Feel Good Brews

Over Christmas I received a lot of different varieties of teas that I’ve really been enjoying trying out.  I’m still a massive coffee gal at heart, but there really isn’t anything better than jumping into bed with a nice cuppa tea at night!

Tea Pigs

Like I said in my January Favourites post, I’ve been adoring the Tea Pigs Spiced Winter Red Tea that I purchased after trying out a sample in my pix’n’mix box.  It’s the perfect tea for when you’ve got a bit of a sweet tooth, but you’re not too sure what for.

PG Tips

Now I’m that person who tries and tries again to enjoy a cup of green tea, and every single time I’m left even more disappointed than the last by the bitter taste and odd flavour.  I want to like it, I know it’s good for me, I just can’t bring myself to do it.  However, PG Tips have made this problem disappear for me, as they’ve upped the green tea game with their new strawberry cupcake flavour!  Although the green tea flavour is still very much present, it really does taste like a sweet cupcake, especially with a trusty splash of agave nectar in there too.  I picked these up from Morrisons for £1 a couple of weeks back, but I’ve since seen them in Home Bargains too for just 89p!

Clippers

I won’t go into too much detail here because I did already speak about this lovely brew in my routine for good sleeppost, however what I will say is that if you’re a fan of cinnamon and enjoy a night time tea anyway – this very well might be the brew for you!

Daily Cultures

I’ve been a fan of these guys for a little over a year now, but over Christmas time I was lucky enough to win one of their Instagram competitions – which resulted in them sending me over a whole month’s supply of their yummy peppermint tea.  Each brew is loaded with probiotics to help heal your gut naturally, and so seeing as peppermint tea is great for soothing stomach pains anyway, this has gone down a right treat over the last few months with my boyfriend and myself.  I like to reach for this on days when I’m feeling poorly or even if I’m just feeling a little bloated, it always makes me feel better within a couple of hours of drinking, and it’s one that I like to keep in my handbag too… just cause you never know when you might need it!

Cuppanut

I treated myself to the coconut and turmeric flavour back in November when I had a 1/3 off voucher to use in Holland and Barrett.  Unsure how I was going to feel about the stuff at the time – I had actually picked it up as mum had told me she liked the look of it  - I was actually pleasantly surprised by Mr Gareth Gates tasty creation!  It’s a really nice sweet and coconutty taste with a lovely almost creamy sensation to it too.  The turmeric isn’t at all noticeable other than in the colour, which I guess isn’t a bad thing as I’m not sure how I was going to feel about it.  I’m looking forward to trying out the other Cuppanut brews that Holland and Barret have to offer too!

What's your favourite brew at the moment?

Until the next one,

The Vegan Kind Box August

I treated myself to a Vegan Kind box in August after my mum received her one in the post – the items inside were so brill that I couldn’t help myself!  It was a massive bargain too, as everything in the box totally up over £20, and I got mine for just £8.50 with a money off voucher!  Although it wasn’t much of a surprise when it came as I knew what to expect, I was still super excited to pop open the box and tuck in.

Hippeas

These chickpea puffs were one of the items from the box that my mum raved about, so I was quite excited to try these out as I’ve seen them in the likes of Holland and Barrett and Boots in town.  They were really thick and crunchy, and although it doesn’t look like you get a lot in the bag, because they are so big it is actually a really good sized portion.  Very herby in taste, this particular flavour was not really up my street.  They were nice and really packed with flavour, but not amazing.  I’ll definitely pick up the other flavours to see what one does take my fancy, as I really liked the texture of the snacks!

Squirrel Sisters

The packaging for this snack bar was really cute, I loved the colour and the little squirrels were funky!  I wasn’t really feeling this bar, it was oddly a little sour – I think this was the fruits used to flavour.  It reminded me of a flapjack/nakd bar, kind of a mix of both.  I really liked the coconut flakes that they had mixed through, you could really taste these with every bite!  I’d maybe try out the other flavours of these bars, if I ever come across them in the shops!

Candy Kittens

By far my favourite snack from the bunch, these sweeties excited both me and my mum when she opened up her box, as she’s been filling me in on the new vegan flavour for ages!  We both loved Percy Pigs when she was veggie, however now that she’s gone completely vegan – she can no longer have them due to beeswax.  The Candy Kittens sweeties remind me of these, the texture is amazing and the taste is really nice too – not too sweet yet not so artificial.  They’ve really created a fab vegan sweetie – and I only hope that they decide to expand their vegan range further, as beef gelatine is gross and we don’t need that stuff in sweeties!  Since receiving my box I have repurchased Candy Kittens from my not so local Sainsburys, and plan to do so for the foreseeable future.

Landgarten Crunchy Choco Snack

I’ve seen these bad boys online advertised as the vegan alternative of Maltesers – as seeing as these were a favourite of mine before my diet change, I was really quite excited by this particular snack!  Although very small in size, these little crunchy choco balls hit the sweet spot perfectly without being too sickly or bitter with the dark chocolate.  I myself personally wouldn’t compare them to Maltesers, as they’re substantially crunchier and completely different in taste altogether, however I can see why they’ve been compared.  I absolutely would pick these up again as they were a really nice wee treat – I juts hope I come across them in town sometime soon!

Vegan Egg

This is one of the items I was most excited to try out, as finding something that I can make an omelette style meal or scrambled egg is what I’ve been looking into for a while now.  I recently tried out scrambled tofu which I loved, and had hoped that this would be the as good if not better than that.  Unfortunately, I just really could not stomach the texture of this, it was super slimy and just not my cup of tea at all. I had cooked it like an omelette, and then scrambled it when I realised how floppy it was.  I flavoured this with black salt and pepper, and it did taste pretty good, however the texture was just too much.  I reckon this would be better trying it in some baking good, however that’s just my opinion and I’m sure people love this just the way I cooked it!  

This box was well worth the money, and I can promise you that I will be making a repurchase again from The Vegan Kind.  I treated my mum to the September box too this month which was pretty amazing - I just can't decide if I can stretch my budget that far this month yet to get one for myself too!  Watch this space...

Until the next one,

Vegan Tuck Box

So after a couple of months of eyeing up this subscription box, this was the month that I decided to give it a go and make the purchase.  Although it did take a little longer than I had hoped to arrive in the post, when it did finally get here it made me really excited to find all of the goodies inside!

Tyrell's Sweet Chilli & Red Pepper Crisps 

These are AMAZING!  They taste just like the Sweet Chilli Sensations, but these are gluten free!  My only problem is that the bag was half full, not cool when you open up a bag of half air.  Despite this, I'll definitely buy these again because they are super good and make a change from my normal ready salted.  

Body Me Organic Protein Bar

First of all, I want to say that I love, love, love the packaging of all things – it’s super cute, looks pretty and states all the facts about the snack very clearly on the front, which I really like!  I had actually come across this brand on Twitter about a week before I received my vegan snack box, so was quite excited to get to try this one out!  I also love chocolate orange too, so that was an added bonus too.  I’m not really one for protein bars though, however as this one is organic and packed with plant protein, I decided it would make a good snack for when I’m feeling hungry but trying to be good.  The protein bar itself was really nice, not too overpowering with chocolate orange but just enough flavour to keep you going back for more!  It was a really weird texture, but again one that I actually quite enjoyed.  It almost feels powdery in your mouth as you’re chewing which might be a little off putting to some but I really liked it.  It was also a funky shape too, kind of shaped like an oval which make it easy to eat from the packet!  I really liked this one, and would pick up again for sure if I ever decide to quick myself into gear and get back into the gym life!

Loving Earth Chocolate

I was really excited to receive such a large bar of chocolate, as it’s been a while since I had a decent piece of choccy!  It was only after that I had started tucking into this that I realised that it was made from cashew nuts – however it is really, really nice!  I’ve not indulged in this in the one sitting, instead I’ve been enjoying this square by square – which obviously means that it has lasted me a lot longer – as well as allowing me to actually enjoy the flavours!  The chocolate melts in your mouth slowly in your mouth, and doesn’t leave a bitter or unpleasant taste afterwards either.  I would love to be able to purchase this again, however there are no stockists within a 50km radius that I know of yet!

Chocolate and Coconut Flapjacks

My mum had actually received these in one of her The Vegan Kind boxes that myself and my boyfriend had purchased for her for her birthday.  She offered me one a few times to try when she had them, but I politely declined seeing as these were her treats!  It made me super happy when they arrived in my Vegan Tuck Box, as they’re gluten free too and I could finally try them.  They reminded me of the breakfast bars that I used to eat when I was little at primary school, they’re very nice but also a little sickly.  I couldn’t sit and eat them one after the other for sure – and they’re pretty small bars so that’s saying something!  They make a lovely wee treat with a lovely cuppa – day or night.

I loved having the chance to try out a lot of different bits and bobs that I probably wouldn't have picked up if I saw them in the shop.  Although this definitely won't be something that I purchase myself every month, it will be one of my go to treats in the future.

What's your favourite subscription box right now?

Until the next one,

Taylors of Harrogate Tea

After seeing an advert on Facebook a few weeks back which was offering free samples of Taylors fruit teas, I decided to chance my luck and fill out the form.  I love a good fruit tea, and the ones that the Taylors website had shown looked awesome.  To my surprise, I received the cutest little package from them just a week and a bit later.  Inside contained a sample of the Sour Cherry tea, Green Tea with Sweet Mint and Sweet Rhubarb. 

I tried out the sweet rhubarb first with a tea spoon of agave nectar.  I know that fruit teas should be sweet enough already, but to me they taste just ever so slightly bitter.  I always add a little just because that’s the way I like it.  I enjoyed this cuppa right before bed – and found it very nice!  Although ever so slightly bitter as you take a sip, it soon turns sweet and tasty – and unlike some teas it doesn’t turn really bitter as you make your way down the mug. 

The sour cherry tea was by far the one I was most keen to try, so you can imagine my excitement when I found one in my little package!  My excitement was not let down either, this was by far my favourite tea of them all.  It tasted just like real black cherries, and turned ever so slightly sour as you sipped, which was a really nice and different twist to the tea!  I will definitely purchase a box of sour cherry again when I can source a local supplier – it makes the perfect alternative to my normal night time cuppa, it was super tasty and a real good price at £3 a box!

Last but not least I tried out my Green Tea and Sweet Mint tea bag, which I wasn’t really sure that I would enjoy as green tea is not really my thing.  This one however was actually really nice (with a little sugar I should add) and actually left me feeling really refreshed!  The sweet mint really helped to get over the normally bitter taste I find with green tea, so much so that I would actually serisouly consider purchasing this over peppermint tea in the future! 

My favourite thing about these teas is the colours, I don’t know if it’s done deliberately or not – but the packaging is the exact colour of each tea as it is brewed!  They were all super pretty colours too, which made the whole thing even better in my eyes.

Have you tried out any of the Taylors tea range?  What’s your favourite?

Until the next one,

Summer Berries at Tesco

This month The Orchard at Tesco invited me to be a part of their Summer Berries programme, which I was super pleased about because its strawberry season!  They kindly sent me a £3 voucher to pick myself up a punnet of berries of my choosing, and in return would like to know my honest thoughts about the product I chose.  I grabbed myself the largest and nicest looking punnet of strawberries from my local Tesco, with a dessert in mind that I found from my nutritionists website here.  I’ve been dying to try out coconut cream for a while now, so thought that this would be the perfect opportunity to give it a go!

The strawberries are the most gorgeous shade of red ever – they look really healthy and fresh in the punnet, as if I have just picked them off a farm myself there and then!  As I washed them under the tap, the sweet aroma of the strawberries filled the kitchen, which is one of my all-time favourite smells ever.  There is nothing quite like the smell of fresh strawberries.  I picked myself a decent sized portion from the punnet, and cut them into halves to enjoy with my coconut cream.  The smell grew stronger as I did this, and the juices spilled onto the chopping board – proving that I had a really delicious and fresh bunch too! 

To make your coconut cream, you simply need to purchase yourself a tin of full fat coconut milk.  Pop in the fridge overnight, and the next day your milk will have turned into a really thick cream – which is absolutely delightful with strawberries, might I add!   I added a tiny amount of agave nectar to my bowl for a little extra sweetness, however this really was not necessary because the strawberries tasted as good as they smelt!  Sometimes when I buy strawberries, I find them to look really appealing but taste rather bland or simply like water as I make my way through the punnet.  Tesco did not disappoint with these ones though, every strawberry tastes as good as the last one – and unfortunately for me, my family seem to think so too!  I went to bed with a near half full punnet last night, only to discover this morning that I’ll be needing to make another purchase sooner rather than later! 

I’m really, really pleased with these strawberries from Tesco, and super chuffed that I got to try them for free, thanks to The Orchard programme!

What’s your favourite summer berry?

Until the next one,

Beanies Coffee

As you’ll probably remember from my June Lust List, I decided that it was about time that I treated myself to another purchase from Beanies Coffee - and got myself a jar of their latest flavour – Cookie Dough. 

I was getting super excited when Beanies started to create a buzz about their new flavour, as I always do.  However I got a little too bit excited when I thought that it was going to be a Cherry Bakewell flavour, alas it wasn’t meant to be this time.  But if you’re reading this Head Bean – I would LOVE Cherry Bakewell for your next flavour! *wink wink* *nudge nudge*  I have to say though, when I spied that Cookie Dough was the new flavour, the excitement arose inside me once again - and without disappointment too!
Beanies always feel generous over the bank holiday weekends and usually have a competition on or even better, a great deal.  Last week was no exception, when they were offering three jars of coffee of your choosing and either a travel mug or an actual mug for just £10 including delivery!  
£10 INCLUDING DELIVERY!  
Even better yet, they promised to include an extra wee gift in with your parcel, which really sold it to me.  Purchased on Friday the 27^th and delivered by Thursday the 2^nd – I have been enjoying all three of the lovely flavours that Head Bean has been creating with his minions over the years - and my super cute tea towel!

Wow – like holy mother of wow!  The second you open up your jar of Cookie Dough, you are met with the most delicious scent of creamy goodness.  I know I say this about all of the Beanies coffees, but I really just can’t help it.  They know how to make a fantastic smelling and tasty brew!  Although it doesn’t smell the same as a freshly baked batch of cookies – it really does give you the urge to fetch a cookie from the cupboard!  Since I’m currently still ditching the dairy, I’ve been making my coffees with almond and coconut milk, which you might think may take the cookie dough taste away – but I think it actually enhances it, as these milks are not particularly strong in taste!  To be enjoyed in the morning, afternoon or evening – Cookie Dough is perfect for giving me that instant caffeine hit, whilst subtly soothing my need for a sugar hit too!  Like nearly every single time Beanies realease a new flavour, I think it’s safe to say that this is one that will become a staple in my Beanies orders – I’ve raved about it so much that both my mum and dad have tried and fallen in love with it too, which is great for Beanies but sad for me as my stash is now becoming low again!  You know what they say though – sharing is caring!  I also picked out another two of my personal favourites; Chocolate Orange and Coconut Delight!  

Beanies flavoured coffees contain less than 2 calories per cup, they’re sugar free and each flavour tastes absolutely delicious.  For people who are trying to be good and avoiding sugary snacks, I find that these coffees give just enough flavour to try and control my constant sweet tooth.  Although I will be honest, there is nothing than I enjoy more than a choccy biccy with my cuppa coffee some days!  Every single flavour is also suitable for both vegetarians and vegans – which is amazing because you’d be surprised by what kind of random animal products manufactures throw into their products these days.  What I love the most about Beanies is that they are not even unreasonably priced.  Each jar costs just £2.50, and they recommend that you only need 1 teaspoon worth of coffee per brew, meaning that each jar will last you a decent length of time!  Beanies online almost always have some sort or promotion on be it free delivery or a free mug when you purchase 6 jars – making it even better value for money.  However if you’re desperate to try out these amazing coffees sooner rather than later, some Sainsburys stock Chocolate Orange, Irish Cream, Cinder Toffee and Almond Amaretto – so you’ve plenty to choose from if you really cannot wait.

So thank you Beanies, you’ve blown me away with another fantastic flavour and convinced me once again that I'm going to have to make another purchase again sooner rather than later.  Happy Lauren, not so happy bank balance.

Have you tried out any of the Beanies range yet?   What’s your favourite?

Until the next one,

Nakd Treats

I’ve said it before and I’ll say it again, Nakd bars and nibbles have been my go to treats these last few weeks ever since I got my results.  I have a major sweet tooth, like a major one.  I feel like I need something sweet after every meal, which I know probably isn’t very healthy but I just can’t seem to shift the habit.  Nakd have really helped me out with this problem any time I’ve ever tried to diet or give myself a health kick.  More so now though, that I can’t sit back with a bar of chocolate or just any regular slice of cake.  They’ve been my saviour for my cravings, and a really healthy one at that!

Nakd treats are made with 100% pure and natural fruits and nuts, making them perfect for a quick snack or pick me up throughout the day. All bars and nibbles are gluten/dairy/wheat free, as well as being suitable for vegans too.  The majority of Nakd snacks have a total of 3-7 ingredients in them – and better yet, you can actually pronounce and would probably recognise them all if they were laid out in front of you to see!   Nakd have such a wide array of flavours that are available now, with anything from pecan pie to chocolate orange to ginger bread.  With so many flavours to choose from, and trust me… there have been many occasions that these bars have helped me out – I’ve been able to select the chosen few that makes me sad to run out of at any time.

Cherry Bakewell has been a favourite treat of mine for many years now, I love the sweet taste of the marzipan and the cherry with the icing – and I’ve been lucky enough to find a gluten and dairy free alternative of the real deal too.  When I spied that Nakd had created a healthy bar of one of my favourite treats – I grabbed it and can say with 100% honesty that it is the exact replica of the pretty calorific tea time tart!  From the smell, to the taste and even the texture, Nakd have managed to whip together the most perfect healthy alternative that there possibly could be.  Bakewell Tart is my absolute favourite out of all of the bars, and I try to always pick them up whenever they are available to buy.

The Fruit Salad Nakd Nibbles have been my go too snack for whenever I fancy a sweetie style snack.  Depending on what I have just had for my tea, I either like to have something chocolatey or fruity – so the Fruit Salad and Mint Humbugs have been my favourites for these occasions. They are perfect for munching straight out of the bag, or mixing in with a yoghurt or even in some cereal throughout the day.  Surprisingly enough too, they are actually pretty filling on their own, so they are great for munching in-between lunch and tea time to keep you going. 

My all-time favourite chocolate snack is always anything chocolate orange flavoured.  Coffee, body scrub and the real deal itself, if its chocolate orange – I’ll probably love it.  So the fact that Nakd have managed to create another one of my all time favourite treats was absolutely fantastic news for me.  Although slightly more chocolatey than orangey, it really is a yummy snack to munch on whenever I’m feeling the need to satisfy my cravings.  Not quite as good as the real deal, but hey – they can’t all be perfect!

If you’ve not tried out any of the Nakd nibbles or treats yet, then I highly recommend that you do.  They are the perfect little sweet treat to munch on, and are pretty much guilt free too!  I'm keeping my eyes peeled for the mint chocolate bars right now, but I can't seem to find them anywhere!

What is your favourite Nakd treat?

Until the next one,

Food Intolerance Test – Foods I Can Eat

I’m now starting my fourth week on my yeast/dairy/gluten/garlic/chilli/ginger free diet – what a mouthful, huh?  It was really daunting and difficult to start off with, but I can actually say that I’m almost enjoying it now.  I’ve seen a great improvement to my overall health this last month; I’m not bloated every day, my skin feels and even looks healthy, I’ve lost weight and I’ve felt that I’ve had a lot more energy overall.  I don’t tend to take many naps anymore either, which was something I used to do near every single day!  So yeah, I’m really happy that with another two weeks to go, there is still potential to see even more good come from my diet change. 

Mum made me some blueberries muffins!

At the end of the six weeks, I’m looking forward to introducing garlic and chilli back into my diet… slowly.  I’m pretty content now with my gluten/yeast/dairy freeways, but I’m really excited to get some flavour back into my life!  I’m just really hoping that these are not the foods that are contributing to my eczema, as the one thing I miss the most from this whole experience is garlic! 

When we discovered that chilli and garlic is in almost every single jar of pasta sauce, we improvised and made our own!

There are a number of foods that I have come across this last month that are surprisingly gluten/dairy/yeast free – which have pretty much been my go too snacks and dinners:

-baked beans         

-almond butter                 

-quorn roast chicken peices

-pombears             

-kettle chips                     

-quorn peppered steak

-ruffles bars           

 -seabrook lattice crisps     

-linda mcarthney red onion sausages

-skinny popcorn      

-propercorn                      

-quorn bacon

-nakd bars              

-eggs                               

-fruit yoyos

-rice cakes              

-rice                                 

-fruit winders

-plant based milks  

-violife cheese                   

-free from salad cream

-free from pasta     

-free from chocolate          

-fruit and veg (low sugar preferably)

-frys peppermint creams                                  

-tellytots                         

-alpro yoghurt        

-lizis granola                     

-seabrook ready salted crisps                       

-coconut oil            

-nutribix                           

-tofu 

-ninebars  

There really isn’t that many things that are suitable, but at the same time I’m still really surprised by the amount of choice there is for the people who simply cannot eat gluten or dairy alone.  I thought that these two would be the most difficult for me to stick too – but it turns out that finding foods without garlic, ginger and chill has been just as equally awkward!

Overall, I’m pleasantly surprised by how much I have actually enjoyed watching what eat, I feel really good about my overall health at the moment and I hope that I have the will power to keep going in the long run!  I’m hoping to be able to cut back on the flavoured water that I drink daily too, because I’ve recently become more aware of the artificial sweeteners and how they can affect the body.  One thing at a time though kids!

Do you know anyone adjusting their diet right now too? 

Until the next one,

Food Intolerance Testing

Back in April after another trip to the doctors regarding my eczema, my dad very kindly offered to pay for me to go and see a nutritionist.  My little brother had just received his results from his own trip, and after it flagged up that he had an intolerance to  foods that we never would have suspected – he thought it would be a great idea to see if there was something that I was eating that could potentially cause my skin to flare up. 

The test consisted of a few general questions about my current eating habits, what my diet is like and how often my skin acts up.  She then went on to take a small blood sample from my finger by pricking the skin – as this would allow her to test for up to 50 foods that I may be intolerant to.  A week later, my nutritionist got back to me with some surprising results.

Nakd bars have been my saviour

The three foods that first flagged up as triggers were chilli, ginger and garlic.  I wasn’t quite so surprised by this, as when I actually sat down and thought about it, it made perfect sense that this could be causing my eczema.  I live at home, and thankfully my mother is still more than happy to feed me and cook me dinner (god bless you mumma) – and as a family we eat a lot of spicy food.  We also like garlic.  My mum really likes garlic – and so chilli and garlic tend to end up in most of the foods we eat.  I tend to have ginger on occasion, usually it’s in a sweet treat or tea – but not as often as the other two.  So yeah, it made perfect sense.  I’ve been advised to cut out all three for up to six weeks, and then slowly introduce them again to see if it makes an improvement or causes another flare up when I start eating them again.  So these last two weeks, my foods have been really, really bland – it turns out that it is not just my mum who puts chilli and garlic in everything.  The shops do too.

The most shocking intolerance for me anyway, and the one that has caused me the most problems is the intolerance to yeast, which appears to be the major one.  Again, yeast appears to be present in a lot of the convenient foods that I would normally go for – cereals, bread, frozen foods and even some sweets.  It was a real challenge to find foods that are chilli, garlic, ginger and yeast free to begin with.  Then we had to add gluten and dairy to the mix.

To allow myself to rid my body of the bacteria’s that could potentially be there as a result of consuming yeast products, I also have to follow and gluten and dairy free diet.  Now if you thought it was bad enough going gluten or dairy free alone, you have no idea how much more difficult it is to do both.  And avoid yeast.  And chilli, garlic, and ginger.  It’s madness. Especially when I’m already a vegetarian.   

But yeah, this is what I’m doing right now.  And honestly, although my skin hasn’t improved as of yet (it can take up to four weeks for any noticeable difference to be seen), I actually feel a lot better overall.  I’ve not felt bloated daily, nor have I felt the need to take naps throughout the day every day.  It’s definitely a work in progress, but I’m really excited to see if this could be the cure to my skin problems one and for all.  I plan to share the foods that I have been able to eat in a week a so, just in case there does happen to be anyone out there who is illuminating foods like me.

Until the next one,