Nature's Path - 'Hot and Steamy' Porridge Oats

It’s time to get hot and steamy up in here!

Now, guys, let’s not get carried away. We at The Amazing Blog are simply referring to delicious       newporridge called Nature's Path ‘Hot and Steamy.’

The Canadian firm prides itself on creating amazing flavour when it comes to gluten-free  breakfast options, because let’s face it, there are many companies out there that think they can pull off the gluten-free name and they just can’t.

Why porridge you ask? Well, porridge has a reputation as a ‘super food’ with a low glycaemic index, which helps suppress one’s appetite and maintain healthy blood sugar levels. Plus, nearly one in two Britons eat porridge, which makes the UK a perfect target.

The new ‘Hot and Steamy’ porridge offers three flavours in every pack – Original, Spiced Apple and Canadian Maple – each in a handy single-serving packet. They are gluten-free, wholegrain, high fibre, organic and low in saturated fat.

We give Nature's Path an A for creating a great-tasting, gluten-free breakfast that targets the mouths of half of the UK. I was a little taken aback by how small the packet seemed, but I just added some apple to it and I could go the whole morning without wanting more food. Plus, it was delicious, and of course, it also receives an A+ for its eye-catching name.

‘Hot and Steamy’ is available at local grocery stores and good independent health food stores at £2.99 for eight sachets (two original flavours and three each of spiced apple and Canadian maple).

Friday Favourites - Breakfast Cereals

What is the best thing about waking up in the morning? Breakfast, of course! Some like it sweet and some like it savoury. Some people like to eat on the go, while others like to take their time to sit and enjoy it. The one thing that we can all agree on here at The Amazing Blog is that we like our breakfasts to be healthy and delicious.

When Alara Gluten Free Organic Muesli was delivered to the office, all we wanted was to have breakfast again. So we did! We loved the unique texture created by the combination of different ingredients that include soya flakes, dried sliced cranberries, puffed quinoa, goji berries and golden linseeds. This delicious organic muesli is a good source of protein, high in fibre, gluten and wheat free and has no added sugar.  Alara’s Muesli can be enjoyed with your favourite milk or yogurt product to boost energy while pleasing your taste buds. For those of us who have trouble finding the perfect muesli, Alara lets you design your own mix with a choice of up to 16 ingredients.  

Not only are Alara committed to creating the healthiest and tastiest muesli they are also very serious about the environment. The boxes are made from sustainably sourced wood and are the first cereal company in the world to be certified Organic, licensed by the Coeliac Society, working with the Fairtrade Foundation, and Zero Waste. Being healthy and kind to the planet has never been so tasty! You can buy Alara Gluten Free Organic Muesli here for £ 5.39.

If you are looking for a warm and healthy meal for your breakfasts look no further than Iswari’s Raw Superfood Breakfast Mix. Iswari Superfoods recently launched a new range of innovative raw breakfasts that will revolutionise your mornings. The 3 mixes available are tasty and delicious, gluten free and organic. Buddha’s Awakening is a nutrient dense mega mix of milled chia, flax, almond & buckwheat, making it a highly nutritious start to your day. Made by simply adding hot water or milk, it offers convenience for those on the go, and is easily digestible for those with food intolerances. The breakfast mixes are rich in omegas 3, 6, iron, magnesium, calcium, and protein. The delicious warm mixes are available in 3 tasty flavours: Chocolate Hit, Maca & Vanilla, and Hempiness. Our favourite at The Amazing Blog is the Chocolate Hit, mixed together with fresh berries for a warm and sweet start to the day!

Iswari offers an extensive range of over 30 super-foods products widely available across Europe. Plus their products are only purchased from sustainable sources that respect nature, humans and the ecosystems of the world. All of their products are low GI, raw where possible, vegan- with the exception of bee products, and organic.

When we are looking to be adventurous with our muesli in the mornings we turn to Primrose’s Kitchen Raw Beetroot and Ginger Muesli. Primrose’s Kitchen follows ‘a naturopathic diet’ which is the idea of a special energy called "vital energy" or "vital force" which guides bodily processes such as metabolism and reproduction to keep our bodies balanced. The Raw Beetroot and Ginger Muesli is a combination of delicious gluten free oats with fresh beetroot that is contrasted with zingy ginger, that together with a balanced combination of nuts and seeds, are sure to brighten any morning. The flavours and ingredients in this muesli are equally as adventurous as they are healthy, making for a great start to the day. Made right here in the UK, by a team of nutrition geniuses, we can’t fault the mouth-watering goodness of this cereal.

 The Raw Beetroot and Ginger Muesli won Gold winner at Taste of the West Awards 2012 and Gold Star winner at Great Taste 2013 so if you, like us, need no more convincing, Primrose’s Kitchen Raw Beetroot and Ginger Muesli is available here for £5.95.

The best thing about granola is that it is perfect for breakfast and as a healthy and filling snack during the day. You can get your breakfast while you are running out the door to catch the tube or you can snack on while you are in front of your pc doing important work.

Born back in 1985, Nature’s Path is an independently-owned family business which is committed to organic-only recipes made from the finest available grains, fruit and nuts. We were glad to have been able to try the gluten free Trail Mix and Choc Chip Granola Bars because they spiced up our breakfast research. If you are not one for cereals or porridge, these bars are perfect for breakfast on the go, with fruit or yoghurt if you want a sit down, or as a snack with lunch.  These crunchy, tasty bars go down a treat especially considering that they are so healthy. Despite both bars being super delicious our favourite was the Choc Chip because of the chocolate, of course!

Natures Path Granola Bars are available in Waitrose and Sainsbury’s or from the online shop here for £2.99 for 5 bars

The Amazing Blog's Bank Holiday Essentials!

It is with heavy hearts that we note Autumn is now looming and Summer now drawing to a close.  This weekend we're all preparing for the bank holiday which is only a week away! This is the perfect break away for us all to get some ‘me-time’ and take in the last bursts of sunshine (we hope) getting away for a long  weekend with friends and family.  In anticipation, here at The Amazing Blog we have compiled a special collection of products that we think are absolute essentials for your bank holiday travel adventures.  Enjoy... Oh-lief is one of our greatest  discoveries - it hails  all the way from  South African. Thecompany was born ‘out of the desire to use products that would not harm the skin or the environment’. Their products are made from locally sourced, 100% natural, organic and raw ingredients. We've all been blown-away by what we can only describe as their 'miracle cream' it's the Oh-lief's Natural Aqueous Cream. Originallyformulated for babies’ skin (but perfectly fine for adults too).  It is a brilliant multi-tasker - i.e.  as a  great cleansing wash or a highly moisturising body and face butter. Basically it's fantastic 'all-in-one'.  The product is a very thick, soft, hydrating cream and as we mentioned, 100% natural . The Natural Aqueous Cream retails at £6.83 and can be purchased from the Savant Health websitefrom the 1st September. It's perfect for everyone from baby to granny and will be ideal for any family who travel.

Natural-Olive-Aqueuos-Cream-250ml

Vegesentials is another one of our new finds. With no  pre-packaged or GMI ingredients their new range of combined fruit and vegetable drinks are not only unusual but delicious and good for you too.  Absolutely perfect for the whole family to enjoy, they come in five different blended flavours. Our favourites were the Carrot, Mango, and Parsnip and the Celery, Apple, and Kale varieties. They are cleverly blended, and do not taste like a salad as some of you might think. They're great way to get part of your five-a-day and  for also putting into your rucksack or the car for the long journey ahead. They are available for £1.59 from the Vegesentials website as well as Whole Foods stores and Waitrose.

Vegesentials Full Range 2

Another interesting product that we found is the healing Cardiospermum Gel. It is a clear to green-ish gel created from the Cardiospermum Plant (as name suggests). This is a wonderful remedy for people with sensitive skin as this plant extract and aloe extract in the formula are very soothing for sensitive and dry skin. We think that this would be good for anyone who over-suns themselves and needs some instant skin-cooling relief. The only thing you might want to be a little careful about is not to use this gel on broken skin - it stings! Again,  it's perfect for people who are travelling and who are spending time outdoors where we know skin irritations often happen. The Cardiospermum Gel is available from The Skin Shop website for £9.95.

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For those of you heading off to the beach for the bank holiday weekend, you might like to think about a very special sunscreen. We stumbled upon a unique formula called Safe Sea by Lifesystems and Nidaria Technology which has an amazing Jellyfish Sting Protection. We have the 15, 30 and 50 SPF and are looking forward to taking this with us to the seaside as this is the year for record breaking shoals of Jellyfish on our UK shores -  therefore we think it most appropriate!  Safe Sea Sunscreen with Jellyfish Sting Protection was developed to help protect against the stinging mechansim of most Jellyfish, Sea Nettle, Sea Lice and Coral. It contains unique, patented ingredients that deactivate the stinging mechanism, leaving you safe and sound. Jellyfish and the like are becoming increasingly common both at home and abroad, but Safe Sea will help to take the sting out of any chance encounter. A truly amazing formula that you can purchase the sunscreen on the Purple Turtlewebsite for £9.95.

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Packing snacks for weekends away is a must, as we all know there's always someone who will be moaning about being hungry on the journey. Pre-made granola is a perfect snack to bring along on these occasions, and we have found one that is sure to please everyone - even those  with dietary restriction. Nature’s Path Organic Gluten Free Nice & Nobbly Granola this is delicious and gluten-free, so it is perfect for those who cannot have the usual cracker type snacks. We tried their Pumpkin Seeds, Almond & Raisins with a Dash of Cinnamon  and their Blueberries, Raspberries, Strawberries & Yoghurt Chunks varieties.  Both of which we highly recommend, they were extremely moreish on the taste buds and we found ourselves continually nibbling straight from the packets - so also perfect for in between phone calls in the office! Plus, this granola will be brilliant to help fill any hunger pangs and keep you and your companions bolstered up for the trip. Visit the Nature's Path website for information on their stockists.

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And finally for all those chatter-boxes on your journey, we've  found something to help you compete (after all you'll need something to keep your lips moist to respond to all their banter); its the wonderful Kukui & Shea Butter Natural Lip balm fromPure Thoughts This lip balm helps to soothe and protect with its unusual Kukui nut oil (well-known for its ability to heal dry skin). It's unscented and can also be used anywhere on the body to treat dry skin.  Pure Thoughts is a 100% natural skincare company that we have recently discovered. They do lots of other products too (watch out for our review on their Whipped Shea Body Butter). But we think that this lip balm is a real winner it smells lovely, the feel is just perfect - silky instead of sticky. It retails for £3.95 on the Pure Thoughts website.

Kukui Shea Butter Balm Group 2