Christmas Cheese Board - Angelic Gluten free

When it comes to Christmas you most certainly can't do things by halves. You have to have the world's largest Turkey (even if it doesn't fit in the oven!), the glitziest wrapping paper and definitely the most extravagant decorations, so why should your cheese board miss out?

When it comes to picking crackers I don't think a typical cream cracker will do, they need a flavour to compliment the at least 30 different types of cheese on the board... okay maybe not that much cheese, but close enough! I do love cheese!

I have found that the Angelic savoury biscuits are my favourite. They have a dry consistency with a good snap and are very well flavoured, there is no mistaking the flavours they claim to be on the box, which is fantastic. I have raved so much about their products since discovering them so if you are interested in finding out more about Angelic, click here.

I will review the individual flavours that I have not yet done in the near future. But for today I would like to let you know what I like to choose to eat with each flavour.

Sweet Chilli
These are HOT, I am a bit of a heat fearer so these may seem pretty mild to you, but it doesn't mean that I do not love them! I think these go best with a bit of brie as it cools them down but does not overpower the good kick of chilli taste that I love. However being the chilli lightweight that I am two of these biscuits is more than enough in one sitting!

Cocktail Oatcake
These are a very plain biscuit so they go with most things. What I particularly enjoy with these though are smoked cheeses, as there is no other flavour to hinder the subtle smokey taste. These would also be great with a regular cheddar, or as I have been eating them lately with just a bit of butter, odd I know but don't knock it until you've given it a go!

Rosemary & Sea Salt
I found blue cheese was a superb choice to have with these savoury biscuits. The rosemary adds a depth to the flavour that translates beautifully in the mouth. Being the sophisticated person that I am, I actually found laughing cow blue cheese was my favourite with these biscuits. I also enjoy dipping these into houmous as rosemary is a flavour that really compliments the chick peas!

Sea Salt
Much Like the oat cookies, these are perfect partners for any type of cheese or pate on your cheese board. I found that these are great for a soft cheese, with black pepper or garlic infused as these are normally quite strong and the biscuit does not want to have a contrasting flavour when eating such a cheese.

I have found that Angelic's selection of savoury biscuits are very unique for the free from market, the flavours are not easy to find elsewhere and gives a more sophisticated choice for those who do not want plain crackers with their cheeses this festive season. For the RRP of £2.59, although many places are cheaper, I feel these are the best value for the flavours and quality of food you receive. They are also dairy and egg free so all of us can enjoy them!

I hope you all had a fantastic Christmas!

Hannah x

Snackly Gluten Free Snack Box - Open Box

I recently discovered Snackly when they followed me on twitter. They provide a monthly subscription box containing gluten free food which was a complete blessing as I have been searching for a product like this since I cannot eat Graze boxes anymore. When my box arrived I was so excited I had to have a sneak peak.

A box is £7.95 a month including shipping, for this you receive around 6 products. So for just over £1 per product you are able to try many new things you may never have heard of!

What was in my box?

Urban Fruit - Mango

The packet says that these are baked mango pieces. I love dried mango so I am sure I'll love these. On their website they have a lot of interesting flavours, such as pineapple and tropical, both of these excite me too!

Dosiy & Dam - Gogi and Orange Organic Dark Chocolate

What's better at Christmas than a bit of chocolate orange! This chocolate is a mighty 74% so I assume a little will go a long way! So this 40g jar should be more than enough! 

Joe & Seph's  - Popcorn with Caramel and Sea Salt

I have seen the full size bags at Cineworld but have never tried them. This sample pack is perfect to give the flavour a try, sweet and salty is one of my favourites so I am sure I'll love this!

May Smart - Fudge Chocolate Brownie

This is a small business, which when looking online started trading at the Free From Show at Olympia this year! It was unfortunate that I didn't see them. But I am excited to try this brownie as it is meant to be more or less allergy free. There is no gluten, wheat, nuts, tree nuts, soy, sesame, coconut, dairy, eggs and no artificial flavours and colourings.

Cambrook Almonds

This is an Almond brittle and is described as 'roasted almonds caramelised in a wonderfully fine glaze'. The only three ingredients in this are almonds, star and honey. Which as you know pleases me when I can read and know what all the ingredients are in a product. A bar is 242 calories so this is certainly a sweet treat!

Ceeba Treats - Yummy Coconut Brittle

The second brittle in this box is gluten free and dairy free with no syrup and butter. This too has a pretty clean ingredients list. It does have a few spices including cinnamon so lets hope its not too strong because it looks fantastic. 

I think this concept is fantastic and I will be reviewing this box at the end of January when I have tried everything and can put reviews in one post so you can see what I liked! The only downside to this box is that I had to look up each brand, where as beauty boxes I've had in the past give you a little write up from each brand, this may not bother many but I really like knowing about the brands and where these products are from.

If you have a Snackly subscription I would love to know if you get the same treats as I do not know if each box is identical!

If you would like to try Snackly visit www.snackly.co.uk and use the voucher code HANNAHMADE to receive a discount on your box!

Hannah x

*This box was a free sample to try, all opinions and views are my own.

Sainsbury's - Free From Mince Pies

One day last week I had my dinner in Sainsbury's cafe, which is not only great value but they are very good at catering to allergies and intolerances. I ordered my food and picked up an individually wrapped free from mince pie for later on. They had these last year so I was very happy to see them back!

This pie is shallow, which I much prefer to the deep fill variety, as the pastry usually tends to be my favourite bit! The decoration of a little star on the top instead of a lid I feel is very effective, with the dusting of icing sugar making it just that bit more festive.

I forgot to note down the cost but on average these individually wrapped cakes retail from £1.50 to £1.80, and have around 350 calories.

The pastry is a little harder than typical pastry and I would describe the texture as a cross between a pastry but with the hardness of a shortbread. It has great flavour and no odd after taste. I have always found pastry in gluten free form very hit or miss, but I think this one has a good mixture and balance of ingredients giving a mainstream pastry taste.

The filling is very much like a typical mincemeat, although I know many mincemeats are actually gluten free, for example Tesco finest use rice flour, which makes it more accessible to everyone. There is no spice or flavour that over powers another and this allows for a good flavour with well proportion to each flavour aspect. Particularly as I have said before I do not like things too Christmas spice in flavour, too much cardamon or cinnamon and I can't stand it.

The coffee shops in the local area have really put a great deal of thought into creating a good free from range. Both chains and independents.

If I can get hold of the Genius pastry, I may try making my own this Christmas! If I do I will let you know how they go!

Hannah x

What I ate Today!

As Christmas is getting closer, I am trying to eat a bit cleaner and healthier so I can enjoy my Christmas foods without feeling too guilty! So here is what I ate today:

Breakfast:

I was wanting to have Genius toast and grilled tomato which I have been loving over the last few days, but I forgot to pick up more tomatoes yesterday! Oops! So I put some peanut butter on my toast instead as its high protein to start the day. I also had a chocolate from my advent calendar.

Lunch:

This lunch time I am at work as it is a weekday, so I have a pre packed sandwich which I made with Genius brown bread, plain chicken pieces, mayo and tomato. I love turkey and chicken sandwiches and tomatoes are most certainly their best friend when it comes to sandwich fillings.

I then had 1/4 cucumber as I've been loving cucumber as well as tomatoes recently.

Snack:

A few Hotel Chocolat caramel buttons and a banana, because without a sweet treat I may go insane! I thought that balancing the buttons with a banana must make them healthy! Well ... I can keep wishing! 

Dinner:

For Dinner I had a Genuis chicken and gravy pie for the first time, it was fantastic! Review will be coming soon. This was accompanied by some mash and broccoli. 

Coffee:

As it was Tuesday, otherwise known in my house as Starbucks Tuesday, I had a medium Starbucks decaf skinny latte. 

It was a bit of a genius day! I'm sure next time I will have more of a mix!

Hannah x

DIY - Gluten Free Christmas Hamper

When buying Christmas presents for those who have dietary requirements, don't be afraid and feel you cannot buy them food as that selection box has the dreaded wafer chocolate or that nutty bar. Become creative!

Although I do not have any close friends that are gluten free, I know many people do and if I were to create a hamper for myself this is what I would love to unwrap Christmas day!

All my items are gluten free, but I cannot recommend this selection for any other diets as I have catered to the needs of those who are gluten intolerant, there is definitely dairy and other allergens in this hamper. But the great thing about DIY is you can find an equivalent that will suit your recipients needs.

My Hamper

I brought my basket from my floristry wholesaler for £2.50, floristry baskets are great to use as hampers because they are lined so if anything may leak it will not affect the basket. I know you have to be in the industry to access florist wholesalers but I'm sure you can find baskets in most places, I've know people to find some beautiful ones in charity shops.  This one spoke to me as it has Christmas ribbon around it.


What's in My Hamper 

Tesco Finest Free From White Chocolate and Cranberry Cookies - All the biscuits in this range are fantastic, I also like how the packaging looks more grown up and sophisticated than most free from food. All the varieties wrapped together would make a great gift on their own!

Hotel Chocolat Reindeer Lollies - Don't be afraid to buy food that's not from the free from section, as you wouldn't believe the amount of products you can actually find that are ok for gluten intolerance's. These are just milk and white chocolate in the cutest shapes!

Dairy Milk Vanilla Mouse Snowman - Because the Reindeer was clearly not enough!

Nakd Bars - These are a great option for those that enjoy a healthy lifestyle as they are all natural but taste like a sweet treat. You could also use eat natural bars as they are another great option for something healthier.

Angelic Sweet Chilli Savoury Biscuits - Ok so these are not actually in the picture but that's because I have not got any at the moment! But these are my favourite flavour to have around Christmas, they go great with brie and many other Christmas cheeses.

Mrs Crimbles Jam Coconut Rings - I like to look at these as a more healthy cake option as they are more nutritional due to the coconut but they taste so good and remind me of a coconut jammy dodger!

Helens Cupcake Mix - This gives your recipient something to do after christmas, I included christmas cases which were only £1 in Ikea.

Don't be afraid to look around the shops and find naturally gluten free products to throw in! Many crisps and nuts are also great as fillers.

Would you ever make a hamper for a friend or would you rather buy something pre-made?

Hannah x

Costa - Gluten Free Christmas Cake

Is it just me that doesn't really know what Christmas cake is? To be honest Christmas cakes confuse me, they all seem very much the same, filled with boozy raisins and always a deep shade of brown and look extremely and suitably stodgy for Christmas.

But being the gluten free food hunter that I am, I found these in Costa, I had to pick one up to try, purely because it was gluten free and I like to try as much as I can find as although gluten free is becoming more mainstream, it's not yet reached the point where you can eat anywhere you fancy and find any food you want.

The other main reason I picked this up is for the icing, I could just eat sheets of fondant icing by itself. I always thought this was the best bit of a birthday cake!

This cake I believe retails for around £1.65, I cannot quite remember, but I do know 10p is donated to the costa foundation, which supports coffee growing communities and considering the amount of coffee I drink I think this is a well deserving charity.

This cake is very rich, which meant I only managed to eat half. The texture is very much like a typical fruit cake with soft dried fruit suspended in a dense, almost sticky sponge. I am not always the biggest fan of fruit cake as I don't like food with too many spices such as cinnamon and clove, but these flavours are not present in this cake. It was actually a very subtle flavour for a fruit cake, combined with the icing and marzipan meant it definitely had the essence of christmas without full on spice explosion.

This cake is packed with fruit, from what I can tell it is essentially cherries and raisins, but there is nothing worse then being promised a cake filled with an ingredient and you get one or two if you're lucky! This also does mean it's quite a bit more nutritious than other cake like a brownie as it is much higher in fibre.

I found this cake was a good middle ground as it was not too spiced but at the same time it was most definitely a christmas/winter cake. It's a very naughty treat and 350ish calories, but that's what christmas is all about!


It's put me in the mood to get out Christmas films and stuff myself silly already!

Hannah x

Udis Gluten Free - Soft & Delicious Blueberry Muffins

Muffins are one of my favourite sweet foods because I feel they are very versatile,  what other sweet treat can be acceptably eaten at breakfast, lunch or dinner? In my search for the perfect gluten free muffin I have eaten more than my fair share of them!

I particularly enjoy eating muffins for breakfast so when I saw these blueberry ones I was really pleased, as this used to be one of my go to breakfasts when my sweet tooth called!

Udis blueberry muffins are also dairy free and retail for £1.90 for a pack of two,  95p each. I do feel all gluten free muffins are expensive, particularly since I brought the chocolate and toffee variety at the free from show for £1 a pack. Nevertheless they are one of the best muffins I have had that aren't a chocolate based mixture. Don't get me wrong I love chocolate, but there is a lot of free from chocolate based cakes, it's good to find something a little different.

One muffin is 277 calories, with 12.5 grams of fat, which is what I would expect for bakery goods, I have these as a occasional treat as they are not the most healthy of things. They do have blueberries though, so surely that makes it one of your five a day ;)... or at least that's what I tell myself!

This muffin has the lightest, fluffiest texture I have ever found from a gluten free muffin, very much like when you make packet mix mainstream muffins with oil instead of butter. Udis may have even made the muffins this way as the case is quite oily and this avoid dairy, I should have checked the ingredients to see! The muffin does not feel particularly greasy to eat, but does mean it just creates a moist mixture which is in no way dry, if anything they are more moist than a mainstream muffin.

There is a good amount of blueberries in the mixture, in fact I had to use the one with less blueberries in the picture otherwise the muffin looked purple! The blueberries have more or less melted into the mixture, so have no texture but the flavour still comes through strongly. There is no odd powdery aftertaste and can quite easily be mistaken for a 'regular' muffin.

I found these on tesco.com and this is the only place to date I have found these, but I am sure they may be found in your closest Tesco store, as their Udis stock seems to be growing in my store.

I really enjoyed these muffins and I would love to know if you have tried them, or any other great free from muffins for that matter!

I have a chocolate muffin comparison coming very soon!

Hannah x

Christmas at Costa

I first saw these wraps when I was away in Norwich, which was the weekend Christmas had launched in Costa, how exciting! However I only just got around to trying one on Friday, but it was well worth the wait!

If anyone knows me, they know Christmas sandwiches are my favourite part about christmas. Left over turkey, bacon, brie, cranberries. You name it, I love it in a wrap, sandwich or toastie. 

So when I found out there was a gluten free Christmas option, I could have cried with excitement. This is really not an exaggeration, as I love all aspects of Christmas! I believe I paid around £3.50 for this wrap, which is a pretty standard price for any food at a coffee shop, making this very good value for a gluten free product.

At 360 calories this makes a nice light lunch considering it tastes like it should really be a naughty treat. 

This wrap contained turkey, bacon, cranberry sauce, mayo and lettuce. I have found that this is very similar to their regular wrap (see review here) as chicken and turkey are both white meats, but as they are my favourites I really enjoyed this. However there is a twist of having the pop of extra flavour with the sweet cranberry sauce and salty bacon, giving the wrap a much needed Christmassy twist!

My only negative thought to this product was that only one half of my wrap had bacon in it! Obviously this review is based just on the one I've eaten so far, so I may find that the others I eat are evenly filled with bacon. I hope so!

Nevertheless Costa's recent gluten free efforts have not gone unnoticed,  I among many others really do appreciate the fact that there are now bread based products in coffee shops for the gluten free market.

We can now all do a gluten free dance for joy together for being more included with the festive season's snacks!

Now all I need to do is find some gluten free twiglets...

Hannah x

Amy's Kitchen - Gluten Free Chinese Noodles & Veggie's

It's getting much closer to Christmas! Which means fair season is starting, which also means rushing around more so quick meals are needed! So, my freezer is stocked up with a lot of Amy's Kitchen meals. I will always turn to these ready meals as they are the most natural gluten free ready meals I believe you will find in the supermarkets.

From frozen, Amy's Kitchen meals take around 40 minutes in the oven or about 6 minutes in the microwave depending on which meal. As I've said before most of the meals I have tried in the oven taste so much better but they are still incredibly tasty from the microwave.

Granted this meal does not look the most appetising in my picture but I think this has fast become my new favourite ready meal. This meal retails for £3.49 at tesco.com and  contains 490 calories, which for those calorie counters I think is a good balance for dinner.

There is a great mix of vegetables in this meal and this is one of the reasons as to why I love Amy's kitchen meals so much, they actually feel healthy, substantial and filling. I think it would be hard to find many other ready meals in general that contain the same amount of veg, particularly for the price.

The flavour that really stands out to me is the nutty sauce, which to me tastes like peanut butter, but I do believe it is actually cashew and sesame seeds. Either way I love anything that tastes nutty and this is a very unique sauce to find in a gluten free meal, it's not the typical safe cheesy or tomato sauce, and I really appreciate that as sometimes eating similar meals can get very tedious.

The noodles are very soft in texture and so are the vegetables as they have essentially been steamed in the microwave. This brings the flavours out nicely and all elements of the dish compliment each other perfectly.

Availability of this product is the only drawback, I have yet to see these in store, and I live in an area where all the major supermarkets have very large shops. I buy these on tesco.com, which is my go to when I cannot find gluten free food that I have yet to discover in store, so bare this in mind and I would recommend trying online to find some of these specialist foods, particularly Tesco if you have a tesco.com depot near as they do have an amazing range of products.

All I need now is to find some gluten free spring rolls and prawn tempura!

Hannah x

B-Free - Multigrain Wraps

I love wraps and when I had the B-Free wraps as part of a fajita kit I knew I would want these again, they are unlike any other gluten free wrap I have had before as firstly they are not rectangle, but they are also much thiner, more like a genuine wrap. 

Everyone knows my love for the Warburtons wraps, as they are delicious, but you cannot fool yourself into thinking they are identical to a mainstream wrap, nor can you with the B-free for that matter but with the mix of both you could, obviously you cannot eat them together but with a little compromising you get the best of both worlds. For that fluffier softer taste you tend to get from a wrap, I opt for Warburtons, and when I want a thiner texture (or lower calorie) I go for a B-Free wrap, so together I get everything I would want. 

This wraps has a flour mix which contains buckwheat, teff, corn, maize and by the looks of it some potato so this mean it should be relatively high fibre because of the wide range of gains and ingredients. These wraps are gluten, wheat, dairy, egg and nut free so I imagine almost everyone can safely eat them, which is a big plus when potentially catering to a variety of diets. At only 99 calories a wrap it is a very low calorie alternative to many bread products, it instantly halves the calories of a two slice of bread sandwich! 

The texture of these wraps is very very thin and are much less flexible than a typical wrap but they are very pleasant to eat, to soften these I make up the wrap for work the day before and pop it in the fridge, this lets the mayo I use soften them and make them just like a mainstream version. Heating these wraps also softens them, but I will warn you in advance, only warm what you know you are going to use as they go hard when they have cooled.

At the free from show the B-Free stand cooked these to make chips, although I've never tried doing this myself I could have tried to crisp up those one I let go hard, so they are a very versatile product. 

As you can imagine there isn't too much flavour to these wraps, which makes them perfect for filling with whatever you like, they leave no odd aftertaste and are overall a good bread plain bread product to use for lunches or dinners. 

I love these wraps and how you can use them in different ways as well as for different meals, from lunchtime wraps, dinner fajitas and tortilla chips these wraps will work for you.  Lets face it, anything that lets me buy more guacamole is a hit for me!

I would love to know what you like to eat with wraps!

Hannah x 

Caffe Nero - Coconut & Raspberry Slice

After saying I do not get to Caffe Nero nearly enough, I have found myself in there again! That's twice in seven days!

Whilst picking up one of my favourite drinks in Caffe Nero, I saw this slice by the till. I just had to give it a go. I thought that this was a very interesting product as it is quite different to the cakes that you would normally find as the gluten free alternatives in coffee shops.

This slice has around 250-300 calories (I looked but forgot to note it down) and retails for £1.65, which is on a par with their regular slices, so no extra charge for gluten free!

This is the most interesting thing I have eaten in a long time and I left was questioning how something like this could possibly be gluten free. This slice had a base very similar to short bread which was layered with a raspberry jam, then topped with coconut which I believe was slightly toasted. This slice was very crumbly but this was down to the coconut and not the actual biscuit base.

The combined textures of the softer biscuit base, the thick sticky jam and the dry crumbly coconut made this slice stand out from the crowd. It is very unique and I wish more places would offer something similar.

There is a very sophisticated taste to this product as the coconut gives the ordinary raspberry flavour a lift. Coconut is not found in many free from products as a flavouring so this also adds to the uniqueness of this product. The raspberry is very sweet and is toned down by the coconut. The biscuit base has no strong taste meaning no element is overpowered by another.

On reflection of all the other coffee shop cakes that I've tried, I think this must be my favourite!

Hannah x

Cafe Nero - Gluten Free Ham Salad Roll

Whilst away this weekend I have seen gluten free sandwiches and wraps in tons of coffee shops. Costa and Starbucks have new christmas wraps and Nero are not missing out!

As Nero is much less accessible to me unless I go into town, I picked one up to have for my lunch.

The roll was £3.50 to take away which I didn't think was a bad price considering it is a Genius roll and that coffee shops tend to charge a little bit more for food. Overall this roll really really impressed me as it was packed with ham, mayo and salad, there was a good mix of lettuce, tomato and cucumber.

We know how much I love genius bread and the rolls are no different, this I believe was the seeded roll, which I have not tried before, I tend to buy brown or white as I find seeded isn't often in stock, so it makes a nice change to try something I can't always get hold of.

I brought this the day before so the best before was the previous day by the time I ate it (living on the edge here!). This roll was prefect for me as it was very reminiscent of a roll I would make myself. Like many gluten free wraps I feel they are very conscious to make them an everyday type of filling, this way it will make it more universal and liked by most but also it means they are never heavy in calories, so if you are caught without lunch you don't feel you have to splurge on something high calorie.

The flavours were great, and worked really well together as it is a classic combination, the roll was very light but filling and I felt that it was the perfect amount for lunch.

My only complaint with this product is that the tomato made a section of the roll very soggy and by the nature of gluten free bread this turns the bread sticky, I tend to describe the texture as if you powdered rice and cooked it, this is what it would resemble. However this is something that I think will only occur if you ate it next day, like myself.

I genuinely cannot contain my excitement for all the gluten free sandwich choices coming out in the coffee shops and I'm extra excited to try all the Christmas ones as it's my favourite time of year!

Hannah x

Norwich - My Gluten Free Weekend

Every October/November James and I travel somewhere in the UK and spend the whole weekend shopping, eating and finding local tourist attractions. This weekend away was no different!

We spent most of our time in the shops and watching some fireworks in the centre of Norwich. Did you know they have a mustard shop?

When we checked in on Friday we were told about a firework display that can be seen in the centre of the city so we decided to see what was near to eat. James fancied having a pizza and we found that Pizza Hut have a gluten free base so nipped in there.

I started with the unlimited salad and then went for a margarita pizza, I think that the base of the pizza hut pizza has the best texture and taste of all the ones I have tried so far.

After the fireworks we popped into M&S to get some crisps, chocolate and drinks to have with the  film we were watching.

Saturday we had a cooked buffet at the hotel for breakfast which had all the aspects you'd expect from a breakfast.

This amazing cake was from No. 33, which is a little cafe I saw on other's youtube videos, mainly Tanya Burr's. This is the gluten free raspberry and chocolate cake which I could not believe was gluten free, it was incredible!

Dinner for Saturday we hit GBK who have the larger gluten free menu I have ever seen! I had a classic beef burger, the taste and texture of burger was fantastic. I had a 'Homeslaw' on the side side, which had a vinaigrette instead of mayo.

Eating out gluten free has got much easier and it was good to see so many gluten free menus!

Hannah x

Udis - Blueberry Breakfast Bar

For a brand that I hadn't seen much of until the Free From Show that I attended, I have recently seen Udis explode into all my local shops, perhaps I wasn't really looking before!

So, when I found these breakfast bars, I thought I would give these a try as you don't really see much of this type of product in the free from market. The box contains 5 reasonably sized bars, just watch out as the packaging is much larger than the product so it is slightly misleading, however the bar sizes are more than adequate. A box will cost you £3 in Tesco, meaning that these bars are 60p each which is not bad value for this type of free from product. The other great thing about these bars is that they actually have printed packets! So they won't end up in a shared cupboard with me being unsure whether they're my gluten free bars or my families regular ones.

These bars are around 150 calories each and the box claims that they are high in fibre. I actually eat these as a snack either mid morning or during the afternoon depending on how I feel. These bars are quite filling and keep me tied over until my next meal. I only allow myself to have one 'naughty' (not fruit or veg) snack a day during the week unless I'm really craving a sweet treat. These seem to do the trick and it's much better nutritionally than tucking into a chocolate bar!

The flavour of this bar is most interesting and 'grown up' in taste as the blueberry jam is very tart, however, the baked biscuit is quite sweet in comparison. The contrast causes the most pleasant and complex flavour, this makes the bar feel like a treat which would cost you much more calorie wise than it actually does.

The bar itself is very soft and almost bouncy in texture, very much like how the mainstream equivalent are. The jam's texture is very thick and more like the consistency of a paste rather than a jelly, this works well with the bar as otherwise it may seem a bit slimy when compared to the soft texture of the biscuit.

These blueberry breakfast bars also go great with a cup of coffee and are perfect for work after the mad rush first thing in the morning!

Hannah x

Warburtons Sweet Chilli Cracker Thins

Before realising I had to live by a gluten free diet, one of my go to lunches was Ryvita thins with vegetable batons, houmous, cheese and lettuce. Unfortunately those thins are now out of the question but whilst browsing in sainsbury's the other week I stumbled across these thins by Warburtons.

I have a very love hate relationship with Warburtons gluten free range, when things are good they are great but when its bad it's terrible, which is unfortunate but I never let that put me off trying something new from them. For a brand which are not 100% focused on gluten free living I feel many of their products are impressive.

This product is most definitely one of the hits of the range. The texture of the these thins have a great snap to them and considering how thin and long these are they are quite durable as none of them were broken which really surprised me as the mainstream alternative always had cracked ones in the box.

These have a great flavour, the sweet chilli is not too overpowering and the slight heat builds over time which I enjoy as I do not like a very spicy flavour to my food and this way I know when it will get too overpowering for me.

These are great with houmous as the warm of the chilli combined with the creamy texture and cool flavour of the houmous makes a pleasant experience. But then again I think I could eat houmous with anything!!

This box has made it's way into my work desk draw so I can nibble on them as and when I fancy a snack style lunch and at 25 calories each they won't break the dieting bank. I have seen on the box that there is also a blue cheese flavour so I am now on a hunt for those!

Hannah x

Halloween crispy Treats - Nestle Gluten Free Cornflakes

Halloween means one thing... Lots of naughty treats! So today I have made some chocolate crispy's and chocolate and marshmallow crispy's for my youth groups halloween party tomorrow, but as this is me and I want a nibble too I have substituted ingredients for a gluten free diet!

This is a super simple recipe I would have thought you all have done before but just incase here is what I did.

• One large bar of chocolate - half a bar for each recipe
• Nestle gluten free cornflakes 
• Mini Marshmallows
• Any decoration or chocolate chips, fudge chunks, glace cherries etc. of your choice

Chocolate crispy's are simple, melt the chocolate throw in the gluten free cornflakes divide into some cute cases and hey presto!

For the marshmallow version add in some marshmallows to melt down with the chocolate then mix in the cornflakes, this will be tricky as there is a very gooey consistency to this mixture, you can always add some water or milk to thin this down.

Throw in some whole mini marshmallows and chopped glace cherries or any other treat at this point for a twist to either mixture.

I spooned both mixtures into some cute halloween cupcake cases I found in Ikea for £1 and added some marshmallows on top of the marshmallow mix so those who are vegetarian know not to eat them!

Crispy cakes are quick and simple and you can even make these dairy free or vegan by substituting the chocolate for a dairy free alternative as well as any other ingredient which may not fit your diet.

Who said dietary requirements have to make life boring!

Hannah x

Gluten Free Fish and Chips?!?!?!

Around my local area I have seen more and more fish and chip shops having gluten free days. This is a vey scary prospect but yesterday I finally went to one of the chippy's to see what it was all about!

I am not going to lie I was verging on petrified whilst eating my dinner as it looked just like a regular battered piece of cod, granted the batter was slightly thiner and cruncher but still so similar it looked like the real thing. I found the batter tasted as I remember from a chip shop and it was lovely to be able to eat something and feel normal by joining in. I also had no issues after eating the meal which was great.

Although none of the fish and chip shops near me are on this list (possibly because they aren't part of the federation) I have found a list of a few gluten free chip shops here: http://www.federationoffishfriers.co.uk/pages/gluten-free-directory-596.htm

I would really recommend looking out for gluten free fish and chip shops, if I have three near me you must be able to find one too!

Hannah x

Tesco Finest Free From Oat and Raisin Cookies

Tesco finest has finally joined the gluten free game! This is a prospect I am very pleased about as I find many of the products in the gluten free market are aimed at children. This is not a huge issue to me as I quite like reliving my childhood, but bringing round a pile of animal shapes biscuits to other people's houses can raise a few eyebrows!

When I saw these on my local Tesco shelves I grabbed them as quick as I could, I was so excited I had to eat one in the car. This product certainly did not let me down it was just as well as otherwise my poor boyfriend driving would have had to put up with my disappointment speech all the way home!

There is no doubt these are the perfect consistancy oat cookies to me, as they are smoothly buttery, have a good chew and there are not too many raisins, as I do not like when raisins have a habit of taking over.

These cookies have a great chew to them and the oats have been nicely cut with no husk creeping in, which is a pet peeve of mine and puts me completely off any oat product. The raisins too are also soft which is perfect as a tougher raisin would have made an imbalance to the texture.

As for taste these cookies are quite buttery and subtle in taste, however this does make them very moreish so I have no make sure I limit myself.

James who is not gluten free tried one too and told me he couldn't tell the difference! So what is better praise than that!

A box retails for £2 and contains around 8 cookies, these cookies are the size of a typical biscuit so I think the value for money is great, particularly as this product is marketed in the finest range. I found these quite easily in my Tesco so with any luck they should be easy to find. If you do not have a Tesco store near you I would 100% recommend trying shopping online as not only it will give you access to the store but I find so many things that I never find in store.

Hannah x

What's In My Desk Draw - Gluten Free Style!

Today I thought I would do something a little different, I was sitting at my desk this afternoon and felt it was time for a naughty snack so I opened my desk draw where I keep my food and it suddenly occurred to me that since I no longer work from home all of us on a gluten free diet must have one of these draws at work, so why not show you what's in mine!

As you can see many products are in the draw awaiting review, some have been recently been reviewed and some are long term favourites and what I feel are essential! so Lets take a look!

Eat Natural Milk Chocolate with Peanuts and Cranberries

These are always in my desk as I find them a staple, I do prefer the dark chocolate with raisins and macadamias  but they were out of stock so I had to settle for these ones! They are good too but as a dark chocolate lover they can compare to my favourites. 

A kiwi spoon and knife

well this talks for itself really!

Whitworths Sweetened Cranberries

I have a few bags of these dotted around, I find them a great low calorie snack as a bag is 100 Calories and I can't even manage to get through a third at a time, I would recommend finding unsweetended ones but that can be quite tricky so I normally settle for sweetened. 

We Love Cake Cherry Bakewell Tart

I had two of these but the first one was eaten a few days ago, this one is sitting in my desk ready to be reviewed, so I need to resist temptation and not eat it until I have taken photos!

Natures Path Choco-Knobbly Crispy Rice Bites

I used to live on the fruity version of these, particularly when I was on holiday! But I think they are no longer produced as I have not found any in months, so I picked up a box of the chocolate ones, these are in my desk as a light snack but I will be reviewing these at some point in the future.

Prewetts Milk Chocolate Digestives

These are purely in my desk for review purposes as a biscuit is quick and easy to try at work, I also brought these in my lunch break so I thought I would just keep them here as I have an obscene amount of biscuits at home.

DS Gluten Free Crispbread

A pack of these are always by my side as these have a good texture, very little tastes and low calorie so they are great for eating cheeses, pates and anything you would put on toast really. 

Mrs Crimbles Original Cheese Crackers

These I recently reviewed here, but this pack in particular stays at work to eat with cheeses and houmous at lunch some days. 

Robinsons Squash'd Orange and Peach

We have bottled water at work so I sometimes give a squeeze of this into the bottle to have something a bit different. I keep it in my desk so I don't lose it on the mess I call my desk!

PG Green Tea Samples

Sample sizes are great for work so I tend to have packs of various mint, green or fruit tea in my desk, you'll never find 'normal' English tea as I cannot stand it!

Peanut Butter

I have a very small love affair issue with peanut butter so I have a tub at all times, I eat it with vegetable batons and the DS crispbreads, its high in protein so it can't be that bad! 

Todays post was a little different but if you're anything like me, it satisfied a bit of nosiness on a monday afternoon! 

Hannah x

Sunday Staples - Genuis White Sliced Bread

This week when Tesco.com substituted my typical wholemeal genius bread for the white variety, it suddenly dawned on me I talk about so many cakes and biscuits that I try but I don't talk much about the bread and staples I use on an almost daily basis.

Out of all the breads I've tried I have to say Genius is my favourite, I find it's the most true to taste bread and is not ridiculously dry!

I have heard people having issues with finding holes so large in this bread that it is no longer useable, I have brought over 100 loaves and I can agree I have found some with holes but never so large it is unusable so I think it must be unlucky to find a loaf in that state.

This bread is the size of a mainstream loaf whereas a typical gluten free loaf is smaller. This size is very convenient for sandwiches and toasties, as tiny toasties are never good! Each slice of bread is 99 calories and high fibre. The Genius loaves retail at around £3 each which isn't bad as it is an average price for a gluten free loaf unfortunately, but on the bright side I have received some coupons from time to time!

This bread has a bouncy soft texture and toasts to a crisp finish. This bread toasts well and takes roughly 5 minutes to toast to how I like it.

Genius have got their bread to taste almost identical to a mainstream loaf, granted this white loaf in particular is soft but isn't as soft as a mainstream would be, but I feel that's to be expected but the flour blend they have created tastes very accurate and has not got an unpleasant aftertaste.

I have found a vary comparable seeded loaf from the Tesco own brand free from range but not I've  ventured away from my genius loaf for a very long time for my wholemeal and white bread! That in itself shows how good this bread is!

Hannah x

Amy's Kitchen Broccoli and Cheddar Bake

Life has been rather busy of late and I like to eat as clean as possible, contrary to what it may seem with all my cake and biscuit reviews, but a little in moderation never hurt anyone, well that's what I like to  tell myself!

I always opt for an Amy's Kitchen ready meal as they do not have preservatives and are all natural. They are very quick and convenient in the microwave, but I actually had more time today as my family were eating gluten filled lasagne so I baked my meal in the oven, which makes them a million times better!

I haven't picked up this bake in particular before as I have a bit of a love hate relationship with broccoli, I can't stand it as a vegetable on its own but I love it within recipes such as soup. So I had overlooked this a little but I finally picked one up and I'm pretty glad I did!

This broccoli and cheddar bake consists of a cheesy pasta, very much like the mac and cheese they produce, within this is a good amount of broccoli and a breadcrumb topping.

Firstly I have to highlight how impressed I was with the amount of broccoli, there was huge pieces of florets within the bake, which surpassed my expectations as many ready meals, particularly mainstream ones claim to be a chicken and pasta bake for example and you don't always get that much chicken, so I think Amy's Kitchen have got the balance perfect.

The textures within this bake worked so well together. The cheesy sauce is thick and smooth which blended with the pasta and broccoli which is soft and tender, this then contrasts against the crispy breadcrumb topping.

The flavours within this bake worked very well together as you would assume. As I love broccoli and stilton soup, it was safe to assume cheddar and broccoli would also be a paring in heaven. The sauce does not over power the broccoli and all flavours within the dish were well balanced with no flavour shadowing another one.

Overall I really enjoyed this bake and would add it to my favourite list along side the thai curry, mac and cheese and lasagne!

I would always recommend Amy's Kitchen to anyone gluten free or not as I've not found a bad one yet!


Hannah x

Mrs Crimble's Original Cheese Crackers

I've really been in a cheese and cracker kick for lunch recently. It's quick and easy to eat at work and fills me up nicely until dinner. I tend to have two or three types of cheese with some fruit.

Today I have gone back to a firm favourite of mine that I have never actually spoke about. These are the Mrs Crimble's Original Cheese Crackers. These crackers are much more like actual crackers than the savoury biscuits I've been having so I got them out to make a change before I delve into more of my Angelic savoury biscuits.

Much like all savoury biscuits and crackers that are gluten free, these crackers are relatively fragile and I always have a couple which have broke in half in the box, this does not bother me but just be careful when putting your cheese on or they will break!

The texture to these crackers is what you would expect from it's mainstream counterpart. They have a good snap and crunch to them. They are a dry cracker much like a cream cracker if you have ever eaten one! I find these very pleasant and the perfect delivery system to get the cheese into my tummy!

The taste of these crackers as you would expect were slightly cheesy in taste but most importantly they do not have that gluten free aftertaste which these types of products can be susceptible to as replacing wheat flour with other flours in products that aren't greatly flavoured can lead to an odd taste.

I feel that these crackers taste and textures are comparable to the mainstream versions and so much so the people I tested them on couldn't tell that they were gluten free!

A pack of these crackers retail for £1.60 from all the big supermarkets. These are great value for money and easily accessible to everyone. They are only 79 calories for 4, what could be better than that!

I would strongly recommend to have a pack of these in the cupboard ready for when you fancy them or get invited to dinner where you know cheese and crackers will be served as they have over a year on their best before date and they are foiled sealed giving extra freshness.

Hannah x

Angelic Gluten Free- Double Chocolate Cookies

Everyone needs a chocolatey hit, particularly on a Friday! So today nobody has to miss out as Angelic's double chocolate cookies do not contain dairy, gluten or egg meaning we can all have one together (if we had a giant box that is).

These cookies are less that 75 calories per cookie and a box contains 8, which I feel is a generous number. Comparing these cookies to a size everyone could relate to I would say they are the same roundness as a can of drink, so they are a fair size. The box retails for £3.25 on amazon meaning these cookies are around 40p each which is good value for a sweet treat that tastes great. 

The texture of this cookie is as you would expect, a slight crunch as you bite but a slight softness to the centre with a hit of extra chocolate every now and then when you bite into a chocolate chip. Although I would consider this a quite a dry recipe there is no dry crumbliness to this biscuit that can be quite common in gluten free products. The only downside to this is that I can't insist on eating all the broken ones as I've never had a crumbly one!

The flavour of this cookie is what I deem as a cocoa flavour rather than a chocolate flavour as it is much richer and not as sweet as a milk chocolate style cookie. I really enjoyed this as I love a really rich bitter chocolate this is very much on the same lines so is right up my street!

I would recommend these cookies to those who enjoy a more bitter type of chocolate or chocolate biscuit or cookie as these are perfectly rich in chocolate without being too sweet, or too bitter for that matter. 

If you would like to know more about Angelic as they can not be found in mainstream supermarkets as of yet, click here.

I would love to know if you have tried Angelic's range and what you thought!

Hannah x 

 

Waitrose Love Life Gluten Free - English Muffin

Yesterday my parents went to Waitrose and came home with some treats to try! This morning I tried the first of the goodies they got for me, which were the english muffins.

I would have normally eaten an english muffin with cream cheese or cream cheese and salmon, but as I have never tried these before and wanted to see how they tasted stand alone so I decided to just use some butter this morning.

This product left me pleasantly surprised as in the past I have found most things that are bread based such as muffins and crumpets very disappointing. I always found that many of these have the typical 'gluten free' aftertaste. As I took the first bite I prepared for the aftertaste these may have but they didn't!

The texture is very bouncy and not at all dry, I did have generous helpings of butter though as thats how I like to eat toasted bread. the aeration in these are great, there is lots of tiny air pockets much like you would find if you bite into a wispa bar.

The pack contains three english muffins which I think is a good number as this covers a couple of breakfasts and I will not get bored of them or have the fear that they will go off before I've had a chance to finish them, as my freezer is full of gluten free breads! 

One pack will cost you £2.19 which I think is very reasonable price as that is a mear 73p per muffin and in gluten free terms that is amazing as things can get very expensive. 

The only downside I can see with this product is that I am fortunate to have access to all supermarkets and if you are not near a wait rose you will have to order these online. But that aside these are a great product and give another option for breakfast.

I would love to know what you eat these with if you try them!

Hannah x