Looking to treat yourself to an advent calendar this year? Why not opt for one with a foodie twist? Here are our favourites...
1.THE PROTEIN BALL CO
Ideal for health-conscious foodies who want to ditch the sugar, The Protein Ball's calender has 100% natural, no added sugar, bite-size protein ball behind each window meaning your day gets off to a great start. All are vegan and gluten-free and flavours include Goji + Coconut, Lemon + Pistachio, Raspberry Brownie, Apple + Blueberry, Peanut Butter and a special festive-flavoured Christmas ball behind door no.24.
The Protein Ball Co. advent calendar is available from www.theproteinballco.com and selected retailers, priced at £19.99.
2.LOVE COCOA
.Love Cocoa, the ethical, luxury British chocolate brand created by James Cadbury, is launching its first-ever advent calendar: an indulgent, grown-up chocolate affair for the committed chocoholics amongst us. And if that wasn’t reason enough to ruffle your truffles, the eco-savvy brand has committed to planting three trees for every calendar sold as part of its ‘Plant A Tree’ project.
The calendar is available from Ocado, Amazon and via Love Cocoa for £22.50
3.BIRD AND BLEND
Put the kettle on each morning and countdown to Christmas with a brew. This year's Tea Advent is packed full of limited edition Christmas teas - all vegan, gluten & sugar-free! Flavours are much more inventive than your usual cuppa;
with limited edition teas such as Fairytale of NY, Snowball & Eggnog, plus returning faves like Gingerbread Chai! You might not be able to visit the coffee shop for your morning hot drink right now so why not treat yourself to this instead.
Stockist: Available to pre-order at Bird & Blend Tea Company Website
RRP: £36
4. TIPSY POPCORN ADVENT CALENDAR, JOE AND SEPH'S
Popcorn and alcohol, what's not to love? this Tipsy Popcorn Advent Calendar has 12 unique flavours of, alcoholic gourmet popcorn such as Espresso Martini, Gin & Tonic, Prosecco and Caramel Macchiato & Whisky; containing a minimum of 5% alcohol.
Tipsy Popcorn Advent Calendar, £25.00, Joe and Seph's
5. HARIBO Advent Calendar
Adding further fun to the Christmas countdown, the HARIBO Advent Calendar offers a merry mix of themed mini bags including HARIBO Tropifrutti, Goldbears and MAOAM Pinballs. Perfect for those who prefer a twist on the traditional chocolate advent calendar, each window contains a tasty treat which will ensure that the festive celebrations start early.
6.PLAY IN CHOC
The PLAYin CHOC 24 drawer advent (also available as a 12 drawer calendar) is ideal for those who have little ones with allergens as it combines the most amazing, creamy dairy-free chocolate (also organic, free of refined sugars and free from nuts) with old-fashioned 3D puzzle cardboard toys to encourage a few minutes of screen-free time each morning.. The best vegan offering we've tried.
The PLAYin CHOC 24 drawer advent is £55 from John Lewis
7.NIEDEREGGER CAROUSEL
This Advent calendar is filled with an assortment of dark and milk chocolate pralines, croquant with milk chocolate, flambeed marzipan and marzipan.
Niederegger marzipan is made from 100% finest marzipan paste, made using traditional roasting cauldrons with production supervised by a master confectioner. The Niederegger Carousel calendar is £35 from John Lewis
8. CANDY KITTEN
Part tree decoration, part advent calendar Candy Kitten's offering is a build-it-yourself (thankfully much easier to do that flatpack furniture)
All the sweets are vegan and flavours including Tropical Mango, Wild Strawberry and Blueberry Bliss.
Christmas Advent Calendar Tree: £8, Candy Kittens
9. CHRISTMAS SPECTACULAR ADVENT CALENDAR FOR DOGS, LILY'S KITCHEN
This Christmassy Advent Calendar makes a fun and fabulous gift fit for any good dog and helps them countdown to Christmas with the things they love best – treats. With a show-stopping cast of Lily’s Kitchenfavourites- Rise & Shines, Training Treats and Bedtime Biscuits - dogs will love taking a peek behind the curtain each day this December. Also available for cats!
‘Christmas Spectacular Advent Calendar’ for Dogs, RRP £10
10. ORGANIX ADVENT CALENDAR
Who says toddlers can't get in on the action. If you don't want to give your little one an advent calendar, then why not try this offering from Organix? You'll find mini versions of classics such as their jammie monster biscuits and oaty bites.
Organix Advent Calendar: £8.99, Organix
11.PURE HEAVEN
You might recognise Pure Heavenly from Dragon's Den. Not only is it vegan but it also has less than 2g of sugar a bar. Yet somehow-thanks to the use of rice cream-still manages to taste incredibly creamy. Once you've tried it, you'll wonder why you hadn't switched earlier.
Pure Heavenly calendar, £7.95, Pure Heavenly
Chatting Food Contributor: Jenna Farmer
Jenna Farmer is a blogger and freelance writer who is passionate about gut health and gluten-free eating.
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Twitter: @jennafarmeruk
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Website: www.abalancedbelly.co.uk
[Items in this article may have been gifted. No financial payment has been made to feature in this article, and entries to the feature are made independently by members of the Editorial Team. This page contains affiliate links and we may receive a small commission for purchases]