Alassala Argan Oil and Amlou Paste

  If you read our blog often, you will probably know that there are a few foods that The Amazing Blog girls are always happy to try because we love them so much. Well today, we have an oil and paste which has the same main ingredient as some of our favourite hair care products; Argan. The Alassala Argan Oil and Amlou Paste comes from the same brand which brought us the wonderful Face and Body Oil and you can read our post on that here.

The Amlou Paste is a spread, which tastes great on bread or melba toast. We decided to pair it with some oatcakes we had in the office, perfect combination. With no exaggeration, this big jar of paste was gone in two days, and that was only being shared between myself and one other member of the team… So you would be right to assume that it tastes delicious; it definitely shut us up for a couple of hours! It is made from roasted almonds and Organic Argan Oil, so is very good for you whilst being extremely tasty too. The paste is rich in Vitamin E so is a great mid afternoon healthy snack to fill you up, so put away that chocolate and those biscuits as this will give you a much better healthier boost. Its density resembles that of peanut butter, as does the taste, however a much less processed version where you can really taste the almond. I recommend replacing your morning breakfast spread for your toast or crumpets with this paste because of all the benefits it has.

Alassala also have an Argan Oil for culinary use, as well as their one for skincare. Its delicate flavour has high levels of Vitamin E, Omega 3 and 9, and also plant sterols to make it the perfect oil for reducing cholesterol levels. Even more impressive, it's ethically produced using traditional methods, which means everything about the product is good; the taste, the production, the packaging, everything! There is so much you can do with this healthy oil as well, from dipping into it with beverage snacks, salad dressing, seasoning, dressing on pasta, fish, meat and so on. Many possibilities! It’s a guilt free way to enjoy a meal which needs a little oil to spruce up the flavour.

The delicious Amlou Paste £7.90 for 113 grams, or £14.90 for 226 grams and  is available from The Nutri Centre, Selfridges Oxford Street, and at any independent health store, as well as online here, and on their website here. The oil is £11.99 for 100ml or £18.99 for 250ml, and can be bought from all these places too so why not pick them both up whilst you’re there. They will make a great addition to your party beverages this festive season.

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.

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. 

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!

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.

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?

Yau Cooking Sauces

Happy Boxing Day! We hope you made it through Christmas without any present or food disasters. Today is notoriously the 'leftovers' day and particularly the 'oh what to do with the turkey' day. At The Amazing Blog  we thought we'd try and help with a few suggestions to help spice things up and add a little flavour to your birds. Our recommendation? Easy, our very latest discovery Yau Sauces  if you don't know them, we highly recommend searching these out and adding them to your store cupboards. Basically, for those turkey leftovers we suggest substituting your 'turkey' for their 'chicken' in Bonnie and Phillip Yau's recipes; this will certainly put paid to any thoughts of serving up those dried-up turkey sandwiches! Their Sweet & Sour Sauce at £2.68 a bottle, offers you the opportunity to include lots most of those ingredients in your fridge from yesterday (don’t worry, everyone buys too much), to cook up a delicious food ensemble using this sauce. A bit of turkey and some veg, then just serve up with some rice. It has to be a much healthier option than eating chocolate coins and cheese all day... The creators, Bonnie and Phillip Yau both have a history in food which began from childhood. Their thoughts were that oriental food lacked the profile of other ethnic foods because of take-away stereotypes and experiences. Yau’s range secures a fresh, zingy taste with healthy ingredients to better the gratification. Their Yau Zum Dipping Sauce also saves the hassle of some serious cooking but still gives a feast for the family with an abundance of flavour. At £2.49 a bottle, it saves a lot of money too! The flavour comes from the fish sauce which is combined with garlic and chillies. Vietnamese tradition pairs this sauce with spring rolls which is a tasty mix, but for today it’s just as lovely to dip your left over meats and veg into the sauce. Oh, and even better, there’s virtually no oil in it making it very low on the calorie front, just what we all need for boxing day.

There is a list of places to buy the sauces here. So drop into one of their stores in the next few days as I’m sure you still have lots of parties to cater for this festive season, and lots of spare food to get adventurous with. Enjoy!

The Brownie Box - NEW Bronuts

What’s the most delicious cake or pudding that you can think of? Maybe a Donut? Or a Brownie? How about both combined to make just the tastiest morsel that you've ever eaten. We proudly introduce to you the Bronut. There would be no truth involved if I said The Amazing Blog girls elegantly ate these at a sensible pace when they arrived in the office. What actually happened I'm afraid wasn’t ladylike at all. They (and I!) all lunged into the delivery box face first and completely forgot our manners...Hot or cold, a half or a whole, they will make your day much more enjoyable. We didn’t even feel guilty after eating them (yes we had about 3 each) because they were so good we forgot what calories were and just enjoyed the indulgent moment, the chocolate must have gone straight to our heads. If you have them hot then you will find melting chocolate throughout the sponge, which compliments the sugary coating which tops the Bronut. We cannot recommend these Bronuts highly enough not even a crumb was left in the box.

We were also welcomed with their Brownies, and the fact that we still managed to eat a few of these too just shows how delicious they all were. They are surprisingly easy to eat and weren’t at all heavy, which is why we had space for more than one... Something we don’t like with desserts is when they are so rich and dense, making you full after one bite. These are more light and airy, making them much better as a pud. The Brownie Box Brownies are inexplicably good too. The texture falls between a cake and a cookie, giving it just the right amount of chew to make a delectable brownie. The mixtures contain nuts, frosting, whipped cream and chocolate chips. If that sounds a little too naughty for you, then a brown sugar and chocolate free version called the ‘Blondie’ might be more appetising.

This family run business has a passion for desserts and making them exactly how we Brits love them. Everyday presents a new variety of cakes, brownies, muffins, cupcakes and cookies. So grab a cup of coffee and a world famous Brownie or Bronut and get scoffing.You can find these chocolatey feasts at one of our very favourite local gastronomes with Brownie Box, starting at a very reasonable £1.80 in Earls Court, London.

Friday Favourites- Holiday Reads

All we want to do in this cold weather is snuggle up on the sofa in our pyjamas with a mug of tea and a great book. The Amazing Blog understands that there comes a time when a novel seems a bit too heavy for unwinding, so we have selected three very different easy reads to browse when you’re taking some time off. These are How to Draw Like a Fashion Designer, Peruvian Kitchen, and The Book.

There’s no denying that at some stage in our lives, we have all had career ambitions which were a little far fetched. When I was growing up it was either a princess or fashion designer… By about 8 I realised the former dream was a little unrealistic so I began to focus on fashion. I would draw stick women and drown them in horrible floods of colour, clothes that nobody would ever wear, but it was fun. The How to Draw like a Fashion Designer book written by Celia Joicey and Dennis Nothdruft would have been perfect for that phase of my life and would have helped make my stick people look less like…sticks. It’s a beautiful book filled with vibrant colours and step by step guides. Valentino and Zadra Rhodes are just two of the many designers who have contributed to the book, adding their own individual personality. There are interviews, drawing guides, intricate images and much more to set you on your path to become the next big name in fashion. I think this book is wonderful for a light read when you have five minutes to yourself. Its only £12.95, and definitely a book which will look lovely on a shelf or table in the lounge for everyone to enjoy. You can purchase the book here.

 

From one of our favourite ‘F’s, fashion, to another, which is food! The Ceviche Peruvian Kitchen by Martin Morales is filled with over 100 recipes and photos of the most celebrated Peruvian food. Restaurateur and cook, Martin Morales opened his restaurant Ceviche in 2012 and has since had huge success. This book shows you how to makes hundreds of dishes including the famous Ceviche. He traveled the country in search of the best flavours and recipes to share with his readers, and we agree he’s done just that. They are simple yet delicious and unusual, and we are interested by every one. The dishes are fusions of cultural essences from Africa, Spain, Italy, China and Japan. If you haven’t tried Peruvian food before then you need to, it’s definitely not one to disappoint as there are so many different spices and textures to choose from. We trust everything about these recipes as Martin Morales has been cooking since the mere age of 11!  His passion for food is displayed throughout the book and seen in the beautiful photographs which compliment each recipe. The book is published by Weidenfeld & Nicolson and you can purchase it on Amazon here.

There is a particular genre of book that appears to be trending and increasing in popularity. These are self help books, ways to better your life and achieve greater happiness. If you visit book stores or use the internet you will probably be exposed to a large amount of these book titles, but The Amazing Blog can make it a little easier for you to choose. We have just read Linde’s life manual which goes by the name, The Book. It opens your eyes to different ways to maintain perfect health, wealth, happiness and longevity. It’s a guide to changing the way you perceive things to ultimately give you a happier and more positive outlook on life. As you journey through the chapters you learn how to understand how your body and mind function, and how to deal with them depending on your surroundings and environment. This book is full of optimism and is definitely one that I will keep referring back to as the years go on. It’s a bit like a support mechanism to guide you in the direction which will make you happiest. The hardback version is £30 and presented beautifully, it’ll be something to stay with you for years so definitely worth every penny. You can buy a kindle edition, or if you want, a hardback copy from here.