Genius Gluten Free - English Muffins

After realising I am just not a crumpet person, I have thought I would give some english muffins a go! I am currently in a shop the cupboard phase as I have accumulated too much food! Anything I find interesting and think you would all like to see, I just buy it, leaving me with huge piles of food! I am on a mission to get through it all and as a lot is porridge and other warming food, it's the perfect season!

I did treat myself to some bread though as I was getting a little bored of the lack of it, so I opted that these did not have too many in the pack, just a welcome treat!

These muffins are very squeezable, which is a very well trusted test for me! If the bread has a nice bounce, it tends to be lovely and airy, not dry and crumbly. So I was very pleased when I cut these open and they had a beautiful texture!

Toasted for a couple of minutes on each side, these muffins cook perfectly and become lovely and crisp. I have had these plain, with black pepper cream cheese and with scrambled egg and salmon and I have to say they do not become soggy even with a topping which has more moisture to it, which is fab, as many gluten free breads turn quite pappy when a wetter substance is added, but these held up really well.

A pack retails at £2.25 and has 4 in a pack making each muffin making each muffin around 57p each, which in gluten free terms is not too bad. As well as being gluten free these muffins are also milk free, but do contain egg. Each muffin is 121 calories so are great option as there is a lot of bread and is quite filling, they are relatively low in fat and sugar too compared to many other free from breads I have tried!

Overall I think these are fantastic on value, quality, taste and texture and I honestly could have eaten the whole pack just with butter as the flavour was perfect. I would 100% buy these again once I have eaten through my cupboard and my freezer!

Hannah x

Schar Gluten Free - Sausage Roll

Since DS and their sister company Schar have combined, I have taken the opportunity to give some more of their products a go! I think I had these a few years back, but wasn't too impressed. But I think that was partly down to me over baking!

So I gave them a second go, and I am pleased to say I am much more impressed this time, they are fantastic, I also baked them differently. As I have been taking these to work I have been baking the night before in the oven and then when at work I microwave for a minute or so on a plate with a paper towel on to absorb any condensation, keeping the pastry crisp!

The flavour of this product is lovely, the sausage meat is succulent and flavoursome, with a seasoning that brings the flavour to life. The pastry is quite understated, which I find in terms of gluten free is a good thing, countless times I have had pastry with the oddest aftertaste, which has ruined it's accompaniments. I am pleased that this pastry is just a crisp coating for the sausage meat.

I would certainly buy these again and as they are frozen it allows you to just have them on hand if you need a quick lunch or as Christmas is getting closer, those who drop in and you need to find something to feed them, cut into four or five pieces these could even be part of a buffet!

For around 232 calories I find that these sausage rolls are quite filling and I have either had a side salad or a fruit pot, sometimes even both afterwards! There is 13g fat per roll, but with pastry and sausage meat, this I feel is to be expected. So although quite low in calories, there is a considerable amount of fat. Something which is fine in moderation, just don't make it part of your daily diet!

For two sausage rolls, these retail at £2 per pack, there is always coupons to be found at shows and online, which tends to mean you can buy them in bulk once coupons have been circulated. I had a £2 coupon in the post recently, so you could even get them free! Even if you do not have a coupon, £1 per pre-made sausage roll isn't too bad considering it is a convenience food. Also with these higher price points to gluten free food, I find I tend to eat much healthier too, as I bulk out everything with fruit and veg!

I would love to know what you have tried from Schar, I have to say I have had some of the biscuits and have been very impressed too!


Hannah x

What's in My Snackly box?

It's November Snackly box time! This month there was no card in the box and from what I see no real theme, just great snacks! So without furthermore lets see what I got in my box!

Honeybuns Mini's - Milk Chocolate Brownie - RRP £1.05
You all know by now my love of Honeybuns, I have a few of their gifts on my Christmas list! The milk chocolate brownie is a classic and is an all time favourite of mine. Made with chocolate, coffee and almonds, what's not to love?

Quibbles - Sour Cream and Onion Cashews - RRP £0.90
Sour cream and onion is one of my favourite flavourings so seeing cashews coated in this flavouring is exciting! 179 calories for this whole pack, this is a great snack packed with protein!

Gnaw Peanut Butter Milk Chocolate - RRP £2.50 full Bar
A salted caramel Gnaw bar was in the box a few months ago but I wasn't actually too keen on the flavour, I think that there was a little too much salt, which made the caramel taste burnt, but my family liked it so it may be just me! I LOVE LOVE LOVE peanut butter, so I think that this is a great bar to give Gnaw a second go! The whole bar is 280 calories so if you wanted a treat evening I think you could get away with eating the whole thing!

Zoot Enduro - Cashew Supreme - RRP £1.50
Claiming to help maintain your energy, this bar looks very much like a Nakd bar in packaging and size. The ingredients are peanuts, cashews, dates, sultanas, sunflower seeds and vegetable glycerine, meaning they are quite clean! 160 calories and being free from gluten and dairy and being high fibre and a source of protein, it seems to be good all round!

Peace of Cake London - Abricotini - RRP £12 for full bag
Free from gluten, wheat, lactose and dairy, the only allergen this product seems to have is egg. I have no other way to describe these but as little soft cake like biscuits! I think I had these in a box before but the were snaffled off me before I had chance to try, so I will make sure little fingers won't reach these! On the website they seem to be layered with jam and stuck together much like a macaron.

Lastly we got another teapigs tea, this month I have got everyday brew!

I would love to know what you got in your Snackly box!

Hannah x

Tesco Free From Tiger Rolls

Never has gluten free eating felt so normal as it has over the last year. It seems everyone is moving in leaps and bounds to make a substitute in everything! I saw these rolls in Devon but it was on my last day so I didn't want to bring them all the way back! But I have only just managed to find them in stock in my local shop!

In packs of four, these rolls are perfect to cover a whole week of lunches for work as there's not too many so they don't go off before you manage to eat them all! I also think that for £2 is a fantastic price as this is only 50p per roll.

There are 208 calories per roll and 1.8g sugar, which I think sounds like quite a bit, although there is 3.2g fibre, which in all accounts is quite high for a white bread roll, which is fantastic and it is low in salt. I find most things are fine in moderation but I do like to check as sometimes free from food have a habit to surprise! I guess there needs to be a compromise somewhere!

Free from milk, wheat and gluten, these rolls do not compromise on flavour, they have a great texture and do not need to be filled with sandwich fillers that would add moisture to distract from dryness, as there isn't any. 

Flavour wise, these rolls obviously do not have the fresh mainstream bread flavour, but at the same time they are not noticeably gluten free, there is not an odd aftertaste and they even look right! There is a light sweetness to the bread, but not overly so , mainly on the top and sides, where I believe there is an egg glaze. The texture is more dense and have visible air pockets, but these are like size of an Areo bar bubbles, there is no huge holes and they are quite light so are not stodgy and too much.

Find the ingredients here:
Tapioca Starch, Water, Rice Flour, Potato Starch, Rapeseed Oil, Humectants(Glycerine), Psyllium Husk Powder, Dried Egg White, Yeast, Thickener (Hydroxypropyl Methyl Cellulose), Dextrose, Potato Fibre, Salt, Preservative (Calcium Propionate), Sugar, Emulsifier (Mono- and Di-Glycerides of Fatty Acids). 

You are also able to freeze these roll, so if you would prefer to save these as you cannot eat the same thing everyday like myself, it is ok to freeze these, although I do not know how they will change in texture once defrosted. 

This week I have not only had these with soup, but my new favourite lunch is one roll with some cured ham, butter and iceberg, simple I know, but these rolls are so tasty and it all compliments one another beautifully.

When I first changed my diet , you only found tiny loaves of dry bread, so it's fantastic so much is becoming available! 

Hannah x 

Schar Haul - Stocking up for Christmas!

My last post told you Schar had sent me a coupon. I also had a few coupons from the allergy show I was saving for Christmas. As the products now have days that'll last way through Christmas I though I would buy a couple of bits.

Here's what I got!

• Chocolix x2 - £2.50 each 
• Bourbons - £1.50 
• Sausage rolls x2 - £2
• Puff Pastry - £2.50
• Pretzels x2 - £1 each

As a self confessed coupon addict I had a coupon to cover part payment of each item, I used the £2 coupon I got in the post, a £1 coupon I was emailed, 3 x 50p off cupboard goods and 3 x 75p off frozen foods. meaning I used £6.75 worth of coupons! Making £15 worth of Schar food only £8.25, under £10 for indulgent gluten free food is fantastic! 

I would love to know what you have brought recently!

Hannah x

Schar Products - Where are they stocked?

If you were signed up to the DS gluten free mailing list, like myself, you have more than likely had a high value £2 coupon pop through your letter box for Schar. With this coupon they have sent a list of where each product is stocked. I thought I would scan this and post it on my blog for those of you who didn't receive this and would like to find their products!

Also if you get yourself to ASDA with your coupon, you can get a pack of the Chocolix FREE! I in fact got mine in sainsburys as my office is next door and I had a 70p price promise anyway and it would be more than 50p in petrol to get to my local ASDA!

I hope this helps all of you looking for your Schar treats!

Hannah x

M&S Made without Wheat - Turkey, Bacon & Cranberry Sandwich

Christmas has smacked all the food retailers around the face this week! Drinks and sandwiches have popped up in Starbucks, Costa and M&S! I found the M&S made without wheat in store this week so I just had to give it a try.

At around £3.30 this sandwich is packed full of turkey, bacon and a sweet cranberry sauce! I found that it was very good value as it was not something that you could make yourself that well! The whole sandwich was 499 calories so is quite high calories for a single sandwich but the bread is seeded and all the elements are present in good amounts, there is nothing worse that having a half empty sandwich!

Spinach is also in the sandwich which is nice, as many of the mainstream Christmas sandwiches just had meat and such in them, sometimes I think these can be too rich, but with a hint of veg it adds a freshness which lightens the sandwich.

You don't need me to tell you that the flavours combined taste beautiful, as it is a typical combination we all enjoy at christmas. I would say though I was surprised how sweet the cranberry sauce was as they can be quite tart, but this one was almost a jam! Made a great change!

I think that I would even recommend this sandwich to non gluten free people as the bread is great quality and the flavours are phenomenal! Christmas has truly started for me!

They were also available in the cafe!

Hannah x

M&S Made Without Wheat - Caramel and Pecan Squares Mini Review

These poor squares have been in my review note book since the beginning of September, so another mini review today! I had to order these from the website as they do not stock them in store, but as I was ordering buffet platters I seeked the opportunity. Although as I later found out this isn't really necessary as the bar  that looks like this in store is identical, so if you are just wanting these for yourself and not part of a buffet you can find the same equivalent in store.

At 165 calories each, these slices are certainly a treat! The rich homemade style caramel with the crumbly biscuit base with pecan nuts on top, drizzled with chocolate is something thats is truly scrummy! The base is made from plenta, sugar, ground almonds and butter so although crumbly it is not a dry texture, having the caramel to combine this makes it not too messy to eat!

There are 5 in each pack and the packs are brought in twos so you get 10 altogether. This is fantastic for parties on a platter, more so as they are suitable for veggies too! Nuts, milk and soya are the main allergens in this slice, so ensure none of your guests have a nut allergy before adding to your buffet!

All the aspects taste of high quality and nothing less than you would expect from M&S, I would recommend these to anyone as they are a fabulous sweet treat!

Hannah x