Inspiral - Kale-os and Coconut Pecks

When hunger strikes, so many of us grab quick, convenient and unhealthy snacks, but here at The Amazing Blog, we're changing our ways, one bite at a time. We have been lucky enough to try the Inspiral range of Kale-os and Coconut Pecks; they are organic, 100% natural super foods that give us real nutritional satisfaction, rather than a short lived sugar rush.

Kale-os are an innovative new range of kale crisps that are neither baked nor fried. These nutritionally dense kale crisps are nut-free, low in calories, and use an air-drying method to retain more nutrients than any of its competitors. Kale is extremely high in Vitamins B and C, plus the use of extra-virgin olive oil adds the anti-inflammatory and cardiovascular benefits that come from good fats. They aren’t just packed with endless goodness; they actually taste delicious with flavours like Tomato & Basil Pizza and Celtic Sea Salt & Lime. These are far more exciting and vibrant than any flavours offered by the leading potato crisp brands. If you are a certified Kale Queen you will love the crisp texture that reminded us of scrumptious seaweed dishes.

Inspiral haven’t ended it there, they have continued their snack innovation with a range of Coconut Pecks. These are simply organic raw coconut chips that are also air-dried, rather than toasted, to keep them free from trans-fat. We loved their crunchy texture and the unexpected sweet taste thanks to the use of Palmyra Blossom Nectar, a natural and low G.I. sugar. You can choose between two delicious flavours, Smokin’ (Paprika) or Raspberry, they thoughtfully included both a sweet and more savoury flavour for us. Inspiral aren’t only keeping us healthy, but they focus on keeping the planet happy too. The packaging is fully compostable, the ink is made from vegetables, and this is all produced in a solar-powered eco factory.

Keep your waistline and the planet happy by getting yourself some guilt-free kale snacks here for £1.29, or grab a bag of Coconut Pecks here for 99p each. 

Lara's Christmas Wish List

Christmas is just around the corner, and if you’re still sorting out your Christmas shopping, fear not, as I have a few suggestions sure to please over the festive season. From perfume to chocolate, we here at The Amazing Blog have a few ideas for everyone.

Perfume is such a thoughtful gift for friends or family, and I really love those fresh, universal scents that suit any personality. One that I’d be thrilled to see in my stocking is St Kitts Herbery’s new Bergamot Perfume. The musky scent contains base notes of patchouli and amber, as well as orange and, of course, bergamot. The beautiful fragrance actually makes a great unisex aroma, one that I’d happily gift to someone special, whether male or female. The perfume is available to buy here for £24.95.

It’s also the time of year to immerse yourself in gift sets, and Korres offer some great selections. In particular, their Wild Rose Brightening Collection is a great introduction to the brand, and a wonderful present for any budding skincare enthusiasts. Consisting of the brand’s signature Wild Rose 24H Moisturising & Brightening Cream, and the new Wild Rose Advanced Repair Sleeping Facial, this limited edition set smells divine, and is great for keeping your face moisturised during the colder months. The set is available to buy here for only £10, making it a fantastic stocking filler.

Of course, everyone loves tasty treats, and InSpiral have just the thing to keep your friends and family happy this Christmas. Their Goji & Purple Corn Raw Superfood Truffles are absolutely delicious, with their melt in the mouth texture being just like a decadent chocolate brownie, only with a lot more health benefits. The raw vegan treats contain cashews and are coated in wonderful coconut flakes, ideal for sharing with your loved ones, although I found it difficult not to eat the lot myself! You can buy them in packs of 4 here for £3.95. We only wish they came in a bigger size!

There's nothing better than curling up and keeping warm after a long day. And Christmas is the perfect time to sit around family and friends, sipping on a hot drink or two. The East India Company offer a wonderful selection of winter beverages, perfect for buying to share this Christmas, or for gifting to someone who loves a good cuppa. The brand offers a wide selection of Christmas drinks, including Spiced Chai Drinking Chocolate and Christmas Tea. My personal favourite was Christmas Coffee; a delicious blend of hazelnut, chocolate and cinnamon, I'd be happy to sip on this seasonal delight all year round. The Christmas Coffee is available to buy here for £12.95, as well as the rest of the brand's festive infusions.

Hopefully, you'll find something to suit all in this festive gift guide. Happy shopping, and Merry Christmas.

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!

Friday Favourites - Raw Foods

We love our food and so far we haven't succumb to any silly New Years' diet fads. However, we have had a lot of 'snack cravings' sweeping The Amazing Blog office but  these have been intentionally directed at Raw Food (thanks to the generosity of the companies below). Raw food in simple terms means raw healthy food with no added bad stuff. Thus enabling one to have guilt-free snacking with delicious food that is actually good for you and we really like that! Which is why we thought we'd introduce you to some of our favourite discoveries with their brands and products, namely: Love Raw, The Living Food Kitchen, Rawr Chocolate and inSpiral.

We have been enjoying some tasty and organic bars by Love Raw in the office this week. If you’re looking for a snack to give you a little boost then look no further... Their unprocessed and organic bars are full of ingredients designed to give maximum nutritional value. It’s the best way to get all the vitamins and minerals that you need into your daily routine . They are great for energy and focus too, making these new snacks a big plus if you get a bit peckish during your working day. We really enjoyed the Cocoa and Maca Superfood bar. Apparently our bodies require 80% alkaline and 20% acidic food balance to keep the energy levels up and reverse disease (oh and to also keep us looking younger). Just add one of these yummy bars into your daily food intake and you will definitely start feeling the health benefits. We have for sure. You can buy them on their website here for £29.88 per box of 12. 

We have also been lucky enough to sample the WHOLE of the Living Food Kitchen range, including the Beetroot Hummus, Hemp Seed Pesto, Hummus, Mousse, Cheesecakes, Banoffee Pie, Pumpkin Pie, AND lots of their yummy Shakes and Smoothies. There are quite a few of us in the office, so it didn’t take long for everything to disappear! The Pesto tasted like real homemade pesto, not that processed rubbish you find in a jar. Our Exec Editor, Edwina, used it recently in a Risotto which went down very well at her dinner party. We have all munched on the Beetroot Hummus  using oatcakes to scoop it out of the pot, highly recommended! The Beetroot flavour is very unique and quite addictive, we became very fond of both the hummus pots. It’s always good to know you are eating something that is entirely good for you as well as healthy. Aside from that, there were the slightly naughtier snacks. All still made with raw ingredients and we might add much better for you than most regular puds. It was observed, that there was a wistful silence throughout in the whole office during the consumption of these… Raw food means that it isn’t heated above 46 degrees and all the good nutrients aren’t destroyed, thus making The Living Food collection of different treats most beneficial for your total well-being. The range is available in all Planet Organic and Wholefood stores across London and we couldn’t recommend everything highly enough!

If there is one weakness most of us have, especially we girls in the office, it’s chocolate. However, there is always that guilt which lingers for hours after just that one bite of chocolate.  Guilt free…chocolate is there such a thing? Oh yes, welcome Rawr Chocolate. Several years ago, an idea was born in a Cambridgeshire kitchen to make the most delicious 'raw' dairy-free chocolate in the world. Research and testing went ahead and they searched out the best raw ingredients to help create some amazing flavours. However, all without added refined cane or beet sugar, artificial this or the other, hydrogenated or chemical preservative nonsense, emulsifiers or colourings. Wow, we think you'll agree that's quite a list! We tried out the Passion (Goja Berries and Vanilla) , After Dinner (Mint), and the Zest  (Orange). One of our particular favourites was the Zest - deliciously fresh and citrusy. We would describe their texture as slightly more powdery than regular chocolate, but don't let that put you off. This Rawr Chocolate range just melts in the mouth and we think goes it perfectly with a lovely cup of coffee for elevenses. Because of their organic and natural ingredients what we like is the fact that these chocolates are actually good for you. They are very tasty and a great way to be able to sit back and have a guild-free indulgence! The bars are £2.45 and found on their website here.

Now to something a little less sweet than chocolate.  We have also been trying the inSpiral Super Food Bites. These really are super, full of flavour and just the right consistency between 'chew and crunch'. These soon became another office elevenses (or is that two-ses, three-ses, four-ses...!) The Granola Bite flavours we tried were Loveberry, Chocolatey, and Banana. Each once suits a different time of the day, we liked the banana ones in the morning, and then chocolate for something a bit sweeter in the afternoon. They are an  organic fitness food, complete with seven vegan protein sources. The perfect, guilt-free ‘on-the-go snack’, straight out of the compostable bag… These truly do fill you up so you won’t need to pick at those naughty office biscuits in the afternoon.  inSpiral as a brand, dates back to the beginning of the English festival and music culture, with a trademark for its chill out environment for the mind and body. They have a broad selection of offerings at inSpiral with their cult 'raw food' cafe in Camden with lots of other goodies including their Kale chips (which we wrote about here). Their success has allowed them to grow and grow and now they have an extensive range of products to offer. The super food bites are delectable, easy to have in the office or transport in your bag like a bag of crisps when you get a bit peckish during the day. They are also high in omega EFA seeds with flax and chia, along with alkalising slow-release carbohydrates like millet and quinoa for that satisfying crunch and essential fuel. Each flavour has its unique superfood content and the whole mix is dehydrated at low temperatures (110 degrees F) to maintain enzymes and nutrients. The bags are £1.39 and found here.

Healthy snacking is a habit everybody should take up and at The Amazing Blog we are all going to try and make this our mantra for 2014. What about you?

Friday Favourites: Health Supplements

We all know the importance of looking after our bodies with regular exercise and a healthy balanced diet, but there are additional ways of maintaining a healthy lifestyle and ensuring your body is in tip top condition. Here at The Amazing Blog, we have been trying out a range of health drinks and supplements to improve your health, and we wanted to share with you our favourites. Sigma Foods has created a small collection of instant powders with health benefits that you can add to any drink and even your food to boost your overall wellbeing. There are four varieties on offer: Chaga, Reishi, Cordyseps and Lion’s Mane, each offering distinct health benefits. Chaga can be taken to boost your immune system by fighting pathogens, and it is a very strong antioxidant. Reishi can reduce your stress levels, improve your night’s sleep and increase blood circulation. Codyseps is used to increase energy levels and speed up recovery after exercise and can boost your sexual performance! Lastly, Lion’s Mane is used to protect the nervous system, improve cognitive ability and improve your memory. The powders are made from medicinal mushrooms, herbs to improve digestion and absorption of essentials nutrients. They are vegan friendly as well as being gluten and lactose free. While the powders don’t taste great mixed with just water, they are just as effective mixed into a smoothie or even cake! You can find plenty of recipes on the Sigma Foods website. The Instant Beverage sachets are available from Inspiral to buy singularly at £1.35 or in a box of 20 from £16.95.

When trying to gain muscle, protein shakes can be a good supplement to aiding muscle growth and repair. Purition have a 100% natural whey protein supplement shake to use in conjunction with your training. The shakes are filled with essential nutrients and proteins as well as being full of natural fibre to increase your metabolism and improve digestive function. They are also gluten free, with no added sugar and absolutely nothing artificial added in. The shake is idea to use pre or post workout or as a meal replacement. We love the wonderful instruction illustration on the packaging which gives the option to make the mixture into a smoothie with added berries and banana, which we think looks amazing! The Body Pro shake is available in three flavours Chocolate, Pistachio and Coconut, and can be bought from the Purition website for £19.95 for 500g.

With our hectic modern lifestyles it can often be hard for us to ensure we are always getting enough of the nutrients that our body needs. Ovivio Wellness is a liquid based supplement drink that made using the leaves of the Olive tree, which is well known for its health benefits. The Olive leaf is rich in antioxidants that are vital in dealing with pollutants, additives from poor diet, excess sun, smoking and alcohol as well as reducing signs of aging. It has also been proven to be antibacterial, antiviral and antifungal so can actually work with your immune system to keep you healthy and ailment free. This wonderful supplement can improve blood circulation, decrease blood sugar levels and reduce tiredness. The drink doesn’t taste that great, but it can be mixed into fruit juices, smoothies and tea to make it more palatable. You can purchase Ovivio Wellness from Holland & Barrett or the Ovivio Wellness website where you can buy a two week supply for £28.

To ensure we get all the essential nutrients to help our bodies to function correctly, Revive Active have created supplement sachets that contain over 26 active ingredients that work in synergy to effectively and efficiently boost your body’s key functions. Revive Active is caffeine and sugar free, but provides an energy boost to keep you going throughout the day. It looks after your heart and cardiovascular system and boasts anti-aging benefits for not just your skin, but hair and nails too. The supplement helps to promote an improved immune system as well as boosting focus and cognition. Our Executive Editor, Edwina, has been taking these supplements religiously and have since found that they have increased her metabolism and energy levels resulting in weight loss as well as feeling healthier. We can’t argue with that! To discover all of the wonderful health benefits of Revive Active, visit their website where there is a wealth of information as well as scientific evidence of the positive effects of this supplement. The Revive Active sachets are available from the website where you can buy a months supply for £59.85.

You may remember being force fed cod liver oil as a child to provide you with essential Omega 3. We remember well the awful fishy taste and, even worse, when it repeats on you. However, Omega 3 is such an important supplement to take as our body does not make EPA and DHA fatty acids which our essential for our bodies. So if you do not eat enough oily fish, taking a fish oil supplement such as Bare Biology Lion Heart is one way to ensure you get all the nutrients you need. Fish oil that tastes fishy is actually rancid, so unlike the fish oil of our youth, Bare Biology Lion Heart has a pleasant lemony taste. One 5ml spoonful of this oil is contains the same amount of Omega 3 as ten 1000mg fish oil capsules, so what you are taking is much purer and thus you get more for your money. I’m surprised at how much I liked this oil compared to other varieties that I have tried and would definitely continue taking it. The Bare Biology Lion Heart Omega 3 Fish Oil can be purchased from their website for £47.50 for 150ml.

For many of us weight loss is part of our healthy lifestyle concerns, so when we find out about supplements that can aid us in our plight to lose weight and get fit, we just have to try them out. Aspire Drinks are carbonated cranberry flavour drinks that are sugar free, fat free, and even calorie free. They work to increase your metabolism so you burn off extra calories. Aspire have recently launched their Two Week Little Black Dress Challenge, inspiring us to get in shape for the upcoming Christmas party season. Just two weeks of drinking Aspire can lead to weight loss between 2 and 10lbs. We think that these drinks are the perfect way to rehydrate after a workout, as they taste delicious and are very refreshing. You can get your hands on these wonderful Aspire drinks from Tesco for just £1 each.