Food

Last year was the summer of the garden party or get together and it looks like that could well be the case this year too.  I’ve been having more drinks outside when I’m entertaining and in nice weather it’s important to have something cool and refreshing. We get through a lot of ice cubes in our house and we use the ice dispenser in the freezer, traditional ice cube trays and buy ice too. However, none of those solutions work that well for us.  Buying ice is fine for a party, but it takes up a lot of room in the freezer the rest of the time.  The ice dispenser has been disappointing and I find ice cube trays are often too rigid or too easily damaged. The other problem is that traditional ice cubes are quite small and you need several to keep a drink cool.  You end up with lots of pieces of ice floating around in your drink.

So I was interested to try out the large ice cube trays from Oliver’s Kitchen. The main advantage of large ice cube is that you only need one of them for the average glass.  There’s a choice of square or sphere shapes too, so there should be one to suit every shape of glass. Because the ice cubes are so big they take longer to melt so they are able to keep your drink cooler for longer.  The giant ice cubes were perfect for my gin and tonic.  You use the spherical shaped moulds and fill to the top with the help of the little funnel provided with the pack.

One thing that I found really helpful was the silicone material of the moulds.  This made it really easy to push the cubes out when you are ready to use them and so much better than rigid trays.  The top trays act as lids which means you can stack one set on top of the other really easily, so freeing up space in your freezer.  Obviously it’s difficult to know how long they will last, but they feel really durable and I have high hopes that I’ll be using these for a long time to come.  They come with a 30 day money back guarantee and with a 1-year free replacement warranty, which is very reassuring.  You can just pop them in the dishwasher after use and they will be ready to go again in no time.

I use my normal grater several times a week, but it’s not without its frustrations.  I’ve a couple of graters and one of them doesn’t grate very easily.  So I appreciate a grater that is up to the job.  I’ve tried the Oliver’s Kitchen grater and it’s very easy to use.  The various sides grate easily and there’s a rubberised bottom, which means it stays in place and doesn’t move whilst you are working.The various sides mean you can grate many different things: I’ve used it for cheddar, parmesan and carrot, but you can use it for so many things.  It’s easy to clean and comes apart for easy dishwashing – just pop it in the machine or wash by hand.  It’s easy to see how much you are grating because of the see-through box that fits onto the bottom, plus it means there’s no mess.  I like that it doubles up as a handy way to store stuff too – there’s a lid.  You can easily grate your cheese in advance and pop it in the fridge until you are ready to use it.  I’ve found it really easy to use – it sits well in the hand.

I’ve teamed up with Oliver’s Kitchen to offer readers a chance to win some of their lovely kitchen products.  You can win the following Oliver’s Kitchen products:

– Garlic Press
– 4X Ice Cube Trays
– Chopping Board Set
– Cooking Tongs
– Salt & Pepper Mills

Just enter via the Gleam widget below.

Competition Terms and Conditions

1. No bulk, third-party or automated entries allowed.

2. Entrants must be aged 18 years or older and resident in the UK.

3. The winner or winners will be chosen by a random draw using the competition widget.

4. Promoter is responsible for fulfilling the prize and full contact details of the winner will be passed onto the promoter to enable prize fulfillment.

5. The winner’s name may be published on this site.

6. Competition closes at the end of Sunday 16th May 2021.

Oliver’s Kitchen

A couple of years ago, I discovered that by adding a powder to my breakfast cereal enabled me to pump up the amount of nutrition my body was receiving in each mouthful.  Previously I’d stuck to berry or fruit powder blends as they added some colour and a fruity flavour to my meal too.  Bioglan Superfoods recently asked me to try out some of their powder blends and I happily agreed.

Australian brand Bioglan Superfoods harvest the world’s finest quality ingredients, to make better tasting healthy products, new look packs and even new products, to ensure that everyone can get  the necessary vitamins, minerals and superfoods into their diets.

Government advice has been that we need to eat 5 portions of fruit and veg a day.  Many nutritional experts also say we should ingest ‘superfoods’ daily and that we need 10 portions of fruit and vegetables a day.  I find it difficult to get all that into three meals a day.  Enter Bioglan Superfoods, an easy way to get these much- needed superfoods, that give your body natural vitamins and minerals, into your daily diet, hassle free and cost effective. Add one of the powders to a morning smoothie, sprinkle on cereal or include within your food intake to get the full benefit.

With a range of great tasting powders, such as Superberries, containing an array of colorful berries including Goji, Acai and Pomegranate, with added Vitamin C & K (great for skin, hair and nails) and Folic Acid with Magnesium (great for women) or the Superberries, made up of amazing superfoods such as Spirulina (which has more protein than 5 steaks – so great for vegans) and Chlorella, an algae that draws toxins from the body and lowers cholesterol and blood sugars, with added vitamins B12, C and E for energy.  The powders have all been made to taste great, no earthy, grassy flavours here, just yummy sweet fruit notes or warming spices that taste great in recipes or even with nut milk or just plain water. .

Bioglan Superfoods powders are really easy to use, just two teaspoons in your regular smoothie, or on your cereal to set you up for the day, The powders are also great in recipes, ideal for whole family- the Green Boost is yummy in a pesto and the Cacao Boost makes some fab healthy chocolate and raspberry muffins. You can make a huge change to your health without making a huge change to your lifestyle or bank balance.

 

I’m very familiar with using a fruit based powder blend, but I’ve enjoyed trying out some of the other varieties I was sent. I’ve been very impressed with how good they taste – previously I’d stuck with fruit powders because I was worried about this.  I can really see myself introducing a range of these powders into my diet.  I’ve got plans to do a bit more experimentation – really interested to see how they perform in pesto because that’s something I love to eat for a quick and easy meal.

Good news for readers: I’ve teamed up with Bioglan Superfoods to offer one lucky reader a bundle of Bioglan Superfoods powders including Superberries and Cacao Boost.  Enter via the Gleam widget below.

Competition Terms and Conditions

1. No bulk, third-party or automated entries allowed.

2. Entrants must be aged 18 years or older and resident in the UK.

3. The winner or winners will be chosen by a random draw using the competition widget.

4. Promoter is responsible for fulfilling the prize and full contact details of the winner will be passed onto the promoter to enable prize fulfillment.

5. The winner’s name may be published on this site.

6. Competition closes at the end of Sunday 14th February 2021.

Bioglan Superfoods

Buzzy Blends is an independent, family-owned business based here in the UK.  It was created to bring honey to the table with a tasty twist.  Buzzy Blends’ unique range of handmade honey is seriously big on flavour without compromising on quality. With their bees at the heart of everything they do, their honey is collected by ethical beekeepers who care for and protect the bees, and the blends are made with absolutely no additives or preservatives, just 100% natural ingredients that deliver all the nutritious goodness. There’s a great mix of flavours such as peppermint, chocolate, right through to lemon and ginger and cranberries. Buzzy Blends use nature’s best ingredients, such as berries, alongside their incredible, natural, raw, spring honey. They lyophilize (a freeze-drying process) their ingredients to keep as much of the goodness in, so that they boost the health benefits.

You can eat Buzzy Blends’ honey just by the spoonful, on toast, or to mix into hot water and create a warming drink, plus you can use it in a wide range of recipes. If you need some culinary inspiration, check out their blog.

I’ve pleased to say that I’ve teamed up with Buzzy Blends to offer one lucky reader the chance to win a fabulous Flavoured Raw Honey Gift Set worth £24.50. Enter via the Gleam widget below if you’d like to win.

Competition Terms and Conditions

1. No bulk, third-party or automated entries allowed.

2. Entrants must be aged 18 years or older and resident in the UK.

3. The winner or winners will be chosen by a random draw using the competition widget.

4. Promoter is responsible for fulfilling the prize and full contact details of the winner will be passed onto the promoter to enable prize fulfillment.

5. The winner’s name may be published on this site.

6. Competition closes at the end of Sunday 25th October 2020.

Buzzy Blends