We are waving our pom-poms for the best food and drink products out there.
Whether they are just hitting the supermarket shelves, creating a buzz in the industry, winning awards or are just plain ace, we give you a heads up about what you should be adding to your supermarket basket this month.
Nutmad - Activated Nuts
What makes a nut activated we hear you cry? Well, they have to be soaked in water and salt for a period of time, which starts off the germination or sprouting process, then dehydrated at a low temperature. Still following us? Without getting too scientific these nuts then become highly nutritious and become easily digestible ergo healthier.
By going through this process the nuts also improve in taste, taking away some of the bitterness found especially in almonds and walnuts. Also if you are bored of your snacking nut options coming only in salted, then this range will be right up your street. Ranging from Walnuts with Salted Maple Caramel, Cashews with Maple and Rosemary, and Natural Nut mix - you'll find a favourite flavour, and they will no doubt become a staple in your lunchtime routine or desk drawer.
Nutmad products are sold online, also via a fortnightly subscription, on www.nutmad.com. They are available in 30g and 70g bags.
Sweet Freedom
Sweeten and flavour your coffee without guilt? Yes, please.
Sweet Freedom’s new syrups are incredibly versatile and thick enough to drizzle perfectly over your pancakes, porridge, waffles, yoghurt, chopped fresh fruit and more. Better still, you can use as a substitute for regular sugar and syrups for ‘better for you baking’, from flapjacks and cookies to cakes and muffins. Meaning you can now enjoy many more sweet ‘treats’ with your halo intact!
New flavours include Caramel and Vanilla syrups and are available from Ocado
Sublime Flavoured Butters
Sublime Flavoured Butters were born out of the desire to find a steak accompaniment that accentuates the flavour of the meat, rather than drown it out, as sauces often do. But it hasn't stopped there, oh no.
The flavoured butter has since proven to be the perfect partners for a whole host of other products too – from melted over greens to enlivening mashed potato. We are 100% for basically having it on all of your meal.
Now for the flavours. You can choose from Sublime No1 Pink Himalayan Salt (200g),
Great Taste Award Winning Sublime No17 Chimichurri (90g), Sublime No12 Truffle, Parmesan & Black Pepper (90g), or Sublime No6 Garlic, Rosemary & Mint (90g).
And with Béarnaise (90g) and Garlic & Herb (90g) on the way, there is no better time than now (yeah, right now) to order some packs.
Available to order online at Farmison & Co. and retail at £4.25.
Chocao
Are you looking for a new after-dinner drink or aprétif? Always a little too full for that chocolate dessert at the end of the night? Well, Chocao, the result of a collaboration between Seed Chocolate and The Staffordshire Gin Company. may just be the answer.
Chocao, cacao gin liqueur is a distilled cacao gin infused with Peruvian Gran
Yapatera cacao nibs and husks. It is ethically sourced, single-origin and vegan, best
served neat over ice as an after-dinner drink or a digestif, to help round off your
evening. Whilst 26% ABV. it is very smooth on the palate and delivers a lovely chocolate taste.
After each batch the guys at Chocao set aside 30 bottles for the public. Don't miss out. You can buy directly from their website for £28.50.
fiid
Making ripples in Ireland, fiid, the quick and nourishing vegan bowls are launching into selected Sainsbury's from February.
Combining vegetables, legumes and spices, to create truly delicious, plant-based meals. Ready in just three minutes, the premise of the range is to offer real convenience without any compromise on taste or quality. The range is natural with no additives or preservatives, and each bowl is high in protein and fibre and is made using 50% vegetables, making up 3 of your 5 a day. The people at fiid also donate one school meal to a child in the developing world for every meal sold.
Perfect for lunch, or a quick evening meal.
Currently available in Sainsbury's for £3.50. fiid also offer a delivery service available here.
Janine Loves Breakfast - Breakfast Bombs
If you are a fan of the breakfast smoothie, but you struggle to conjure up a recipe at 6am in the morning, then maybe it is time to grab a Breakfast Bomb. Not as scary as they sound, these smoothie bombs were created after Janine, a private chef added a homemade energy ball into her blender with a splash of plant-based milk after making the mixture too dry but not wanting to waste the ingredients.
Each bomb is hassle and waste free and includes a healthy balanced mix of gluten free oats, plant-based protein, almond butter and a carefully curated collection of superfoods specifically designed by their in-house nutritionist Gideon Remfy, who has over 25 years’ of wellness experience.
Flavours include Beet & Berry, Mango Chai, Strawberry Shortcake, Blueberry Fool
Chocolate Orange, Mint Cacao and Matcha Mojito.
Janine Loves Breakfast Bombs are now available on www.janineloves.co.uk
Bolney Estate Gin
Is there such a thing as too much gin right now? We can't see the love affair with the spirit ending any time soon. And another new gin has entered the market.
Sussex vineyard, Bolney Wine Estate is expanding their remarkable drinks portfolio with the launch of their first gin. The Bolney Estate Gin, which has been guided by nature is a classic, dry English gin. Its vibrant freshness of lemon oil and fennel is delicately balanced with hints of bay and juniper.
The botanicals used in the Bolney Estate Gin include hawthorn leaves from the Estate’s vineyard hedgerows, as well as juniper, bay leaf, caraway, cubeb, lemon peel, grains of paradise, fennel and coriander seed. A portion of the ethanol mix in the Bolney Estate Gin is from the distillate of the Estate’s wine press, fermented from juice that is too phenolic to produce wine, but which produces something uniquely ‘Bolney’ to the gin.
Bolney Estate Gin is available to buy from Bolney's website for £35.
[Items in this article may have been gifted to Chatting Food. 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]
Chatting Food Contributor: Ellen Pope
Self-confessed potty mouth, mother of guinea pig and eater of 99.9% of food (don't bring me marzipan and tell me it is food). Ellen is the founder and Editor of Chatting Food Magazine and on a one-woman mission to talk food at everyone. Usually found tweeting, eating, sleeping, repeating.
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