Bear Raspberry Yo Yo's

Something a little bit more healthy today! Fruit is one of my favourite snacks. So when I can find fruit snacks that have a longer life and easier to carry around, I'm all for it!

Although intended for children I find these are not too childish looking, so there is no embarrassment when eating these in public! The packaging is very fun with bright colours and papery in texture which I find different and very interesting!

Each pack contains two yo-yo's and are only 27 calories each. They are 100% fruit meaning they are suitable for most allergy sufferers and even vegans! The only ingredients are apples, pears, raspberries and a little black carrot so are completely clean!

I find these taste just like raspberry jam, which in my opinion is the best flavour jam! Being much lower calorie as there is no added sugar makes it much better to snack on compared to some jam smothered toast. 

They are a thick dense texture with a slight tackiness. Reminding me of a thick paste, which is very similar to most dried shaped fruit snacks.

Retailing at around 70p a pack these are quite good value. I picked mine up in H&B as part of the penny sale, making them an even better deal and I could mix and match the flavours rather than having a one flavour multipack.

I really enjoy these yo-yo's and find them so convenient on the go. There is such a wide range of flavours which means you never get bored! Playing cards are included in each pack so are a great incentive for kids to eat more healthy too!

Hannah x

Honeybuns Tin - Open Box

Today my Honeybuns Prize was delivered for their 5000 followers giveaway! It had fantastic presentation, including a cute gluten free bee sticker which I've stuck on my monitor at work, as I thought it was very fitting.

To my surprise the tin contained 7 products! I thought it would have been a small box with three or four items to try. I didn't even expect a tin so this was really above and beyond my expectations and much appreciated after the Monday morning that I had!

Let me show you what I got!

St Clements Cake Cake Slice - £1.70
With a great taste 2013 proudly on its packaging, this slice describes itself as an orange and lemon sponge with almonds. It looks to be a very moist with the texture of lemon drizzle cake so I cannot wait to find out if it tastes like one but with a twist!

Congo Bar Cake Slice - £1.70
The Congo Bar I think will be very much like the Almond moon in it's uniqueness. Using polenta in the shortbread base, topped with caramel, chocolate and nuts. I think this may be the one I am most excited to try as it's so different to anything I have tried in the free from market.

Amondi - £1.50
I am a coffee addict so when I saw that this is their take on a gluten and dairy free amaretti it was quite exciting. This too has a great taste gold award 2007 on the packaging so I have got high hopes for this product. Just need a trip to Costa now...

Milk Chocolate brownie Cake Slice - £1.70
I think I may have had this product before in a coffee shop a long time ago because as soon as I saw it I thought I recognised it. It must have been before my blogging days as I would have paid more attention and a post would have sure cropped up about this! This brownie also contains coffee and almonds so is right up my street as I love coffee and almonds, as I previously said. So I will be very happy to rediscover this!

Chocolate Caramel Shortbread Mini - £1.05
Another of the best sellers in the tin! The shortbread in this slice incorporates polenta much like the Congo bar but also almonds, so will have a nuttier taste. This is topped with caramel and chocolate! What could be better? This Millionaires shortbread style slice is my Dad's all time favourite cake so I'd better hide this up and make sure I bring in some mainstream Millionaires slices when I take this to work!

Snowy Hills Cake Slice - £1.70
Unique is something Honeybuns do so well. This slice consists of a ginger, polenta and almond shortbread which is topped with a lemon sponge. You might have guessed it, this too holds a great taste gold award 2010 as do most of their more niche quirky products, which you just do not find the main supermarket brands doing. This makes the products really stand out from the crowd as I see these as more comparable to 'normal' foods rather than the typical free from sponges and biscuits I can find anywhere.

Heathcliff Brownie Mini - £1.05
It can't just me me that does their best Kate Bush impression when reading the name of this brownie?!?! A 2005 great taste gold winner. Like its sister this brownie has an almond and chocolate base, but what makes this even more delicious sounding is that is is make with two blends of dark chocolate and some orange thrown in for extra goodness! Chocolate orange is one of my boyfriends and I's guilty pleasures so this will be another one that's being hidden until I polish it off!

I think it would be fantastic for Honeybuns to make a mystery box like this as a product, as I think it would make a great gift or even just to try something new. They do have gift sets online but from what I've seen you know what will be in the box. I love mystery/subscription boxes that have emerged over the years and although I think a subscription service or a one off purchasable temping tin from Honeybuns would certainly brighten my day!

Hannah x

The Foods of Athenry - Multiseed Gourmet Cracker

We are back on savoury today as I have noticed over the past month or so other than eating out I have had a lot of sweet items feature on this little space of the web. I do tend to prefer sweet to savoury. When the weather brightens up, I think nothing beats a raspberry lemonade!

But today I have another great find courtesy of Snackly of the savoury variety. These are the Multiseed Gourmet Crackers from The Foods of Athenry, which are gluten and wheat free soda bread toasts. I am not sure if mine arrived a little broken when hitting the floor from the post box or if they were broken down to fit into a sample. Either way this isn't an issue as I tend to break crackers and crisps up to dip them.

I had these for my lunch with some vegetable batons, M&S Mexican houmous and M&S soft spreadable cheddar. I know those two dips sound odd together but I like crackers with a cheese and veggies with houmous, so that's what I had!

These crackers are free from wheat, gluten, artificial colours, artificial flavours, preservatives, hydrogenated fats, yeast, eggs and are only 66 calories for 25g. The ingredients are relatively clean, there is 27% seeds in these crackers which makes them quite nutritious. This is always a plus for me because I can tend to go through phases of binging on empty calories as snacks, if a box of these are near, this hopefully wont happen!

These crackers are very much like melba thins in both taste and texture. Being a very dry cracker they have a good snap and the seeds give them a good crunch as well as a fantastic flavour. The seeds that stand out to me are sunflower and pumpkin, this maybe because they are two of my favourite seeds and I have been known to eat them in handfuls in the past!

I found that the flavour was very interesting and much more complex than I imagined. I thought that the flavour would be plain as I have had similar products in the past and enjoyed the texture but needed to dip them in something to have some sort of flavour. These differ from those as they have used the seeds as a real flavouring rather than an afterthought, which I think is the case with many other brands.

Although these types of crackers have a dry texture they do not translate this way in the mouth. I found that I had eaten half the pack without even dipping them because the flavour really stood up on its own and was very enjoyable. I would say if you are not a fan of seeds you may not enjoy these as much as I do but I still think they have a universally enjoyable flavour and I think they would be fantastic broken over soup as croutons!

If you got these in your snackly box, why not let me know if you loved them as much as I do or if I'm just a seed nut! If you are not subscribed to snackly, you can find them here, and if you wanted to try these crackers they retail for £3.25 and can be found here!

Hannah x

Honeybuns Bakery - Almond Moon Mini

Yet again Snackly have hit the nail on the head in finding fantastic smaller brands. As you all know as a small business owner myself, I have always had a soft spot for supporting smaller, more personal feeling brands.

If you are like myself and haven't heard of Honeybuns before, here's a bit about them. Honeybuns is a small Dorset based business which was started in 1998 in student digs! Now I didn't go to uni myself but my brother is currently a post grad student, imagining him trying to bake in a shared kitchen I find hysterical as they are always fighting for oven space so it would bound to end in flour, sugar and butter everywhere! So to me being a start up bakery in student digs is incredibly impressive! They now have a very large social media network, including Facebook, Youtube, Twitter, Pinterest, Blogs and an online shop. You can also purchase their baking book, if you want to try and be creative in the kitchen yourself!

On another note their packaging is biodegradable so for those of us that are conscious of the environment and think the mini's contain a lot of packaging, this has already been thought of and catered too!

Today I am going to be reviewing the Almond Moon Mini that was sent out in the Snackly box. This slice was a bite size style which is right up my street, having a large slice in one go does overwhelm me, so these pre portioned smaller slices that I don't have to cut down means that I can throw it in my bag for work and I don't have to worry.

These Mini's retail for £1.05, which I think is good value for a smaller brand and the quality of ingredients. Being able to try a variety of flavours without the fear of them all going bad before you get to finish them is something I really enjoy as I hate wasted food! But if you do fall in love with a flavour you can buy a larger slice for £1.70 which could be cut down to bite size. Or you can opt for a whole tray bake for a mere £6.70, there's even a large tray bake for £17.15, which could also be fantastic for family gatherings and parties.

The flavour of the Almond Moon is incredibly similar to a cherry bakewell, which I do find interesting as this slice contains cranberries rather than cherries. I put it down to the almond base, which is also a prominent feature of cherry bakewells and that could make the cranberries translate as a slightly cherry taste as both are red fruits.

The slice itself has a biscuit crumble base, similar to a homemade cheesecake, with a thin layer of a thickened cranberry sauce in the centre which is almost a jam in texture. This is layered with a luxury crumble style topping. This consisted of large chunks of almonds and slices of dried cranberries. The slightly more crumbly mixture and the thick sauce held each other together well and complemented on another in taste and texture. I love almonds but I do think they are quite a dry nut in flavour and are not very oily, so combining this with the thick sweet cranberry sauce made the flavours blend together well.

I am definitely very interested in trying more from Honeybuns as I really enjoyed this slice and I think is one of the most unique gluten free cake slices I have had in a while and for that reason I would 100% recommend trying this slice as I think you'd love it!
 
Hannah x

M&S Gluten Free Millionaire's Caramel Crispy Mini Bites

I have had nothing but praise for M&S since my local M&S Foodhall opened, today is no different! I saw this tub of crispy bites and I knew I had to try them as I used to love all the bakery tubs of bite size treats in the supermarkets.

These retail at around £3 and contain a good number of bites. At 70 calories a bite these are not a light on calories treat, particularly when they are addictive and I end up eating three at once!

The bite is made up of three layers, a chocolately rice crispy layer, a thick caramel and a sheet of chocolate on top. The rice crispies are very much the same as you would expect any rice crispy to taste. The chocolate in this mixture works well and I enjoy that they decided to incorporate some into the base, as the crispies are quite light they have a good crunch. The caramel is thick but not hard, it keeps its shape but is soft enough to become a little stringy when bitten into. The chocolate is a hard piece on the top, however this too is a little softer than regular chocolate and reminds me more of the texture of baking chocolate, so it's not too hard compared to the other textures. This creates a softer but still crunchy texture in the mouth and makes them very moreish!

I found the flavours worked well and the caramel was not overly sweet. The chocolate was milk so this too did not overpower and overall created a well balanced flavour. 

I would and have repurchased these and I think they are fantastic! The only drawback is the calorie content because it is so easy to eat 300 calories in one sitting and where they are more of a snack they are not very filling compared to other things you could eat for 300 calories, such as some protein like chicken. 

I think these will be great for sweet buffets, parties and movie nights as those who don't have gluten intolerance's (particularly my family as I returned to an empty tub) will enjoy them too!

Hannah x 

Things I miss being Gluten intolerant!

 I like to keep this blog a happy space where I share the joy of finding great free from products and advising on products I don't enjoy as much! But I never say sometimes how grotty being gluten intolerance when you get a craving and you just can't find a free from version!

I know many things I could make myself and I do when I have the time, but sometimes you just want to be able to pick them up and not have to worry if you have all the ingredients, enough time to make them and if they will turn out ok.

Random picture of my Breakfast as I cannot do a post without a photo!

So today here is the top 10 things I miss.

1) Pork Pies

These are one thing I really miss around Christmas. It was the only time of year other than the occasional summer holiday we would have one. But Christmas is just not the same without one!

2) Quavers

Quavers were always my crisps of choice (no wonder I was always ill!) but I have yet to find a free from alternative. Wotsits are gluten free which is a god send as I love them but quavers are not and I really wish we could have a gluten free version as I do really miss them!  

3) Cocktail Sausages

Another food I associate with Christmas and parties. The smell of frozen cocktail sausages cooking at my Gran's house is the start of Christmas to me, so not being able join in and pick any up in the shops is torture!

4) Chow Main

Chinese is one of my favourite types of food, so being gluten free and wanting Chinese is bad all round!  I miss chow Main a lot! The noodles are my favourite and I also miss prawn toasts and all the filo pastry snacks!

5) Weetabix

For obvious reasons these are not gluten free, but I did used to love them, particularly the mini ones with chocolate chips in. I am waiting for the day of gluten free oatibix!

6) Bakery Rolls

There is not a better smell in life than freshly baked bread. So for obvious reasons, when I am by a bakery and all the cheesy rolls, tear and shares, cheese straws and crusty rolls are still warm and smelling amazing I become so jealous of everyone else picking them up for their lunch! 

7) Doughnuts 

These are my one greatest love in life, Doughnuts are my world, many a time before knowing I was gluten intolerant I would hunt down a shop for a raspberry doughnut. To this day I have still not got hold of a free from alternative. 

8) Quiche

I know DS do a quiche but it can be hard to locate. Also personally my favourite flavour was feta, broccoli and spinach which I used to buy from the Morrison's bakery. I know I could and really should make one myself, but buying a single slice for lunch was so handy!

9) Chicken Kiev 

Another product DS has just released, but the chicken kiev I am thinking of is the ones we buy from our butcher. The bone is still on which makes the chicken is so juicy and the garlic butter oozes into the bread crumbs. It was by far my favourite meal and I have yet to find anything since that could even compare slightly to this. 

10) Dark Chocolate/Dark Chocolate Caramel Digestives

The day Mcvities decide to create a free from range, I'll be the first one in line! The dark chocolate and dark and caramel digestives used to be one of my favourite treats. I love how the dark chocolate has a slight more of a snap and the caramel is thick in texture but isn't too much of it. 

All These products I really miss and would love to know if you have found alternatives to these!

Is there anything you just can't replace on your free from diet?

Hannah x  

What is in my Snackly box? - April 2015

This month is the box of reappearing products. All our favourites are making a second appearance, and for those who are new to the box it gives you a chance to try them!

When I first opened this box I was not as excited as last month as I saw everything was bar shaped and I do like picky snacks, but once I read what the products were that all changed! 

I also really like the new printed card that came in the Snackly box, I hope this will lead to RRP and product descriptions on them in the future!

So what was in my box?

Chika's Plantain Crisps RRP - £1.45
As I said before when I saw these in my box banana chips are one of my favourite snacks but I've never thought about trying plantain even though it is in the same family. These chips are also quite a bit healthier as they are not coated in sugar, it only has sunflower oil and salt so is much more clean. The whole bag contains 178 calories and feels much more than what you can eat for the same calories of banana chips. I have yet to eat the other chips as I bought a bulk of banana chips before receiving them and I have them in my snack box waiting for when I used up my banana chips or a holiday/weekend away as they are sealed! 

Dosiy & Dam - Coconut & Lucuma Dark Chocolate - £1.75

We received the orange variety at Christmas and now coconut as the weather has got hot! I am a very seasonal eater, I love different flavours certain times of the year so this caters to summer loves, along with berries and vanilla ice-cream. I even may have it with that combination and grate it over a bowl of eton mess! 

Cobbs Bakery Gluten free Luxury Beligain Chocolate Brownie - RRP ?
As in my last post that included this product I  cannot find the price for this. In the last post I said that I  am not sure how I feel about this product as as I opened the box I thought 'oh another brownie' as I see brownies everywhere. But I have to say although it is a brownie and brownies are a very common product. This is a very very good brownie and I will happily eat another... It would be rude not to! ;)

Honeybuns Mini's - Almond Moon - RRP £1.05

This 'bite' bar contains two of my favourite ingredients, Almonds and Cranberries. This bar is a perfect size for me as I don't like too much in one go so I know this is perfect to have as an afternoon treat snack. I have looked on their website and this has won a great taste award 2010! I am hoping that this will be delicious as many items on their site look amazing and could be great for reviewing and they are a little bit different to supermarket cakes! They even have mixes. 

The Foods of Athenry - Mulitseed Gourmet Cracker - Full Size £3.95

I am not sure if these are meant to be little pieces or if mine have broken! I love cheese and soups, which is what I tend to eat these type of crackers with so I will be trying these with them and see what I think! At only 66 calories a pack this keeps well within the healthy lifestyle we all long for! 

Acti-snack - Sweet and Sour Mango - Full Size £4.99

At 98 calories, this is one of the most interesting things I have seen in a while. I have read the ingredients and it only contains mango and sugar. I am assuming the 'sour' will be unsweetend mango pieces. I enjoy regular dried mango so I will have to see how these compare!

I hope you all got some lovely treats in your Snackly box!

Hannah x 

Udis - Chocolate Flavour Sandwich Cookies

After what must be months of searching the Sainsbury's shelves after I received an email advert from DS for Oreo style biscuits, I finally found the Udis variety. However I almost didn't pick them up as I think £3.50 for 8 biscuits is absolutely crazy! I know the DS version is £1.40 but I have yet to find them but I hope to make a comparison when I do.

These are not only gluten free but are dairy free too, so they are quite a safe option to have for when those who have allergies come over for a cuppa.

A biscuit is around 70 calories and is the same size as an Oreo. I found that they are very much the same as a mainstream Oreo including similar embossing on the top. There is a slight exception for the fact that they are a little more grainy and leave a slight powdery after-texture in the mouth for a couple of seconds. But on the whole they are very accurate!

The biscuit is the typical dry texture as you would expect, which has a more of a crumble than a snap. I find this works well as the crumbs stick to the white and doesn't flake away. The taste is very dark like a typical cocoa rather than chocolate taste you get from Oreo's.  I was also very surprised as for a dairy free cookie the white middle is creamy and much softer that I anticipated, I would even say its a bit softer than the mainstream version.

I found these very addictive and ended up eating two or three in one go, which wasn't great as this made my snack 88p-£1.30 a go. I know that gluten free food tends to be a bit more expensive, but at that price I feel that is more of a coffee shop or handmade small business price rather than what you would find in a supermarket. As I felt these are significantly more expensive than the other biscuits on offer in the gluten free section and have a lot less in the box.

I did really enjoy these cookies but I would only buy them very occasionally as I cannot justify the cost, particularly at the speed I ate them! I think both flavour and texture is very accurate, and what makes them even better is that you don't get the black teeth like with real Oreo's!

Hannah x

Provena Gluten Free Haul!

Last week I received a box from Provena. Provena is a Finish company which will be available here very soon! Their product range of mixes to bake and oat based products is very intriguing to me, as I love to bake but sometimes you want to have a quick bake without having to weigh out too much!

I will be reviewing each product, but for now I thought I would show you what I was sent!

Instant Oat Meal - Raspberry
This box contains 5 pre portioned sachets of oatmeal. Very much like every other instant porridge/oat product, all you have to do is add your choice of milk or water, microwave and hey presto! A hot bowl of oat goodness!

Jumbo Oats
As it says on the box these are just oats, so perfect for making granola, topping yoghurts, making porridge, or as they suggest on the box use them to top an apple crumble! Yum! This box of oats is so versatile and is a staple in any cupboard. I have found a Finish website that sells these oats for almost £5 but I am not sure how much they will be from Provena themselves.

Chocolate Muffin Mix
Another gluten free chocolate muffin mix! These are always a hit with me as I am a bit of a chocolate lover. I enjoy baking my own so I can make them into smaller snack sized cupcakes as a muffin or cakes in general can sometimes be a little large for me, I much prefer to have the choice to eat a couple, than struggle through one. I am looking forward to baking this!

Oat Bread Mix
I am very apprehensive about this product as I have only done a bread mix once before and I made a complete mess of it! I am clearly not a talented bread baker, but practice makes perfect and it does not look too tasking! Famous last words I know... But there is only one way I will get better at it. So lets hope I can create a somewhat presentable loaf from this mix... we will see!

Baking Flour with Oats
Another great thing to have in the cupboard, I do enjoy baking when I get the chance so I always keep flours, sugars and flavourings in my cupboard. I have a new gluten free baking book which has some recipes calling this flour's name!

I will update you when I know prices and where we can get hold of these products on here and also on my twitter @hannahmadeblog

Hannah x

M&S Gluten Free Haul

As promised here is my M&S haul. I have only featured my gluten free labeled food, but I am thinking of showing a full food haul so you can see all the other foods I eat. But for now I'll just show you my small collection of free from foods!

What I bought!

• Extremely Chocolatey Millionaire's Caramel Crispie Mini Bites - £3.50ish- These are mini crispy bites with a layer of chocolate and caramel. Delicious! 

• Caramel Pecan Crunch Bar £1.50ish - This bar has a biscuit base with a caramel top laced with chocolate and pecans.

• 2 Hot Cross Buns -£2.20 - Two raisin filled hot cross buns, perfect easter treat!

• Stone Baked Ciabatta -£2ish - I thought that these would be perfect for panini's

I lost the receipt, oopps!! So I cannot remember the price of anything, hence this 'ish' after each price!

I'm looking forward to all these tasty treats!

Hannah x

M&S Cafe - Gluten Free Options

Everyone knows my love for M&S food hall, so when one opened down the road from me I was ecstatic! I have brought many a lunch and groceries since it opened (a gluten free haul is on its way!) But today for the first time I tried their cafe. I found they had plenty of gluten free options although the ploughman's sandwich I wanted to try was out of stock!

They do also sell gluten free sandwiches in the shop, but mine have yet to stock them in store as it is very new.

Items to choose from in the cafe that I saw:

• Chicken salad sandwich
• Cheese ploughman's sandwich
• Pecan and caramel slice
• Brownie
• Salted crisps
• Cheese and onion crisps
• Salt and cracked black pepper crisps
• Jacket potatoes

I had already picked up a pecan and caramel slice in the store so I just opted for the last chicken salad sandwich and a small decaf latte. 

The sandwich was around 450 calories and filled well with chicken pieces, cucumber, lettuce and tomato. I found the bread was a little on the drier side but at the same time it was not overly dry, just a bit different to the Genius bread I'm used to. I think if I can find this bread in the store, it would be great toasted with soup or cut into squares and lightly fried to make croutons or a breakfast fried bread. 

The sandwich was £3.95 which I do agree is on the pricer side of pre packed sandwiches but it did have a lot of filling, much more than other pre packed sandwiches and is great for convenience or as a cafe option to go to when eating out with others. My latte was £2.15, totalling £6.10 for a lunch which is quite a competitive price when you take a look at other cafes and coffee shops in the gluten free market.

I really enjoyed the M&S cafe and with so many options I would certainly visit again as I know they will always have something for me, including jacket potatoes. 

I have noticed that coffee shops are becoming more conscious of us gluten free lot! I think M&S and costa are my favourite for choices so far! 

Hannah x

McDonalds the gluten free way!

A fast food burger place tend to make a gluten intolerant run for the hills, but not today!  I wanted to share with you my tips and tricks for eating out without becoming unwell! The key is to find a McDonalds and you will be safe (from my experience you will be anyway!)

As you have more than likely seen on the adverts that McDonalds burgers are 100% beef, meaning no fillers! This means you can order a burger without the bun and it will be gluten free, I have even been informed that the big mac sauce is also gluten free so you can even feel safe with most of the sauces.

The chips are fried in their own friers to avoid cross contamination and they treat you normal even when you ask for meals without the buns. To date I have eaten many times in McDonalds and not become unwell, but as I always say I am a self diagnosed gluten intolerant and I don't know if I have celiacs or not but I am EXTREMELY sensitive to gluten, however if you feel you are at greater risk of being affected through cross contamination do what you feel comfortable or even talk to the staff as they tend to be very happy to help.

Lets take a look at what I ate!

I tend to go for a Big Mac without the bun but today I had a double cheeseburger and chips, which is basically the same thing just with a different sauce and some salad. Which to be fair looks much more appetising than this photo... opps! Trust me it still tastes great! I also had some ketchup to dip with, McDonald's stock Heinz sauces so is perfectly safe!

I also have a diet coke and when I am in the mood for something sweet I will get a Mcflurry, just beware of the flavours you choose. I pick dairy milk normally as it one I know is gluten free but creme egg is out at the moment and I looked it up and this too is gluten free, so I have been filling up on that before it's gone!

I would love to know if you have any tips for eating out I'd love to know!

Hannah x