Mindful Bites - Nut Butter

Who doesn’t love a good snack? Yup and it’s generally naughty little things like crisps that are our bad habit at The Amazing Blog We have been looking to substitute this potato addiction with ‘good snacks’, which is where Mindful Bites comes in. Founded in 2014 by Stephanie Peritore, Mindful Bites aims to change the way people snack, not on empty calories but on protein rich butters ‘one bite at a time’ they want to promote intentional eating.  We are finding that Mindful Bites' Nut Butters are the perfect vegan and gluten-free solution to our snack cravings.

Mindful Bites is built on the company’s four pillars of mindful eating (Intention, Attention, Gratitude, and Pleasure) and these pillars are reflected in the Nut Butter. The thick and creamy texture of the product slowly releases delicious flavours, which allow you to savour what you're eating. The carefully selected ingredients, including a blend of superfoods and high-quality nuts, also have you actively thinking about what you put into your body. However, it's not just the tasty and nutritious flavours that have us drawn to the Nut Butter; it is the way it makes us feel after eating it. The plant-based protein, made with no added sugar or sweeteners and palm oil, is a game changer for reinvigorating yourself during a mid-afternoon slump. Spread sparingly on some oatcakes  (in our case) it is filling and delicious and has made our cravings disappear resulting in a better, more energetic mood here in the office.

We had the chance to try all four of their  Nut Butter flavours (Hazelnut & Berries, Brazil Nuts & Cacao Nibs, Almond & Maca, Cashew Nuts & Baobab). Our personal favourite was Hazelnut & Berries. It has a rich taste of hazelnut, not dissimilar to Nutella, but with a yummy hint of a berry flavour which stays gently with you. However, if you want a more intense chocolate flavour, we suggest trying Brazil Nuts & Cacao Nibs. While nut butter is traditionally eaten on toast or straight from the jar with a spoon (not so good for an office share!) Mindful Bites suggests adding it to a smoothie, porridge, or yogurt for a protein boost.

You can purchase a single jar (185g) of their Nut Butters here for £6.99 or a box of all four for £25 here.

Bay’s Kitchen: Stir in Sauces

There are days in TheAmazingBlog Towers when we get to tell our fabulous followers, not just about a great product, but one that has an inspirational background story and clearly a very exciting and fulfilling future ahead of it. And for this one, we invite you to focus on the glorious part of our fair British Isles known as the Cotswolds, to learn about an incredible young woman called Hayley Burdett whose love of cooking has led to a fiercely delicious range of what will fast become essential for our larder’s shelves. However, in so doing, she has done this with a mission to encourage understanding and help alleviate the symptoms of the often debilitating condition of IBS.

Irritable Bowel Syndrome has a tough ask in getting the airtime such a condition needs, mainly because the whole subject is one most people have felt embarrassed or unwilling to talk about. However, the truth is as many as 1 in 7 of us will suffer from it, and for many of this group, they will suffer quietly without much backup unless they are prepared to invest their time in serious research for their personal symptoms. IBS takes so many forms, and can kick off with many triggers - not simply a case of what an individual eats, but also stress levels and other lifestyle choices. The good news is that because of the amazing work carried out by The International Foundation For Gastrointestinal Disorders there is an immense amount of information, help and advice now literally at our fingertips to ease the discomfort. The IFFGD designated April as IBS Awareness Month many years ago, and have given countless people a portal through which they can find some answers in their own personal journey.

Each story is as individual as the people who have to deal with the condition, which is why, when we hear about such an amazing young entrepreneur as Hayley Burdett, we literally want to shout it from the rooftops … or the highest point of TheAmazingBlog Towers to be more precise! The fact that this success story encapsulates one of our favourite and very necessary pastimes  of eating and cooking is a very happy bonus indeed.

Having suffered from IBS for many years, Hayley put her considerable energies into researching the causes and coming up with solutions for her own needs and now thankfully for the needs of her ever-growing legion of culinary fans. She set up Bay’s Kitchen bringing her own brand of delicious stir-in sauces quite literally to our table, and in so doing has helped to make life enormously more comfortable for many people, but also fabulously delicious for us all.

Bay’s Kitchen currently offers three sauces: the Tomato & Basil Stir-In Sauce, the Sweet & Sour Stir-In Sauce, and the Jalfrezi Curry Stir-In Sauce - all of which we can confirm not only set our tastebuds humming, but also continues to satisfy them most effectively! Each of the recipes are certified Low-FODMAP, Gluten-Free and totally Vegan, and aside from the gratitude of many, Hayley is collecting awards for her creations in increasing number, gaining Gold and Silver at The Free From Awards 2019 .

Competitively priced at £4.15 for a 260g two portion serving, and available through their online shop here However, for anyone who finds themselves in the sometimes excrutiatingly uncomfortable pangs of an IBS onslaught, we urge you to check out Ms Burdett’s comprehensive website and also visit for further information, help and advice.

Hi Honey

As we all know, the beloved bee populations in recent years has been decreasing at an alarming rate in the UK. Toxic pesticides, varroa mites and loss of habitat have threatened the fate of bee colonies and the crucial role they play in our food production. That’s why at The Amazing Blog we always try to find ways to buy bee products in order to help #savethebees. Recently, a new UK brand Hi Honey sent us four pots of their delicious honey. All with a bit of a twist with added flavours - we just couldn’t wait to try them.

Launched in August 2018, Hi Honey prides themselves on having the ‘biggest selection of pure honey with freeze-dried fruits and herbs.’ While the company is based in London, all of their pots of honey are produced and packaged in Lithuania.  They are quick to add, that their bees are only treated with ecological medications, the hives are wooden, the location of the apiaries adheres to the IKP (Exceptional Quality Product) requirements and their extraction techniques meet EU standards.  They also point out that: “The bees work for us and we work for them, and that is why we give special attention to those who cannot imagine their lives without unique, natural bee products.”

 Each of their jars contains pure honey that is infused with natural freeze-dried fruits, spices and herbs such as orange, peppermint, cinnamon and even cocoa, to name a few. Yum! We had the opportunity to try four of their exciting flavours of their delicious honey selections including their Mixed Nuts, Blackcurrant, Peppermint and Cinnamon, Orange & Lemon flavours. Besides being delicious, we loved that we could use all four kinds of honey to bake, marinate and glaze in different ways and recipes. A bonus is that Hi Honey has added into their packaging ideas on how to incorporate their honey into your daily recipes. We had to try them all out. For breakfast, we put the Mixed Nuts flavour into our morning porridge to give us an added sweetness and some of our daily protein. The Honey with Blackcurrant also gave a nice added sweetness to our smoothie for lunchtime. Not much of a breakfast person? Then Hi Honey recommends using their Peppermint infused honey to glaze over a lamb or pork chop. Their last honey we tried, the Cinnamon, Orange & Lemon, was a great addition to a warm slice of  apple pie.  If you want to try a new twist on your honey, visit the Hi Honey website here to purchase one of their 250 g pots for £10.99. Not sure which flavour to get? There are 3 mini sizes at 40g to mix and match that are available of each jar for £10 available here. 

Nouri Healthy Balls

At The Amazing Blog we have to admit to some of us having a penchant for sweet treats. However, with summer coming unhealthy sugars have to go, particularly as we look at our waistlines and start thinking about getting bikini-ready. With this in mind, we’ve been testing out many sweet treat alternatives but still find that many contained high amounts of calories with added sugar. That’s when we came across newly launched food brand Nouri Health, one of our #amazingfinds towards our healthier nibbling. We’re very happy to report that our sweet tooth habit couldn’t be easier now with their range of indulgent, yet healthy, truffle balls.

Nouri Health was launched last year after the founder discovered a lack of confectionary alternatives which were completely vegan, sugar and gluten-free. Their use of simple and natural ingredients in their truffle selection gives delicious and indulgent flavours while simultaneouslyly nourishing the body. Since Nouri doesn’t use artificial ingredients and aromas, they aim to use only the freshest fruits and nuts to ensure each truffle is up to par with their taste standards.  The founder Kalina Halatcheva said: “We found that many healthy treats taste very similar (concentrated with dates and other dry fruits) and leave you searching for something more satisfying with a proper sense of indulgence. That's why we decided that our number one focus on Nouri was taste!” After winning the prestigious SIAL INNOVATION Selection 2018 award in Paris , Nouri commemorated their win by releasing a luxurious 16 count box of four flavours of healthy balls all, equally full of goodness, rich and chewy.

The Nouri Vegan Healthy Balls box contains four indulgent flavours, Chocolate & Hazel, Coconut & Chia, Matcha Green Tea and the special edition Sesame & Cardamom. While all the flavours are delicious, our favourite amongst the four is the Chocolate & Hazel truffles. Made with dates, hazelnuts, almonds and vanilla, this truffle is the perfect balance between chocolatey and nutty. For a more crunchy texture, the Coconut & Chia truffles are a sweet mix of coconut, dried apricots, sultanas and chia seeds offering a refreshing, tropical twist. The third flavour, Matcha Green Tea is a creamy, matcha flavour made with other superfoods such as pumpkin seeds, sultanas, dates, cashew paste, almonds and millet flakes. Wrapped in a gold foil, the special edition Sesame & Cardamom truffle, infused with turmeric, left us feeling satisfied without the guilt with its decadent and earthy taste. While fruits, nuts and dates are combined into the recipes; unlike other natural sugar-free confectionary alternatives, these truffles don’t have that typical identifiable fruity or date-y taste. They are just so moreish! Like us, you can now satisfy your inner-sweet tooth, as well as 'nourish your body, indulge your soul' and enjoy a 16-count-box of delicious truffles from the Nouri Health website here for only £14.95.

Fruits Of The Forage

At The Amazing Blog, we love writing about brands that have adopted sustainable practices, especially food brands that have joined the fight against our current consumer-driven society. Fruits of the Forage, is one that has made it their mission to capture the ‘sustainable taste of the British landscape’ with their range of chutneys, jams, cordials, wines and beers which are made using less than conventional ingredients. Recently, they kindly sent us five of their amazing chutneys and chilli jams to try – and trust us, we were not disappointed!

Based in founder Freddie Throrneycroft’s hometown of Cheshire, Fruits of the Forage uses neglected fruits from abandoned British orchards and other wild British native plants in all their products. Chutneys, are widely used in South Asian cuisine, are made up mainly with a mix of vegetables, fruits and spices. Their tastes, spice-levels and textures can range as well depending on the concoctions of ingredients used. What we like about Fruit of the Forage’s products is that they have elevated jams and chutneys contain less-known ingredients such as Cheshire Damsons, heritage plums and even Hogweed seeds.

After trying their Hogweed Curry Chutney, Hot Crabby Chilli Jam, Perfect Pair Chutney, Damsloe Chutney and Hot Rhuby Chilli Jam, we can see why Fruits of the Forage has won not one BUT 10 Great Taste Awards in the last three years! Each of the jams and chutneys have a delicious and very individual taste which will suit all sorts of different taste palates. The Hot Rhuby, is made out of rhubarb, garlic and ghost peppers, is a good mixture of warm and spicy and, like Fruits of the Forage and is indeed very moreish. If you’re craving a more fresh and fruity spread, the Hot Crabby Chilli Jam, made with crab apples, adds a sweetness to cured meats, lamb or game. Or perhaps you want to add a savoury kick to your cheeses and meat? Fruits of the Forage’s trio of chutneys (Hogweed Curry, Perfect Pair and Damsloe) are a great mix of fruits, vegetables and pickling spices and add a great piquante to any food. For our vegan readers, don’t worry, all of their products are entirely animal-product free. We particularly liked spreading some of the Hogweed Curry Chutney on our veggies to give them that perfect little kick – Yum!

If you want to try Fruits of the Forage’s chutneys and jams for yourself, purchase a jar on their website here for £4.