Tag: picnic ideas

Love Corn

camping, Children, Family Life, Food & Drink, Gluten Free, snacks, Vegan, Vegetarian

Disclaimer: We received this product free of charge for the purpose of this review and all thoughts and opinions are our own

We love going on picnics as they’re a great way to spend quality time with friends and family away from the hustle and bustle of everyday life. When the sun is shining, we’ll pack up a bag with treats and head off to find a picturesque spot to sit and relax and whether we’re on the beach, by a stream or up a hill the food always seems to taste a lot nicer outdoors!

LOVE CORN recently sent us a selection of their tasty snacks to try which went down a treat on our last picnic. Made by roasting corn kernels and by adding a little oil and spices LOVE CORN is incredibly crunchy and full of flavour and very moreish! With no synthetic flavouring the plant based snack is vegan, gluten free, Kosher and Non GMO and with 50% less fat than crisps is a much healthier choice.

Sea Salt is probably my favourite, it is a great alternative to popcorn or crisps and the saltiness works really well with the corn. My sons both love something with a bit more of a kick to it so the habsnero chilli really hit the spot for them.

Eating outdoors has a certain charm, so whether it’s a family day out, catch up with friends or a romantic picnic you won’t go wrong if you include a selection of Love Corn snacks in your picnic basket. Available in 7 different flavours – Sea Salt, Salt & Vinegar, Smoked bbq, Habanero Chilli, Cheese & Onion, Sour Cream & Chive and Milk Chocolate & Sea Salt which one will you try first?

LOVE CORN is also a great addition to salads and grazing boards. Try serving some of the habanero chilli LOVE CORN on a charcuterie board or sprinkle some sea salt LOVE CORN on a green salad to liven it up a little.

Sea Salt Multipacks are available from Sainsburys and Ocado for £3.25 and the Grab & Go Boxes containing 24 x 20g bags are available from Amazon at the current price of £18.99

Bodega Continental Snack Packs

camping, Children, Family Life, Lunchbox Fillers, snacks, Summer

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

Snacks with a difference, this time with some protein and grown-up toast crisps, Bodega Snack Boxes are for lunch, snacks or even handy for picnics.

Each pack has under 250 calories and are ready-to-eat with either Smoky Salami or Chorizo plus creamy Cheddar slices and crisp toast pieces fashioned like little pieces of toast! They’re high in protein too and Bodega pride themselves on making all their snacks tasty and varied. The savoury snacks are low in sugar so you won’t get the sugar high, or low, during the afternoon in the office.

Bodega’s Chorizo Snack Pack combines paprika seasoned chorizo with slices of Cheddar cheese and 8 pieces of crisp toast.  You can eat them together, building a sandwich or open sandwich or as individual pieces. I stared by eating them as pieces but realised some butter on the crisp toasts or some pesto or tomato purée would add an extra bit of flavour too. There’s texture with the crisp toasts as well as chunk with the meat. 

The Bodega Smoky Salami Snack Pack is the same set up but with Salami from the North Rhine Westphalia region. Seasoned with pepper and paprika then beechwood smoked, it’s a softer flavour than the chorizo and blends with the Cheddar slices. This is especially good for children who aren’t used to flavoured meats and might want to be introduced slowly to the smoked flavours.

Either pack can be used as ingredients in larger meals such as sandwiches, a buffet or adding to spaghetti Bolognese or with a jacket potato. Students will love these as an easy way to snack that isn’t sugar, and as they last a few weeks in the fridge, you’ll find a use for them soon enough – if the rest of the family don’t raid them first!

Available from Sainsburys and Spar with more information here: https://www.mybodega.co.uk/ 

Bensons the Juicers Drinks

camping, Children, Drinks and Mixers, Family Life, Food & Drink, Lunchbox Fillers, Plastic free

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

Since 1999, Bensons the Juicers have been making juice drinks, with a range that includes ice lollies, ciders, pressed fruit juices and juice water.  This week they sent us some pressed juices and fruit infused still water, which they call, ‘Joosed Fruity Water.’

With pressed juiced flavours Apple, Mango & Apple and Raspberry & Apple, Bensons the Juicers have a range fit for summer. The bottles, incidentally, are screw top glass bottles of 250ml which are not only recyclable, but can be reused for picnics or storing drinks in the fridge at a later date.  Other flavours available include Orange, Mulled Apple & Cinnamon and Elderflower & Apple.

The pressed fruit drinks are deliciously authentic with a slight sharpness to them, which would be expected from a mainly apple-derived selection of drinks. There’s a lot of fruit packed into each bottle, and there’s something very British about these drinks which isn’t surprising when most of the fruit is grown on their Cotswolds farm.  The apple juice and mixed fruit juices are great for children, store easily in the fridge (they arrive in crates of 6) and can also be enjoyed with adults as mixers for cocktails and spirits!

The cans of fruit water are still water, each of 250ml but arrive in cases of 24. You can either order a whole case of either Apple flavour or Blackcurrant and Apple or a mixed case of both.  The water is similar to cordial but with the added bonus of actually being one of your 5-a day! Each of the flavoured waters was quite sweet, so I made sure I had them with a meal and that they had been in the fridge for a while to be cold.  On the outside of the can it says ‘shake me, I’m still’ which I did for the first can but I did find that even though it wasn’t carbonated, the drink went everywhere, and left a sticky residue, so I made sure not to shake up the second can!

Both drinks had their own merits and were totally different. The pressed juices were more for children or to have as mixers with alcoholic drinks as they are richer and more filling. The still waters were great for taking out and about and for adults to have as one of their 5-a-day and to keep hydrated.  As summer comes around, these pressed juices and water drinks will be invaluable!

Totally Fruity
Joosed Fruity Water