Friday Favourites - Raw Foods

We love our food and so far we haven't succumb to any silly New Years' diet fads. However, we have had a lot of 'snack cravings' sweeping The Amazing Blog office but  these have been intentionally directed at Raw Food (thanks to the generosity of the companies below). Raw food in simple terms means raw healthy food with no added bad stuff. Thus enabling one to have guilt-free snacking with delicious food that is actually good for you and we really like that! Which is why we thought we'd introduce you to some of our favourite discoveries with their brands and products, namely: Love Raw, The Living Food Kitchen, Rawr Chocolate and inSpiral.

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We have been enjoying some tasty and organic bars by Love Raw in the office this week. If you’re looking for a snack to give you a little boost then look no further... Their unprocessed and organic bars are full of ingredients designed to give maximum nutritional value. It’s the best way to get all the vitamins and minerals that you need into your daily routine . They are great for energy and focus too, making these new snacks a big plus if you get a bit peckish during your working day. We really enjoyed the Cocoa and Maca Superfood bar. Apparently our bodies require 80% alkaline and 20% acidic food balance to keep the energy levels up and reverse disease (oh and to also keep us looking younger). Just add one of these yummy bars into your daily food intake and you will definitely start feeling the health benefits. We have for sure. You can buy them on their website here for £29.88 per box of 12. 

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We have also been lucky enough to sample the WHOLE of the Living Food Kitchen range, including the Beetroot Hummus, Hemp Seed Pesto, Hummus, Mousse, Cheesecakes, Banoffee Pie, Pumpkin Pie, AND lots of their yummy Shakes and Smoothies. There are quite a few of us in the office, so it didn’t take long for everything to disappear! The Pesto tasted like real homemade pesto, not that processed rubbish you find in a jar. Our Exec Editor, Edwina, used it recently in a Risotto which went down very well at her dinner party. We have all munched on the Beetroot Hummus  using oatcakes to scoop it out of the pot, highly recommended! The Beetroot flavour is very unique and quite addictive, we became very fond of both the hummus pots. It’s always good to know you are eating something that is entirely good for you as well as healthy. Aside from that, there were the slightly naughtier snacks. All still made with raw ingredients and we might add much better for you than most regular puds. It was observed, that there was a wistful silence throughout in the whole office during the consumption of these… Raw food means that it isn’t heated above 46 degrees and all the good nutrients aren’t destroyed, thus making The Living Food collection of different treats most beneficial for your total well-being. The range is available in all Planet Organic and Wholefood stores across London and we couldn’t recommend everything highly enough!

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If there is one weakness most of us have, especially we girls in the office, it’s chocolate. However, there is always that guilt which lingers for hours after just that one bite of chocolate.  Guilt free…chocolate is there such a thing? Oh yes, welcome Rawr Chocolate. Several years ago, an idea was born in a Cambridgeshire kitchen to make the most delicious 'raw' dairy-free chocolate in the world. Research and testing went ahead and they searched out the best raw ingredients to help create some amazing flavours. However, all without added refined cane or beet sugar, artificial this or the other, hydrogenated or chemical preservative nonsense, emulsifiers or colourings. Wow, we think you'll agree that's quite a list! We tried out the Passion (Goja Berries and Vanilla) , After Dinner (Mint), and the Zest  (Orange). One of our particular favourites was the Zest - deliciously fresh and citrusy. We would describe their texture as slightly more powdery than regular chocolate, but don't let that put you off. This Rawr Chocolate range just melts in the mouth and we think goes it perfectly with a lovely cup of coffee for elevenses. Because of their organic and natural ingredients what we like is the fact that these chocolates are actually good for you. They are very tasty and a great way to be able to sit back and have a guild-free indulgence! The bars are £2.45 and found on their website here.

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Now to something a little less sweet than chocolate.  We have also been trying the inSpiral Super Food Bites. These really are super, full of flavour and just the right consistency between 'chew and crunch'. These soon became another office elevenses (or is that two-ses, three-ses, four-ses...!) The Granola Bite flavours we tried were Loveberry, Chocolatey, and Banana. Each once suits a different time of the day, we liked the banana ones in the morning, and then chocolate for something a bit sweeter in the afternoon. They are an  organic fitness food, complete with seven vegan protein sources. The perfect, guilt-free ‘on-the-go snack’, straight out of the compostable bag… These truly do fill you up so you won’t need to pick at those naughty office biscuits in the afternoon.  inSpiral as a brand, dates back to the beginning of the English festival and music culture, with a trademark for its chill out environment for the mind and body. They have a broad selection of offerings at inSpiral with their cult 'raw food' cafe in Camden with lots of other goodies including their Kale chips (which we wrote about here). Their success has allowed them to grow and grow and now they have an extensive range of products to offer. The super food bites are delectable, easy to have in the office or transport in your bag like a bag of crisps when you get a bit peckish during the day. They are also high in omega EFA seeds with flax and chia, along with alkalising slow-release carbohydrates like millet and quinoa for that satisfying crunch and essential fuel. Each flavour has its unique superfood content and the whole mix is dehydrated at low temperatures (110 degrees F) to maintain enzymes and nutrients. The bags are £1.39 and found here.

Healthy snacking is a habit everybody should take up and at The Amazing Blog we are all going to try and make this our mantra for 2014. What about you?