Reviews: Fun With Food! CoYo and Genius Muffins

Over the last few weeks or so, there have been a lot of new, coeliac-friendly products hitting the shelves, and every time one announces its arrival, I feel that desperate urge to give it a damned-good taste-test. After all, it's research that helps people, right? Right!? (The correct answer here is 'yes') So, with great excitement, I took myself off to a local supermarket and made a couple of purchases.

In recent months, I've had to give up on lactose, and although I've found great lactose-free alternatives to many products (mainly with thanks to Lactofree's greatness), I did get rather excited when I came across CoYo. A yoghurt that's free from dairy and gluten, and positively loaded with goodness?! Even better, it was made with raw chocolate. Yum!

There are other flavours available - Natural, and Mango - but frankly, the idea of raw chocolate sounded far more appealing!

As you can see from the pic, the texture is slightly mousse-like and very decadent; silky and creamy and just lovely. Unfortunately, I have to say I didn't really care for the taste. The flavour combination was a bit weird for me. The raw chocolate has a very strong bitterness, and was a little bizarre against the sweetness of the coconut. Having said that, I imagine this would be great for coconut fans and although I didn't enjoy it, I would recommend giving it a try. You can pick one up at a local Tesco for £1.69 (at the time of publishing this post).

But for me, the great find of my week was the Genius Blueberry Treat Muffins.

Generally speaking, I don't like reviewing cake products on my blog because, well, it seems a little counter-intuitive to say 'Hey, this is a GREAT product...now please buy my cakes!' but this one really does deserve a review. For one, I despise fruit in cake (why would anyone ruin perfectly good cake with fruit!???!?), but this is the one time I have ever been able to make an exception!

There are two muffins in a pack, each in its own tulip paper case. Don't you just love them? They're golden on the top and bursting with blueberry goodness. And if you aren't sold immediately on the way they look, you will be on the first taste.

They are, without a doubt, the lightest, moistest, most sweetly decadent store-bought cake I've ever had the luxury to try! They have an almost creamy taste to them, that reminded me somehow of a milkshake. They're fluffy and absolutely packed with juicy blueberries, so there's at least one in every single bite. In fact, the only downside to these morsels is that they're rather high on the sugar and fat scales. But they're so delicious, they're almost worth the extra time on the treadmill..

...which may well be a very good thing! You can pick up your very own pack of muffins for just £2 from your local Tesco (and you'll be pleased to hear they have a good shelf-life on them but can also be frozen...if they last that long!).

Enjoy! 

The Blogs To Watch...My Top Five Allergy-Friendly Bloggers

When I started this blog at the beginning of the year, I did it mainly as a way to raise the profile of The Buttercup Bakery. I figured it would help to keep the business current, and also give me a different way to reach out to potential customers.

But along the way something changed. I realised that I really enjoyed the writing part. A lot. I started to pick up more readers, more followers on Twitter, and among both there were other food bloggers. These were men and women who, like me, had experienced coeliac disease or other allergies or intolerances; people who had, at least in part, dealt with a new lifestyle by helping others adjust to similar situations, using product reviews, recipes and advice. Currently, I probably read some 15-20 blogs and checking the latest posts on them is the highlight of my week.

What makes these blogs so good? They are informative, they are fun to read, they have food porn by the saucepan-load, and they are very well written. The authors are also friendly and supportive of other bloggers - something I hadn't expected.

So, without further ado, here are my top five allergy-friendly blogs, in no particular order:

1.  Wuthering Bites


The name itself is fantastic, but what really sets this blog apart is the sheer volume of food porn. Oh yes. You want to see a gooey, sinful pudding, oozing with chocolate or caramel? Want to see meat, glistening with tender juices? Trust me, it's all right here, along with recipes that will have you reaching for your utensil drawer before you realise what's happening. There are reviews as well and it's worth noting that this blog was a Grand Finalist in this year's The Food Reader Awards for Best Food Blogger.

http://wutheringbites.co.uk/

2. The Free From Fairy

One look at The Free From Fairy blog shows you it's something special. Beautifully designed, but still with an air of fun, this blog began after the author's daughter was diagnosed with coeliac disease and lactose intolerance. Although there are recipes and reviews in abundance, the thing I love most about this blog is the high level of information dispensed in the posts. Through video posts and written posts, the reader can learn all about catering for a child's birthday party, dealing with school meals, and there's even a whole section dedicated to offering advice for those in the catering biz on catering for coeliacs! Keep your eyes peeled for competitions here as well!

 http://freefromfairy.com/

3. Dairy Free Baby and Me

Started in 2012, this blog covers the experiences of raising a child diagnosed with non-Ige cow's milk allergy. This is not the same as lactose intolerance, and can be very tricky to negotiate. There is a huge amount of information specific to avoiding dairy, and there are recipes for and reviews of dairy free food and drink. If it's dairy free and NOT on Dairy Free Baby and Me, it's probably not worth buying. Even better, there's help on eating out and travelling, which can be a real challenge on a restricted diet.

http://dairyfreebabyandme.blogspot.co.uk/

4. Free From Favourites

Recognition should go to the author's brother-in-law, who desgined this fantastic website. But, of course, the main focus has to go to the author herself, who started blogging about gluten free and dairy free recipes after she was diagnosed with Arthrochalasia - a form of Ehlers Danlos Syndrome. There are three main things to say about this website: recipes, recipes, recipes! Want a recipe for breakfast muffins? Struggling to work out what to have for lunch or snacks? You'll find recipes here in abundance, safe for coeliacs and lactose intolerants alike. I especially rate the recipe for jaffa cakes!

5. Last, but by no means least, The Happy Coeliac is a pro in the world of food blogging. Diagnosed in 2011, the author has emigrated fairly recently to the Netherlands, but this hasn't stopped her from providing some of the best gluten free blog posts around. Not only are there regular recipes, reviews (including mentions of products and eateries in the Netherlands), giveaways AND drool-worthy food porn, you can even buy her ebooks on cooking gluten free at Christmas and for dinner parties. Special mention has to go to the video post 'My Gluten Free Kitchen: A Peek Inside'. If you ever wanted a good look at someone else's kitchen, this is definitely a post worth checking out!

http://thehappycoeliac.com/

Recipe: Banana-Almond French Toast

There's no escaping it. Autumn is definitely upon us. The leaves have been shaken from the trees and the deliciously telling scent of woodsmoke is hanging in the now decidedly chilly air.

For many of us here in the weather-beaten UK, the happy-go-lucky spirit of summer has headed south for the winter along with the birds, as we button our coats and grudgingly flick the 'on' switch for the central heating. But for me, there's a certain beauty to the colder months of the year. Bonfires, snow (if we're lucky), and cosying up on the sofa in your fluffiest knitwear with a great book in your hand or movie on the TV, supping from a delicious mug of hot chocolate. Throw in a log cabin, a real wood fire, a couple of cats and a blanket, and you have my idea of heaven.

Anyway, cold mornings deserve the most heartwarming of breakfasts, and few could be better than the sweet, sticky comfort of this banana and almond (or, as my husband calls it 'banalmond') french toast.

So, grab a whisk and a bowl for this easy and quick recipe, and treat yourself to a great start this weekend!

Ingredient (makes 4-6 slices)

4-6 slices of thick-cut gluten free white bread (I used Udi's White Bloomer)
250ml whole milk or lactose-free alternative. Almond milk would work VERY well!
2 large eggs
1tsp vanila extract
1tsp almond extract
3tbsp sieved icing sugar
50g flaked almonds
2-3 knobs unsalted butter
3 ripe bananas

Method

Pour the milk, eggs, extracts and 2tbsp of icing sugar into a wide, flat bowl. Whisk well. Take the slices of bread and leave them in the liquid for around 3 minutes on each side, until they've absorbed all the lovely flavours.

Heat a frying pan on a meduim heat, and add a knob of butter. Take each slice out, on at a time, and coat both sides with the flaked almonds, before placing in the frying pan. While the slices are cooking, peel and chop a banana, dust with a little icing sugar, and pop into the pan next to the bread to caramelise. Leave each slice for 4-5 minutes, and carefully turn.

When each side has turned a beautiful golden brown and the banana chunks are soft, remove from the pan and place on a plate. Top with the bananas and serve immediately, or leave in a warm oven until the remaining slices and bananas are cooked.

Serve topped with a dusting of icing sugar, golden syrup or maple syrup for a delicious, warm start to the day. Perfect with a cup of tea or coffee.

If you've tried this recipe, please tell me what you thought of it. Did you like it? Did you hate it? Did you make any changes? Did you try a different fruit? Feel free to add any comments below!

Recipe - Single-Serving Chai Tea

The balanced blend of spicy warmth, soothing sweetness and a creamy texture make this the perfect start to the day, especially if you're feeling stressed and over-wrought from the working week, or if you're feeling a bit under the weather.

Most people will be aware that chai tea is an Indian drink. And for those who are acquainted with the traditional Indian chai tea, I should state upfront that this is probably not going to be very similar to what you had in India (I use assam tea, rather than ceylon or darjeeling, for example, as I prefer the full-bodied flavour), but it makes a very comforting drink on a cold, wet weekend. Or any day, in fact!

Ingredients

A thumb-sized piece of fresh root ginger
2 cloves
3 peppercorns
3 cardamom pods
1 small cinnamon stick, or 1tsp ground cinnamon
500ml cold water
2 Assam teabags
300ml whole milk
35g golden caster sugar or demerara sugar

Method

Put the water in a medium-sized saucepan and put it on a medium-high heat. 

Using a teaspoon or knife, gently scrape the bark away from the ginger. DON'T peel it! The anti-inflammatory goodness in ginger lies right under the skin, so you'll lose that if you get out the potato peeler. Once you've removed the bark, slice it into thin slices.

Using a pestle and mortar, if possible, lightly crush the other spices, to release their flavour.

Add the crushed spices and the ginger to the water. If you're using ground cinnamon, throw that in as well (warning: using ground cinnamon does mean a skin will form on the tea, but it can be a lot cheaper than buying cinnamon sticks and it doesn't really impact the flavour). Bring the water to a slow boil and let the spices stew in it for 3 minutes. Then add the teabags, reduce to a simmer, and leave for 5 minutes, so the tea has time to strengthen.

Remove the pan from the heat and take out the teabags. Pour in the milk and sugar, stir well to make sure the sugar dissolves, then return to the heat. As soon as it starts to boil again, it's done.

STRAIN!!!!! This is why:

Don't really want to be slurping all that down, now, do ya!?

And there we have it! The beautiful, warming, soothing flavours of chai tea in a suitably sized mug-bucket. Enjoy!