Yazoo Review

I am going to be drinking lots of milks based drinks as I really need the brain power, I know that while I am in the throes of moving in to care for my Grandma I certainly need my wits about me. I also know as I am grabbing food when I can get it,any food with nutritional value is good. So the kids have had to move over a little and grapple with me for the Yazoo milkshakes I was sent along with the research into dairy products.

They actually need them as much as me as I managed to hide them, their brains never worked out where!

The Yazoo by the way tastes lovely, they come in banana, strawberry and chocolate, are free from artificial sweeteners and flavours, the only nasties around them are the kids who are trying to pinch them.

New research from experts at America’s University of Maine and published in the International Dairy Journal, January 2012 suggests consuming milk and other dairy products 5 or 6 times a week could boost brain power#.  After putting 900 men and women through a series of tests to assess memory and brain function it was revealed that those who consumed milk and dairy performed up to five times better than those who consumed less dairy based products.

YAZOO is already aware that not all children and adults particularly like the taste of plain milk, but adding flavour is an effective solution – and also a healthier alternative to some other high sugar drinks. YAZOO milkshakes are renowned for their great taste and offers families great value for money.

Available in Chocolate, Strawberry and Banana, YAZOO is available in a choice of bottle sizes and is low in fat, free of artificial sweeteners and preservatives and contains more than 90% milk. One 475ml bottle of YAZOO offers consumers 70% of their recommended daily allowance of calcium as well as other minerals and vitamins.

 Disclosure I was given a free product. I was under no obligation to receive the sample or talk about this company. I get no additional benefits for talking about the product or company.

LUSH Tailor Made Party

We Do Parties, Yes we do!

And we host them at a store near you…

That’s right, at LUSH stores NATIONWIDE, you can host your very own LUSH Party in-store!  Lush Tailor Made Parties are especially for you and your party needs and aresuitable for any occasion. Be it a children’s birthday party, a bridal pampering session or a mums group event, the choice is endless and the theme of the party is completely chosen by you – whatever it may be!

To celebrate that We Do Parties, this Saturday 18^th August, come along to a Lush store near you from 11.00 AM – 5.00 PM for a Nationwide customer party! Experience just how fantastic Lush parties are with a free day of product making and party games! Enquire at your nearest LUSH for details.

Lush Tailor Made Parties enable you to use a space within the Lush store of your choice for an out-of-hours private event, accompanied by your very own designated Lush Party Brand Ambassadors, or during opening times where your group can mingle amongst other customers. You choose whatever is best for you.

Whatsmore, if you dream of making your very own LUSH products at your party you can even do that too! For just £20 per product making kit (in addition to the party cost), you can choose from a selection of popular bubble bars and bath ballistics for all party-goers to make and then take home! Or, alternatively, Lush will provide a selection of free activities and games appropriate to your requirements such as treasure hunts, bubble bar cocktail making competitions and relaxing pamper treatments including hand and arm massages!

If you would like to host your very own Lush Tailor Made Party then please contact your nearest Lush store for details. Party prices vary upon party size and differ in each store and part of every party price includes a redeemable LUSH product spend for guests.

For shop details visit Lush stores nationwide now or contact Lush online on www.lush.co.uk or

01202 668 545.

Creamy Mushrooms on Toast

The lovely folks at Warburtons are great for coming up with quick and simple recipes that incorporate their tasty bakery range. As you know I am so pushed for time at the moment and meals have been junk food grabbed on the run, sometimes I'm too tired to even eat.

My favourite Toastie bread is used here. I love this bread, the waxed paper wrap makes it so much fresher I believe. I love the big slices (Warburtons please make a toaster to fit them) and the thick soft texture.

This recipe also ticks the healthy living box for me. The creamy mushroom topping created using low fat créme fraiche. 

For Slimming World folk use Warburtons wholemeal and I also suggest light cream cheese and a low cal light oil spray to make this syn free but still as tasty!

Creamy Mushroom on Toast - SERVES 2 

Ingredients 

2 tsp olive oil 

300g button mushrooms, sliced 

100 ml chicken or vegetable stock 

Freshly ground black pepper 

4 tbsp half fat crème fraîche 

4 slices Warburtons toastie 

1 tsp chopped chives 

  

Method 

1.     Heat the oil in a non-stick frying pan, add mushrooms to cook for a 5min. Add the stock, seasoning reduce the heat slightly and cook for 10-15min or until the liquid is reduced and thick and syrupy. Stir in the crème fraîche and herbs.   

2.    Toast the bread, spoon the mushrooms over the toast, sprinkle over the chives and serve immediately 

CEWE PHOTOBOOK LAUNCHES SEARCH FOR EUROPE’S MOST CREATIVE PHOTOGRAPHER

There is a fabulous new competition if you have a touch of the David Bailey, fancy yourself as a happy snapper. First prize is a luxury European cruise for two, second and third prizes are exclusive multi-day European city breaks for two and there are hundreds of runners up prizes including Samsung cameras and CEWE PHOTOBOOK vouchers.

To celebrate Europe’s outstanding and versatile beauty, Europe’s number one photo book company, CEWE PHOTOBOOK has launched an initiative to champion keen photographers’ talents.

‘Europe is Beautiful’ is the largest photo competition in Europe and gives anyone that’s creative with a camera, the chance to show-off their special shots. Categorised into ‘people’, ‘sports’, ‘city and nature’ and ‘culture and nature’ entrants are encouraged to get creative and demonstrate their flair for photography through their eye-catching snaps.

Whether  focusing on Europe’s culture or history, people or landscapes, keen photographers are able to submit up to 5 of their prized pictures in any of the four categories of to be in with a chance of winning one of many spectacular prizes.

A picture really does tell a thousand stories so what better way to revel in Europe’s beauty than through snap-shots of some of its greatest attributes; Rome’s magnificent Colosseum, the coastline of Croatia, Spanish fiesta’s, Italian personalities and the vibrant buzz of London. This innovative competition gives people the opportunity to document a beautiful and diverse continent from behind their lens.

 

Sarah Brockhurst, Marketing Manager at CEWE PHOTOBOOK comments: “At CEWE PHOTOBOOK we are passionate about capturing moments and understand how much joy photos can bring to a person’s life. This competition is a great way to document, celebrate and treasure an eclectic set of images from such a diverse continent while also encouraging keen and amateur photographers to tap into their creativity.

“We welcome anyone with an interest in photography to use their initiative, get inventive and enter this fantastic competition.”

The competition is now live at http://contest.cewe-fotobuch.

de/eib2012/en and will run until the end of of 2012. Once the competition has closed an experienced panel of judges will select 500 winners from all the entries, which will then be announced at the beginning of 2013.

The ‘Europe is Beautiful’ competition is easy to enter, entrants simply register and enter online at http://contest.cewe-photobook.

Côtes du Rhône Review

The Glorious Twelfth has arrived which marks the start of the shooting season and a change on the British menu, last year I was very privileged to cook with the new seasons grouse see here.

http://given-to-distracting-others.blogspot.co.uk/2011/09/blackface-meat-company-young-grouse.html

The richness of meat was crying out for a good red wine to accompany it, only I did not know it.

It has been so hot today and I have spent the day catching up with friends, so out came the  Côtes du Rhône 

selection I was sent. The first we dipped into was the Domaine du Seminaire , the colour was a  deep blackcurrant and the tones of that fruit seemed evident as well as a plum flavour. We all tried it and Chris and his friend were smitten. Chris loved the smoothness.he described it as full of richness and like a heavy wine at first but incredibly light. Easy to drink and  left him wanting more.

The Les Meysonniers was a different yet similar smooth wine, the fruity taste seemed lighter, summery fruits like cherry almost, this wine had a herby taste and of the two, I felt would suit more gamy meats. 

 The specific two wines I have sampled  are not yet available in the UK, so I had had rather an exclusive tasting! However Cotes du Rhône is readily available in UK supermarkets and it has a varying price range to suit all budgets. 

Now that what little summer we had is nearly over, it means an end to BBQs, summer salads and Pimms, and it is instead time to take advantage of the delicious range of seasonal produce which is arriving and enjoy autumnal recipes featuring ingredients like pheasant, venison and guinea fowl.

Côtes du Rhône offers the perfect accompaniment to many autumn recipes. The full-bodied red wines go perfectly with game. Recipes such as game pie, venison casserole or just a simple roast grouse are complimented by the spicy, peppery and full-bodied flavours the red wines have to offer.

There are a variety of different styles of Côtes du Rhône available with a varying price range. For more information go to www.vins-rhone.com

 Disclosure I was given a free product. I was under no obligation to receive the sample or talk about this company. I get no additional benefits for talking about the product or company.

Silent Sunday

Tesco Cookie Range Review

I am a Bzz agent and was sent vouchers to try the re-launched Tesco cookies range. I just visited  my local Tesco Extra and these are already popular as most of the range was sold out at 2pm in the afternoon.

I opted for the Oat and Raisin, my second favourite, my first would be the milk chocolate with Belgian choc chunks but was sadly missing. My friend was with me and I spoke to her about the range and gave her a voucher for 50p, she decided to hold out for the Belgian ones.

£1.50 is for four, not a bad price for what are really big cookies. I do tend to buy cookies for around the £1 mark, not sure if the price will put off new custom, but  the size may attract people.They are on a par in size and look of a cookie in some of my favourite coffee shops! 

The Oat and Raisin reviews in our house were mixed, For me I was disappointed by the addition of cinnamon,  I wish it had stated it on the label, its not a mere hint, its full on and a main flavour of each cookie! s I do not like the flavour and it was very intense, same for my daughter, this is her fave cookie and she handed it over after two bites. But for the spice I know I would have been in heaven as the raisins were large and plump, the oaty taste very evident.

My husband who adores cinnamon was in bliss, he absolutely adored them, he said the depth of flavour was so intense and added to his enjoyment.

We all agreed the texture was much better, they are chewy but not soft, crunchy but not too crisp and definitely bigger than before.

So I will be stalking the bakery aisle in the hope of getting my Belgian chocolate fix next time.

The new range consists of

Triple Chocolate – loaded with Belgian milk, dark and white chocolate pieces

Milk Belgian Chocolate – oodles of Belgian milk chocolate chunks

Dark Belgian Chocolate – packed with pieces of dark Belgian chocolate

Cranberry & White Chocolate – crammed with tangy fruit and creamy chocolate

Oat & Raisin – lightly spiced and full of juicy raisins

Fruit, Chocolate & Nut – a yummy combination of plump raisins, milk choc chunks and hazelnuts

Tesco have improved and re-launched their cookies range. Crispy on the outside, with a soft, chewy middle, each cookie is made with 100% butter giving them a delicious smell and an incredibly more-ish taste.

Tesco have been on a mission to revamp all the Bakeries in  local Tesco stores.

Alongside the cookies there are new speciality breads, rolls, pastries and sweet treats waiting to be popped into a bag and taken home to enjoy with a nice cuppa or milky coffee.

Favourite new ranges (apart from the cookies of course) are the breadsticks and pretzels, which are ideal for lunch.