The Coconut Collaborative – Coconut Milk Yoghurts and Frozen Yoghurts

Here at The Amazing Blog, we love the occasional tempting treat. However, although we crave the instant gratification a sugary snack can give, we’re not too fond of the guilty feeling and the effect that they have on our waistline. It’s always something of a revelation when we unearth a delicious snack that tastes naughty, but has none of the drawbacks. Lately we can’t get enough of the delectable offerings from The Coconut Collaborative.

Established by the founder of those tasty Gu Puds we all love, James Averdieck, and leading nutritionist, Steve Bessant, The Coconut Collaborative have a range of wonderful coconut milk based products which aim to give all of the sweetness, with none of the guilt. Free from dairy, gluten, sugar and soya, as well as being vegan, we expected it to have that ‘healthy’ taste that doesn’t quite satisfy a sweet tooth. However we were seriously impressed with these delicious desserts. Our favourite was the Mango & Passion Fruit Yoghurt. Just creamy enough to feel indulgent, but light enough to be a fresh summer treat, it’s all we’ve been snacking on lately. Their Raspberry Snowconut is also difficult to resist, and perfect for cooling you down on those particularly sunny days.

Grab a spoon and dig in to these wonderful pots of goodness. These delicious yoghurt treats are available to buy here for £1.69. The equally delicious tubs of Snowconut are available for £4.99.

Afternoon Tea Week 10th - 16th August 2015

Here at The Amazing Blog we love a good cuppa and a slice of cake, and therefore can’t wait for all the festivities of Afternoon Tea Week 2015 to begin.

From the 10th - 16th August the biggest celebration of tea time treats in the world is happening all over the country, although many of the biggest and best events are right here in London.

Among the events is a Historical Afternoon Tea at Dennis Severs’ House with Kerstin Rodgers aka Ms Marmite Lover, one of the country’s most successful bloggers. On Friday 14th August Kerstin will be creating a historical, Georgian themed Afternoon Tea and baking from historic recipes. The event begins at 3pm and you can’t buy your tickets here.

If you’re more into the baking side of creating a great afternoon tea, definitely check out The Bakewell Baking Festival, which takes place from 14-16th August at the Bakewell Showground. The festival boasts an amazing line-up of culinary talent including Stacie Stewart, Edd Kimber, TV’s Fabulous Baker brother Tom Herbert, baked-Alaska-gate Bake off star Iain Watters andBake-off star Howard Middleton. Tickets start from £7 and can be purchased here.

For a truly immersive afternoon tea experience the InterContinental London Park Lane are offering the opportunity to enjoy the limited edition Scents of Summer Afternoon Tea in the company of Executive Chef Ashley Wells and Bespoke Perfumer Nicola Pozzani of Floris London. Here you'll experience how the evocative notes from Floris fragrances; such as freshly cut grass, jasmine, bergamot, citrus, and rose, are skilfully crafted into the sandwiches, scones and cakes, including bite-sized Jasmine tea cakes garnished with edible flowers, bergamot and blackcurrant flower macaroons, Peach Melba mousse, and a grapefruit and almond tart with violet cream. This limited edition afternoon tea costs £45 per person and available until the 27th September 2015. Book your table here.

If chocolate is more of your thing renowned artisan chocolatier paul.a.young fine chocolates has created an Afternoon Tea Week Collection.  The delicious afternoon tea favourites that we all love have been reimagined into truffles including scone, jam and clotted cream, treacle tart and Pimms! To get your hands on some of these moreish treats head on down to your nearest paul.a.young shop.

This is just a selection of all the events being held. For more information and exclusive offers please visit Afternoon Tea Week’s website.

Indian Superfood Pop-Up

Here at The Amazing Blog, we’re always exploring food markets, and feel that there’s nothing better than discovering a delicious treat on the streets of London. With that in mind, you can be sure that we’ll be heading down to London’s latest pop-up stall, Indian Superfood.

Every Sunday during the month of July Gurpareet Bains will be serving up some delectable lunchtime dishes sure to satisfy one's appetite. Taste his signature Chicken Curry with Cinnamon, Blueberries, and Goji Berry Pilau, often recognised as the ‘world’s healthiest meal’, or nibble on Spicy Marinated Prawns. Whatever you choose, it’s sure to be a treat for you this weekend. 

This pop-up will be celebrating the fifth anniversary of Gurpareet Bains bestselling Indian Superfood cookbook. Awarded Chef of the Year in 2011 at the Curry Awards, Bains's cookbook includes a variety of cuisines designed to tantalize the taste buds in a healthy way. If interested Gurpareet Bains cookbook can be purchased here RRP £12.99. 

If you’re looking for an exciting foodie adventure this Sunday, head down to Brick Lane to try out some of Gurpareet's famous dishes. The pop-up will be located outside the entrance to the Backyard Market, Old Truman Brewery E1 6QL. Fingers crossed it keeps running for longer than the month of July! We say "go check him out" because we want him to stay throughout August, September, etc. :)

Ogilvy's - Raw British Orchard Honey

Here at The Amazing Blog we love anything that makes life taste a little bit sweeter, and Ogilvy’s honey does just that.

Ogilvy’s Honey offers a reliable, traceable, year round supply of 100% pure, unblended honey sourced from all over the world. Their collection of artisan honeys, 3 of which are organically certified, originate from New Zealand, Eastern Europe, Africa, India and South America.

Ranging from mild to strong, these mono-floral or regional honeys offer consumers an opportunity to experience premium honeys from all around the world under one label.

We, in particular, love Ogilvy’s Raw Orchard Honey, with its light golden colour and delicate sweet finish with hints of floral after tones – perfect on your morning toast!

You can check out Ogilvy’s full range of honeys on their website.

Friday Favourites - Sweet Treats

The weekend is nearly upon us and so is the urge to indulge, and here at The Amazing Blog we know just how!

For something wickedly moorish pick up a packet of Ultimate English fudge which champions local produce in the Yorkshire region.

Using rhubarb grown in the heart of the rhubarb triangle itself by celebrated farmer D Westwood & Sons, the companies’ new rhubarb coconut ice gives a nostalgic nod towards the childhood-cherished rhubarb crumble.

If you fancy something more traditional check out their All Butter Fudge or the Salt Water Chocolate Truffle Fudge which combines the finest all butter fudge with the highest quality Belgian chocolate which recently was awarded a gold star in the Guild of Fine Food Great Taste Awards.

You can purchase Ultimate English fudge via retailers across the UK. You can find your nearest stockist here.

If you’re after a slightly healthier option then look no further as Chocolift is a lactose free, no added sugar chocolate with sweeteners extracted from plants, 38% pure cocoa, 8.2g whey protein isolate and 2g of coconut oil. The blend of cocoa, whey protein and coconut oil is a great alternative for chocolate lovers on sugar and lactose controlled diets, and at only 89 calories per half a bar we think it’s a great diet friendly option.

You can buy an 8 pack of Chocolift bars for £28.65 here.

Here at The Amazing Blog we also love Sweet Virtues’ award winning luxury truffles, which are nutrient-dense and power-packed with more than five super food ingredients in every truffle. The raw centre is made up of a blend of Maca, Lucuma, Coconut Nectar, Carob, Ginseng, Sunflower Seeds and Ground Almonds mixed with 72% Organic raw dark chocolate with Bio Live Cultures. Each truffle is hand-made and is dairy-free, suitable for vegetarians, vegans and those on gluten-free diets.

Available in three delicious varieties, Maqui, Chia Seeds & Lime and Baobab & Vanilla, the truffles come in boxes of around 10 (£13.95 for 115g), or a two truffle ballotin box (selection pack containing one ballotin box of each variety for £7.50). Both are perfect as a unique and luxurious gift or the ultimate guilt-free treat for oneself.

The Sweet Virtues range is currently available with a number of retailers, including Harrods, Daylesford, Planet Organic and Partridges of London, or from the company’s website.

Last but not least, we all know that chocolate makes you feel good, and Lovechock does just that! Made by hand from the best organic, raw cacao from Ecuador, instead of being roasted the beans are cold grounded, providing a natural source of flavonoids and ‘love chemicals’-  goodies that make you feel happy and loving.

Lovechock is milk free, soy free and gluten free and is sweetened with Coconut blossom nectar, which has a low GI value and therefore keeps the blood sugar levels more stable than common sugars. All Lovechock products are 100% vegan (recognized by the Vegan Society) and come in a variety of flavours including Goji/Orange, Almond/Fig and Mulberry/Vanilla.

We’re also loving Lovechock Rocks which are a great snack for when you’re on the go. The rocks are fruits or nuts covered in raw chocolate and a pinch of reishi, and come in three different flavour combinations Mulberry/Hemp seed, Almond/Cinnamon and Raisin Coconut.

You can buy Lovechock products from Planet Organic, Real Foods and The HealthBay.