Yogi Tea- Choco Aztec Spice (organic)

It's Chriiiistmaaaaaaaaas!

Oh yes. You'd have to have been walking round in a blindfold (naughty ;) ) to have not noticed the festive season is well and truly upon us. Personally, I can't get enough of it. I'm absolutely not one for the commercialism of Christmas and I won't wax lyrical about the Christian meaning, but I will say that I love the spirit of Christmas. People coming together, people giving their time, love and affection and the transformation of drab, greyish centres into colourful, brightly lit spectacles.

Another addition to the Christmas tradition in recent years appears to be the Festive Hot Drink. Walking down the high street you'll spot people caressing the FHD, breathing in the sweet aromas of toffee nut, gingerbread, or pepperminty hot chocolatey goodness from brightly coloured cups. I, however, am loathed to part with my pennies for a gratuitous shot of syrup and a liquid dose of my daily calorie allowance. Don't get me wrong, I have sampled the wares, and last Christmas went quite potty for a certain chain's Toffee Nut Latte. However, when I got my bank statement through in the New Year and totted up just how much these 'treats' had cost me, I vowed not to let the festive season drain my bank balance, like I drained those paper cups, again.

So, this year I have decided to make my own little drinks and sample some flavoured teas. I had a voucher for Holland and Barrett so decided to pop on down for a festive freebie. The first on my list was this offering from Yogi Teas. Choco Aztec Spice (organic) promised to 'inspire feelings of joy with each cup'. A bold statement there, indeed.

I left the tea bag in for the full seven minutes, as recommended on the box. It did suggest adding some sugar or milk to taste but as I'm not too fond of overly sweet drinks I skipped the sugar and added a drop of soy milk. I had a quick taste of it 'neat' so to speak and, to be honest, I don't think the soy milk added or detracted anything, so I will make my observations hence forth.

The tea smelt delicious. It truly smelt like a little gingerbread man had taken a bath in my cup. As I took a sip I was initially hit by the ginger, then the spice with notes of chocolate coming through. Rising up at the end were the more liquorice notes. As I don't drink alcohol, I've never really had a multi faceted drink, but this really was something. I found myself really thinking about and enjoying each sip, rather than glugging it down mindlessly. I enjoyed my tea with a little square of dark chocolate and felt like I was having a real treat at a fraction of the calories, and cost, of the high street counterpart.

I would thoroughly recommend this tasty treat. At £2.19 and 17 tea bags per box (not 15 as stated online), it works out at  12.8p a cup! I won't do the price comparison for the big chains, but that's one heckofalot of pennies Yule save (ho ho ho).

Price: £2.19
Where: Holland and Barrett
Score: 9/10

Kallo- Organic Original Puffed Rice Cereal

I've enjoyed a very tempestuous relationship with breakfast over the years. As a child I devoured Weetabix coated in a small plantation's worth of sugar. Then, as I went through my teenage years and early twenties, things turned sour. There just wasn't enough time to pimp and prime myself and feed my stomach. Something had to give and my immaculately applied green sparkly eyeshadow certainly wasn't it. One thing I have realised over the years is that I am definitely more a brunch kinda gal. I'm not a big one for breakfast nor lunch but a brunch suits me just fine. This somewhat long winded waffle explains why I don't tend to buy much cereal. However, I recently got lured by these brightly green packaged Puffed Rice cereal by Kallo and thought I'd give them a go.

Unlike their sugar coated pixie endorsed comrades, these little grains of rice hit your bowl without a snap, crackle or pop in sight. They are 100% rice and nothing else. I popped them into a bowl with some soy milk and took my first bite. They were pleasantly quite nice. Given they really are just puffed up little grains of rice, they had a lovely 'wholesome' flavour. They were, as to be expected, very plain so I added a small handful of raisins which worked really well, adding a sweet chewiness each bite. Given they don't have any coating they do tend to go soggy quite quickly and I wasn't too keen on them once saturated but given I tend to hoover up my food quicker than Monsieur Dyson, this wasn't really a problem.

I did try to make chocolate crispie cakes with them but, unfortunately, the lack of coating meant the little rice grains went very soggy in the chocolate so I wouldn't recommend using them for baking. All in all, I'd say these were a surprise hit. I would definitely consider buying them again and, when sticking to the portion sizes, a bag can last a whole week.

Where- Most supermarkets
Price - £1.80
Rating- 8/10

Asda FreeFrom- Jammy Wheels

Round like a circle in a spiral, like a wheel within a wheel / Never ending or beginning on an ever spinning reel...

Ah, Jammy Dodgers. To be completely honest, they were never a regular resident in my biscuit tin. Given my mum wasn't a big fan, my enjoyment of them was confined to children's birthday parties: much like Iced Gems. I always had a good old nibble of them when the opportunity arose but I wouldn't go out of my way to purchase them. However, having my biscuit pool severely restricted due to allergies, I have become far more willing to try anything and everything I can. 

I came across these biscuits from Asda recently. At £1.30 a pack, the price was very reasonable compared with other branded free from biscuits. I haven't tried anything from the Asda Freefrom range, so popped them in my basket and took them home to be consumed without a party hat in sight. The joys of living away from home, ay!

I hadn't started the blog yet, so excuse these stock pictures taken from Asda's website. 

Initial impressions were good. The biscuits were larger than the usual Jammy Dodger and held themselves together very well. There were no broken biscuits in the packet. Biting into one, the taste was exactly what you'd expect from a jam filled biscuit. They were quite rich and the jam inside was generous and jelly like: just like the branded version. I could bite the biscuit without it falling apart and it didn't have that grainy aftertaste associated with Freefrom biscuits. They were very addictive and it didn't take long before the contents were devoured.

I'd definitely buy these biscuits again. There's something about winter that turns me into a biscuit fiend and these little jammy wheels will be a welcome addition to my Saturday night treatathon.

Score: 8/10
Price: £1.30
Stockists: ASDA instore and online

Katjes- Better Bunnies

I came across these little cotton tailed treats on the big weekend shop. I don't normally spend much time in the sweets aisles (honest Guv!) but since they'd placed the hot drinks  parallel to the confectionary, it seemed rude not to have at least a little browse. I'd come across a review of these over on Grocery Gems and was interested to try them. To say I used to be a jellied sweet fan is putting it mildly, to say the least! In my youth I'd wolf down wine gums, hoover up Haribo and gobble up gummy bears like they were going out of fashion. Now I no longer eat gelatine I've found that the sweet offerings have been somewhat limited.

I have to admit that these little fellows didn't even make it out of the car park, hence the classy bodice ripped off photo. Flavour wise, I thought they were very tasty. A little tangy, more akin to the apple Chewits of yore than their pig shaped marks and Spencer's counterpart. I couldn't really differentiate between the two different colours and their flavours but that wasn't of great concern to me as I often find these foam based jelly sweets taste much of a muchness, anyway. The consistency was much nicer than other gelatine free sweets I've tried. They often are a bit 'short' and not chewy but these little bunnies were the closest to the gelatinised version yet.

These are a nice little treat for kids and big kids alike. It's a shame they are not vegan friendly due to the beeswax, but as an allergy friendly sweet, I'd highly recommend. The only trouble is I noticed these were marked down in Tesco and it appears they'll be no longer carrying them anymore. You might be able to pick them up from Import shops or Polish supermarkets.

Price: 50p (reduced)
Calories: 350 per 100g
Packet size: 100g
Allergy warning: produced in factory that handles milk

Score 7/10

Hello, hello, hello!

Hello there, Taste Crusaders!

I'm Lelly and I love food. I love making, baking and buying it. However, since developing several allergies and food intolerances, I've had to rethink my eating and buying habits.

I've set up this blog to review the best 'Free From' products the UK has to offer. I am on a crusade to find the best tasty treats out there that both tantalise your taste buds and are kind to your tummy too. Here you'll find honest reviews on products, with items being marked out of 10. I may also throw in a few of my own recipes from time to time. If you're lucky ;)

I'm looking to review products free from all or any of the following: gluten, wheat, dairy, egg, meat, any animal products.

I will also review products that are free from other allergens, where available.

Happy reading!!