Posts tagged milk
Review: Twinings Everyday Tea Blends
04 weeks ago
You all know that I cannot resist a nice cup of tea. I am a) British and b) brought up in the Salvation Army – tea was inevitably going to be a very important part of my life! But one thing I have never been able to do is enjoy herbal or fruit tea. I simply can’t drink it. Smells amazing. Tastes horrible.
So when Twinings, who are known for making a wide range of organic teas and healthy teas, sent me some of their Everyday Tea blends to try, I was intrigued. On the box it says…
…sounds like these teas are exactly what I’ve been looking for! Traditional black tea that you serve with milk, with a hint of redbush, peppermint, green tea, or echinacea. You get the benefits of drinking herbal, with just a hint of flavour in amongst the Everyday tea. Sounded intriguing. And as Twinings even sent me a mug with which to test the tea out, I put the kettle on immediately!
The Everyday Tea by Twinings is designed to put a smile on your face. It is a bright and refreshing blend of fine tea leaves from around the world, great for any time of the day. It is a tea I buy regularly because I enjoy it, although normally in the decaffeinated version – it is the best decaf black tea blend I have found so far (and I drink a lot of it!).
The three “with a little extra” Everyday Tea blends I received were the Peppermint Blend, Echinacea Blend, and Green Tea Blend. Each has the same full bodied rich and vibrant flavour of Twinings standard Everyday Tea but with the benefits associated with the additions on top. All three had slightly different flavours, but the blends were subtle and not overpowering at all. You can’t really smell the added extras until the tea is brewing, and you can then taste them in the background. All work very well as combinations; they are a great alternative to “ordinary” black tea.
Apart from tasting really lovely there are also added benefits by using these three different ingredients inside a teabag. Peppermint is associated with digestion, echinacea with your body’s defences and immune system, and green tea is said to have healing properties. Twinings saw the addition of these things to their classic tea as something of a tea challenge, to help those of us who really can’t stand herbal teas to benefit from these things too. I think they succeeded. Assuming there is enough of the relevant ingredient to help my insides, then Twinings have done a great thing here.
And if you’re wondering – all the teas look the same when brewed… tea with milk coloured!
Of the three I have found the peppermint blend to be the most satisfying, I am genuinely enjoying drinking that particular tea. It has a fresh and clean taste; the peppermint is there in the background giving the tea a palette cleansing and refreshing after taste. It is perfect for drinking in the afternoon as a bit of a pick-me-up. The echinacea has the least extra flavouring in my opinion, and the green tea has a background note that I recognise from trying (and trying) to like proper green tea. They are all nice, and I would recommend that anyone who is like me and always prefers tea with milk over anything else gives them a try – you don’t even have to be that brave because they’re just like normal tea.
EDITED TO ADD - Discussing the Everyday Tea Peppermint Blend with a colleague we decided one excellent thing about these teas was that you can still dunk a biscuit your mug! Traditional herbal teas like peppermint tea are simply no good for dunking your digestive… but these Everyday blends work perfectly. Get drinking and dunking!
Disclaimer: I received some tea from Twinings so I could tell you about it. I have not been told what to say and have been no less honest as a result of receiving the product for free.
Review & Giveaway: New Kelloggs Cereals
1182 months ago
A while ago I said you’d be getting three breakfast cereal posts in quick succession. That was a month ago now. Oops. Anyway, here’s the second!
Kelloggs have introduced four new cereals with lower sugar to give us a good balanced start to the day. Aimed at children (and considered healthy enough to be advertised on children’s telly), they are made with wholegrain, are high in fibre, and are a good source of Vitamin D. The range includes new Coco Pops Croc Prints, Rice Krispies Multi-Grain Shapes Strawberry, Honey Loops and Honey Pops.
I might not have children but I do enjoy a bowl of cereal (at any time of the day!) and so Kelloggs sent me a box of each of the new range to try. I’ve been singing this ever since they arrived…
Well ok they’re not honey NUT loops – just miss that bit out – but they are really tasty. Both the loops and the Honey Pops have a nice sweet-with-honey flavour. Between these two similar cereals the loops are easier to eat – softer in texture – but the pops last longer in the milk without going soggy.
The Coco Pops Croc Prints were lovely. Just like Coco Pops in taste, turning the milk suitably chocolaty, these were just as I’d hoped they’d be. And if they’re better for me than traditional Coco Pops then I’m happy.
It was the Strawberry Rice Krispie Shapes I was most concerned about. I mean I love (love love) Coco Pops but I wasn’t at all sure about a Strawberry flavoured cereal. And to be honest I’m still not. I think they’re designed to be to strawberry what Coco Pops are to chocolate, but for me it doesn’t work so well. The thing that puts me off them is they go grey – food just shouldn’t be grey.
Giveaway
You don’t have to take my thoughts on the new Kelloggs breafast cereals for granted as I have one of each of the new range to give away to one of my readers.
One winner will receive a box each of Coco Pops Croc Prints, Rice Krispies Multi-Grain Shapes Strawberry, Honey Loops and Honey Pops.
That should keep you going for a few days!
To be in with a chance of winning all you have to do is comment on this post with the answer to this question, making sure you leave an email address or twitter name so I can contact you if you win:
My favourite time to eat breakfast cereal is… ?
I will leave the giveaway open for a week so you have until next Sunday 7th April to enter. Make sure you give the rules below a read through, and tell your friends and family to enter too.
Good luck!
The Rules
- This competition is open to UK residents only.
- You must be aged 18 years old or over at the time of entry.
- The competition closes at 8pm on Sunday 7th April 2013.
- Entry is by making a relevant comment answering the given question.
- Entrants must include a valid email address or a twitter ID in the box provided (will not be published). This is so I can contact you if you win.
- You can only enter once. If you post more than one comment only your first will count as entry into the competition.
- Members of my immediate family cannot enter (sorry!).
- The winners will be picked at random from all eligible entries and be announced on Splodz Blogz soon after the closing date.
- The prize is some cereal from Kelloggs.
- The winners must respond to their email from Splodz Blogz within two days or I reserve the right to re-draw.
- Your details will only be used for the purpose of this competition. The prize will be sent directly by Kelloggs.
- You don’t get any extra entries for tweeting or posting about this competition anywhere, but I don’t mind if you do (go on… you know you want to!).
- Oh… and my decision is final (I like saying that!).
The best way to find out first who won this competition is to subscribe to Splodz Blogz by email or in a reader. Use the links over on the right to do this. You can also connect with Splodz Blogz on facebook and twitter if you fancy it!
Disclaimer: I was sent a some Kelloggs cereal so I could tell you about them (and run a giveaway too). I have not been told what to say and have been no less honest as a result of receiving the product for free.
Review: Jordans Crunchy Oat Granola – Raisin & Almond
03 months ago
Thanks to that Jenny Craig trial I did at the back end of last year I have got into a routine of eating breakfast again. Most days, that is; some days I just don’t fancy anything, but most days I’ll have some cereal or porridge or a banana or something like that. I’ve actually been trying out a range of breakfast cereals over the last few weeks – this is the first of three posts courtesy of three brands.
I do enjoy a nice granola. This is Jordans Crunchy Oat Granola – Raisin & Almond, and it is really good. Apart from the clusters of oats and it’s also (obviously) got nuts and raisins in, which add texture and sweetness. A 45g portion (which isn’t actually that much – who decides on portion sizes for cereals?!) contains 188 calories, 2g fibre, 5.5g fat (of which 1g is saturated fat) and 11.7g of sugar.
One thing I like about granola is it doesn’t go soggy from the milk (unless you’re really slow!), and so it has crunch. That combined with the chewy raisins and smooth nuts makes for some lovely and very satisfying mouthfuls.
Granola is supposed to be good for baking too so I attempted some biscuits thanks to a recipe on the Jordan’s website, which I burnt, oops. They tasted great though – I will have to try them again sometime soon and cook them less.
Thank you to Jordans for helping to make my breakfasts a pleasure – it’s even made in the UK (Biggleswade, if you’re interested). I already really enjoy your Country Crisp and I’ll definitely be adding this to my “buy regularly” list.
Disclaimer: I was sent a packet of Jordans Crunchy Oat Granola to try out and review here on Splodz Blogz. I have not been told what to say and have been no less honest as a result of receiving the product for free.
Review: Weight Watchers Instant Hot Chocolate
14 months ago
I love hot chocolate. But I am totally fussy. It has to be proper hot chocolate, made with hot milk.
Weight Watchers sent me some of their instant hot chocolate to see what I thought. Instant hot chocolate like this is a great way to warm up and get a sweet chocolate fix without many calories – about 40 in each mug full. Made with boiling water it’s easy to grab quickly when only chocolate will do.
I was given three flavours to try. The usual hot chocolate, a caramel one and a mint one. The sachets are really easy to take to work, and are made using water from the kettle.
Unfortunately Weight Watchers have been unable to change my mind. Instant hot chocolate still tastes horrid to me. It certainly smells of chocolate, but it doesn’t taste like it. It’s watery. It’s disappointing. I should add it’s not just Weight Watchers… they have only failed where all other instant brands have failed before. Sorry.
Hot chocolate will remain a high calorie treat made with hot milk for me. I would rather drink it much less often than have an inferior instant product.
Disclaimer: I was sent these hot chocolate sachets to try out and review here on Splodz Blogz. I have not been told what to say and have been no less honest as a result of receiving the product for free.
White Hot Chocolate
05 months ago
by Splodz
in Food & Drink
For me Hot Chocolate has to be of the highest quality. And it has to be made with milk. I don’t really care for instant hot chocolate at all, I do drink it because it’s a good way to get a low calorie chocolate fix (and warm up!), but I always find it disappointing in flavour and texture when it’s made with water.
My most favouritist (yea, that’s a word, ok!) hot chocolate drink is this one by Whittards…
…the tagline “white magic, deliciously creamy, as soft as velvet” is so very true. It’s like a pot of powdered chocolate you mix with milk to create a mug of actual chocolate. Divine.
I always make mine on the hob in a milk pan – the microwave gives me all sorts of problems like the one second difference between not warm enough and boiled over everywhere. Simply heat the milk in the pan until you have it hot but not boiling, then add three (or four) spoons of the powdered chocolaty goodness and mix in. I use a whisk to make it all fluffy (if a drink can be fluffy, I’ll assume you know what I mean by that!).
Pouring from the milk pan to a mug is always fun – even with that lip designed for easy pouring I always get some over the worktop. Ah well, nothing a cloth can’t fix. No need for marshmallows or chocolate shavings or cream on this one – it’s already sweet, creamy and really chocolaty.
Then of course comes the best bit. Sitting down in a comfy chair, both hands clasped around the warm mug, sipping the chocolaty goodness little by little. Ahhhhhhhhhhhhh.
Are there any better hot chocolates out there? Actually we got given some Fudge Kitchen Drinking Fudge for Christmas so it will be very interesting to see how that compares. What other recommendations do you have?
Percy Pig Fairy Cakes
27 months ago
Percy pig sweets are awesome. They are possibly the best jelly sweets available at the moment. The original bright pink ones are the best – I’m not convinced by the tails or noses or yellow ones but I never complain if offered one.
Marks and Spencer have launched a range of Percy Pig themed goodies over the last few months, and I’ve managed to resist them all. That was until I spotted a Percy Pig fairy cake making kit. I’d popped into the food bit of my local M&S for some baking powder, and spotted the pink branded packaging of this kit. Glancing at the box I saw that not only do you get Percy Pig sweets to decorate your cakes, but the butter cream is also Percy Pig flavour. So I made the inevitable purchase.
I like a good cupcake kit. They provide a really simple way to make just a few cakes – six in this case – that will almost certainly look and taste good. Inside the box was the cake mix, icing mix, a packet of Percy Pig sweets (don’t tell anyone but there were more than the six needed to decorate the cakes!), and five pink fairy cake cases. Yes, just five. Ah. That’s ok, not the end of the world, I had some white ones in the cupboard. A bit of a counting error there but never mind.
The cake batter is made by adding milk. Simples. The butter cream just needs butter and a careful mixer (does anyone ever manage to make butter cream without getting the icing sugar everywhere?!). Easy peasy. Honestly, for any non bakers out there, cupcake kits are the answer. No reason why us adults can’t partake in a bit of bakery cheatery every now and again.
So there they are. And that Percy Pig flavoured butter cream is fantastic. And that’s a good job as there was as much butter cream as cake. Maybe a little too much? Nah!! I wish I had a piping bag to make them look prettier (I just spooned the stuff on top). Yes, childish, but oh so good.
I found the Percy pig kit with the baking stuff in my local M&S. I might have to get another kit in – just in case I have a cupcake baking craving without the time to do it properly.
