Delicious Alchemy - Ginger Bread Mix

Christmas was made for baking! I love baking all year round but I find at Christmas it feels a little more fun and I also find I have more people to feed my bakes to!

I wanted to make these Delicious Alchemy ginger breads quite a while ago, but as my oven decided against it, we have only just made them this weekend! My best friend, Rosie, came over on Saturday and with prosecco and Christmas films in hand we decided to have a festive day!

This recipe is super simple like all DA's mixes and only takes a few minutes to mix together! After mixing, we rolled out the dough. Using some festive mini cutters we cut out a variety of shapes and popped them in the oven, just until they were golden. We managed to make about 30 mini cookies, which would be great for a buffet or share around an office!

Once out of the oven and cooled we decided to ice the cookies,at which point we realised icing biscuits is not our forte! But we had a few successful ones! We managed to salvage some candy canes and mittens from our awful icing!

Flavour wise, these gingerbreads are lovely with spicy and warm notes. There is a hit of sweetness from the golden syrup and I found that these biscuits have a good snap but aren't too hard.  This simple baking mix results in very successful biscuits and Rosie, who is not gluten free, really enjoyed them too!

This pack retails on the Delicious Alchemy website for £2.00 so is a very inexpensive way of catering this Christmas. ASDA sell pre-made gingerbread men, which comparatively are more expensive and not half as fun to make!

I'd love to know what you like baking at Christmas! I am hoping to make the stuffing from DA over the coming week!

Hannah x

Boxing Day Inspiration! Pulled Pork Sandwiches!*

Ham is a classic boxing day staple. If you are looking to mix it up this year but still want to serve pork and the typical roasted or boiled ham is becoming a bore, why not try pulled pork instead?

This super simple recipe doesn't even need much attention, so perfect for when you want to be socialising with friends and family, rather than standing over a stove all afternoon!

For the pulled pork recipe you will need:

• Boneless Pork shoulder, as this is the best for pulled pork as it's easy to shred
• Sweet Mandarin BBQ sauce, any will do but this one is gluten and nut free! 
• Warburtons Newburn Bakehouse seeded sandwich thins (to make into sandwiches)

For this recipe the only tool you need is a slow cooker so minimal mess too! 

Put the pork shoulder, if you don't have a boneless one, remove the bones first, and place in the slow cooker on low for 8 hours

Once cooked, remove the pork and shred, ensuring you remove all fat. 

Drain the slow cooker of any liquids, place the pulled pork back in, mix in plenty of the BBQ marinade and put back on low for another hour. 

Once the timer goes off, that is it! Simple no fuss food! Perfect for parties if you bought £5 worth of  meat, it could easily serve up to 8 people. 

To serve I love pulled pork with the Warburton's sandwich thins which are free from dairy and gluten so this whole meal is suitable for those with gluten and dairy allergies as the Sweet Mandarin Marinade is also free from these allergens! 

Cook up some chips, make a salad and bring out all the left over party food from christmas day and enjoy! 

Hannah x   

*Some products in this post were sent to me to try, all recipe ideas and opinions are my own

Apple Crumble Using Warburton's Gluten Free Orange and Sultana Loaf!*

The colder months have well and truly hit us and so I have been after more warming, filling comfort food. When I received the Warburton's Artisan Cob with Orange and Sultanas, I just knew that this was calling to be used in a recipe!

With half of the loaf I am going to make a bread a butter pudding, but as my oven decided to break down and I am currently waiting for a new part, I have had to get creative with a slow cooker, microwave and cooking torch!

Apple crumble is one of my favourite warming puddings and I am always looking for ways to add a little twist to traditional dishes. So when I saw that this bread is more sweet than savoury, I wondered if making the loaf into breadcrumbs would make a more sweet topping for a crumble rather than the more typical use of breadcrumbs in savoury foods, so I gave it a go!

So here is what I did!

You will need:

• Two cooking apples
• Brown sugar
• Cinnamon 
• Warburtons Newburn Bakehouse Artisan Cob with Orange and Sultanas

Method:

This recipe would more than likely work better in a oven but as I only had a slow cooker at the time this is what I did!

Chop the apples into squares, I like mine rather small but this is personal preference. 

Put the apple in a small pyrex dish and sprinkle sugar and cinnamon through the apples to sweeten. I do this unmeasured and when it looks enough I stop, but I would say I put about half a cup of sugar and half a teaspoon of cinnamon per two apples. 

Cut a slice from the centre of the loaf about an inch thick and with a blender or food processor blitz this into breadcrumbs. 

Mix the breadcrumbs with about half a cup of sugar. I tried this recipe without adding butter to this mix to see if a dairy free version is possible, and it worked well as the sugar binds the topping slightly but you could always add butter or a dairy free spread and combine this to create a breadcrumb consistency if you wanted a richer flavour and a more bonded crumble.

I then put this is the slow cooker for 2 hours, if you were using an oven I would give the crumble about 30-40 minutes. 

If cooked in the slow cooker the top will not have crisped as you would typically expect from an oven cooked crumble. To create this crispiness, sprinkle some extra brown sugar on the top and heat with a cooking torch.

Enjoy with custard or cream, this winter warmer will surely put a smile on the families faces! 

Hannah x   

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

Simple Mills Chocolate Cupcakes*

Now it's the first of December I think I can officially get Christmassy! Last week I was preempting the festivities by baking some chocolate cakes and adding some snowflake sprinkles!

Simple Mills are one of my favourite baking mixes when I want a quick bake. With all natural ingredients and being free from gluten, dairy and soy, these mixes are great for most dietary requirements.

Simple Mills mixes can be found on Make it Gluten Free Ltd's website and this particular pack retails at £5.20 and claims to make 12 muffins, although mine made 15, which after eggs and flavourings makes these about 50p a muffin. Which I think isn't too unreasonable!

To make these muffins all you need is eggs, oil and vanilla flavouring. Mix these together and then slowly incorporate the dry mix. Then bake until risen, which takes 20-30 minutes and that's all there is to it! The whole process only takes about 40 minutes.

In terms of frosting, I used a butter and cream cheese mix, of course these can be swapped for dairy free alternatives to create the same affect. In a bowl put 300g icing sugar, 50g butter, 125g cream cheese and 1/2-3/4 cup cocoa powder, depending on how chocolatey you would like it. You can also add some vanilla, but as there is quite a bit in the cake mix, I decided not to. Then just mix until it's a smooth icing. Spread or pipe onto the cakes. In the move I had misplaced my piping bags so I had to spread the icing this time! Then add sprinkles! Done!

I would say that these muffins do need a frosting to prevent them tasting too dry as the cupcake itself is quite dark in flavour. The icing gives it the lift it needs and if I had any I think they would have looked great with some edible glitter to finish them! Everything is better with a bit of glitter!

If you have baked this mix in any of the other ways suggested on the pack, I would love to know what you thought!

Hannah x

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

Silly Yak - Beef Pie Experiment

Cooking from scratch isn't something I have had much time for previously, but I am trying to make more of an effort to find time for it now I have my own kitchen. As it is getting a bit nippy in the air and I live with a guy who could eat for Britain, I have learnt fast that things need to be filling! So for my first attempt at cooking a hearty meal from scratch, I chose a beef pie, with a little help from Silly Yak on the pastry front!

The pie I made was actually a combination of recipes and a bit of winging it as I wanted to cook the pie filling in the slow cooker whilst I was at work!

So here is what I did!

Ingredients
400g Beef, diced
One onion
Beef stock cube
Parsley
Thyme
Salt and pepper
Silly Yak Pastry
Instant gravy
Veg of your choice

Very simply I sealed the beef in a frying pan and popped this in the slow cooker. I then added the onions to the pan and softened them, they were then popped in the slow cooker too.

Next I added half a teaspoon of parsley and thyme to the pot and salt and pepper to season.

Then make 1/2 pint of stock with one stock cube, I used Knorr stock cubes, but any gluten free stock cube would work!

This was then poured into the slow cooker pot and allowed to cool. Place in the fridge overnight.

The next day put the slow cooker on low for 4 hours to cook the pie filling, this makes the beef super tender!

Decant the mix into a pie dish, I recommend not adding all the stock as it would be quite watery and the beef has marinated in this mix for hours.

Roll out the Silly Yak pastry and place this on the top of the mix, if you remembered to buy eggs (unlike me), this is a good point to glaze with an egg wash, and cook for 30-40 minutes until the pastry is golden.

Make the instant gravy using a one parts of the left over stock and two parts water, I used the water from the veg I was boiling to make it even more tasty!

Serve with veg and mash! I only have veg with a pie but James likes mash too!

Hannah x

The Rye Deli Haul

Whilst in Rye, James and I took a look in their Deli as it seemed bursting with some really interesting and unique food! As you would expect from a deli there were plenty of quiches, pies, cheeses and meats but also a wide range of cupboard foods, from crackers to boozy chocolates, there was something for everyone!

They had a huge range of different gluten free bits too, brands that I find it hard to get hold of or even some I had never heard of! The staff were also exceptionally helpful, they tried to help find products that may have been of interest to me and locate certain items they knew they had, it was a very refreshing shopping experience!

I could have bought so much but as we are moving soon I thought it would be best just to get a couple of bits and pop back there, maybe in the winter, I love shopping in small towns in the cold weather!

So here is what I chose;

RW Garcia Organic Veggie Tortilla Chips - £3.95
We love nacho nights and most Mexican food, so when I saw these and the blue tortilla chips, I knew I had to try one! In the end I decided on the veggie ones as the blue ones are meant to taste like normal tortillas, whereas these are spinach and garlic, beetroot and onion and carrot, tomato and sesame flavours. They sound really unique and tasty with some Mexican dips and fajitas!

Farmhouse Biscuits - Traditionally made English biscuits with chocolate chips - £3.95
Let's be honest, the packaging drew me to this product, particularly for Christmas! The whole styling spoke to me and I hope they taste as good as they look! I have had quite a few chocolate chip biscuits but these look crisp and buttery, so I'm hoping for great things!

If you are ever in Rye I would seriously suggest you pop in the Rye Deli and take a look around, I will certainly be going back for some of their fresh produce too!

Hannah x

Sunday Funday - Rye

It was surprisingly sunny on Sunday, so James and I headed over to Rye as we fancied browsing a seaside town. Of course no matter where we are, we are looking for free from goodies and all things kitchen related! Being full of independent shops I love Rye, as a small business owner myself I love supporting others running their unique and interesting business ventures!

If you know me in person you would know that the whole 50's era is something I am in love with so when I found the vintage kitchen shop, Jane Wicks Kitchenalia, I couldn't resist having a look! I honestly wanted to buy one of everything but I was reserved and chose an up-cycled tray which was painted pink for £14. I am so in love with it! The pastel pink suits the style of our flat and our wedding so it can be used in both! I thought it would be lovely to pop confetti bags or pre made sweetie favours on our pick and mix table!

The vintage shop next door had old school 1/3 pint milk bottles for £3. My dad had told me for years how he used to get milk at school in these small 1/3 pint bottle and were one of his found memories of being a child, so I couldn't resist as I saw a new prop potential! I was tempted to buy more but I was just wasn't too sure where I would put them all! But nevertheless I love it all the same!

I would love to know if you know any seaside towns or small towns like Rye, I love anything like this so I would love to know more places to go!

Hannah x

The Brownie Bar - Gluten free Triple Chocolate Brownie

The Brownie Bar were at the Cake and Bake show this year. My brother came back with a mass of brownies to hand out to the family and for a change I was able to be included, as they make gluten free versions and he got hold of one for me!

Being wrapped individually to avoid cross contamination, this free from brownie looked amazing on first appearance before even trying it. The white and milk chips peaking out of the sides of a gooey looking centre. The top was a typical crispy crunchy brownie, but it was the layer underneath that really made it stand out from the crowd, slightly dense but super soft and gooey, this brownie certainly has a luxurious texture to it. Having an occasional large chocolate chunk to add an extra bit of creaminess. They are simply to die for!

Being very rich in flavour, with a quite dark brownie base which is then lifted by the milk and white chips laced through the bake, makes a truly perfect flavour. Let's face it we have all had a lot of brownies, as they seem to be the free from option for most coffee shops, but I was left so impressed with these!

Looking online they seem to not only do gluten free but also gluten and dairy free options! The flavours all sound so tasty too! The Triple chocolate was fab but the salted caramel, nutella and raspberry ones also sound delicious!

If you are interested in looking at their range you can find it here! Also the boxes are pick and mix which means you can try one of each flavour! I assume they will be individually wrapped like mine were so you could even order some for the gluten eaters without fear of them touching!

Hannah x

Delicious Alchemy Haul!

On Sunday my brother headed over to the Excel centre to take part in the Magic card game show. As he was leaving he saw the cake and bake show was on too, so he popped in and picked me up a few gluten free goodies!

He knows I love Delicious Alchemy a great deal and I had bored his ears off at work that week about their new gingerbread mix! So as they had their normal three for £5 deal he picked me up a pack of the gingerbread mix, the stuffing mix and another brownie mix as I had used my last one for a coffee corner at a craft fair I organised earlier last week.

He also got me a pack of the christmas cake mix as I missed out on this one last year. However this was not in the deal, but was still only £4 and the bag is huge! As I will hopefully be in our new home for Christmas I can't wait to bake this and have friends round to watch the Christmas specials of Vicar of Dibley and Gavin and Stacey whilst tucking into cake and mulled wine!

Of course when I bake these I will let you know the outcome, I am intending to make the fudge with the brownie mix for Christmas too, so we will see how that goes!

Hannah x

Simple Mills Gluten Free Chocolate Chip Cookie Mix

On Tuesday James and I had a day off so we thought we would do some baking. As we didn't have much time we thought the Simple Mills mix from Make it Gluten Free Ltd would be perfect. I love these natural mixes with ingredients that are easy to understand, so you know exactly what is in the cookies.

This really simple packet mix only requires 15 minutes, and that includes the baking! Just a couple of ingredients later, you have perfect cookies!

To make these cookies, we added 2 tablespoons of milk, 4 tablespoons of oil and 2 teaspoons of vanilla extract to a bowl. Mix these together and then slowly add the dry mix. We then put tablespoon sized balls on a baking tray and flattened them, pop them in the oven for 10 minutes and that's it! Perfect chewy centre and crispy outer choc chip cookies.

The amount of chips in each cookie was unbelievable, they were packed! I trialed them on the whole family and everyone enjoyed them which is always a good sign! Like all the Simple Mills mixes I have tried, the main component in this mix was almond flour, I have yet to have a dry or crumbly bake when using an almond flour, so I do have a lot of confidence in these mixes turning out as they should first time! I was not let down by this mix either, the texture was so true to what I could remember. On the website it states you could make 20ish cookies, as the box is American and has an american recipe it said makes 12. I made 10 in the end as I wanted quite large cookies, as these are one thing hard to find in the shops gluten free.

If you are looking for a large cookie, like the ones I look longingly at in a bakery, I would strongly suggest giving this mix a go. Being quick and pretty mess free it isn't too time consuming and means it's an easy evening bake, possibly even quicker than popping to the shops for treats!

Retailing at £5.20 you can find these mixes from Make it Gluten Free Ltd either on their website or at one of the many shows they attend, I believe they are in the Excel Centre this weekend if you are looking to try some products!

Hannah x

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

New and Improved Warburtons Thins*

If we cast our minds back a couple of months, at the free from show Warburtons were promoting their new and improved recipe for their sandwich thins. I know it's taken me a while to get around to blogging this product, but I feel they still deserve a post as they are so good!

Previously the thins were visibly smaller and were not half as soft to squish in the pack. Not that I recommend doing that around the shops though, you'll certainly get some funny looks! There are 4 thins per pack and retail at around the £2 mark. I loved the previous thins and had them regularly toasted. I found that the new ones are much softer and much easier to eat without being toasted, as although the previous recipe didn't seem chewy at the time, these make that more prevalent as they are so incredibly soft and fluffy.

I have tried these thins in a variety of ways:

Pizzas
For this I used the white ones. Just add some margarita sauce, mozzarella and any topping you desire then grill until the cheese has melted. That's all there is to it, a10 minute dinner! If you really want to you can even do some micro fries to go with it.

Toasted
I tried these thins just toasted and I added some peanut butter with a smoothie on the side. Perfect with both the white and the seeded thins!

Sandwich
As I was saying previously, you can happily eat these un-toasted, I just added some lurpak and grilled some sausages. I found that I could have eaten another one! There was no dry textures and I had added very little butter to the bread.

Nutella
I tend to eat the raisin and orange thins with just a tad of butter as toast, but I saw on twitter someone adding Nutella to make it like a chocolate orange, so I just had to try! I have to say it was rather fantastic!

The new recipe is so much more palatable than it's predecessor and I have enjoyed them so much more. I believe the guy at Warburton's also told me that these are less calories than the previous recipe, which for all you who like to watch the calories is great too! Plus you get more, tastier bread, what a bonus!

If you see these on the shelf I would recommend giving them a go, if you are only wanting to buy one pack and unsure of which to choose, I personally would recommend the white as they are so much more versatile than the other two varieties!

Hannah  x

*These items were gifted to me to try

Doherty Gluten Free Sausages

Sausages are something that infuriate me more than they should. I feel that all sausages should be gluten free, this particularly bothers me when you look at the finest range in the supermarkets which want you to believe they have high meat content for the price and it's full of gluten filled fillers! When I ordered from Ocado I reached out to you all on twitter and I found that there was a lot of people who enjoyed Doherty sausages. Finding that they were such good value and frozen so I don't have to cook the whole lot, I picked them up.

Eight sausages retail at £2 but I did get mine on offer for £1.60, which even for £2 I think that is a fab price. There is only 67% pork in these compared to the 97% heck sausages, but you have to bare in mind that those are £3 for 6. If you are looking for a cheaper alternative, these may be the product for you. I found in comparison they tasted just as meaty and they didn't shrink or drip any fat when I grilled them.

Eating them for breakfast, James and I made them into sausage sandwiches using the new Warburton sandwich thins. I found that they were super filling and kept me satisfied for most of the day. The next day I had two of these sausages with scrambled egg with spinach and cooked mushrooms. Textually these sausages feel very thick and had I not read the pack I would have thought the meat content would be much higher as they are quite dense too. The skins crisp nicely and if anyone knows me I like when my food is well charcoaled on a BBQ, so these would be perfect!

I worked out two sausages to be around 360 calories, I could be wrong, but for a main part of a meal I don't think this is too bad. Of course the fat content is high but what do you expect from a product such as this! As long as they are not consumed too often, these sausages are a filling treat. Perfect in the freezer for those times that everyone is around and an impromptu BBQ is on the menu!

I could appreciate they may not be for everyone, as I know some would prefer a high meat content sausage. But as all the ingredients are understandable and I know what are in them, this will not bother me too much, particularly if it saves me a few pounds here and there! Gluten free living can be pricey particularly if you are feeding a whole family! I feel taste wise these are comparable to my normal Heck sausages, and the fact they are cheaper, in the freezer and an easy dinner, I think they may become a staple for our naughty weekend breakfasts!

Hannah x

Rule of Crumb Breaded Cod Fillet

I placed my first Ocado order recently for the main reason of trying some Rule of Crumb products. I have seen them at the free from show but as I travel on the tube to the show I don't like to buy anything that is frozen. But as they sell them on Ocado I thought I would give them a go!

James and I decided that the fish fillets would be a perfect option to make a fake-away fish and chip night, so I created a slimming world style chips and added some mushy peas to the meal. Retailing at around £4.50 for two fillets, these are a more expensive option but are great for a treat and those days where you don't want to, or have time to stand in the kitchen for hours.

When opening the pack the first thing I noticed was the size of this product, they were huge! I tend to find free from products such as this tend to be a little small considering the price you pay, but these are a hearty portion. Each breaded fillet is around 333 calories which when you consider the size, I am quite impressed! I love easy cooking on a weeknight and the fact I could just throw these in the oven and let them do their own thing for half hour or so is perfect when multitasking weekday evening tasks.

Out of the oven, the crumb had gone golden and crisp, I can't remember how long the recommended cooking time was but I tend to add a good 15 more across the board with breaded products in general as I love them a little overdone (not burnt!) so they have a more crisp texture! Beautifully flakey and moist, the cod was superb quality. Considering these are frozen it did resemble the distant memory of chip shop fish, before I knew I couldn't eat it!  The quality is certainly reflected in the price and although I was on the fence due to the cost, I am now converted and would 100% buy them again. The flavours and textures are outstanding, I would happily eat this fish if it was served to me in a restaurant.

Ingredient wise, there is not too much to this product, which is something else that I feel is important as sometimes I feel too many ingredients are added to products that are not necessary. This product contains Cod Fillet (65%), Maize, Sunflower Oil, Maize Flour, Rice Flour, Modified Starch (Maize), Maize Starch, Salt. This means that though not stated there is no dairy or egg in this product, which means a much larger audience can enjoy them! 

The only drawback to this product is that it is only available from Ocado. Ocado tends to be a slightly more expensive retailer, mainly for the fact you can only order online and the minimum order spend is £40, which for two people you don't always need. It makes these products so much harder to access. I was hoping they would be available in Waitrose too as I live locally to 6 different Supermarkets, one of which a Waitrose, but as of yet they are not.

If you are a regular Ocado shopper or just fancy trying something new, I would suggest trying as many Rule of Crumb products as you can, I loved all that I tried and I am slightly disapointed I didn't pick up any of the muffins as I will not be ordering from Ocado for a while!

Hannah x

WOW Cake Company Gluten Free Carrot Cake Mix

I felt that I haven't baked something for months, so when I was on my own on Saturday afternoon I thought I would look through my baking cupboard to see what I could find to make, for a cake baked from scratch they were pretty bare. But there was plenty of packet mixes, one of which that I've never tried is the WOW cake carrot cake. So I dug this one out and gave it a go!

To make this cake you need eggs, butter and three carrots. The mix does say to use margarine but I much prefer butter to bake with so I substituted this. Very simply cream the butter and the mix together until smooth, then add the eggs and combine. Finally grate 3 carrots into the bowl and fold them into it. This mix wasn't hard to combine and I didn't feel like I was mixing for hours so it was great! Although the mix gave the impression that you should put the mix into one baking tin, I always bake these kind of things in our sandwich tins as a carrot cake isn't complete without cream cheese icing and I am awful at cutting a cake in half! These went into the oven at gas mark 3/4 for half an hour and came out beautifully risen!

Once cooled and iced I tried this cake out on 5 of my gluten eating friends and family. I initially did not tell them it was gluten free and I was told it's the best cake I have ever baked. Once I revealed my free from secret, they could not believe it. Not a crumb was wasted and they even asked if I could bake it again! If anything I am a little disappointed I only bought one to try as I would happily try the others now! I found the sponge consistency was very moist, light and airy. The flavours were spicy and nutmeg-y with a freshness from the carrot which had seemed to absorb the spice, making an outstandingly professional flavour easy to achieve. The cream cheese icing that I decided to add really finished this bake perfectly and of course you can use dairy free alternatives to create a similar affect.

Being packaged in a tin, it feels like this mix should be able to be bought in refill packs too, this would be something I would do! As this is something that I enjoy about the Honeybuns mix because it creates a nice display on a shelf but minimises packaging waste.

Overall, from baking to devouring, this mix was brilliant and I would use it again! Everything was so simple and just worked, plus once baked it tasted fantastic too!

Hannah x

Isabels Gluten Free Batter Mix

Walking into a chip shop and smelling all the batter and gazing upon all the treats that you just can't eat is one of the worst things! So fake-aways are surely the best thing for all of us with allergies! Onion rings are just one of those things that even if you go to a fish and chip shop, or even in burger places are something you never find gluten free. So James and I thought that this would be the perfect excuse to use the Isabels batter mix.

Being extremely simple to make, all this mix needs is 180ml of water. I popped the mix into a bowl and slowly poured in the water as I mixed them together. As they were only slices of onion I shallow fried them using some vegetable oil. I fried them for about a minute on each side and they were done!

The batter coated the onion well and was very consistent, even the first ones looked good, which is unusual in any batter type products. If anyone says that their first pancake comes out perfect, they are lying! The fact that it feels like nothing is wasted and that I know I could cook these for guests and they will all be perfect is very reassuring as cooking for friends is something I love to do!

Out of the pan, this batter is crisp and has a lovely consistency. The ease of making this batter means it is perfect for a weekday evening too! James also loved it flavour wise and texturally and commented on how there was no difference to regular ones he has and that they were delicious, so a winner in my eyes!

I loved this mix and I would love to try this in more ways, finding out it was so easy and quick I feel I can be more adventurous with what I try next. I am thinking of trying some chicken nuggets and trying to make a Mcdonalds fake away!

Hannah x

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 

Kelkin - Jaffa Cakes

As I was sitting there eating one of my firm favourite sweet treats, it came to my attention that I've never blogged about it! I have lost count of how many times I have bought the Kelkin Jaffa Cakes but I have yet to speak about them in this little corner of the internet.

A box that contains 12 of these cakes are around the £2 mark, but can be found on offer quite often. Being suitable for veggies, this plus point means that more people can enjoy a jaffa cake as some of the orange jelly in mainstream ones are not vegetarian due to using gelatine.

Described as a light sponge cake with a tangy orange centre covered in delicious dark chocolate, these cakes fit their description to a tee. Being a sponge there is a fear of it being quite dry, but this is not the case (unless you leave them out too long, like all cake). There is a good amount of jelly which is vividly bright orange and flavoured so fully. There is no mistaking the orange in this cake. I find that the chocolate too is delightful and richly dark but I would enjoy it if there were a little more, particularly over the jelly. I quite enjoy when you get a slight snap of chocolate as you are biting into a jaffa cake, which is something these do not provide. But other than that, on the whole this cake is well rounded.

Free from wheat and gluten, these cakes are 100% suitable for coeliacs. There is no mention of milk in the ingredient list, although it warns that they may contain milk, nuts and lupin, so I would presume that those with an allergy to milk could possibly try these at their own risk. Like all things it's best to asses your own situation and reaction you may have when deciding whether to try a product, but I would advise if you have an allergy rather than an intolerance, or your intolerance is severe, it is best to not try these, just in case. Unfortunately if you are vegan, or suffer an egg or soya allergy, then this is definitely not the cake for you, as both egg and soya are in the ingredient list.

I find these are the perfect magazine and coffee kind of cake and I would love to know what you think of them!

Hannah x

Norfolk Eats - Gluten Free

James and I went to Norfolk for the week, so as and when I remembered I took a snap of what I ate and thought I would show you the highlights and if I made the meal, how I did it!

Chicken Nachos
The first night we got there I intended to make chicken nachos, but we were so tired we had potato smilies so I postponed this meal till the second night. Simply created, this meal consisted of the Bfree fajita mix being thrown into some pan cooked chicken, I added water and a little butter to make a thicker sauce out of it to flavour the nachos. I then dished a plate of tortilla chips added the chicken and finely diced pepper, spring onion and tomato, then I grated a ton of cheese over and popped them in the oven for a few minutes until the cheese had melted! Simple!

Caramel Macchiato
I am a through and through Starbucks addict, nothing can make me part with my money quite as easily as a Starbucks can. This holiday we thought we would get creative. We had a Nespresso machine in our lodge so I decided to create my own coffees! My personal best were the caramel Macchiato style ones I made with a decaf pod, vanilla extract, milk and my milk whisk as well as a tad of M&S toffee sauce, they tasted just like the real thing. I experimented and tried hazelnut extract and it tasted just like the limited editions they do, so I was very pleased! James loved the mocha I made, this consisted of the Selfridges hot chocolate, a decaf pod, whipped cream, chocolate sauce, sprinkles and fudge pieces as well as my trusty milk and whisk. They were perfect, we even bought along our starbucks mugs to make it like the real thing!

Salmon on Toast
We had many different breakfast, from avocado on toast to local bacon with eggs, but my personal favourite has to be the salmon on toast. I used Genius white bread with soft cheese and salmon, I also added salt, pepper and chives. Delish!

No.33 White Chocolate and Raspberry Cake
No trip to Norwich is complete without stopping into No.33 for one of their amazing gluten free cakes. I don't know how they do it but they are always amazing and so moist. This one was white chocolate and raspberry. The slices are always huge, I have yet to finish one. I had this with hot chocolate to make it a real treat. I just wish they were much closer so I could enjoy them more often!

Giraffe Steak
We went into Norwich a couple of times on the trip and we stopped into Giraffe. Giraffe are able to do gluten free chips in a different fryer, which is great. This being the case I had steak which was tender with such lovely crispy chips. Eating this outside seemed to make it taste to much nicer too! I had my favourite iced tea from them, which if you haven't tried, you really must!

Tuna Pasta Bake
I made a tuna pasta bake this holiday so we could try the Isabels dough balls. These are so fun to make and they turned out so well, so simple and effective! We had ours with garlic Lurpak and I honestly could have just had them for dinner!

Ice cream station
Did you ever go to pizza hut as a child and love their ice-cream factory? I know I did. So we created our own! With a selection of the Waitrose one ice creams and some sauces, flakes and 1.2.3 gluten free brownies, and of course some sprinkles for good measure!

Prosecco Breakfast
Ok I may have lied, this was the best breakfast of the holiday! James and I celebrated six months of engagement on this holiday and I was awoken on the Saturday to breakfast in bed. He bought me through as glass of prosecco, a glass of juice and a selection of the Genius pastries with some butter, lemon curd and some grapes. Of course I made him a coffee in return!

Chicken Ceaser Salad
The Saturday evening we decided to eat at the fine dining restaurant where we were staying. To start I had the most amazing chicken ceaser salad, the flavours were so intense and luxurious, hands down the best thing I have eaten out in a long time! For mains we both had a beautiful steak with fluffy chips, and some rose to wash it down!

I hope you have a great week!

Hannah x