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

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

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

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

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

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 

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

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

What pasta dish isn't complete without some garlic bread or dough balls? For years it has been hard to find good gluten free sides, but there have been quite a few new products hit the market  recently from Tesco, such as their dough balls and garlic bread (which I have reviewed here). But I have never tried the old classic of Isabels Doughball mix, so I thought it was about time I should!

The mix only needed some cheese (we used mature), an egg and some oil (I used butter as I had no oil to hand). Very simply all you need to do is combine these ingredients with the dry mix, form into balls and bake! No need to leave it to settle before baking or messy prep work, I had put off making them for a while because I thought it would be a messy task, but I couldn't have been more wrong!

The mix said it would make 12 balls but I managed to create 15. This maybe because mine were quite small, but I enjoy more bite-sized pieces, which is the beauty of making your own, you can choose the size. Once out of the oven, these golden brown dough balls are very crisp on the outside and are soft and bouncy in the middle, I think that the fat in the cheese helps create this winning combination.

These very cheesy dough balls are rich and perfect with some Lurpak garlic butter. We had ours with tuna pasta bake but they would be perfect with any pasta dish, pizza or even on their own as they are very addictive in taste and texture! I find packet mixes seem to have much more superior taste and texture to many shop bought pre made equivalents.

I would love to know if you have tried these dough balls and what you thought, or even if you have used the mix in part of a recipe I'd love to know! I am thinking about trying making something similar to the Dominos dough ball bites by stuffing them with pepperoni before baking!

If you are interested in trying this mix, you can purchase it here!

Hannah x

It's been a good week since my last post as I was on holiday and the wifi and signal was awful, so I have eaten plenty and just need to blog it all! One of the things James and I love to do is to bake, so we thought we would take the 1.2.3 Gluten Free brownie mix that was sent to me from Make it Gluten Free Ltd on holiday with us for some evening baking. (You can find their website here)

The box claims to make 2x more than other brownie mixes and let's face it, we love brownies! And not even we were able to get through it in a week and ended up bringing half the brownie home with us! It is huge! It is such good value for money if you are looking to cater to a party of gluten free people. Also on the box it claims to be free from wheat and gluten, dairy and casein, peanut and tree nut, as well as corn, soy, sesame and eggs (that's if you use an egg replacer) so is pretty much perfect for anyone with the main dietary allergies. To top it all off it is also free of artificial flavours and colours! What more could you want!

The recipe was super simple too, just add 4 eggs and 118ml of butter, that's it, done! We poured the mix into a baking pan with some parchment lining the bottom and left it to cook for around 20 minutes. Out of the oven, the top had gone lovely and glossy and had a slight crackle effect. It looked perfect!

Once cooled slightly I cut a slice and it was a beautifully dense brownie, much like the ones that are sold in Costa Coffee, although you can make a whole tray for the same price as two of their brownies! I didn't add any nuts or fudge chips which are listed as optional extras as I wanted to try the brownie as it was. By itself it is extremely chocolaty and very rich with a crisp top and soft middle, it is simply delightful!

I would recommend if you are baking this for only a few people, to split the mix before baking and add some nuts or fudge into one. This way you have a few different flavours to choose from, as there is plenty of mix to do this.

From children's parties to afternoon teas, I will certainly reach for the 1.2.3 Gluten Free mix as it makes plenty for everyone and James loved it too. This means I know I can safely serve this to gluten eaters without the fear of them thinking it tastes different or odd! We just added a side of squirty cream and mini fudge chunks or just vanilla ice cream and sprinkles to make some fun desserts! You could even crumble it into a glass and add ice cream, cream and sprinkles to create sundaes!

Hannah x

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

The Sprit of Summer range hit M&S stores relatively recently and along with that, there was a little revitalise of the gluten free premade sandwich options! They introduced two wraps into the range, a mexican three bean and a chicken piri piri, I have tried both so the mexican bean review will be up soon! But I have to say that the chicken wrap in particular is my favourite gluten free pre packed wrap and the best I have ever tried.

Retailing at £3.50, this is comparable to all M&S wraps in the sandwich section, which is nice that we aren't paying a lot more. The whole wrap is around 360 calories which is comparable to the likes of Costa and Starbucks wraps, but there is an awful lot more filling inside.

My favourite thing about this wrap is it is a bit more adventurously flavoured. How many times have you seen all the options available to everyone else and felt disappointed you could only get chicken salad or cheese, I know I have. This wrap has marinated chicken, sweet chilli sauce, coleslaw and leaves (which I think is mostly spinach).  It has a slight heat but then its cooled by the coleslaw, it's really quite exceptional for the free from market. The chicken is succulent and tender, with quite large pieces and the coleslaw is beautifully creamy, I really cannot fault it texturally or flavour wise

Also unlike most free from wraps that use the Warburton's wraps, these do not, they are a thin soft round wrap, more like the sort you would find from BFree, which makes a nice change. Don't get me wrong I love Warburton's wraps but sometimes I feel like I would like something a little less bread-y and that the bread can over power the filling. This is where this wrap is perfect, it makes it so fresh and unique.

I would really recommend giving this wrap a go, I had to go back the next day to buy another as I enjoyed it so much! I would love to know if you have got hold of many of the new Made Without Wheat range in M&S, my local one doesn't stock all that much but when I see something new I have to buy it! It would be great to know what you think I need to try from the range, I desperately want to try the cheesecake but mine is yet to stock it!

Hannah x

We have a new product from Delicious Alchemy to try! My love for Delicious Alchemy is something I don't think could ever be broken. Although they do not have loads of product lines like other gluten free brands, Delicious Alchemy products I feel are always developed to the point of perfection before anything new is released. Because of this, DA's products are always exceptional and everything I have tried has been fantastic, remember how well my vanilla sponge was received by gluten eaters!

So when Delicious Alchemy reached out to me with a new product release, I was most certainly not going to turn down an opportunity to try this great product, as Delicious Alchemy is hard to find in my local stores and only stock a couple of their products.

So here's what I received:

Wonderfully Nutty Granola 
Let's start with Delicious Alchemy's new product. This rather chunky nutty granola contains almonds, hazelnuts and raisins. How truly scrumptious does that sound!?!?! A 50g portion contains 230 calories, 9.9g fat (I assume from the nuts) 29.3g of carbs and 3.1g of fibre. This sounds nutritionally quite a well rounded granola and what you would expect, and as the granola only contains natural ingredients that I can read, I know exactly what I am eating. I find this hugely important at the minute as I am being more conscious of eating whole, natural, clean foods for other health reasons, rest assured though, I am still having my sweet treats! Retailing at £3 online and seeing them for £2.85 in Sainsbury's, this is very comparable to competitors in the same market gram for gram, which is great!

Purely Oaty Fruity Muesli 
This is one product I have yet to see in person, although I know has been around for a while and just never got around to ordering it online, so it is great to now have a bag! Again this product is full of natural oats, seeds and dried fruits and again I can read every ingredient and all seems rather nutritious. Perfect start to the day. Retailing at £2.99, this is fantastic value as although you could make your own muesli easily, this contains a good amount for the price, and you're not left with a 1kg bag full of sultanas as it was the only size in the shop, let's face it we've all been there! These are also dairy free too, bonus!

I will try both of these and let you know what I think, I am tempted to hold onto the granola (if my willpower lets me) and take it on holiday which is only 10 days away, eek! As I think this bag looks about the right size to last the whole holiday without any left overs!

If you have tried the new granola from Delicious Alchemy, let me know, I have no doubt about loving it if their other products can be used to base my opinion on!

Hannah x

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

Hannah x

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

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

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

So here is what I bought!

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

Hannah x

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

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

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

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

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

Hannah x