Tag: Gluten free snack

Freddie’s Farm Fruit Snacks

Baby, Children, Easter, Family Life, Food & Drink, Gifts for children, Gluten Free, Lunchbox Fillers, Plastic free, snacks, Vegan, Vegetarian

Disclaimer – We have received this item for free or on a loan basis for the purpose of this review/feature but all words and opinions are our own.

For an alternative to chocolate this Easter, Freddie’s Farm have some delicious snacks made of fruit and vegetables.  We were sent some to try in flavours Apple, Raspberry and Blueberry.

The Freddie’s Farm snacks are dehydrated, 100% British fruit made which have no added sugar but all of the benefits of fruit. There’s no concentrate or puree and are made on Freddie’s Farm, packaged in paper packets.  Each pack is part of your 1-A-Day quota, and is both Dairy Free and Gluten Free. They contain more than just their fruit flavours though, with added beetroot, carrot and spinach to not only make the shapes work, but to add extra nutrition. You can’t taste the flavour of the vegetables though!

I think my favourite was the Apple flavour. Each one tastes of the fruit though, with the raspberry being the sweetest, apple being the most recognisable and the blueberry had a fruity taste at first then the flavour of the berry came through after a few seconds.  I like the idea of having these as snacks for little hands because it helps with motor skills as well to have them pick up the little shapes, which look (and taste) a lot like sweets, but are more wholesome, and of course, have no unnatural sugars.

Each pack weighs 20 grams and can fit into pockets, or are great for picnics or lunchboxes and they make great baking ingredients, especially if you’re looking for some ideas over the Easter holidays of nutritious snacks to cook with.  How about using the snacks for an Easter Egg hunt instead of chocolate? 

A box of 12 packets can be bought online for £8.49 at: https://freddiesfarmsnacks.co.uk/product/mixed-fruit-shapes-12/

Clearspring Organic Seaveg Crispies

Children, Family Life, Food & Drink, Gluten Free, Lunchbox Fillers, Vegan, Vegetarian

Disclaimer – We received this item free for the purpose of this review/feature but all words and opinions are our own.

I’m a huge lover of sushi and even make it at home for my family so when we were offered these Clearspring Seaveg Crispies, there was no hesitation, especially when we heard that Clearspring won a BOOM Award from The Soil Association!

If you’ve never tried seaweed on its own before, it’s an incredibly light, thin snack with a taste of heavy greens. It’s a lot like a lighter version of kale that’s been roasted and dried, but the Clearspring Seaveg Crispies are more than just flattened ocean vegetation – they’re organic and flavoured with either Chilli, Turmeric or ginger as well as the original flavour.  Seaweed is packed with all sorts of nutrients including iron, and as an added bonus, it’s better for the environment because it’s grown in the sea and doesn’t take up landmass needed for other essential food groups. Seaveg Crispies are also Soil Association certified, meaning it’s certified to be of a high standard of organic food production.

Each pack is only 23 calories, which isn’t surprising when you realise there’s only 4 grams in each pack. However, each pack of Seaveg is gluten free, high in fibre, vegan and has no additives or preservatives. There’s only some sunflower oil, sea salt and whichever added flavouring you choose.  I started with the Chilli which is actually pretty hot, so not one for children! I really enjoyed them though and the handy packs and how light they are mean they can be taken to work or out on picnics with you. They may be thin and light but they are big in both taste and personality!

The other flavours are just as strong and variety is a good thing when you need a different kind of snack. Organic and healthy snacks are so often full of additives and over processed that they’re not as healthy as you would think.  Clearspring Organic Seaveg Crispies have so little processing and additional ingredients that there isn’t any danger of you feeling frustrated with them and the iron content is great when you need a pick-me-up.  Talk about a varied diet – I bet you can’t say you’ve eaten anything like it this week, can you?

The Original Seaveg Crispies flavour is great for children to take to school in lunchboxes or if you need to get some fibre or iron into babies too, as it’s easily mashable into something like avocado or even an evening meal. I wouldn’t be surprised if the leaves of Seaveg would fit into a child’s size portion of lasagne too, replacing the pasta to make a healthy alternative.

From £1.29 available at Ocado and online at: https://www.clearspring.co.uk/collections/products/products/organic-seaveg-crispies-chilli-crispy-seaweed-thins