Mrs Crimbles Chilli Cheese Crackers*

Things are heating up around here today! (ok.. Maybe I'm not the best at puns!) When I saw these crackers in the hamper that Mrs Crimbles sent to me I was slightly apprehensive as I do not handle too much heat very well! But being the trooper I am I ate the whole box!

Retailing at around £2 depending on where you shop, these crackers are also another fantastic value for money product from Mrs Crimbles as the box is stuffed full! They can also be found at most retailers which makes them widely accessible to everyone. Which is also something that I love as there is nothing worse than recommending products that are very hard to find.

I tend to eat a portion (4 crackers) with cream cheese and ham and some cucumber, a bit like a DIY lunchable. Being only 84 calories per portion these are great to throw into many meals to add flavour and texture without being laden in calories, they are fab with soup and salads or even just with cheese for dessert!

There is more of a warmth to these crackers rather than a full on spicy heat, which I really love. They pair well with brie and other softer cheeses as they help highlight the creaminess, but honestly they have tasted great with so many things as they are a perfect plain cracker but with a twist!

I have also found that where these are not too overpowering, all members of the family should enjoy these, young to old I think the favour would be for everyone!

Let me know if you have tried these crackers with something that was amazing, I am always looking for new meal inspiration!

Hannah x

*These products were sent to me to try, all opinions are my own

Pizza Express - Gluten Free Menu

Saturday after a 12 year wait, I finally got to see Busted at the O2! For someone who still owns every bit of memorabilia Busted possibly released in the 2000's, this was a very exciting prospect! Just to add more excitement (yes, I do realise how crazy I sound) I decided we would go to Pizza Express to try the gluten free dough balls, which I had yet to try!

As the dough balls were the main reason for the trip, I obviously chose these as a starter. Five were served on a plate with some garlic butter to dip them into. The dough balls were a good size and were piping hot with a crispy crust and soft and fluffy middle. They absorbed the garlic butter well and there was plenty of the butter to have a good helping on each. I am craving these just thinking about them! I would 100% recommend them, they are much softer and texturally superior to the Tesco equivalent. I have yet to make my Isabel mix but when I do, I will certainly compare!

I then went for a classic margarita, the base was thin and crisp just the way I enjoy pizza, although it may have been a little over done and had gone a little chewy, but what do you expect for an event day at the O2. I was disappointed with how little cheese was on my pizza though because the rest of the party, who had ordered toppings had more cheese than my pizza and with my pizza the cheese is the only true flavouring. This lead the base to be quite bare in places and it was certainly a base that needed to have the cheese flavour on it or it tasted little odd, so I ended up leaving the edges and the non cheesy bits, which as you can see it quite a bit of the pizza. Nevertheless the parts of the pizza that were fully loaded were enjoyable and had a lovely flavour and texture.

Unfortunately I think there was some cross contamination in the pizza as I was unwell almost instantly after eating the pizza, as I know how instantly my body reacts to gluten, I know that this wasn't caused by the dough balls (which is good) as I had eaten those a while before the pizza had even arrived. When leaving James noticed that there was a bowl of tomato sauce to cover the pizzas and they were using the ladle to not only spoon it but to spread it on the pizza too, so we wonder if they used the same sauce for my pizza causing me to be unwell, which wasn't ideal right before the concert, it's just was well I always travel prepared!

I would love to be able to enjoy the dough balls again as they were fantastic but I am very apprehensive to go back to pizza express based on this experience. I have heard from a friend who works in a different branch that they are super careful in there store, and I am thinking maybe due to being an event day a mistake was made, and lets face it, we all make mistakes. I would love to know if you have had a good experience in Pizza Express and if I should give them another go, maybe the branch my friend works in or on a quieter location and day may be a good idea!

Hannah x

Holland and Barrett Haul - May 2016

It seems that a Holland and Barrett has become a payday treat to myself! I am going on holiday in June and I am hoarding some snacks ready to take away that I am hoping James would enjoy too. I was very pleased I waited till payday to buy all this as they started the 20% off offer that day so I saved about £5 which is fab!

So here is what I bought!

The Foods of Athenry brownie cookie shots - £2.39
I LOVED these so much when I ordered these last time so I thought I would take some away with us as James enjoyed them too. They are great to snack on and because they reseal we can take these on a few picnics!

The Foods of Athenry blondie cookie shots - £2.39
Again I ordered these for their practicality and I thought that they would be nice to try and maybe even mix up the brownie and blondies together!

The Foods of Athenry Flapjacks - £2.63
These too come in a reseal bag so I thought why not! These are just plain so can go with anything and I am thinking that any of these three The Foods of Athenry products could be used to top a sundae!

Eskal Chocolate Wafers - £2.15
These are just basic chocolate wafers but as I really enjoy these sorts of snacks I thought I would try the Eskal brand.

Eskal Chocolate Coated Pretzels - £1.83
Movie night essentials! I thought we could mix it up a bit with some chocolate pretzels rather than some regular ones!

Eskal Wafer Rolls - £2.12
Last year when we were away I couldn't really find any gluten free ice creams and sundaes so I thought this year we could make our own so these wafter rolls will be popped in some ice-cream with some flakes!

Eskal Party Tubs - £2.31
Also for our DIY beach ice creams these are an alternative to regular cones, the gluten free cones were sold out but I thought the tubs are more versatile anyway, so I am sure there will be a post on all the different combinations of ice creams we can think of!

Mrs Crimbles Jam Coconut Ring - 69p
This was just an impluse buy as I have been really into Mrs Crimbles products lately so I thought this would be great for the car journey!

Hannah x

Genius Gluten Free - Pancakes

Being in the mood for a breakfast treat, I picked up the Genius pancakes as I could use all of the existing ingredients in my kitchen that I have been using for my yoghurt based breakfasts over the last week. 

Lightly grilled, these fluffy pancakes are quite exceptional. I tend to find that most free from pancakes have a slightly greasy layer over them, but these do not. This makes them very pleasant, as oily and greasy textures always make me feel stodgy, and stodgy is never a good start to the morning! Slightly sweet, these plainer pancakes are fab to add your own choice of sides to, my family love lemon and raisin mainstream pancakes, but as the free from market has a more limited range, I love that these allow you to create any flavours that you desire! 

At around 85 calories each, these pancakes are typically less calories than a slice of toast. Also having six pancakes in this pack, you can make 3 good sized breakfasts when accompanied with honey or syrup and berries and fruits. I found that my personal favourite is to have golden syrup and raspberries. I have also had a mix of blueberries, raspberries and kiwi with syrup, which was delicious too! 

Retailing at £2 a pack, this is quite reasonably priced for the free from market. Unfortunately a more expensive food bill is something that you just have to accept when gluten free living! But I would say these are worth every penny. An added bonus is that these are also dairy free too, making them open to a much wider audience. There is egg in the recipe though, so just be mindful of that if you are catering for someone with allergies! 

I would love to know what combinations you would have on pancakes as I am looking for some new breakfasts! I think I am going to have Nutella and raspberries next! 

Hannah x 

Waitrose Two Dine for £10 Meal Deal

Waitrose's two dine for £10 is back and if you read the back of the packs many things are gluten free too! James and I were really stumped on what to have for dinner so when we saw the deal was on we thought why not!

So what do you get in the meal deal? Firstly you get a main and a side, then you get a choice either between a dessert or starter, today we chose a starter. Then you get a choice of wine, sparkling drinks or chocolates, all of which are worth about £6. Although not gluten free we picked up some chocolates James could enjoy as none of the drinks were something we would choose, the shelves were pretty bare!

We chose to have a baked camembert to start, I cut up chunks of Udis tiger loaf to have to dip into it (see my review here). Self contained in its own ramekin, this camembert is very easy as all you do is pop it in the oven for half an hour!

This was followed by duck with an orange sauce and some diced herbed potatoes, we bought some extra veg to have with the dish as although it is still fantastic value, unless you are buying something like a pie where all you would need is veg, the choice of side is either potato or veg, and there is no tray with a mix, which I think would be a great idea! The duck needs the skin crisped in a pan for a few minutes until golden brown and then popped back into the tray and in the oven for twenty minutes. The potatoes do take an hour so we put these in the same time as the cheese. The duck turned out so well, with a crispy skin and lovely moist meat. I didn't add the sauce but there was a seasoning rub on the duck which added something extra! The herbs on the potatoes were also well balanced and not overpowering and overall was a very enjoyable dish

We had our Tesco Profiteroles for dessert (see review here).

Overall we saved a huge £7.70 by buying this as a deal and is comparable in price to a fast food meal for two but is a lot higher quality and quantity of food is outrageous, the value is outstanding.

I would love to know if you have tried the two dine for £10 at waitrose. I have had a M&S one in the past but Waitrose has really impressed us so I think we will try it again!

Hannah x

Tesco Free From Profiteroles

As summer is coming around (hopefully!) it's time to put down the custard and find some more summery desserts! Tesco released some gluten free profiteroles and as these are one of James' favourite desserts, I thought we must give them a go!

Retailing at £1.50 and containing 15 profiteroles, this too is also very good value for money, very much like all the new Tesco free from range. It also comes with two sauce packets so is perfect to split over a few days. Stating that a portion is 4 profiteroles with sauce (not saying how much) is around 250 calories, these are something that will also be a rare treat in our house, particularly as we managed to eat a whole box in one evening!

From the frozen section, all you need to do is leave these out on a plate to defrost for 1 hour or so and squeeze the sauce on top, another simple out the box product from Tesco. The pastry looks a little papery on first impression, with a little circular hole on the top where the cream had been piped in. Although once bitten into they taste gorgeously creamy with just the right texture to the pastry to make it very difficult to distinguish between mainstream and regular versions. If there is a slight difference I would say that this pastry was a little thinner than regular gluten ones I have seen and remember eating. I feel that this is a positive as it makes the much more fresh and less stodgy.

Deeply filled, I was impressed with the amount of cream and how rich it was within the pastry. I have seen ones that have almost no filling or seem quite watery, but these are thick, smooth and very fresh tasting. It really was a pleasant surprise and they are quite morish. The chocolate sauce provided it perfectly runny and allows you to get a good drizzle of it all around the profiteroles. It honestly tastes just like Belgium chocolate, freshly melted and oozing through a chocolate fountain!

Unfortunately, for them to be able to achieve the perfect profiteroles they do have to contain dairy, so these are just for the gluten free market. As disappointing as it may be to those with dairy allergies, these profiteroles would not get the same taste or texture lacking dairy. I feel it would seem to restrict too many elements.

I have been super impressed with Tesco lately and for own brand products, they are by far the best in the free from market. Have you tried anything at Tesco that I need to try?

Hannah x

What I Ate Today - Coeliac Awareness Week

As it is Coeliac Awareness Week I thought that I would show you what I ate today. To be completely honest, this is not a normal day! I have some naughty treats as I just thought why not? Believe it or not, I don't eat all that much 'bad' food and most of the treats I do eat are posted here!

Breakfast:
Today I ate a Genius pain au chocolat with some orange juice. I tend to oven bake these to warm them through, but on weekdays 40 seconds in the microwave does just fine!

Lunch:
Lunch is one of my favourite meals. Mainly because I love to snack and snacky style lunches are more than acceptable! So I have some Schar crisp breads with pesto humous, cucumber and grapes.

Snack:
I had some pineapple for a snack, but I was also bought a M&S gluten free Victoria sponge, so it would have been rude to not join in!

Dinner:
Pizza hut was our port of call for dinner tonight. With this margarita I had some chips, Tesco garlic baguette (see my review here) and Chippa's ketchup. I know most ketchups are gluten free but I love this ketchup as it isn't as thick as other brands.

What did you eat today?

Hannah x

Tesco Free From Garlic Baguette

It's been 3 years since I last had a shop bought garlic bread and it must have been the hardest thing to give up when having to move onto a gluten free diet. I have tired over and over again to make the perfect garlic bread that I remember with butter and garlic and a variety of free from breads, but I have never quite achieved it and nothing has compared! When I finally found this stocked in Tesco I ran to the till with high hopes!

Retailing at £1.50, this slightly smaller than a mainstream garlic baguette isn't too bad value for the free from market, I actually found it quite reasonable. More than suitable for four people as a side if you have a couple pieces each, or for two people as the main carb of a meal. All you do is pop this baguette in the oven from frozen for 15 minutes and its done! As simple as that, no need to make the bread or add the butter, just like your typical mainstream version. Nothing frustrates me more than when you buy what you believe to be a fully assembled product, but you end up having to add extras.

This exceptional baguette is so close to the real thing it is scary! James and I had it for dinner and he said he would happily eat it as opposed to a regular one, as there is less waste and we can both enjoy it! With and crispy crunchy crust, this golden brown bread bakes to perfection. Fluffy inside, this bread is texturally very pleasing with the mix of crisp coating with the soft middle and the butteriness from the flavouring. With lashings of butter and garlic,  this is definitely not for the faint hearted... Or for a first date! I always purchased the extra garlic variety in my gluten eating days, and I think this is more garlicy than that, which is amazing. The butter itself oozes from the pieces when squeezed to break apart and are truly scrumptious. The aspect that shocked me the most is that their is no milk or eggs in this product, the butter seems so creamy and as it if was genuine butter, Tesco have really upped their game recently!

We had a bit of a carb feast with ours and had Pizza hut gluten free pizza and I cooked some chips and of course I added some Chippa ketchup. Half of this baguette is 275 calories so I feel that this is a perfect side to either a meal you would like to keep low calorie, such as a salad, or you can have a treat night with a pasta or pizza, just like we did! Either way I don't feel that this is a super unhealthy option as you can really adapt it to the meal you would like to create and there is also a lot of butter and flavour in this product. Typically I would pair this with a fresh salad and some grilled chicken, but who can resist a treat cheat meal!

Hannah x

Mrs Crimbles Chocolate and Stem Ginger Macaroons*

Coconut is the quintessential summer flavour, don't you agree? So when I received these Mrs Crimbles Macaroons in a birthday hamper they sent me, I knew I wanted to hold onto them as long as the best before date would allow so they could get me into the summery mood!

I have been a lover of the Mrs Crimbles Macaroons for years, and in fact they were the first cake I purchased when transitioning to my gluten free diet. I then moved onto the chocolate coated ones, as what's better than throwing chocolate into the coconut mix! Then when I found these in my box,

I thought I had died and gone to heaven! Ginger is a flavour I particularly love in sweet food, as you may be able to tell from the amount of ginger based biscuits I have reviewed over the years.  

Texturally these macaroons are very soft with a crisper shell, but as you would expect from coconut they are rather corse where they are essentially desiccated coconut formed with sugar. The stem ginger seems to be candied too and adds a nice chew and spice to what typically is a very sweet flavour and soft texture. Being dipped in dark chocolate adds a slight bitterness to the treat, evening out all the flavours beautifully, creating something truly wonderful!

Retailing very reasonably at Waitrose for £1.35, these are most definitely at the most affordable end of the free from market. Making each macaroon 23p. Containing egg and soya, these macaroons are only suitable for those on a gluten free diet, there is no milk in the ingredient list that I can see, but if dairy is something you have issues with, I would suggest using your own judgement. 

Each macaroon contains 174 calories and the first two ingredients are sugar and coconut, being quite high in sugar at 16g and with 11g of fat per macaroon, they are a sweet treat you don't want to enjoy too often.. as hard as it may be! 

I find that these are a great treat to pop on a cake stand with finger sandwiches and some cupcakes and biscuits as a gluten free style afternoon tea. If you see these when doing your weekly shop I would recommend giving them a go as they can be loved by gluten and gluten free eaters alike!

Hannah x

*These products were sent to me to try, all opinions are my own

Free From Tesco Haul

I was caught in the Tesco vortex again! You all know what I mean, you head in for a few items (in my case with coupons in hand) and leave with a million more items (which I didn't have coupons for!) It gets me every time, which is why I tend to buy online if I have no coupons, or I don't dare browse. Considering all this I only came away spending £10 out of pocket after coupons, which isn't too bad for me!

Almost all of the items are actually from the free from section of the store. I don't normally buy this much processed food, nor do I actually shop in the free from section all that often as I like to try and find items in the mainstream sections of the store to try, but sometimes you just need some treats!

Sorry about the awful picture! It was dark and I was too tired to get lighting out!

Here's what I bought!

Lurpak butter - £1.74 - Boring but essential.

Pringles (for James) - 79p - I had a coupon for 81p making these a 2p money maker! These are not gluten free , but I did by them for my fiancé for when we have a film night!

Green and Black Organic Milk Chocolate - £2 - This was also free after my rebate from my shopping app.

Popchips Barbecue - 75p - These are also free after rebate.

Genius Pancakes - £2 - I had no coupon for these but they looked so good and I've yet to get my hands on the Genius brand of pancakes, so I am excited to try them!

Udis Tiger Loaf - £2.50 - I had a 50p coupon for this. I love this bread a lot and it is a huge loaf for the price, even without a coupon, I would 100% recommend trying this!

Genius Sausage Rolls - £2.50 - I had a £1 coupon for this product, I have had these before as my Gran cooked me some up when I went round her's so I thought I'd have some more as they were delicious, it also means I can take a picture and review them for you!

Tesco Free From Profiteroles - £1.50 -  Unplanned purchase number two, but I couldn't believe the price, James loves profiteroles so we will give them a go one night to see if he can be converted to the gluten free ones!

Tesco Free From Garlic Baguette - £1.50 - Another unplanned purchase, I had been trying to get my hands on one of these for ages, so when I saw it, I grabbed it! This is also a fair price as its not too much smaller than a mainstream garlic baguette!

Before coupons my shop came to £15.29 and I paid £10.23 so not my best savvy shop, but not too bad considering the bits I didn't intend to buy! I would love to know if you have picked up anything tasty recently or if I am missing out on something I really need to try!

Hannah x