Scott's Blueberry Muffins

Aldi were on fire with their gluten free week! Such a wide range of choices, even if there was only a small selection in general! One thing that really jumped out at me were the mini muffins by Scott's. Lets face it I have had a fair few gluten free muffins in my time, but never a mini one. If you're anything like me, mini versions of anything are irresistible, so I had to give them a go!

A pack of six cost £1.29, which is only 22p each! Compared to some brands where you can pay up to £3 for two large ones! Even eating two only makes this 44p per serving! So at 126 calories per muffin, that's exactly what I ate for breakfast the last few days.

The muffins themselves were beautifully textured with a nice bounce and moistness to them. I could have eaten the whole pack, they were so great! Flavour wise these muffins do not have a powederiness or bicarbonate aftertaste, like a few muffins I have had before. I did feel that the blueberries were a little lacking in a couple of the muffins, but even distribution of a fruit in a cake batter can be tricky at the best of times, without adding the blueberries to each case afterwards that is!

The other thing I enjoyed about these were that they actually say gluten free on the case! How much easier does that make catering at parties. Nobody fears eating the wrong food or avoid the buffet table, thinking that there is nothing for them to eat.

Unfortunately I cannot find these stocked elsewhere so I think these will just have to be a one off treat!

Hannah x

Aldi Gluten Free Haul

Gluten free special buy week in Aldi? Yes please! An Aldi store opened last week which is a two minute walk from my office, so the timing couldn't be more perfect. James and I headed there Monday evening to see what bargains we could find!

I was hoping the 99p pasta would be in stock, and considering it was only on sale since Sunday I thought I'd have a good chance, but when I got there, there were only three bags of very crushed spaghetti left! Although I missed out on quite a bit there were plenty more goodies!

So here is what I bought!

Crispbread - 69p
I actually got three of these as I find these great for snacks and lunches. As I tend to pay around £2 a pack I couldn't pass up buying up to this value anyway!

Nestle Go  Free Honey Flakes 500g - £1.99
These were not 'super cheap' for this product but I typically see these at £2.20 a box else where, if I am not ordering from Ocado, as they tend to have them on offer. But I have yet to find this variety in stock so I thought I would pick them up!

Scott's blueberry muffins x6 - £1.29
I have never heard of Scott's before, but when I saw mini muffins I knew they would be the perfect breakfast treat. I was torn on the chocolate or blueberry as I thought 12 muffins would be a lot to get through before they expire! I opted for blueberry in the end and I have already eaten a couple and they are delicious!

Snappea chips - 99p
I buy these all the time at M&S for quite a bit more than this so I thought I would give this brand a go, at 91 calories, they are great with some humous and veggies at lunch.

Lee's Snowballs - 99p
These always remind me of Christmas buffets at my Gran's when I was around 6! I had a deep love for these and they would be pilled high on the table just for me. The instant flashback gave me the urge to impulse purchase. These can also be found at other supermarkets for about £1 but when I saw them, I couldn't resist! At only 65 calories they will be great as a evening sweet treat.

Chocolate cookies - £1.29 per box
Not only does the packaging remind me of the Tesco finest cookies but the flavours available were very similar too. The Tesco version retail at £1.80 so if these are just as good, I've just saved 50p a box! I am intrigued to compare these and see which ones I prefer!

I honestly can't believe the whole gluten free section of my shop only came to £9.91, I was very impressed, considering I have months worth of snacks now! We also got a ton of veg, and some food for the week as well as a bed set and a white picture frame ladder (see here), which is so cute and perfect for our wedding and home and the whole lot only came to £40! Considering that homewares only came to £20 too!

My first trip to Aldi where I was purchasing for myself I feel was a huge success! I have not tended to shop there personally before as I felt there wouldn't be much for me as I tend to buy party food for the youth club I help run when we have our parties. But there is so much available, not just in their special buys, I even found this allergen sheet on their website on their own products that are gluten free!

Have you ever tried Aldi, what did you think?

Hannah x

The Farmshop - Bicester Village Gluten Free

Weekends away are never complete without good food. Bicester is one of our favourite places for a get away and when there is so much good food around, it makes being there even more enjoyable!

Breakfasts are one of my favourite meals, so when I found out that the Farmshop in Bicester Village caters well to allergies at our last visit, I knew that we would have breakfast here every morning of our trip!

Part of the Soho House family, the Farmshop focuses on British food and the quality of this is always second to none. The staff always make visiting a pleasure too, their chatty friendliness makes the environment very inviting and cosy. We have always found that the staff are more than happy to check and amend anything on the menu without feeling you're being awkward, which is very reassuring when dealing with an allergy issue.

Friday morning I decided on their veggie full english, I knew I loved this as I had it twice on our last visit. Consisting of the world's tastiest poached eggs (seriously you have to try these!) this meal has so many veggies, such as spinach, squash, mushroom and tomato. On the side is some gluten free bread and a lovely slice of rich butter. Perfect fuel for a day of shopping!

I forgot to photo Saturday's breakfast but as we were planning a larger lunch we went for their toast and jam option. The marmalade that was served alongside more of the wonderful butter and strawberry jam was thick cut and truly the best marmalade I have had. We then followed this with the most colourful fruit platter! From blueberries to kiwi, this salad was jammed packed of perfectly ripe fruits.

Sunday was our last morning so I opted for avocado toast with poached eggs, this came with basil and chilli flakes as well as a slice of lemon to season. I think this may have been my favourite breakfast of the weekend as the flavours just combined so well together with a bit of sea salt on the top.

I also had a decaf latte and a fresh orange juice with each of these meals. The juice is freshly squeezed with bits, being so light and refreshing, it makes a change from what you find in a carton! James also swears by their flat whites, so if you are a coffee lover, he would recommend that!

We did eat dinner here one evening, but again I forgot to take pictures! If you are ever in the village I would recommend trying their menu any time of the day as all their food is outstanding quality and  you'll certainly not be disappointed.

Hannah x

Simple Sunday Baking - Jam Tart Recipe

I've been digging through the freezer again! This time I found my pack of Schar shortcrust pastry. As James and I were heading to a dinner party, we thought what would be a better gift to bring!

This super simple two minute bake is really easy to do with children, or even just if you have some spare time and you'd like to make a sweet treat! We made both raspberry and apricot tarts and the whole process only took half an hour!

Here's how we did it!

You will need

• 1 Block of Schar pastry (they come in packs of two but one block make 12-13 tarts) 
• 1 Jar of seedless raspberry jam
• 1 Jar of apricot jam
• Gluten free flour for rolling the pastry

Method

1. Flour the surfaces and rolling pin and roll your pastry until it is about 75mm thick.
2. Cut the pastry into circles and press this into a shallow bun tin, you tend to find the cheaper the tin, the more shallow it is, mine was only 99p!
3. Pour some rice or baking beads into the pastry to blind bake. You can use anything dried that will weigh the base of the pastry down. 
4. On gas mark 5, bake for 10 minutes, then remove from the oven. 
5. Remove the rice and then fill these tart cases with the jam of your choice
6. Put in the oven for another 10 minutes, partway through this time take then out and smooth the melted jam if needed. 
7. Remove from the oven and leave to cool 

It's that simple! Quick and easy recipe for a lazy Sunday! Being a firm family favourite, you know they won't be around for long! 

Hannah x 

Bacon and Cheese Twist Recipe

Does anyone else go through phases of frivolous purging of their life? I know I do and the freezer is one thing I always feel I need to work my way through before buying more. I dug out a Genius puff pastry that had snuck away over the christmas period, so before it went to waste I thought I would make some cheese straws... with a twist!

Cheese and Bacon Straws

You will need

• One pack of smokey streaky bacon
• One pack of puff pastry
• 200g mature cheddar cheese
• Salt and pepper
• One egg to glaze

The first step is to roll out the puff pastry until all of your bacon will fit on, mine was about 5mm thick. 

Then grate the cheese and mix the salt and pepper into it, this just means that the seasoning is more even. 

With an even coating put all of the cheese on top of the pastry, then lay the bacon in strips. 

Cut the pastry between each slice of bacon and then twist these and place on a baking tray, don't worry if some cheese falls out!

Put in the fridge for a few minutes whilst heating the oven to the pastry guidelines. 

Once removed from the fridge, glaze with a beaten egg and then place the fallen cheese on top of the egg. 

Cook for 20-25 minutes. 

Allow to cool and enjoy! 

This super simple recipe takes 10 minutes to prepare and would be perfect at any party buffet table or even just a couple for lunch! If you wanted these to be smaller, cut the bacon strips in half or quarters and you can create bite size ones! 

Hannah x 

Gluten Free Mcvitie's Hobnobs

The world of social media had a complete melt down when Mcvitie's announced the release of their gluten free hobnobs. In all fairness I was one of these people too! Found in Tesco and Waitrose, the biscuit making giant has pleased the gluten free masses by widening their range to us!

Retailing at around the £2.20 mark for around 8 biscuits, these are still quite on the pricey side for mass produced gluten free products. Nevertheless I picked up a box of both the plain and the chocolate as I couldn't not try them!

Out of the box, my initial thoughts were 'wow they are practically full size' my biggest pet peeve with free from biscuits is that they always look tiny, super tiny sometimes and they don't look very generous on a plate when catering and offering around tea and biscuits. These are a good size and will not leave guests (or you) thinking where's the rest! They are all baked consistently and the overall look of them is very consistent, as you would hope to expect from a brand. None were broken and the packaging is very sturdy so although the high price, I can be assured I can serve biscuits and not crumbs!

Texturally from what I can recall, these biscuits are right on point. They aren't too crumbly but they are just the right amount for a good dunkable absorbent biscuit. The chocolate ones have a nice thick coating of chocolate and in general these biscuits are very generous portions. Taste wise I think they are perfectly comparable to the mainstream equivalent and that there is not much difference, other than the lack of gluten!

The plain hobnobs are around 65 calories and although they do not contain egg, soya or milk, they may contain these ingredients, so just be wary if you have more than just a gluten allergy. Whereas the milk chocolate ones are 85 calories and DO contain soya and milk and may contain eggs. Both options are suitable for veggies though!

I love how more and more big brands are on board for transitioning some of their products to gluten free and I hope we see more soon! I just wish the price was a little more pocket friendly, but this is a constant struggle for us free fromers!

Hannah x