Friday Foody Round-Up #1

One of the perks of blogging about food and recipes is being sent new food stuffs to try out. Anyone who blogs regularly will know that sometimes its hard to keep up with everything and well, I've been falling behind slightly so in the interest of keeping my promises to brands and PRs that I've been working with I have decided to compile a Friday Foody Round-Up once a month or so featuring my thoughts and opinions on products that have been sent to me.  

I do hope that by doing this I am not doing anyone a disservice or injustice however whilst I enjoy receiving these products very much it can be quite taxing to write a whole blog post about a packet of crisps (and also not so interesting for my readers...) and the product may not get a mention at all so I hope that this new approach is acceptable and if you have any feedback - let me know.

Please note that I receive no other form of compensation for the products featured here other than the products themselves and the occasional free pen. (Who could turn down a free pen?).

Shloer Berry Punch

 One of the most recent products I received for review was a bottle of Shloer's new limited edition winter flavour "Berry Punch", retailing at around £2.29. I'm not a regular Shloer drinker but I do enjoy it for occasions such as a dinner party or summer BBQ where I am designated driver as it feels a tad more sophisticated than a Diet Coke! This limited edition drink gives a nod to traditional English flavours and is packed with blackberries and a warming hint of spice. Shloer recommend serving it over fruit with ice (slices of pear and blackberries). I sampled it as is, although I do adore the fruit idea, and as with the other Shloer drinks I have tried it was extremely fruity and very pleasing! Why not pop over to www.facebook.com/shloer and check out the Shloer Sunday Cookbook where you can contribute recipes and vote for favourites and win some fab prizes to boot!

Heinz Squeeze & Stir

The nice people at Heinz sent me some of their "Squeeze & Stir" range to try. Designed to be the next generation of cup soup, these are purees rather than the dry powered soup we are used to.  I do love soup but tend to reserve soup-in-a-mug for days in the office when I just cannot get to lunchtime without a little something. The new Squeeze & Stir range come in popular flavours like Minestrone, Mediterranean Vegetable, Cream of Tomato & Basil and my personal favourite Cream of Tomato and they retail at around 59p per sachet. I was interested to read that because it's a puree it counts as one of your five a day - result! I really enjoyed this soup as it felt more like a "proper" soup than the powders do. (I was also sent some rather useful sticky notes and a lovely mug, however the mug was decimated by Royal Mail leaving me with nothing but a pile of broken china.)

Heinz Baked Beans Fridge Pack

At the same time as the soup I was also sent a Heinz Beanz Fridge Pack. If you've not seen these before they are a 1kg pack of beans (which is equivalent to 2.5 cans). This is probably more beans that we can eat in a week but the idea of the pack is that it is resealable and you can keep it once opened for up to 5 days, dipping in and out as necessary. I was sent the new Reduced Salt & Sugar variety and I have to be honest and tell you that I am not a fan. I'm a Heinz girl through and through but I just cannot get to grips with the healthier version, for me, the taste just isn't there. They're fine for adding to meals like a chilli or shepherds pie or even to the kids who don't know better but for myself, I prefer the saltier version. The pack retails at £1.93 and is available from all major supermarkets.

Mozart Black Chocolate Liquor

One of my favourite recently received products - Firebox.Com sent me this AMAZING chocolate liquor. It's a smooth 17% abv drink that you can have on it's own or over ice and basically I want to drown myself in it. I've been meaning to buy something like this for ages as it's needed for Nigella's Grasshopper Pie which I plan to make at Christmas and I think this will be perfect. That's if I haven't drank it all by then. *Hic*.  Mozart Dark Chocolate Liquor is available on the Firebox website and retails at £19.99. I think it would make a wonderful Christmas gift!

The Garlic Farm

The Garlic Farm is a farm shop/education & heritage centre/cafe on the Isle of Wight specialising in - yes, you've guessed it, garlic and garlic related products! I was sent two of their chutneys to try out, Cheeky Monkey which is a banana chutney and is perfect with Asian cuisine and Vampires Revenge which a hot (hot!) plum chutney which is good to serve with red meat. I had the plum chutney with sausage and mash and it was delicious.  The chutneys and many other lovely products are available on their own website and retail at £3.50.

Garofalo Pasta

I'm a big believer in buying good quality pasta. I've bought bargain basement in the past and "shops own" and I'm afraid it just doesn't work for me. The quality just hasn't been there and it can honestly make all the difference to a good meal. (This isn't to say I spend over the odds, oh no, I just stockpile when it's on offer as pasta lasts forever. Kind of.).  This pasta from Garofalo was extremely good quality as you would expect and a quick scan of their website has shown me just how many different types of pasta they do which is great as I often struggle to find the less popular varieties. You can find Garofalo products in many independent retailers as well as Ocado, Sainsburys and Harrods.

Branston Peanuts and Crackers

I was recently asked if I'd like to try these new Peanuts & Crackers from Branston to which I said a firm yes as I love a savoury snack.  I was pleasantly surprised as I had initially thought I wouldn't like this product very much.  The peanuts and crackers (which looked like peanuts) had a good taste of Branston Pickle about them without being too overpowering, which is good as I'm not a huge fan of pickle. I would classify these as a "pub snack" as that is where I'd expect to see them and where I'd be more likely to buy them. The Peanuts & Crackers snack retails at £1.49 and is available from all major supermarkets.

And there it is for my first Friday Foody Round-Up.  If you want me to feature your food-product on this page, let me know or if you've recently tried one of these products I'd love to hear what you thought.

love & kisses

Mrs M x