thats a 50p saving but if you still have some coupons from the free from show floating about you are able to get these for £1.50. I've popped mine in the freezer.

Genius cupcakes
On Topcashback currently you are able to get 30p cash back on Genuis cupcakes at Sainsbury's they are currently £1 and if you have a 50p coupon from the free from show that is a mear £1.20 for two cupcakes! That is the best deal of the week I think. Unfortunately I cannot get hold of the lemon cupcakes and I'm getting bored of the chocolate ones as I have to be in the mood for chocolate, so I used my genius coupon on bread!

I then got some other deals by using some price promise's and other store discounts

Warburtons Wraps
I found some of these reduced to £1.49 in Waitrose and picked them up as they were on their best before date (I freeze these anyway). When I got to the till I remembered I still had some 50p off coupons for Warburtons that I was given at the free from show, so I asked the cashier if I could use coupons on reduced items and she said I could so I got the new 4 pack of wraps for 99p!

Ds gluten free Yorkshire puddings
I brought these the same day as the nakd bar, I needed them for my Sunday roast and where I had a £1.74 price promise which was expiring I got my Yorkshire puddings for 21p! Where I use coupons a lot the price promises typically are from items I've used with coupons so I haven't actually paid full price!

I also picked up some Natures Path cereal for £3 retail cost but had a £1 coupon and a Genius loaf for £2.90 retail cost and had a 50p coupon for that too. These are not great deals for these in terms of couponing but I needed them!

Hannah x

Breakfast has got chocolatey! - Genius Pains au Chocolat!

I have eaten these a few times before but now I've mastered the best cooking process to make these the gooey chocolatey mess I want them to be so I am now happy to share a review!

You are all aware of my love of Genius so it shouldn't be a surprise to you that this product is also a hit!

The trick to these though is you MUST heat them up, without cooking they are slightly drier than I would like, I also wouldn't recommend the oven to cook them, as I feel that this does dry them out unnecessarily.

I put mine in my microwave for 40 seconds (which is a quite high power one). Be aware it does come out sizzling and very very hot but it prevents dryness and is perfectly gooey, the texture of the pastry is most definitely the best when cooked this way.

My next step many of you may cringe about. The pastry gets too hot to eat so I cut it into 8 pieces! Once lengthways and then four times across. This way the pastry cools a little but the chocolate doesn't get too hard again.

I then eat all the little cut pieces, much like the way you would serve food to a child! But besides the fact I serve my food like I would to an infant, these Pain Au Chocolat's are great. The chocolate is of a good quality.

These products are gluten and wheat free but they do contain egg. At 388 calories each I think these make a lovely decadent breakfast treat!

A pack of two Pains Au Chocolat will cost you £2 so that is £1 a breakfast, which I think is good value for a gluten free pastry product.

I have brought these in most supermarkets so everyone can get their hands on them!

Hannah x

Foodie Friday! - Picnic in the Park

Saturday James and I decided to do something that we hadn't done in a few years and that was to have a picnic. Goodness knows why we didn't do this earlier since the biggest pain in our lives is finding something for me to eat without asking for a million alterations to the choice I make.

So we took a cooler bag and made our way to Sainsbury's to buy some bits and bobs to take with us. Now as I have said before I have never had an issue with food that states on the label may contain gluten or produced in a factory which handles gluten. This is normally put on a packet as they are in close proximity to products in production which do have gluten, so just bare that in mind when looking at our choices, some of these items may not be ideal for you if you are very severely affected by coeliacs.

So here is what we took (a little couponing may have happened too!)

• Warburtons Seeded Wraps
• Kettle Chips, lightly salted
• Tex Mex Mini Dips
• Cucumber
• Tomato
• Boursin Chive and Shallot 
• Evian Water
• Mixed Fruit

We also took the opportunity to take some photos, James is training in photography and is doing quite well (from the photos I've seen he has taken at weddings anyway!). He brought his camera along and we took some pictures for him to practice.

A little different twist on my normal post today!

Hannah x  

Sainsburys to go Gluten Free?? - Urban Eat Egg and Slow Roast Tomato Wrap

Who knew Sainsbury's now have gluten free options in their plastic sandwich section? (sandwiches wrapped in plastic known to normal people!). There was no song and dance about this range they were coming out with, so I was completely unaware until I went to get some sandwiches for my family and my sister spotted it!

They also have a lemon chicken wrap but they has sold out so I picked up this flavour, I think the fact they also have a vege and meat option opens up audiences to those who are gluten free and vegetarian.

I am not sure if all Sainsbury's stock these products or just mine as they are close to many competitors such as Costa who have a gluten free wrap, but either way I think it's great more places are becoming accommodating to peoples dietary needs.

The wrap is produced by urban eats and it certified by celiac UK, so we know we can trust these products, which is always a relief when you will be typically eating this on the go.

This flavour in particular was very pleasant, the combination of the free range egg mayo and tomatoes complimented each other well and the rocket and spinach made the wrap very light. I found it very enjoyable for lunch with some watermelon and an apple, pear and cranberry juice on the side.

The wrap is very much like the Warburtons seeded wrap, I would say it was the same wrap, however I cannot confirm this but either way it was delicious and I find seeded wraps much more filling!

This wrap is 400 calories which is average for a healthy sandwich. I felt the ingredients have been thought through carefully for calorie content as when there is not many options available you do not want them all to be high calorie, it's bad enough when chips are your only option in a cafe or restaurant!!

Overall I would most definitely purchase this wrap again as it is good for on the go. The flavours were complimentary and the textures had good contrast with the crisp leaves, soft wrap combined with the delicate egg.

Find more about this product on urban eat's website by clicking here


Hannah x

Money Saving Monday - Nectar Eshops

Nectar is arguably the most versatile loyalty card on the market currently, I know we all love our Tesco club card but some features of the Nectar Card are pretty awesome too.

My particular favourite is the Eshops feature, which is even better when you have the nectar app as they often run a bonus 250 points when you buy from an Eshop offer which you can activate to your card.

I know many people do not favour the nectar card as 1 point is 1/2p but I think it is quite reasonable as many places do not offer a loyalty scheme at all! I also find many shops I purchase from online have double and even triple points on purchases which can really add up and you would not receive this otherwise.

Using nectar Eshops could not be any more simple, all you do is visit their site and search to see if the shop you're purchasing from is there, it most often is. You then click on that site icon, enter your nectar card number in the box and then it takes you to the website where you can shop to your heart content.

When you come to check out you will not see any difference in the checkout process as I believe the nectar site tracks your spending through cookies, but I could be wrong. You'll see the points added to your account but this can take up to 30 days.

You can even sign your card up to your ebay account where you receive 1 point for very £1 spent. As I am a frequent online shopper I absolutely love this feature!

Places that I shop the most which are affiliated with nectar are:

• Boohoo
• Debenhams 
• The Body Shop
• Ted Baker
• Crew
• Filofax
• ASOS
• Next 
• Dominos
• Avon

There are over 500 retailers to choose between and I do use many more, just these are my favourites. So next time you are online shopping I would really recommend checking if they are nectar Eshop before you check out!

Hannah x 

Foodie Friday - BFree Fajita Pack!

This friday features the fajitas I made last week, unfortunately I had planned to get pictures of cooking, all the ingredients and the spread I had laid out. Unfortunately things didn't pan out and I had to rush some pictures. Sorry!

I brought this pack whilst at the free from show and I couldn't wait to cook them myself after I had tried their samples. The pack contains six wraps, a seasoning packet and salsa (which I didn't use as I had some fresh to use up). The pack recommended to use 400g of chicken and some onion. I also added pepper and had some dips and iceberg lettuce and tortilla chips on the side!

The thing I love the most about the seasoning is that it is not spicy, I do not cope with spice well and I find many fajita kits replace the flavour with spice. This kit is subtle and doesn't over power the other aspects of the dish. There is a perfect amount to lightly coat the chicken and other veggies I put in the pan.

The wraps are the main reason I brought the kit because 6 wraps included in a £4 kit is an amazing value if you think the Warburtons wraps are £2.50- £3 for 3 wraps in most places.

The BFree wraps are round and I believe from their texture I would say they are made using corn and rice flour. I put these in the microwave to warm them and they were a great thin wrap, not as fluffy as a regular wrap but because they are so thin and more dense they worked well as it gave a good balance to the dish!

However I did notice that my wraps did become harder as they cooled.  I am not sure if that is because I microwaved them or if it was due to being taken out of their vacuum pack. However this was not an issue as we were eating them all in the same night, but its good to note if your only wishing to use a couple.

If anyone can get hold of these kits I would most certainly tell you to give them a go. I have yet to find them local to me but I haven't checked ASDA yet so there is still hope!

Hannah x

Tesco Kids Cereal Selection - Gluten free.

I have had a very on off relationship with cereal for as long as I can remember, When I was a very small child (pre-school age) I couldn't live without my coco pops and every morning I would have to have a tea towel wrapped round me as most of it ended up on my lap rather than in my mouth!

Now older and more capable to eat (hopefully!) I have ditched the tea towel but I am still a fan of a choccie cereal when I feel like having a treat. So as I was browsing the gluten free isle in Tesco I found a variety pack, I had to give it a try.

The box is actually quite small but the packets inside are the same as you would find in a normal variety pack, this packaging actually made the product easier to store as it did not take up half as much as space as lots of mini boxes.

The pack contains 5 packs of cereals which included:

• 1 x Honey Loops
• 1 x Frosted Flakes
• 1 x Choco Nut Pillows
• 2 x Cocoa pops

The actual review of these will be quite short and sweet as they all tasted and looked IDENTICAL to their mainstream counterparts. However I had never had a cereal like the choco nut pillows before and I have to admit I did leave those to last as I wasn't too keen on the sound of them, but how wrong could I be!

The cereal was pillow shaped as described but inside was a filling very much like nutellla! YUMMY!  I really enjoyed these and I will most definitely not leave those until last again! 

Just because they say they are a kids breakfast, do not be put off as I found the portion size to be prefect for me and I really enjoyed them. The box is £2 which makes it 40p a portion which I think is very good value for a gluten free breakfast. 

I would love to know if you have tried any own brand food and been really impressed!

Hannah x