Genius Plain Bagels

It's pretty safe to say that bagels and I have a very in-depth love affair. Whether they are toasted, made into sandwiches or toasties, these are by far my most favoured bread product. So this year at the free from show I made an effort to get hold of more of them, as my local stores are not the best stockist.

Genius is a brand I have come to trust and love, I have never had an issue, not even with holey or crumbly bread, so they are a firm favourite in my household! As they have been MIA from all my stores the free from show was the first opportunity I have had to try these ones. With 4 in a pack, I find that this is just about the right amount, particularly for a working week as it covers most of my lunches.

Retailing at £2 but currently on offer in Sainsburys for £1.50 makes this less than 50p per serving, which is fab! They do not contain milk either so they are great for those who have to avoid dairy too! At 166 calories per bagel this is typically lower calories than making a sandwich from two slices of bread, and it adds some interest too! Just note this product does contain egg!

The bread is perfectly soft with the good glossy glaze that you find on the mainstream bagels which adds the sweetness that makes it so moreish. Being plain has meant they are so versatile and I have had them in a number of ways this week.

So to give you some inspiration, here's how I ate my pack of bagels:

Turkey and Cheese Toasties
Very simply I popped turkey, cheese and mayo in the bagel and toasted! This is by far one of my favourite ways to eat a bagel!

Turkey and Lettuce Sandwich 
Very similar to the toasties, this is just a bagel toasted, add some mayo and turkey with some lettuce and you're done! Simple lunch!

Toasted Pizzas 
The most fun option in my opinion! All I do is take some margarita sauce and spread a thin layer onto the bagel halves. Top with cheese and herbs and toast! Super simple, super tasty!

Cream Cheese and Salmon Sandwich
If you are looking for a slightly more sophisticated option, this may be the one for you! Again another simple assembly. Toast the bagel, add a thick layer of cream cheese to both slices and add sheets of smoked salmon and sandwich together! Such a classic paring!

I found that these bagels toasted well and are great change to regular bread as sandwiches. I would love to know if you have any ideas or tried them in a way which was great!

Hannah x

Genius Gluten Free - Lemon and Poppyseed Muffin

The free from show means I now have a lot of goodies to try and blog! It is no secret I am a carb lover. If bread, cakes, crisps or chips are around, I am there! So it probably came as no surprise when I came home fully loaded with all the bread and cake based products I could get my hands on! One of which being the Genius Lemon and Poppyseed Muffin!

I was sent the blueberry muffin to try a while ago (you can find my review here) But I had yet to try the lemon and poppyseed version. For 290 calories this muffin is quite large and I found it to be rather filling, as I ate mine for breakfast I found it tied me over until lunch!

They do not contain milk either, so are a perfect option for those with milk allergies too. James can't eat too much dairy as it affects his skin so I think these maybe something he would enjoy when he is cutting back. They are so fluffy and moist with the most delicious sweet lemony flavour, with this being tamed with the tang you taste from the poppyseeds. A classic pairing that always works so well.

Texturally these muffins are sublime, they have a lot of air pockets and are ever so soft. I feel those who are like James in your family who can eat gluten but for ease (and to avoid extreme grocery bills and lack of storage) join you in gluten free meals and snacks will not be disappointed. Not that James got a look in once I had started the first one, as they were so good, I just didn't want to share!

Like all cake and baked goods, these are by no means an everyday eat. With 13.6g of fat and 15g of sugar per muffin, this is certainly a treat. But is so worth it when you are looking for a sweet treat. I feel that as they are quite filling and I enjoy them for breakfast, this makes it a lot better than some high calorie snacks that don't fill you up at all!

Being a baked good, these do have a short shelf life so are best eaten as soon as possible. I am not sure if they are suitable for freezing but in general I do not tend to freeze muffins or any baked goods that come in a cupcake case, as I find they can go a little soggy when defrosted and stick to the cake!

These would also be a nice treat for younger ones as the flavour isn't too unusual or complex for younger tastes. They are a little large however so they may need to be halved or thirds. It would be great if they would release mini muffins in a tub as that would be something I would be interested in and great for the younger market!

I would love to know if you tried these muffins and what you thought!

Thanks for reading,

Hannah x

The Allergy and Free From Show 2016 - Haul*

I look forward to the Allergy and Free From Show every year. I love seeing all my favourite brands as well as finding new companies and products that become firm favourites. This year was no exception!

If you have never been to the show before, I would really recommend you pop along next year, the tickets are free and there are so many traders, samples to try and some great deals on a lot of products. Held in the Olympia, London, this show has very good public transport links so there is no fear of getting lost or stranded in London!

As usual I have really stocked up on bits so here is what I got!

Genius
Genius are one of my staple brands, they never seem to let me down and have a good range of products to try, from frozen pies to white loafs, they pretty much have you covered! They had a show deal which included 4 products and a tote bag for £10. Now I have a million totes but a Genius one was not one in my collection, so obviously I needed it! In the tote deal I also got their pittas as I had been searching for these for a while, plain bagels, lemon and poppyseed muffins (which may already be gone) and some vegetable quiches. Unfortunately my quiches had an accident so I can't try those but I recovered the rest, except the tote! We also all got a free pack of the cupcakes, which is always welcome!

BFree
Finding BFree at the show is always one of my priorities as finding their products in my local stores can be a nightmare. It is just easier to stock up at the show. They had released some sweet potato wraps, so I couldn't resist getting some to give them a go, as they had the 4 items for £8 I also got the chia wraps I loved from last year, the amazing pitas and their bagels, as bagels in general are my favourite!  The fajita kits were also £3 and as they are a staple in the cupboard for James and I, we picked one up!

WOW cake Company
Being a company I'd never heard, WOWcake make the nicest packaged packet mixes I have seen in the free from market, with all their mixes in little tins, which is so cute! The people behind the brand were fabulous too so I thought I would give the carrot cake a go as this is not a mix I have found in the free from market before! For £5.50 I felt this was quite reasonable for a small company with smaller buying power of ingredients.

Eat Real
If you have never had the Hummus chips from Eat Real, you should really try them, as they are hands down the best snack style crisps around. They had a pretty good deal at the show of two big bags for £2 so I got two of the tomato and basil as they are my favourite, the taste is so good and very authentic Italian seasoning!

Feel Free
Finally I found the large doughnuts! For £2 I picked up a 4 pack of large doughnuts. I love their small ones but nothing can beat a real sized doughnut!

Goodie Bag
As well as coupons and the normal leaflets, the goodie bag was very impressive this year, with a box of nutribix, a bottle of lime Zeo and an orange choc shot each! There was also rice dream available  but as I don't drink it I didn't take it!

Isabel's
After trying their dough balls on holiday, I knew I wanted to try more, so when we found their packets were 2 for £3 and the pizza mix was 2 for £5 I decided that the offer had to be taken! James and I love pizza so they will cover a couple of our fake-away pizza nights. Packet wise, of course I picked up the doughnut mix, in a bid to make my sorely missed jam doughnuts. I also found chocolate pudding pots which will be a lovely weekend treat!

Make it Gluten Free Ltd
We heard that Make it Gluten Free Ltd were going to be there this year on twitter, so we made it our mission to locate them too as we loved the Simple Mills mixes and wanted to try the cookies in particular. As these mixes are natural and free from so many things they are perfect for so many people. We got the chocolate muffin mix and of course the chocolate chip cookies! The guys at Make it Gluten Free have so many recipes online using their products and are super friendly with really good customer service, so if you have yet to try their products, I would recommend them!

Warburton's
Warburton's have a new and improved recipe for their sandwich thins, and I have to admit they are about a million times softer, which is great! They are currently on offer for £2 in the supermarkets too so even better for those of you who didn't get any or weren't at the show! I have got the white, seeded and raisin and orange ones to try! I loved the old ones so these can only be better!

Delicious Alchemy 
Delicious Alchemy is my favourite company for fail proof cake mixes. I find they are fab to have in the cupboard so I always have something ready incase somebody pops round for tea and cake. The team working there were lovely too.They had their normal 3 for £5 deal so I picked up the brownie mix, the Victoria sponge mix and the brown bread mix, which I have yet to try, but the white one was great so we thought we would change things up!

I would love to know what you picked up!

Hannah *

*Some products were given to me to try, all opinions are my own

The Foods of Athenry Flapjack

Being such a huge fan of the brownie cookie shots from Foods of Athenry I thought it was about time I hunt down more of their products, which is harder than you think! I managed to find the flapjacks, so I thought I would give them a go!

At 81 Calories a flapjack, these bite-sized flapjacks are super buttery tasting and a real treat. Made from gluten free oats, there is a punch of ginger in each bite. I find this refreshing from a gluten free brand, as many sit on the edge of boring at times in terms of flavouring in order to make it likeable to the masses and all ages. Although this doesn't make these more mature, as I know many children who love ginger, it makes them more complex and interesting flavour wise.

I would say there was about 10-15 flapjacks in the bag, there was enough to enjoy them but not so many that I had to eat them for eternity, so it was perfect! Containing only Certified Gluten Free Oats, 100% Vegetable Margarine, Brown Sugar, Golden Syrup and Ginger, makes it very easy to know what you are eating, the less ingredients the better in my opinion! Particularly when additives are involved! These are also dairy free due to using margarine but  this does not affect the taste in the slightest, as I said earlier, these taste incredible and beautifully buttery. Unfortunately these are not suitable for nut allergy sufferers. 

The flapjack itself is quite dense but can crumble a tiny amount as you bite into them, they also have a good amount of crumbs in the bottom of the bag, which I popped on my granola one morning, just so they were not wasted! The ginger is really rather prominent so if you aren't a fan of ginger (and all it's health properties) then this one is not for you. James is not a huge fan of ginger, so these were 100% mine! Yum! 

I really enjoyed these and I love the pouch packaging that The Foods of Athenry do as they are so convenient, as they reseal. James and I now have the cookie shots as a long car drive treat! I want to get my hands on their The Works flapjack, but cannot find them anyhwhere, if you see them please let me know as I would love to try them ! 

Hannah x

NEW! Tilda Pulses and Rice Pouches Haul*

A little haul for today, I have been sent some of the new Tilda Pulses and Rice Pouches so I thought I would show you what I got! This is not a tasting blog post, so I am not sure what I think of them yet, I'm just letting you know what's around!

The whole range is of course gluten free, dairy free and one of your five a day, so already sounds pretty amazing. These are single serve pouches but I am sure if you are using them as a side with some salad and meat, you could make this stretch to two people, but are still great for those who live alone or just eat different meals to the family! The pouches retail at £1.39 and can be found in Ocado, Tesco, Asda and Sainsburys.

So what did I get?

Chickpea, Harissa and Lemon
This is meant to be very Moroccan in flavour and contains chickpeas, basmati, rose harissa, Dukkah spices, spinach and lemon. It is suggested that this flavour would pair well with hummus and salad or even with roast lamb. James loves lamb roasted so we may have to try this!

Pinto Bean, Green Chilli and Lime
This one sounds a bit spicy. Inspired by Mexico this rice mix contains pinto beans, back turtle beans, basmati, avocado, lime, paprika, pumpkin seeds and chilli. I think this is calling to be used in a burrito, aslong as it's not too hot!

Black Bean, Jerk and Coconut
Containing black eyed beans, black beans, wholegrain basmati, coconut, sweet potato, jerk seasoning, garlic and ginger. I feel his super flavoursome combination needs something much plainer to accompany it, so I would think either grilled chicken or turkey would  suit this well!

Edamame, Spring Onion and Wasabi
We have hit the Japanese flavouring here, with chives, spinach, miring and lemon, I feel that this rice will be very fresh compared to the others. It is suggested to serve with prawns or salmon in a Teriyaki sauce, but I think it would also be great with some crispy roasted duck, to add freshness to a rich dish.

Split Pea, Green Chilli and Coriander
With yellow split peas, mung beans, basmati, green chilli and coriander, this very indian inspired rice I think would be beautiful with a chicken tikka pieces with some mint yoghurt for dipping to add some sauce.

I would love to know what you think of the flavourings of this new range. I love how they are all inspired by different cultures, yet the basmati is a constant within it all, it truly shows how versatile rice is!

Hannah x

*This product was sent to me to try, all opinions are my own