Friday Foody Round Up #5

It's time for another Friday Foody Round Up. I don't get sent so many food products these days, I'm quite busy now and don't always have the time to try out the products so I try to be selection over what I pick, generally selecting new and exciting products, or ones that I know would be similar to something my family would buy. That way, they'll fit into the theme of my blog and I'm not sharing something completely random with you! Here are some of the things I've been asked to try out recently.

Ribena Plus

We've always been big Ribena fans in this house. An ice-cold glass of blackcurrant Ribena on a hot summers day is one of the most refreshing things I find, we generally always have a bottle in the cupboard so I was interested to try out this new product range from Ribena. Ribena Plus still has that great fruity Ribena taste we all know and love but with added vitamins and minerals and no added sugar it's a great healthier alternative. There are two types you can get "Immunity Support" with vitamins A and C and "Healthy Bones" with added calcium. As well as the standard blackcurrant there are a some other refreshing new flavours - Apple & Peach, Mixed Berries and Raspberry & Apple which are available in both standard bottles and the ready-to-drink cartons. My personal favourite is the Raspberry & Apple and the Mixed Berries went down very well with the children who enjoyed having the cartons in their lunch boxes.  Ribena Plus was launched in March 2012 and is available at all major retailers.

The Collective Dairy

I'm not a huge yoghurt eater. It's not that I don't like yoghurt, it's more that I just don't think to buy it very often. When I do buy yoghurt I like to buy interesting flavours so when I was contacted asking to try out the yoghurts from The Collective Dairy I thought I'd give them a try.  The Collective Dairy was started in New Zealand by two chefs with the aim to create "an extraordinary yoghurt with an unbeatable taste" and I think that they achieved it! The yoghurts are British-made from "Kiwi recipes" and they are all probiotic, vegetarian, gluten free and artificial additive free. I was introduced to two of their flavours - russian fudge and luscious lemon but they also have two more flavours - cherry & pomegranate and passionfruit. (Looking at their website tells me they also had a limited edition Christmas Pud flavour and I am gutted I missed that!). What did I think? Oh my word. I've always been a sucker for a toffee or fudge yoghurt and I think I may have found the BEST EVER. Seriously, I may never need to try another again. The luscious lemon was also delicious - as they say on their website - it tastes of sunshine! I can't wait to try the other two flavours now. The Collective Dairy products are available to buy in Sainsburys, Waitrose, Selfridges & Co, Whole Foods, Ocado and Nisa. 

PS I've just visited The Collective Dairy's NZ website and if they're reading this - get those Apple Crumble and Raspberry Choccy yoghurts over to the UK pronto!!!

Blue Dragon

I've previously reviewed Blue Dragon products on my blog before but this time they contacted me to see if I wanted to receive some of their products and also sent me the lovely bowl you can see above. If you want to get your hands on one of these bowls, all you have to do is collect 6 tokens from Blue Dragon products. You can find out more on their website. I was sent the Laska Curry Paste, the Sweet Chilli Dipping Sauce and two stir-fry sauces - Oyster & Spring Onion and Sweet & Sour. As I mentioned in my previous post, I am already a fan of Blue Dragon and the Sweet Chilli Sauce is a permanent fixture in my cupboard. I use it in lots of recipes as well as keeping it on hand to dip Thai crackers or spring rolls into for a quick snack. I haven't yet tried the Laska Curry Paste but I think I may well incorporate it into Meal Planning Monday this week so watch out for a recipe post coming soon!  Blue Dragon products are available at most food retailers and you have until 29th July 2012 to claim your bowl.

That's my Friday Foody Round Up done for this week. I'm sure I'll have more goodies to share with you again very soon!