La Chiva Snacks

Do you find yourself feeling guilty for all of the mindless snacking that you do? I know that here at The Amazing Blog we graze at our desks far too often. Hence, we’re on a neverending mission to find healthier alternatives to our usual choices. Enter La Chiva.

La Chiva was created by Ruth Willis who was born in Colombia and always missed her native fresh fruit and vegetables. Inspired by the flavours of her Colombia, she decided to create a healthy snack with light and crispy pieces of freeze-dried Colombian fruit. That’s it. No other ingredients are used to make La Chiva, where we breathed a sigh of relief, after reading this on the packaging. There’s no need to feel guilty about eating these either as each pack is gluten-free, virtually fat-free, vegan, no added sugars and best of all less than 40 calories! By freeze-drying the fruit at its ripest, La Chiva is able to deliver all the deliciousness of Colombian fruit with nothing added or taken away.

The brand’s name comes from the La Chiva buses, which is the only way to travel in the Colombian countryside. Since the brand is dependent on these buses to take their workers to the farms and their fresh fruit to market, they decided to name the brand after them. We tried all three varieties of La Chiva snacks – Strawberry, Pineapple and Mango. Our favourite was the Pineapple flavour, which was a winner of the Great Taste Awards in 2017. While you can eat these alone, the other possibilities are endless, we added them to cereal and also sprinkled them on top of Greek yogurt. Each pack can count as one of the five daily servings of fruit. Plus, their vibrant packaging brings a little ray of sunshine into our UK grey and rainy days.

Want to taste the goodness of Colombian grown fruit for yourself? The La Chiva Freeze Dried snacks can be purchased here. A box of 12 bags retails for £9.00 (7g bags for the strawberry and 10g bags for pineapple and mango) while an individual bag retails for £0.89.

The Great British Porridge Company

We all have the same problem, we’re running late, the meeting is in half an hour, and there is absolutely no time for breakfast. Tut tut, naughty us, the start to our day at The Amazing Blog should be fuelled with nutritious food to give us the energy to kick start our day. However, we are not alone, a recent survey revealed that a great deal of the British population decide to skip breakfast, as they regard it as time-consuming and unnecessary. This can now all change…with the rise of 100% instant, and naturally sweet porridge, made by The Great British Porridge Company.

Full of delicious ingredients like fruits, nuts and seeds, a bowl will provide you with all the energy you need. Packed with the best of British, and containing completely natural, gluten free and wholegrain oats, the porridge is free from added sugars, high in fibre and contains 10+% protein. If that isn't enough, then these porridges are also vegan. The brand says goodbye to boring breakfasts, and welcomes a new era, with the addition of protein and fibres, all of which are dairy free (just add hot water). And there you have it - porridge in just 60 seconds!

The Great British Porridge Company offer three different flavours, each in a 385g pack. The Goji Berry and Pumpkin Seed porridge is made from gluten free wholegrain oats, dates, coconut milk, pumpkin seeds, goji berries and chia seeds; and tastes delicious with a sprinkling of extra goji berries (and pumpkin seeds for a bit of crunch). For the banana lovers amongst us, the Blueberry and Banana porridge proved to be a winner. It contains the same base ingredients as above, but with the additional zing of blueberry and banana. This was a popular choice in the office, and made a delicious overnight oats base for those of us who like to spend a little less time making breakfast in the morning. Finally, and the firm favourite in the office, the Strawberry and Peanut Butter porridge is a scrumptious way to add a bit of sweetness to a cold morning. Simply top with fresh strawberries - or frozen if you’re feeling exotic - and enjoy a filling and wholesome breakfast.

The 100% naturally sourced ingredients, including the wonderfully delicious oats, make up these tasty bowls of porridge, all of which are handmade in small batches in Sussex. They are available online, on their website for either £4.99 a pack or as part of a monthly subscription. Yummy!

Protein Ice Cream - Wheyhey

At The Amazing Blog we believe the key to leading a fulfilling life is balance. However, what if we told you that you could have the best of both worlds when it comes to satisfying your sweet cravings?

Presenting to you Wheyhey’s Protein Ice Cream, a healthier alternative to traditional ice cream with 20g of protein and less than 1g of sugar in each serving! You can now enjoy the creamy, sweet goodness of ice cream, with less guilt and the benefits of added protein. Available in Vanilla, Banoffee, Strawberry and Chocolate, it is easy to treat yourself no matter what flavour you yearn for. As self-confessed chocoholics, our personal favourite was Chocolate, but we’d be happy to tuck into any of the four flavours. 

You can try a Wheyhey Protein Ice Cream variety pack of three 500mL tubs here for £18. 

Good Heavens!

When you're in the middle of a meeting, on your way to school, or just busy around the house, it's so easy to reach for a quick treat that may not be so good for you. After all, no one wants to spend ages cutting up fruit and vegetables when you can grab a packet of Maltesers so easily. But The Amazing Blog cares about your health, so we have found a quick snack that's good for you, and tastes delicious. Good Heavens! drinking yogurt is going to be your new saviour. These delicious drinking yogurts not only taste seriously amazing, but they're completely portable and really good for you. The yogurts are all-natural with no preservatives, and much better for you than a regular fruit juice or smoothie. Good Heavens! takes care to source all their ingredients responsibly to make sure you're getting the highest quality product. They're a small boutique dairy with over 20 years yogurt making experience - so you can rest assured they know what they're doing. The Good Heavens! range has all the regular hits, like Vanilla, Strawberry and Banana but also delicious flavours like Mango Passion Fruit, Tiramisu, Apple and Pear and more. They're best when they're nice and cold, so keep them in the fridge until right before you want to enjoy them. My personal favourite is their newest release in Salted Caramel, its the perfect mix of sweet and salty and satisfies my sweet tooth every time.

They're available from their website, or you can pick some up Harrods, Selfridges, Tesco Express and Whole Foods starting at £1.69. So next time you think about reaching for a fruit smoothie, pick up a Good Heavens! drinking yogurt.