Category Archives: Reviews

Reviews

Review: Ozeri Green Earth Pan

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This is an unpaid review, all views are my own and do not endorse the product.

Pancakes and bacon, who doesn’t love a good brunch? In order to make a good pancake you need a good non stick pan, so I was more than happy when Ozeri asked me to review one of their frying pans.

The Green Earth Pan is a lovely bright green, I particularly like the fact that it can go on the cooker and in the oven, so it’s perfect for Spainish omelettes and other meals that you need to either keep warm or transfer to the oven to finish off cooking.

It boasts non-stick perfection while remaining chemical free and comes with a lifetime guarantee. Pretty big words.

I tried it out cooking pancakes. Now we all know the first pancake is usually a disaster and sticks to the pan…. well I was pleasantly surprised as with this pan my first pancake was perfect! The textured base also meant I had a lovely pattern on my pancakes 🙂 

Here they are, the little beauties. 

Dietitian UK: gluten free pancakes Dietitian UK: gluten free pancakes

 

Reviews

Review: Clean Hands, Happy Baby.

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Just before I gave birth to baby boy I was sent some samples of Dettol with E45 Softness hand wash. This turned out to be excellent timing as with a newborn baby around clean hands are essential, so there is a lot of extra handwashing going on. 

This handwash contains E45 to moisturise and Dettol’s germ kill protection to give you the best of both worlds.

What I like about this handwash is it hasn’t dried my hands. I get dry skin anyway so a handwash with a moisturiser has been perfect. I also have a toddler who is very into giving the baby lots of cuddles, this handwash makes me feel a little happier that her grubby toddler hands are clean as it states it cleans 99.9% of bacteria. 

The samples I was sent are the Camomile variety and I’ve found the fragrance gentle and light. The other fragrances include Lotus Flower and Nourishing Honey.

Dettol E45

Dettol with E45 Softness Handwash is available at major supermarkets and stores including Boots at £2.49 RRP.

This review was unpaid, the products were sent to me to review and I have given my opinion, no money has changed hands.

Dairy Free, Gluten Free, Reviews, Special Diets, Wheat Free

Review: Gluten, Wheat and Dairy Free Letterbox Cake

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This cake was sent to me for free to review, no payment has exchanged hands.

Cake. Who doesn’t love it? So when the lovely people at Bakerdays wanted to send me a cake to review I was hardly going to say No 😉

The  variety of cakes on their website is quite something, there is quite literally a cake for every occasion, plus you can send in your own design for a personalised cake. I couldn’t decide what design I wanted so I suggested either a New baby cake, a cake for my birthday or a cake for Dietitian UK itself. Here is what arrived:

Dietitian UK: Letterbox Cake

Pretty lovely hey. I was really pleased with how it looked. The cake itself came packaged in a lovely tin which I will certainly be reusing and the whole package fitted very neatly through the letterbox. The cake itself provides 4-5 slices, so the perfect amount to give someone as a birthday gift for example. 

As a family we all tucked into the cake,  I’d asked for a gluten free one but it seemed mean not to share 😉

The verdict: the sponge itself was good, moist and had a good cakey texture. We found the icing a bit too sweet and too much, probably as the cake it very thin so you end up eating a large mouthful of icing and not as much sponge. All in all it was a good cake but more than that a wonderful concept and I was so pleased to see a gluten, wheat and dairy free option. Well done BakerDays.

Reviews

Review: Sukrin Baking Products – gluten, wheat and sugar free bread and cakes.

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Disclaimer: This is an unpaid review, I was sent products to try and have chosen to review them. These are my personal views.

This week I’ve been trying out some products sent to my by Sukrin. It’s a product that I hadn’t heard of until I visited the Allergy Show. Sukrin is a natural sweetener produced by natural fermentation from the glucose found in pears, melons and mushrooms. The manufacturers say that is has 0 calories, 0 carbohydrates and a 0 GI plus is 100% natural.

I’ll admit that I’m not a huge fan of sweeteners and prefer to use naturally sweet products such as dried fruit to add sweetness to my baking or I just use sugar, but I was intrigued by the Sukrin Gold. This looks just like brown sugar, it taste sweeter than brown sugar to me but does taste pleasant and it worked really well in baking.

The items I was more excited about were the bread and cake mixes. Now I’ve tried a lot of gluten free, wheat free breads in my time and I’ve often been disappointed. The bread mix is gluten, wheat, soy, milk and yeast free…. the packet tells me it has only 1g carbohydrate and 58 calories per slice but is high in fibre content. Made with sunflower, pumpkin, sesame and flax seeds plus fibre from sugar beet, chicory and peas, pea protein, almond flour and surkin this bread just doesn’t just sound superhealthy it tastes supergood. I found it easy to make and it had a great texture, the major bonus, it tasted like bread! If doesn’t make a large loaf and as you would expect as a nutty taste to it bit I really enjoyed it.

Dietitian UK: Sukrin Bread

The cake mix is sugar, wheat and gluten free. Using ground almonds instead of wheat flour and sukrin plus sucralose instead of sugar it was be used as a base for a whole range of cakes. I simply added cocoa powder and made it into cupcakes. These rose well, looked great and had a lovely texture. The taste was for me a little too sweet but I don’t have a sweet tooth so that may just be my personal preference.

Dietitian UK: Sukrin Chocolate Muffins

Overall I really enjoyed tasting and testing these products and was impressed with them.

Reviews

River Cottage Canteen, Axminster, Amazing.

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This week we had a family business trip, because this is how we roll 😉 The River Cottage Canteen is a place that I’d been yearning to go and eat at for a couple of years, so when I realised we were going to Plymouth…. a little idea was planted in my mind. My geography is ridiculously awful but fortunately I have a husband who indulges my little plans and has a better grasp of geography than I do. So when he told me we could sensibly stop off in Axminster for lunch I was overjoyed.

So after a couple of years of waiting there was a fair bit of anticipation in our car…. we were not disappointed. As a wheat intolerant, pregnant lady eating out can be tricky, but not in a place like this. There were a fair few meals I could have chosen and I’m pretty sure they would have made changes to other dishes to make them suitable for me. The place has a relaxed but busy atmosphere but you don’t feel rushed, it’s a lovely set up, an open cooking area, large wooden tables, rustic yet clean and comfortable.


 Dietitian UK: River Cottage Canteen

I’ve gone off fish  bit whilst pregnant but for some reason I chose the mackerel with salsa verde and roasted tomatoes. The salsa verde was divine, so tangy, the tomatoes to die for and the fish just perfect. Hubby had a venison salad – yes a salad! Very unusual for him, but he reported it was melt in the mouth. 

My toddler, now she is a bit of a foodie already. Children’s meals of chicken nugget, chips and beans are not for her, she turns her nose up at them. To be honest I don’t usually order her a meal, she just has a bit of whatever we are having. Not here. There was a proper kids meals menu with choices of hummous and veggie sticks, pollack fishcakes or carrot risotto. She chose the risotto and boy was it a good choice, really creamy, deep and delicious, I was only allowed a little taste as she really enjoyed it!

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I’d certainly love to go back and eat here again. It was such a treat, a little more pricey than we would normally pay for a lunch out but so worth it for such tasty, good quality food. My only gripe – we got locked in the disabled toilet!! Whoops.

Eating Out Gluten/Wheat Free, Gluten Free, Reviews

Family Foodie’s: Thyme and Tides Deli.

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This is not a sponsored  or paid for post.

On Friday we often make it a family treat to go out for a treat, which usually involves a trip to a cafe and often involves a slice of cake 😉

I have a little hit list of new places I want to try out, these are often deli’s, places that sell gluten free food or independant yummy sounding cafe’s. This Friday we went off to visit one.

Dietitian UK: Thyme and Tides Deli

 

Thyme and Tides has been in my little foodie book for a while. I’d hear rumours of gluten free foods being available there and combining that with it being a Deli situated in the quaint area of Stockbridge it had a definite Friday appeal. Now taking a toddler on these foodie adventures could be construed as a bad idea, fortunately my little one has grown quite used to it and enjoys browsing the shelves with me, we chat about the foods we see and she really enjoys cafe culture. Thyme and Tides had a lovely looking fish counter which meant we spent a whilst discussing all the fish together and I was suprised to see Sri-Lankan Tuna steaks for sale. Obviously not local produce but it reminded us of a trip to Sri-Lanka where we bought fresh tuna steak from the fish market and cooked it in the nun’s kitchen!

This particular deli and cafe had a wonderful, welcoming open feel to it, with large glass sliding doors that opened onto the village high street. There didn’t appear to be much choice in terms of gluten free, wheat free or free from foods in the deli or the menu but there were 2 types of gluten free cake of offer and it felt like the place where you could ask for adaptations to be made to meals. The even bigger bonus is Stockbridge is a lovely foodie place to wander round with a fabulous looking butchers and a great grocers too.

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Gluten Free, Reviews, Special Diets, Wheat Free

Nairns Biscuits Breaks and Porridge Pots

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It’s official, I love oats and eat them every day. They are low in Glycaemic Index and contain Soluble fibre which means they not only taste delicious but they keep you fuller for longer, can help stabilise blood sugars and can help reduce total cholesterol levels. This makes them key players in helping prevent heart disease, stroke and type 2 diabetes. 

So when Nairns kindly sent me a beautiful box of yummy oat goodies to taste I was a very happy lady.

Dietitian UK: Nairns Biscuits Breaks and Porridge Pots

I’m a snacker, so the Biscuit Breaks were something I was hoping would be delicious yet healthy. These come in 2 flavours, both gluten free: Oats and Syrup or Oats and Fruit. Not having the sweetest tooth I prefered the Oats and Fruit version. I found these really tasty and a little too “moorish”. They come individually wrapped in packs of 4, for better portion control, calorie and fat content I’d prefer if they were in packs of 2, it would certainly stop me eating too many at once 😉 They are fabulous with a cup of tea by the way!

Each biscuit is 47 kcals, 1.9-2.0g fat and contains 0.6-0.7g fibre.

I saved the porridge pots for a day I really needed them. As soon as I was asked to go on a business trip to Holland, I knew that moment had come and put them in my suitcase. I’m notoriously hard to please at hotel breakfasts as I’m really not into a cooked brekkie and just want fruit, yoghurt and some sort of wheat free cereal. It can be tricky being on a special diet when travelling, these are perfect for the suitcase though.

I found the porridge pot really easy to prepare, simply fill to the mark with hot water, stir, cover and leave to stand for a few minutes and it’s all ready to go. I ate mine with fruit and yoghurt on the side.

Dietitian UK: Nairns Porridge Pots

My only quibble would be with the added sugar, it made the porridge too sweet for me. I don’t add sugar, sweetener or honey to my porridge. Having a sachet so you can add your own to taste would be a great adaptation and having the line for the water  inside the pot too would also help.

Thankyou Nairns for some wonderful new products. Who else has tried them?

For more oaty recipe take a look at these: Healthy Oaty Bars, Banana and Sultana Flapjack and look out for my overnight oats post coming soon.

Gluten Free, Reviews, Special Diets, Wheat Free

Review: Newburn BakeHouse Gluten Free Products

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I love receiving parcels, so when there was a knock on the door and the postman delivered a box of gluten free, wheat free products from the lovely people at Newburn Bakehouse it really made my day.

I was sent a packet of white baguettes, some seeded bread, a packet of morning muffins and some white wraps.

Dietitian UK: Review of Newburn Bakehouse Products
Dietitian UK: Review of Newburn Bakehouse Products

Seeded Bread:

Now I’ve tried a lot of gluten free breads in my time and I’ve been disappointed an awful lot of those time. This was not one of those moments. This is quite possibly now my favourite gluten free bread. The mix of seeds included are linseeds, poppy seeds, sunflower and millet seeds, which add to the texture and nutrition of this bread. At 4.1g fat it may seem a little high but that is due to those seeds of course. It works straight from the packet, toasted and you know what… it actually tastes like bread! I also found that it kept well. A big thumbs up.

Baguettes:

I’ll be honest I had completely forgotten about baguettes even really being a possibility in my diet untill I visited my parents in Spain and my mum had found a wheat free baguette. That got my taste buds tingling. Who doesn’t like a lovely crusty bit of white baguette – naughty but oh so nice 🙂 This one really hit the spot when warmed up in the oven as per the packets instructions.

Dietitian UK: Newburn Bakehouse Baguette

Morning Muffins:

These were golden syrup flavoured. Now I don’t have a very sweet tooth and in my opinion these are far, far too sweet. The type of sweet that sets my teeth on edge. But as I don’t really do sweet cakes, that may be why. I certainly wouldn’t suggest these as a breakfast alternative but maybe as a treat if you like your cake sweet. They do have a good cakey texture, very moist and are pleasing on the eye. 

Wraps:

These I saved till last. I waited until I had a bit more time on my hands to both cook and eat… and made vegetable fajitas. What.a.treat. These are great warmed up and used for fajitas or used for a quick and easy lunch. 

Dietitian UK: Vegetable Fajitas

Thankyou Newburn Bakehouse for making such a great contribution to the gluten free market. Here is where to buy them in your local area.

Let me know if you try out these products and how you find them.