La Chiva Snacks

Do you find yourself feeling guilty for all of the mindless snacking that you do? I know that here at The Amazing Blog we graze at our desks far too often. Hence, we’re on a neverending mission to find healthier alternatives to our usual choices. Enter La Chiva.

La Chiva was created by Ruth Willis who was born in Colombia and always missed her native fresh fruit and vegetables. Inspired by the flavours of her Colombia, she decided to create a healthy snack with light and crispy pieces of freeze-dried Colombian fruit. That’s it. No other ingredients are used to make La Chiva, where we breathed a sigh of relief, after reading this on the packaging. There’s no need to feel guilty about eating these either as each pack is gluten-free, virtually fat-free, vegan, no added sugars and best of all less than 40 calories! By freeze-drying the fruit at its ripest, La Chiva is able to deliver all the deliciousness of Colombian fruit with nothing added or taken away.

The brand’s name comes from the La Chiva buses, which is the only way to travel in the Colombian countryside. Since the brand is dependent on these buses to take their workers to the farms and their fresh fruit to market, they decided to name the brand after them. We tried all three varieties of La Chiva snacks – Strawberry, Pineapple and Mango. Our favourite was the Pineapple flavour, which was a winner of the Great Taste Awards in 2017. While you can eat these alone, the other possibilities are endless, we added them to cereal and also sprinkled them on top of Greek yogurt. Each pack can count as one of the five daily servings of fruit. Plus, their vibrant packaging brings a little ray of sunshine into our UK grey and rainy days.

Want to taste the goodness of Colombian grown fruit for yourself? The La Chiva Freeze Dried snacks can be purchased here. A box of 12 bags retails for £9.00 (7g bags for the strawberry and 10g bags for pineapple and mango) while an individual bag retails for £0.89.

Lentil Bites - Fairfields Farm Crisps

It's all too easy to mindlessly munch on snacks without noticing just how much you're eating. We've all had that moment, where without looking we reach into a packet of sweets, thinking you have a few left only to discover you have already eaten all of them without realising. It's a problem that all of us at The Amazing Blog have encountered, which is why we always try our best only to consume healthy and filling snacks. As the year has flown by, and summer is knocking at our door, fitting into that killer summer outfit or being beach ready is becoming less theoretical. So, if you're not already familiar with them, let us introduce to Fairfield Farm and their healthier and tastier Lentil Bite crisps. 

Fairfield's Farm produces artisanal crisps, and are always researching and looking for new ways to make our favourite savoury snack healthier. By moving away from the traditional potato and instead using lentils and pulses, the crisps are a healthier option as they are higher in protein, gluten-free, lower in fat and calories! Meaning even if you accidentally end up mindlessly snacking - which with these delicious flavours seems unlikely - it's a guilt free mistake! We tried all three flavours (Fresh Tomato and Herb, Jalapeno and Lime, and Blue Cheese) and can tell you that despite being a much healthier food, no taste whatsoever was lost. In fact, all three are so delicious that it's impossible for us to pick a favourite. 

The story behind Fairfield's Farm is wonderful, a family run farm that has been farming in East Anglia for three generations. In 2016 they were voted East of England Co-operative’s best producer supplier and scooped up a great taste award. This family run company has no gone global, supplying to around 20 countries. What's more, as of this year all their energy will be directed at making the farm use sustainable technologies, such as anaerobic digestion and solar power. With each 20g packet coming in at under 100kcal, means that when you get the mid-day munchies you don't have to worry about not fitting into that new outfit! You can purchase the crisps here for £13.00 for a box of 18 packets.

Fruit Jerky - Snact.

We hate waste at The Amazing Blog, which is why we love the concept behind Snact. The Snact founders wanted to create a delicious alternative to chocolate and crisps that would also contribute to sustainability. Buying fruit that would otherwise have been thrown away and making their packaging 100% compostoble, Snact has created these delicious, healthy and environmentally friendly treatsthat we were lucky enough to try.

Snacts are a chewy and flavoursome fruit jerky made from 100% blended and dried fruit.  They are also vegan and gluten free! Snact's are available in a variety of fruit bursting flavours, our favourite was the Apple, Blueberry and Banana! Not only do they make the best late afternoon pick me up, but we love that with every 65 calorie packet we're also helping the environment and sticking to our diets.

Snacts are everything we love, delicious, healthy and good for the environment! So if you are looking for some 'snactivism' to get behind, you can purchase a pack fo five sachet's a here for £4.50.

inSpiral Super Food and Fruit

When we fall in love with a brand, we want the whole world to know it, which is why we are posting about inSpiral's amazing food products again. After our other rave reviews, we at The Amazing Blog are back to tell you about the company's new Super Foods and Fruits.

inSpiral’s hand-selected range of super foods are raw, plant-based ingredients with exceptionally high nutrient to calorie ratios. These foods are natural and unprocessed, providing amazing health benefits, such as supporting liver detoxification or taking heavy metals out of the body. Who needs medicine when your food can do this for your body?

inSpiral was smart enough to realise that some of these raw foods and fruits in their whole forms tend to be bitter and would not suit certain pallets. The company creatively thought to turn them into powders, making them a great addition to smoothies or other raw creations.

We received samples of Lucuma Powder and Reishi Mushroom Extract Powder. The Lucuma Powder is a caramelesque fruit powder perfect with raw chocolate and ice cream. The Reishi Mushroom Extract Powder simply needs to be added to a hot drink to spice up the flavour.

We also received a sample of Durian Super Fruit. Although Durian might be the smelliest fruit, it tastes amazing and you won't be able to resist.

If you’re looking to try some Super Foods or Fruits, you can check out inSpiral's website. It’s time we keep and restore our bodies to optimum health through our food. It can’t get any easier than that!

CLIF Bars

No matter what activity you have planned, whether it’s just another day at work or a long exercise, you always need good food to keep your energy up throughout the day. We here at The Amazing Blog are always on the move and constantly needing a quick, filling meal. The CLIF Bar is everything you need and more, including a great taste! Their equation is simple: put good food in and get good performance out. And let’s face it, we all need good performance on a regular basis. The CLIF Bars supply working muscles with the energy they need for extended periods of activity. Although they can be eaten on a regular basis, they are really great for exercising, and in that case, they should be eaten before the exercise begins. CLIF Bars’ ingredients are wholesome. They are made with organic rolled oats and vitamins B6 and B12, which contribute to the normal release of energy. There is a high source of protein and fibre, and no fructose corn syrup, which gives you energy to be in it to your limit. The CLIF Bar is the original bar that the company made, and it still embodies what their company stands for. We loved the Oatmeal Raisin Walnut the best of all the flavours because it fulfilled our craving for sweets without the guilt we might feel for binge eating in the afternoons.

CLIF Bars are available in six different flavours, including Oatmeal Raisin Walnut, Chocolate Chip, Blueberry Crisp, Crunchy Peanut Butter, Chocolate Almond Fudge, and White Chocolate Macadamia Nut. Get your own box of 12 CLIF Bars from their UK distributor here  for £13.99.