July Degustabox Review

That time has come around again when I have been trying all of the goodies from this months Degustabox*. I love trying out new brands that I might not have tried otherwise and have enjoyed the previous months boxes. 
Drinks Something I had never heard of before opening this months Degustabox was the ALO Drink (£2.45) that are made with handpicked aloe vera from an organic farm. It's a really healthy option that's gluten and fat free and will give you all the benefits of real aloe vera in a refreshing drink, however the taste wasn't for me. Another healthy drink included was the Rejuvenation Water (£1.99) which is designed to help fuel the immune system to build up a natural resilience to stress, depression and anxiety as well as aiding protein digestion. It was nice to have a fresh drink that you knew was actually help your body stay healthy. Last on the drinks list was something from Cracker Drinks (£1.50). This is a natural fruit juice to give you 1 of your 5 a day without having any added sugar or artificial sweeteners. It was a nice tasting juice and I was happier drinking it knowing it was better for me and wasn't packed full of sugar. 

Meal Ingredients
The Jordans Muesli (£2.79) contains crispy wheat flakes, creamy oats. juicy raisins and finely sliced almonds. I've been trying to switch up my breakfast routine recently so getting something like this gives me something new to try that would be a healthier choice. For lunch and dinner meals, the Felix Gerkhins (£2.15) give a perfect addition to a sandwich or can be served with a burger. They have a sweet and crunchy taste and have just enough spice to them to add some flavour. I particularly love making spaghetti bolognaise and meatballs and one of the ingredients is vinegar, so this Sarson's Balsamic Vinegar (£1.99) was perfect as I can use it for numerous dishes and it gives a nice flavouring to the meals.

Snacks I was intrigued when I saw the Seabrooks Lattice Crisps (£1.99) as they were Chicken Jalfrezi flavour which is something I've never tried before. They were such a nice flavour and were quite spicy but not too overpowering and I would definitely buy these again. Onto something a little sweeter now, the Bahlsen Choco Leibniz (£0.40) are crisp butter biscuits that are set into smooth continental milk chocolate. They come in a handy pack of two so are perfect snack size when you want to indulge in something sweet. Speaking of chocolate, the Brookside Chocolates (£3.40) are something a little different to your standard packet. They are smooth dark chocolates with a fruit and berry flavour which give you something to snack on when you are bored on your normal chocolate. 
If you're more into your sweets than your chocolate, then these Rowntree's Fruit Pastilles Infusions (£1.29) might be for you. These infusions are meant to be a twist on the original fruit pastilles which includes new flavour combinations of orange & grapefruit, raspberry & pomegranate and apple & elderflower. I have always enjoyed these type of sweets and the new infusions were something new to enjoy and I would definitely buy them again. Also included as a snack were the Itsu Crispy Seaweed Thins (£1.00) and were something I would never normally choose. They are naturally full of zinc, iron, B12 and iodine and contain less than 2 calories per thin. Being some healthy they would be a good addition to a salad, although I just couldn't get myself to like the flavour. 
That's all for the July Degustabox. If you are thinking about signing up to Degustabox then I have a discount code to save you £7.00 off your order, just enter BLDEG15 at the checkout!

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April Degustabox Review

This is my second box I have kindly been send by Degustabox* and after being really impressed with the March box, I was keen to try out what this month had to offer. 
Drinks With the weather picking up recently, it was a perfect time to receive the Pimms (£2.29) to enjoy on a sunny day. The strawberry and cucumber flavour is a nice sweet addition and was very nice to drink over ice in the sun. The Rejuvenation Water (£1.99) is designed to help create a natural resilience to stress, depression and anxiety. I received the apple and mint flavour and it reminded me a little bit of Vitamin water. Another drink I tried was the Green Lady (£1.99), which uses green tea leaves to create a drink to be enjoyed as an alternative to alcohol. It was very refreshing and again is great for this time of year. While I don't use Canderel (£3.00) is cups of tea, it comes come in very useful for baking. Having the same taste and appearance as sugar but with zero calories, its a good option to maintain a healthy diet. 

Meal Items The Levi Roots (£1.00) sauces come in very handy when cooking as you don't have to marinade it, but just pour over whatever you are cooking and away you go. I had the Jerk flavour which worked nicely to flavour the chicken, and I'd also like to try the BBQ flavour. For this meal the Veetee Basmati Rice (£1.29) was perfect to use as it had 2 good portions and is ready in only 2 minutes. These quick cook packets would be great to have stocked in the cupboard for when you need a quick addition to a meal. I also received a Veetee Wholegrain Brown Rice & Quinoa (£1.49) which would work well with other meals. 

Snacks The Milkybar Milk & Crunchy 4 Pack (£1.00) are a good size if you fancy a little something to eat. The crunchy version of the Milkybar was surprisingly nice and something a bit different to other white chocolate. Something a little different was the Smarties Sharing Block (£1.29) which was always going to be something that I would enjoy, and came in useful on a recent long car journey. The Bebeto Fruit Strings (£1.99) that have reduced levels of processed sugars, plus the fact the are suitable for vegetarians and vegans. These were lovely and have travel sized packets which made it a good snack option. The last item was a savoury option which would be enjoyed as a snack or alternatively a light lunch. The Parle Rusk (89p) is a crispy and crunchy toast and I really enjoyed them with Philadelphia for lunch.

Once again, I was really impressed by what was in this months box, and it gave me some new ideas for meals, drinks and snacks. I think the Degustabox is a great opportunity to try out new brands and get a taste for different items that you might not normally buy. They also provided me with a discount code to offer you £6.00 discount, and all you have to do in enter BLDEG15 when you order! *This post contains a PR sample. 

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Funkin Cocktails Range Review

  Not long ago I was offered to review a selection of cocktails mixers from Funkin Cocktails to try with friends and family. Usually when I go out I'm completely swept away by anything fruity so this was the perfect chance to try more flavours out and see whether they changed my mind.

Mojito Personally I'm not a huge Mojito fan, however this didn't stop it going down with friends who really enjoyed it. It's a simple combination of Persian Limes, mint and sugar and can be perfect when combined with white rum. From their opinions it seemed like a true Mojito.

Strawberry Daiquiri Although it suggests adding rum to this strawberry and lime combo, I found vodka was a very good choice and I really enjoyed this one. It was a sweet and easy to drink cocktail, and is my normal choice whenever I go out for cocktails as you can't really go wrong with strawberry cocktails. It tasted like strawberry laces which is an added bonus if you have a sweet tooth.

Brazilian This is pretty much like drinking tropical juice which makes it very easy to drink. As the taste is already perfect, having this mixer with vodka is the best combination as you don't need any flavouring to come from the spirit. 

Hollywood This has to be my favourite mixer that I tried out of the ones sent. It's a mixed berry combination and I wish they did more of these type of cocktails in bars as I'd go for it every time. If you're a fan of berry drinks definitely go with this one, it will not disappoint.

Elderflower Collins This was a very smooth and easy to drink mixer and worked perfectly with gin. A mix of Sicilian Lemons and British Elderflower provided a very refreshing taste and this went down very well and was popular with friends. To describe it overall it's light drink and could be drank at any occasion. 

Strawberry Woo Woo The Funkin version contains fresh peaches and strawberries added to the original woo woo to give it a smooth, sweet flavour. We tried it with both gin and vodka and both worked well and again tasted a bit like strawberry laces which you can't complain about.

Raspberry Mojito This was a very refreshing choice, and the addition of raspberries, mint and lime gave a great taste. Once again, as the flavour was already nice prior to mixing, I found that vodka worked quite well with this. Although I really don't like the classic mojito as it's just too minty for my taste, this raspberry version is well balanced.

Sour Mix A good combination of lemons, limes and cane sugar provides the base for a perfect sour cocktail. The favourite option with my group was to mix it with amaretto. The other good thing about this mix is that instead of having to add egg white to the cocktail, you just have to give the mixer a quick shake for the thick foam on top.
I was really impressed with all of these mixers and the whole idea behind them makes it very easy to make your own cocktails. Each of the mixer cartons come with a handy guide on the side for which spirit to add so it's still easy to whip up your favourite. Make sure to keep an eye out in bars as Funkin Cocktails are stocked in a lot of places. Overall the Elderflower Collins and the Hollywood were a huge hit so if you get the chance to try them, let me know how they were for you.

*This post contains a PR sample.

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Degustabox March Box Review

I was kindly send this Degustabox* March box to review and was intrigued as soon to see what kind of food I would receive. When the box arrived I was part way through my Dechox to raise money for British Heart Foundation so I had to wait until the start of April to enjoy the chocolate products. 
Included in the pack were a few different breakfast bits. These included an 8 pack of Brioche Pasquier (£1.40) which suited me well as I love pain au chocolat so this was perfect. You can warm them in the oven but also work in the microwave as this is easier and quicker. Second were two different Weetabix On The Go Breakfast Drink (2 x £1.50) that contain an extra 20g of protein to deliver a good breakfast in one handy little drink. They were nice and fruity, and with the extra protein I think they are quite good value. The last breakfast item was something I haven't seen before, which was a 1 litre carton of a2 Milk (£1.39). This is pure cows' milk that only contains the A2 protein and the milk is available in most supermarkets. I think this would be a popular choice for people who normally struggle with dairy products. You can enjoy this in coffee, cereal, smoothies and more, so it could replace your normal milk.

I was very excited to receive the Metcalfe's Skinny Popcorn (£1.50) in the flavour cinema sweet. I do love popcorn (but only the sweet one) so to find one that has 67% less sugar and only 93 calories per serving is great so you can enjoy it knowing its not too bad. Something a little different was the Kent's Kitchen Stuffing (£1.85) in the Apricot, Apple & Ginger flavour. This is a nice addition to a roast dinner and we enjoyed it with ours on Easter Sunday. The next item is something that brought back memories of my school days. These were the 4 pack of Chewits (£4 x 35p) that had two packs of strawberry and two of blackcurrant and I'd forgotten how much I like them.

Another sweet treat was the Parle Hide & Seek (59p) chocolate chip biscuits which were really nice, and I would definitely buy. The chocolate tasted like Dairy Milk so I was shocked that they only cost 59p. They also came with the Parle Monaco (39p) biscuits, which are a savoury snack which are perfect when you are a bit peckish and sort of remind me of Ritz biscuits and I'd be keen to buy these again. When I noticed the pack of cheddar & onion Pipers Crisps (£2.00) I couldn't wait to try them. They were really nice and was left craving them afterwards so will be looking out for them. Moving from savoury to sweet, the Lindt White Chocolate Gold Bunny (£2.99) was always going to be a welcome addition. Lindt is a firm fave of mine when it comes to chocolate but hadn't tried the white bunny before. I can safely say it was just as nice as all their other white chocolate. 
Something a little bit different for a snack were the Kallo Quinoa & Seeds Multigrain Cakes (£1.89). They can also be enjoyed as a nice lunch and I found they paired well with some houmous. Also included were the Kallo Milk Chocolate Rice Cake Rounds (£1.00). I found this good as a low calorie snack when I fancied something sweet, and seen as they are only 78 calories per cake I couldn't complain. The last item was the Karyatis Meze To Go (£1.99) which included a sweet & smokey roasted red pepper and tangy feta dip, paired with crunchy rosemary crackers, which both come in a neat box. I love items like that that give you something a little different to snack on.
I was really impressed by this March Degustabox as there was so much great food and drink packed in. Considering how much the box would cost, you get a fair amount of saving on the products compared to buying them all individually. It's great to try out new products and it's definitely opened my eyes to look out for new products when doing my next food shop. They also provided me with a discount code which offers a £6.00 discount! Just enter BLDEG15 when ordering. The total of all the items would cost £21.39 however this Degustabox was only £12.99. If you used the discount code you would get nearly £22.00 worth of products for only £6.99 which is a huge saving.

* Contains PR samples unless otherwise stated.

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