Nouri Healthy Balls

At The Amazing Blog we have to admit to some of us having a penchant for sweet treats. However, with summer coming unhealthy sugars have to go, particularly as we look at our waistlines and start thinking about getting bikini-ready. With this in mind, we’ve been testing out many sweet treat alternatives but still find that many contained high amounts of calories with added sugar. That’s when we came across newly launched food brand Nouri Health, one of our #amazingfinds towards our healthier nibbling. We’re very happy to report that our sweet tooth habit couldn’t be easier now with their range of indulgent, yet healthy, truffle balls.

Nouri Health was launched last year after the founder discovered a lack of confectionary alternatives which were completely vegan, sugar and gluten-free. Their use of simple and natural ingredients in their truffle selection gives delicious and indulgent flavours while simultaneouslyly nourishing the body. Since Nouri doesn’t use artificial ingredients and aromas, they aim to use only the freshest fruits and nuts to ensure each truffle is up to par with their taste standards.  The founder Kalina Halatcheva said: “We found that many healthy treats taste very similar (concentrated with dates and other dry fruits) and leave you searching for something more satisfying with a proper sense of indulgence. That's why we decided that our number one focus on Nouri was taste!” After winning the prestigious SIAL INNOVATION Selection 2018 award in Paris , Nouri commemorated their win by releasing a luxurious 16 count box of four flavours of healthy balls all, equally full of goodness, rich and chewy.

The Nouri Vegan Healthy Balls box contains four indulgent flavours, Chocolate & Hazel, Coconut & Chia, Matcha Green Tea and the special edition Sesame & Cardamom. While all the flavours are delicious, our favourite amongst the four is the Chocolate & Hazel truffles. Made with dates, hazelnuts, almonds and vanilla, this truffle is the perfect balance between chocolatey and nutty. For a more crunchy texture, the Coconut & Chia truffles are a sweet mix of coconut, dried apricots, sultanas and chia seeds offering a refreshing, tropical twist. The third flavour, Matcha Green Tea is a creamy, matcha flavour made with other superfoods such as pumpkin seeds, sultanas, dates, cashew paste, almonds and millet flakes. Wrapped in a gold foil, the special edition Sesame & Cardamom truffle, infused with turmeric, left us feeling satisfied without the guilt with its decadent and earthy taste. While fruits, nuts and dates are combined into the recipes; unlike other natural sugar-free confectionary alternatives, these truffles don’t have that typical identifiable fruity or date-y taste. They are just so moreish! Like us, you can now satisfy your inner-sweet tooth, as well as 'nourish your body, indulge your soul' and enjoy a 16-count-box of delicious truffles from the Nouri Health website here for only £14.95.

Elements For Life - Hot Chocolate

Are we all still desperately trying to cling to our New Year’s resolutions to go dry/ give up meat/ drag out the spandex and work each of our muscle groups, and supposedly therefore be a better person? Well, here at The Amazing Blog we may be able to offer you a glimmer of indulgence to ease up some of those more draconian ways to detox, all in the form of a chocolate … We know, chocolate is the root of many a slip up in the new regime schedule. However, there is a tin of gloriously burnished powder which should have a polished halo perched above its silver lid to signify its credentials. We are talking about one of our #amazingfinds Elements For Life – see our recent posts on their other products here.

Yes, we may be talking hot chocolate, but Elements For Life have created one is richly smooth, and sweet. This hot chocolate doesn’t contain any artificial sweeteners, GMOs or soya, the sweetness is derived from the sugar from coconut blossom, the evaporated nectar of the coconut tree, adding sustainability and diabetically friendly to the worthiness (because of its very low average glycemic index) As if that wasn’t enough, the Elements For Life team have made it suitable for those who may be lactose intolerant, and vegan by keeping this wonder-drink completely dairy-free and containing no milk solids.

We tried the Original and Spiced versions. The Spiced is warmed up by the addition of the winter spices cinnamon, nutmeg and vanilla. All we need now is the toasty log cabin with open fire and we have nirvana. However, we aren’t tied to the usual hot chocolate with this blend, as there is also the option of adding some ice and blitzing away to produce a very refreshing tipple. The benefits of raw chocolate, in both health and taste have been known for a while - it stands to reason that a natural product which hasn’t been put through the usual manufacturing processes will inevitably retain more of it’s core nutrients, and therefore with many of us now having to take a serious look at the minutiae of what we eat, a raw chocolate such as this makes clear sense.

And to keep that halo gleaming brightly, the whole team behind the Raw Hot Chocolate brand are keen to show they believe the sustainability of a product in this day and age has to address the issues beyond the contents of our mug. All ingredients used in their range are sourced for their high ecological standards and are agro-chemical/pesticide free from small-scale growers and farming co-operatives to ensure fair trading. The packaging is also made from recycled material or re-used from other sources, including their boxes and printed material. Small wonder then that with such highly prized credentials, Elements For Life have walked away with award upon award for what they offer us in this market place - and most specifically these two tins of delicious warmth! Priced at £6.99 for 175g all available from their online shop here they also offer refills priced at £4.99. And now, back to that log cabin and open fire to keep warm!