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Mornflake sent us some of their Go! High Protein Porridge product to try out.  They offer it in both pots and sachets with either plain or chocolate flavours.  The pots look like just the thing for taking to work to eat or even for using on a camping trip.  You just add hot water and stir – it really is that simple.  The porridge in the sachets can either be prepared on the hob or in the microwave, but it’s all ready to go, so will save you time.

Go! High Protein Porridge is made from Mornflake’s finest rolled oats, skimmed milk and natural non GM soya protein. Mornflake’s High Protein Porridge is made with non GM soya which contains nine essential amino acids in the perfect ratio for maintaining everyday health and is naturally low in saturated fat. That added protein is perfect for anyone with a busy lifestyle or who is exercising regularly.

I love the convenience of the pots and just adding hot water and stirred in the container.  I prefer the plain to the chocolate flavour and in fact, I’m hoping they will bring out some different flavours as the chocolate is a little much for me, but I do like a bit more flavour than plain porridge.That said it’s easy to add a little fruit or some honey to add a little more interest.

A new Degustabox is always a cause for a bit of excitement.  I’m always intrigued to know what goodies we have got each month.  Our box was waiting for us when we got back from holiday and I was very happy to see that our morning breakfast was catered for with Pains au Chocolat from Brioche Pasquier (we buy quite a few of their products and these were as good as we expected) plus Weetabix On The Go (with extra protein) for a quick breakfast (and a little longer in bed to recover from the jet lag). We didn’t have to worry about being out of milk either because we had some Good Hemp Original, which is a dairy free alternative to milk.

There were some tasty snacks too.  Metcalfe’s skinny popcorn is giving us a chance to have a guilt free snack at 93 calories per portion – we have a few pounds to lose after 2 weeks in Florida.  The sweetness in Metcalfe’s comes from natural stevia leaf extract.  Hubby made a bee line for the Pipers Crisps: it seems he’s come across their tasty crisps before. Keeping healthy doesn’t have to mean dull and boring taste sensations as Kallow Quinoa and Seeds Multigrain Cakes and their Milk Chocolate Rice Cake Rounds proved. With a taste of the Mediterranean we like the Karyatis Meze To Go which is a hand snack for lunch boxes and picnics. Parle make some lovely biscuits and their Hide & Seek product was new to me, but very delicious. I love stuffing as an addition to a roast dinner, but it’s sometimes a bit too much trouble to make my own.  Kent’s Kitchen have the answer though as their tasty stuffings are easy to make up with water and just need baking.  Chewitts are a great sweet to have in your pocket to keep you going between meals and I’ve found they are very popular when you offer them around too.

We’d missed out on Easter a little by being away so it was a lovely touch to have a delicious Lindt White Chocolate Gold Bunny to enjoy on our return.

Our latest box of goodies arrived the other week from Degustabox and they have been very popular.  Hubby is on a diet at the moment and the Hartley’s 10 Cal jelly pots were just the thing for him.  He also liked the Fruit in Jelly pots as they were also diet friendly.  Another product receiving the low cal thumbs up was Db’s Discoveries Nothing But range.  They are healthy, freeze-dried fruit and vegetable snacks and they are all under 80 calories. Continuing on the healthy theme I have been eating Nutribix Gold and Grains in the mornings as my cereal. it tastes a bit like Weetabix, but it’s got interesting and tasty things added like coconut, honey and sorghum.  I think for me it’s still a bit too much like Weetabix to be my cereal of choice, but it’s made a pleasant change.  Beloved Dates bars are 100% natural and have no added sugar.  They are very nice and full of lots of healthy goodies.

Continuing with the snacks, we’ve enjoyed Ritz Crisp and Thin which are a new oven-baked potato snack and they are very moreish.  The London Crisp Company have some great tasting crisp and the sea salt and malt vinegar flavour has been a hit.  On the subject of vinegar we were pleased to see Sarsons Malt Vinegar in there.  This is a new limited edition bottle featuring the ‘Fish and Chip’ characters created by artist Paul Thurlby. On a sweeter note, Mr Kipling’s Exceeding Good Slices lived up to their name with tasty ingredients like dark chocolate chips and coconut.  Diving chocolate was simply divine.  I have a bit of a soft spot for caramel and their Caramel bars were wonderful.

On the drinks side we’ve tried VitHit which is a juice based soft drink with 1000% of the recommended daily allowance of 8 different vitamins.  Good for the teeth and the waistline too as there is no added sugar and there are fewer than 35 calories in a bottle.J2O have developed a Spritz range which is just the refreshing drink for the summer ahead.  This would be a nice drink to serve to non-drinkers or drivers when others are having something fizzy.

I’ve been a bit of a Miller & Carter fan since my visit to the Mailbox branch last year. So I was delighted to be invited along to sample the food at the newly opened Miller & Carter on Hagley Road.  We went along for a preview evening which mean that we could try out a wide range of dishes from the menu and we got a chance to talk to the staff about what its meant to change from a Harvester to a Miller & Carter.  Plus, there was a demonstration from a master butcher showing us exactly which bits of the animal are used for the steaks Miller & Carter use and what is discarded (but, obviously used elsewhere).

We watched the master butcher deal with a side of beef in front of our eyes.  I think it’s always interesting to watch a master craftsman at work and find out about his trade.  In this case we saw him trimming off and selecting the best cuts.  Miller & Carter have a reputation for quality steaks and it’s easy to see why when you see how choosy they are about which bits are taken from the animal for their restaurants.

I loved how friendly and enthusiastic the staff were about the change from being a Harvester to a Miller & Carter.  They were all really up for it and it was clear that the M&B group (to which both restaurant chains belong), did a good job of looking after the staff through the change over.  They were given quite a few weeks of training including the chance to try everything off the menu (which sounds a very tempting prospect).  The staff couldn’t do enough for us and we felt properly looked after during the evening.

Obviously steaks are the speciality, but there are plenty of other things to like.  We love the Onion Loaf that comes with the steaks and the Lemongrass and Chilli Tempura King Prawns were to die for.   Puddings were lovely too: the Lemon Tart was delicious and I think that would be my pick on a return visit, but the Creme Brûlée came a very close second. Miller & Carter is more expensive than a mass market steak house, but the quality shines through and we’ll certainly be back to celebrate birthdays or for a date night out.