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

Before heading off to my best friends 21st birthday party, James and I thought it would be a great idea to make some pizzas as a late lunch/early dinner. I was sent this packet mix just before my birthday/engagement party took over my life, so we thought that now would be the best time to make them!

The mix is suitable for two pizzas and only requires apple cider vinegar, oil and water, so it's super simple! The mix itself is made in a few minutes, if you don't faff like we did of course! The ingredients to the flour mix are almond Flour, arrowroot powder, flax meal, cauliflower, aluminium-free baking soda, organic oregano, cream of tartar andorganic garlic, so I was interested to try. The ingredients are all readable and understandable so in some respect are quite clean, I like the majority of the food I eat to be like this. This mix before adding topping is free from grain, dairy, soy, refined sugar & emulsifiers/gums and artificial flavours and colours. Its is also paleo-friendly, vegan, Non-GMO and certified Gluten-Free and Kosher.

The process for making these bases is one of the most simple recipes I have followed, just mix the wet and dry ingredients together until it resembles a dough, then split in two, flatten onto a pizza try and bake for 5 minutes. Remove from the oven, put all your yummy toppings on and bake for 10-15 minutes, until done! That's it! So simple I think these would be great to make with kids, even if you have more than one child you could make mini pizzas each with a side of chips and salad!

James and I chose to put cured meats such as parma ham and salami on our pizzas and topped with rocket and spinach at the end! They were beautiful! I made my base quite thin and I really enjoyed it, it went very crisp and honestly tasted like a good quality handmade pizza. There was no odd after taste and the flavour of the base was lovely, even James' couldn't tell the difference, so it was a winner!

We decided to film us making the pizza, so why not take a look! I would certainly buy this product again as I loved how the flour was premixed, I won't have to have a number of bags of flours that could spill or weigh out, its a quick fix and can be done at any time as its a fast bake!

You can find the packet mix on the Make it Gluten Free website and retails at £4.75 so at just under £2.40 for two for dinner or more if you share with sides or make mini pizzas with children, it is quite cost effective, depending on your toppings and sides of course. Nevertheless dominos for the two of us tends to cost £20-£30 depending on deals and what toppings we fancy. Making these not only were  cheaper than a takeaway, but also was really enjoyable and we had so much fun.

Hannah x

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