Packing a perfect free from lunch with Holland & Barrett

Holland & Barrett has one of the largest range of delicious Free from food products on the market -  They produce foods to help people with multiple allergies. not only that a lot of there food provides a healthier alternative to what you are most likely to find in your regular supermarket. With research showing that almost 1 in 12 children in the UK suffer with some kind of food intolerance/allergy, parents can be limited in what food they can send there children to school with in there lunch box. Holland & Barrett have put the fun back into school lunch boxes by providing a wider range of choice for parents and children with an intolerance/allergy or just to give your children a healthier alternative.

Holland & Barrett sent us a fantastic range of there free from products to try, this is just a small selection of what they have to offer in stores and online.

Glutafin Fibre rolls 4 pack £3.45 for 200g

These rolls are really tasty you can have them straight from the bag or bake them in the oven for five minutes to have them warm and crusty, we chose the second option and enjoyed them with the Meridian organic strawberry spread (See below). The rolls are Wheat, Gluten, and lactose free so they are idea for the coeliac although you would never believe it as they are really tasty, the price it quite expensive but around average for gluten free food.

Meridian Organic Strawberry fruit spread £2.49 for 2884g

finding a suitable sandwich filling for a child with an allergy or intolerance can be quite difficult for parents this organic fruit spread is perfect for children with multiple food allergies or just as a healthier alternative, it is free from Celery, egg, fish, gluten, crustacean, kiwi, lupin, milk, mollusc, mustard, nut, peanut, sesame seeds, soya and sulphate. I must admit it was really nice as a spread, Adam really enjoyed it and asked for it on his toast the following day. the spread is quite sweet and has a lot of flavour to it.    

Mrs Crimbles original Cheese Bites £0.89p per pack

Mrs crimbles crisps are award winning Cheese bites made from 48% cheese they are baked rather than fried, they are Gluten free and they are very,very moreish all three of us loved these the packs are quite big so you could separate the contents into two little tubs ideal for a lunchbox snack.

Nakd berry delight bar (various flavours availible) 99p a bar

nakd bars are gluten,wheat and dairy free they are a tasty treat for anyone with a food intolerance with 17 different flavours available it would be difficult for anyone to get bored they have no added sugars or extras the perfect lunch box treat every now and then. Adam liked these and they didn't last very long at all there such a better healthier choice of food.

Redwood, Wot no dairy Raspberry dessert 125g 79p

Ambient pea protein yogurt, raspberry flavoured with visible pieces of raspberries. sweetened with fruit juice, contains no soya, dairy, artificial colouring, preservatives or flavours. these are suitable for vegetarians and vegans and they don't taste any different to a normal yogurt they have a lot of flavour and are still quite thick and creamy they are also made in a nut free site which is an added bonus.

Clearspring 100% fruit on the go 100g 89p

This was very popular in our house in baby Jack had some of this and loved it the pouches these are ideal for any lunches on the go for taking on a picnic they're also great if your little one is a bit slow in the mornings and could easily be eaten on the school run. They can be chilled or frozen to make delicious sorbet, there are three varieties available, they are made without added sugar, salt, concentrates, sweeteners, preservatives, or artificial colourings or flavourings each pouch counts as one of your 5 a day!




If you would like to see more of their range you can pop in store or see online at www.hollandandbarrett.com and if you visit www.hollandandbarrett.com/info/free-from you can browse more than 1,000 free from food products, great recipes and advice for allergy and intolerance sufferers.

do you have a favourite? I would love to hear your thoughts...

we were sent a lovely selection of free from food from Holland&Barrett for the purpose of this post all opinions remain honest and my own 

OrgraN Kids range #Review

OrgraN is a leading brand manufacturing gluten free food products whose primary focus is on health.
OrgraN Products are gluten free, wheat free, dairy free, egg free, yeast free, soy free and vegan free. The products are available in over 50 countries worldwide.

I was sent a selection of products from the OrgraN kids range to try out and this is what we were sent,

The first we tried was was this colourful box of OrgraN Gluten-Free Kids Dinosaurs Wholefruit Cookies. It's a brand I'd never heard of, possibly because I never usually spend much time in the free-from aisle.

Inside the box there is a very generous sized plastic bag packed full of dinosaur shaped biscuits they are around the size of a two pence piece coin, you can see just by looking at each one they are full with fruity current pieces, they are quite moist to taste, however i found them a bit bland there was a clear taste of currents. Again these are another snack that isn't aimed at Adults, who am I to judge a child s snack over three mornings the boys had munched there way through the box, always asking for more once they had finished each handful, they really loved them.
A box contains 175g, 10 servings of approximately 6 cookies - we just grab a handful whenever we feel like it and the box has lasted ages - and each serving contains 57 calories, 6.4g of sugar, 0.7g of fat and 1.8g of fibre. The packaging says that there is no added cane sugar though, so I would guess that much of that sugar comes from the fruit.- priced at £2.79.

Next Up are the Itsy Bitsy Bears, these again are around the size of a two pence piece the bag is stuffed full of Bitsy Bear shaped biscuits you can see the chocolate inside in each individual Bear. I tasted these biscuits, I found these were quite crunchy and hard I thought the flavor was bland I didn't really like them at all, again these snacks are made and aimed at children, my boys loved these, they were asking for more even trying to take the box out of the cupboard with out asking!
A box contains 175g, 10 servings of approximately 6 cookies, the box is naturally rich in complex carbohydrates. This product is produced without the addition of dairy eggs or nuts - these are priced at £2.29.

Last but not least are the Itsy Bitsy Cocoa O's these are around the size of a five pence piece they are chocolate covered shaped O's this product is aimed at children again the boys loved this as a breakfast cereal they crunched and munched there way through it until the whole box was gone obviously not in one go but over a period of mornings.
Each box contains 300g of Itsy Bitsy O's they are made from 73% wholegrain cereal, with the addition of psyllium for added dietary fibre the product is naturally gluten free. Each box is priced at £2.99.

Overall, I wasn't very fond of the products just because Of the taste, however you have to remember that these snacks and cereal have all been designed with children in mind from the bright packaging to the shapes and the flavor. Making a judgement on what my boys thought these, they were fantastic and of course I love that these are very healthy. I think that they are quite expensive so this is the only thing that would put me off purchasing them.

OrgraN is available to purchase from ocado, Amazon, naturally good food and independent health food stores. You can find out more information from Here you can also find them on Facebook.

I was sent a selection of OrgraN products for the purpose of this review all opinions expressed are honest and remain my own

Gluten Free delight PERK!ER #Review

 Fabulous and delicious food that is gloriously Gluten Free

Introducing PERK!ER

 

Perk!er was established in 2012 by Ann Perkins and her partner Steve Turner, After Ann was diagnosed with Coeliac disease in 2009, Ann started to feel much better after following a strict Gluten free diet but was disappointed by the products available to her, So with a strong career in the food industry she quit her job and together with her partner Steve they started to see what they could do to bring delight to gluten free eating.

Perk!er are on a mission to bring delight to gluten free eating and with an estimated 630,000 people in the UK living with Coeliac disease the timing could not be better than to introduce this fabulous new range of products!

I was sent three products from the fantastic Perkier range to try. Perk!er porridge pot apple cinnamon and raisin, Perk!er porridge fruity berry Porridge in the box and Perkier fruit flakes.

As you can see the packaging is very bright it stands out form the crowd it looks fun and its not boring as most people would probably associate when they hear "gluten free" each product is very well labelled, with what the products contain.
All the products are clearly labelled with the cross grain symbol which shows that the they are all suitable for a gluten free diet.

First up I tried the apple, cinnamon and raisin porridge. Both porridge's I have been sent are made using gluten free oats they are high in fibre, low in fat and have no added sugar. 

The pots are ideal for when your on the move, to eat at work or at home when you need a quick breakfast or snack. The instructions are very simple all you need is boiling water and the pot has a fill line, so I filled up the pot with water to the fill line and popped the lid back on waited two minutes and gave it a stir.

The first thing I noticed was the aroma, it was really mouth-watering, sweet and you could really smell the apples and cinnamon it was a very inviting. 

Next to taste it. I liked that it had raisin in the porridge, there was a distinct taste of apples you could also taste the cinnamon the texture was quite thick and creamy, but it tasted quite delicious it was naturally sweet and wasn't to heavy quite a filling little pot and Adam absolutely loved it to so it was a big hit all round.

Next up I tried the the fruity berry from the box, now with this you add four spoons full to a bowl, then add your milk and put it in the microwave for two an a half minutes, I must admit the aroma from this delight filled my kitchen with the fruitiest smell, it was far too hot to eat when it came out but I was excited to try it.
I thought that the apple porridge one was lush but this sets your taste buds on fire it is naturally sweet, a luxurious fruity taste and very creamy Its hard to believe it is a gluten free product, I must admit I savoured every mouthful it was yummy.

  

  

Last but not least the I tried the fruity flakes. These are made from organic brown rice and organic buckwheat they contain less than three percent fat and are high in fibre.
They are a perfect start to any day there is plenty of fruit scattered between the flakes in the forms of cranberry apples and raisins they are deliciously crunchy, not to sweet as they're sweetened ever so slightly with brown rice syrup and organic cane sugar.

The prices,

• Perk!er Pots £1.79
• Perk!er Porridge boxes £3.99
• Perk!er Flakes £3.50

Over all I thought the products were great I would definitely consider buying these products in the future, I love that they are packed full of flavour yet are are very healthy and keep you full until lunch. All of the Perk!er product range are gluten free and many products are free from other allergens as well.

Products are available to buy from Tesco, Sainsburys, Ocado, Planet organic, Amazon and Goodness direct.co.uk

To find out more and to see the Perk!er full range of products why not pop over to there website http://www.perkier.co.uk where there are also recipe ideas news and lots more information about these fantastic products.

you can also find out more about them on Facebook and Twitter

I was sent these delicious Perk!er products for the purpose of this review all opinions expressed are my own.