Tag: Vegan

Sponge Valentine’s Gift Box

Food & Drink, Gifts for Her, Gifts for Him, Valentine's Day Gifts, Vegan

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

It’s the 1st of February today – which means Valentine’s Day is just around the corner! All the shops are currently full of cheerful displays of gifts and flowers and it’s the perfect excuse to treat your loved one and bring a little joy to the gloomy February days.

Food gifts are a popular Valentine’s gift and your Valentine is bound to be impressed with the Valentine’s Gift Box from Sponge.

When I opened the box, I was delighted to find a nicely wrapped parcel containing a lovely selection of treats. The top layer contained four baby sponge cakes, each in its own little box and sealed in plastic to keep it fresh. We received Red Velvet, Chocolate Orange, Sticky Toffee and Carrot cakes and each cake was lovely and moist and incredibly delicious. Sponge Cakes cater for all types of dietary requirements, and you can request standard, gluten free or vegan cakes in your giftbox.

Underneath the cakes were even more treats

Valentine’s cocktail & a mini bottle of Prosecco (or a non-alcoholic cocktail & ginger beer)

A single white rose

6 heart chocolates (vegan fudge instead of chocolates included in vegan option).

A Pukka love tea bag

A Valentine’s Card

Considering there were cakes and a real rose in the box everything was packaged really well and arrived in perfect condition. I also liked the little touches like the organza bag containing the chocolate heats, this simple touch makes the gift even more special.

This is a lovely, thoughtful gift and now I know how delicious the cakes are I will definitely be ordering from them again. I had a look on their website and have my eye on the sharing cakes, these are such a fantastic idea and are perfect for families like ours where everyone likes a different type of cake.  

Sponge online cake company make all their cakes from scratch, using only high quality ingredients and deliver all over the UK so if you want to treat your special person on Valentine’s Day I would take a look now!

RRP £24.95



BOWSER LEAF

Birthday Gifts, Christmas, Drinks and Mixers, Food & Drink, Gifts for Her, Gifts for Him, Gifts for teachers, Mother's Day, Valentine's Day Gifts

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

We’re almost half way through Dry January and with so many new and exciting non-alcoholic drinks to try I’ve found I haven’t missed alcohol at all!  

Ordinarily I do enjoy a nice G&T so was really pleased to receive a bottle of BOWSER LEAF from Conker Distillery. Launched in 2021 LEAF is a unique botanical blend offering all the complexities of a premium gin but without the alcohol.  It can be served with ice and tonic for a refreshing drink or if you are feeling a little more adventurous you can create a mocktail?

Distilled in copper pot stills using New Forest Spring Water, five carefully selected botanicals – Patchouli, Mint, Basil, Tarragon and Thyme are distilled separately and blended carefully to create a well-balanced, complex spirit that has a beautiful mouthfeel and that vital fresh dryness that you expect from a premium gin. I tried it with an unflavoured light tonic to get the full flavour and I was really impressed.

A hint of spice, followed by fresh mint and thyme, this is a sophisticated drink that is refreshing, light and best of all doesn’t leave you with a hangover the following morning. It has the classic gin bitterness but with none of the alcohol or calories (BOWSER is calorie free) so it is much better for your waistline too!

BOWSER is perfect when you want something special that isn’t alcoholic. A party taste without the hangover – what’s not to like!

A 70cl bottle costs £20 and is available from Ocado

B.fresh Juices

Drinks and Mixers, Fitness, Food & Drink, health, Vegan, Vegetarian

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

New Year – New Me. At least that’s my intention!

I’m trying to increase the amount of fruit and vegetables that I eat and as a glass of juice counts as one of the 5 a day I was really pleased to receive a selection of delicious mixed juices from B.fresh. The fresh, cold pressed juices and juice shots are made from 100% natural ingredients, with no added sugars or sweeteners and are produced on their farm in Shropshire.

The three juices I tried are

Happy Greens

Get Up and Glow

Strawberry Shines.

The Happy Greens drink has an apple base with kale and spinach. I really loved this one, the earth tones of the spinach and kale were perfectly balanced with the natural sweetness of the apple juice.

The orange, Get Up and Glow, cleverly mixes carrots with orange juice and apple with a hint of turmeric for that on trend health boost. Packed with antioxidants and vitamin C a glass of this juice is a great way to start the day.  

The Strawberry Shines drink combines 35% strawberry with apple, carrot cucumber and beetroot, I was expecting the strawberry flavour to be stronger but the flavour that stood out more was the apple with the strawberry coming in as a very pleasant aftertaste.

Each 250ml bottle counts as one of my five a day and with no added sugar makes a great healthy start to my day. I’ll pop one in my bag for a lunchtime treat too!

Available from the B.fresh website from £3.65 per 250ml juice

Mavrik Non Alcoholic Cocktails

Birthday Gifts, Drinks and Mixers, Food & Drink, Gifts for Her, Summer, Vegan, Women

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

It’s the weekend and even though we’re taking part in Dry January it doesn’t mean we can’t enjoy a cocktail or two – there are plenty of delicious non-alcoholic cocktails available now and Mavrik have certainly come up trumps with their exciting non- alcoholic cocktail range.

The Mavrik taster pack contains four 250ml cans and with less than 50 calories per can they are perfect for those watching the calories as well as those who prefer a non-alcoholic drink. Choose from

  • Aromatic G&T: A delicious version of the quintessential English favourite with a refined low calorie pink G&T.
  • Cuban Mojito: Zinging with mint and rum flavours, this indulgent alcohol-free Mojito is the very refreshing and will be lovely to drink with friends this Dry January. 
  • Venetian Spritz: A refreshing, sparking orange drink, sweet with a hint of bitterness and is  delicious with plenty of ice and a few slices of orange.
  • Storm & Spice: a fiery, tongue tickling, low calorie version of the classic spicy Bermudan rum cocktail.

My favourite of the four was the Cuban Mojito which was just as a Mojito should be, nice and  refreshing with the taste of fresh lime and mint and with no sugar I can drink it all night guilt free.

I must say I was very pleasantly surprised with the non-alcoholic drinks, made with natural ingredients and carbonated New Forest spring water they are very refreshing and enable you to get into the party spirit without the hangover! They are vegan friendly, gluten free and contain less than 5 grams of sugar per 100 grams so what’s not to love?

Mavrik drinks are available from their website and the tasting pack costs £9.75