Love Cocoa - Chocolate Bars

We're all chocolate lovers at The Amazing Blog, and for those of you who join us in the pursuit for delicious new treats, Love Cocoa will be a fitting choice. The problem with most chocolate brands is that they contain irritating allergens and poorly-sourced ingredients. This is where Love Cocoa differs, they are gluten and soy-free and are founded on the basis of creating ethical products.

Love Cocoa is a British brand launched in 2016 by its creator James Cadbury, who has an unsurpassed chocolate heritage. His great-great-great grandfather John Cadbury, the Quaker philanthropist, started the iconic Cadbury's chocolate brand in 1831. As such, Love Cocoa strives to not only recreate luscious chocolate classics but also aims to remain an ethically driven company. Working with British producers, Love Cocoa's products are free from refined sugars, gluten, soy, and palm oil. Producing both dark and milk chocolate, there is something for everyone. Their dark chocolate is single-origin, organic, fairly-traded from Ecuador.  Their milk chocolate is single-origin, organic, and fairly-traded from the Dominican Republic with a swirling of milk. Delicious!

We tried Love Cocoa’s Sea Salt 70% Organic Dark Chocolate bar for £3.85 and loved the burst of flavour the sea salt flakes brought into the mix from Maldon Sea Salt. Love Cocoa recommends that you pair this bar with a medium-bodied red wine to bring out its notes of fruit. Next, we broke off a piece of the Gin & Tonic 70% Organic Dark Chocolate bar at £3.85. We didn’t know what to expect from this flavour and were very pleasantly surprised by the subtle hint of juniper berries, lemon and lime. Love Cocoa have taken their inspiration of flavours from one of favourite drinks and transformed it into a delicious treat... All we needed was a crisp G&T in hand.

Moving on from the dark chocolates, we nibbled on two milk chocolate bars, the first being the Crushed Coffee 37% Milk Chocolate bar for £3.85. Why not combine your mid-morning coffee with your after dinner treat? The result is a crunchy square of heaven. Love Cocoa recommends that it is paired with a smooth stout, sweet rosé, or an energising espresso. Finally, we made room for the Honeycomb & Honey 37% Milk chocolate bar at £3.85, and it was so worth it. This sticky, sweet treat is studded with glorious crunchy pieces of honeycomb all source from Barnes & Webb, a team of beekeepers who install and maintain urban beehives around London.

So put on the kettle and let these chocolates melt in your mouth! All Love Cocoa chocolates can be purchased separately or in sets here. Prices vary, there is free shipping on orders over £20.

Turmerlicious

Everyone is jumping aboard the Turmeric bandwagon, due to its amazing health benefits, and we here at The Amazing Blog think incorporating it into a latte is the perfect way. Turmerlicious has created a range of delicious instant turmeric lattes and we were lucky enough to try the Ginger, the Choco, the Vanilla and the Chilli Choc.

This wonder spice has been renowned for its healing abilities for over 4000 years. So much so, the Sanskrit translations for turmeric is ‘one that wins over diseases’. Even science says so, and in the last 30 years there have been over 6000 peer reviewed publications supporting the benefits of Turmeric. Turmeric is hailed for its anti-inflammatory and antioxidant properties, and is said to be beneficial in reducing heart disease, cancer, metabolic syndrome, Alzheimer’s and more. Add this goodness into a delicious drink, and you have a winning combination.

All of the powders are caffeine-free and are a combination of natural ingredients; turmeric, coconut, cinnamon, ginger and black pepper. This aromatic blend of spices create a soothing and delicious hot drink, and all you need to do is add three teaspoons of the mix to hot water. This gem of a product is ideal if you are trying to cut down on your caffeine intake. Just replace one of your cups of coffee a day to Turmerlicious and you’ll be left happy and healthy!

Turmerlicious powders are free from dairy, gluten, artificial flavours and GMO’s.

Purchase Turmerlicious here for £6.95 (200g) or £1 for a single serving (20g).

Coconut Chia Muffins Mix - Ugg Foods

Here at The Amazing Blog, we understand how difficult it can be to find healthy, delicious foods that cater to those with diets restricted by allergies or intolerances. Ugg Foods makes it easier by providing quick mix kits for healthy and delicious treats that are gluten free, grain free, dairy free, soya free, yeast free, additive free, low glycaemic, diabetic friendly, have no added sugar and are tooth friendly. For those that are looking for natural, healthy ways of eating, these mixes also conform to Paleo and Caveman diets. The ingredients used in Ugg foods mixes will help stabilise your blood sugar, reducing cravings for harmful carbs and leaving you truly satisfied.

We were given the opportunity to test out their Coconut Chia Muffins quick ready mix pack. Much like regular cake mix, all we needed to do was to add eggs, olive oil, and almond or coconut milk. Unlike regular cake mix, there is no added sugar and no gluten! The mix can be used very flexibly, so if you want to use it for raw vegan recipes or if you want to add fruit, you can personalise it to your own needs. The Ugg Foods website also has a recipes section to help you out if you run out of ideas!

Grab a package of the Coconut Chia Muffins mix for yourself or for your health-conscious friends here for £7.95.

My Relationship With Food by Lisa Roukin

Here at The Amazing Blog we are always down to test out and discover new and delicious recipes, which is why we were ecstatic when Lisa Roukin invited us to her launch party for her newly released cookbook, My Relationship with Food.

On November 25, we sat at work watching the clock slowly tick away as we thought about the launch party (and the food) that evening.

We arrived at Opso Restaurant for the launch party, and as soon as we entered, Lisa was right there and ready to give us her cookbook and a goody bag for each of us.

This goody bag might just the best one I have ever received. It had products from The Groovy Food Company, Chi London, The Foods of Athenry and Revolution Tea. I use the gluten-free honey in my tea every evening and the coconut oil on my face at night. Definitely check out these companies and their products if you have the time!

We made our way to the food table with delicious crackers, spreads and salads. While we cleaned our plates, Lisa sat down with us to explain the process of her cookbook. She made this entire cookbook in 3 months, working about 17 hours a day. Can you imagine? She even had to hire a food stylist. Just sitting there and listening to Lisa talk about her book, I could sense her passion for food and her hope that people will buy her book and develop a healthy relationship with food like she has.

My Relationship with Food features 100 recipes, each mirrored by beautiful photography. All of the dishes featured in the cookbook are virtually gluten-free and see minimal use of dairy and refined sugars. Plus, the recipes are organized by season. It also features the personal story of Lisa and her own journey to developing a better relationship with food, discussing her bad food habits and the ways in which she overcame them.

With recipes like Chicken Satay Skewers with Spicy Peanut Sauce, Raw Blueberry Cheesecake and Sweet Potato Hummus, you can find something both you and your entire family will enjoy. I tried the Sweet Potato Hummus at the launch party and I couldn’t get enough of it! This would be the perfect thing to serve at a family or friend gathering.

After getting the chance to sit down with Lisa and hear her story, we wish her the very best as she officially becomes a cookbook author. She has so much passion and she knows how to make healthy food delicious. We can’t wait to try the recipes in the cookbook and we hope all of our lovely readers try it too.

In the words of Lisa, “Eat what nourishes your body, do what nourishes your soul, think what nourishes your mind.” Now go online and purchase the cookbook here for £22.00 and you can start your healthy relationship with food today!

Nature's Path - 'Hot and Steamy' Porridge Oats

It’s time to get hot and steamy up in here!

Now, guys, let’s not get carried away. We at The Amazing Blog are simply referring to delicious       newporridge called Nature's Path ‘Hot and Steamy.’

The Canadian firm prides itself on creating amazing flavour when it comes to gluten-free  breakfast options, because let’s face it, there are many companies out there that think they can pull off the gluten-free name and they just can’t.

Why porridge you ask? Well, porridge has a reputation as a ‘super food’ with a low glycaemic index, which helps suppress one’s appetite and maintain healthy blood sugar levels. Plus, nearly one in two Britons eat porridge, which makes the UK a perfect target.

The new ‘Hot and Steamy’ porridge offers three flavours in every pack – Original, Spiced Apple and Canadian Maple – each in a handy single-serving packet. They are gluten-free, wholegrain, high fibre, organic and low in saturated fat.

We give Nature's Path an A for creating a great-tasting, gluten-free breakfast that targets the mouths of half of the UK. I was a little taken aback by how small the packet seemed, but I just added some apple to it and I could go the whole morning without wanting more food. Plus, it was delicious, and of course, it also receives an A+ for its eye-catching name.

‘Hot and Steamy’ is available at local grocery stores and good independent health food stores at £2.99 for eight sachets (two original flavours and three each of spiced apple and Canadian maple).