Author Archives: Catherine Balavage

Mindful Chef Recipe Box Review

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Food delivery boxes are now huge business. People are getting everything from ingredients to whole meals delivered. The latter is what the Mindful Chef does, but with a twist. They do healthy recipe boxes which take out the hassle of cooking. They deliver all of the ingredients and from prep to plate it all takes 20-30 minutes. The ingredients are all lean and sustainably sourced. Mindful Chef was founded in 2015 by Myles and Giles, two young men from Devonshire.

 

Myles and Giles were inspired to launch Mindful Chef due to busy schedules and finding it hard to eat healthily because of their hectic lifestyles. Although recipe box delivery companies existed at the time of their need, none were truly healthy.

What makes Mindful Chef different is their ability to create well-balanced, imaginative recipes whilst still being 100% gluten-free. Their healthy recipe boxes include no refined carbs and therefore avoid high-carb fillers such as pasta or bread. Instead they guarantee genuinely exceptional quality, gluten-free, dairy-free and locally sourced fresh, organic produce. Working with local, sustainable farmers in the West Country, the award-winning organic meat and fish included in the recipes are also stocked in Fortnum & Mason and Harrods.

All the recipes and ingredients are scrutinised by personal trainer and nutritional coach Myles. He works closely with some of the very best nutritionists and chefs in the UK, who take their inspiration from around the world to create imaginative, varied and delicious recipes. The instructions are easy to follow and the meals are easy to make; helping make chefs out of even the most inexperienced of cooks. The pair believe that the key to a healthier life is reducing your intake of gluten and that refined sugars and refined carbohydrates should be avoided.

 

Mindful Chef offers eight weekly changing recipes to choose from, with four containing fresh, locally sourced meat and fish, organic vegetables and delicious herbs and spices. Mindful Chef also caters for those who eat a meat-free diet, with four plant-based recipes available each week. The boxes are delivered to homes or offices in the UK free of charge.

We reviewed Mindful Chef with their two meals for two people box. It is priced at £7 per portion. 

Chicken & quinoa paella with artichokes.

Za’atar Lamb, quinoa & roasted rainbow carrots. 

The food arrives in a box with the meat in a large envelope which has ice packs in it. On top are two smaller bags with the ingredients of each meal in. They are clearly labelled. Also in the box are the recipe cards.

The entire thing is very easy. You take the ingredients out of the brown paper bag and then you follow the recipe. The recipes are written out in an easy to follow way. The recipe did take me longer than it said on the card, but only because I am inept at cooking. It took me ages to chop. I also think I did not drain the quinoa properly so the paella was liquidly when it should not be. My husband made the lamb dish the next day and it was a huge hit on Instagram.

On the other side of the recipe cards are the amount of time it takes to make the meal, how many calories it is, information on where the meat comes from, and confirmation that it is gluten-free. The entire thing is convenient, healthy and easy. It is pricey at between £6-9 per portion, but it is less than a takeaway and a lot less than a meal out. It is also a whole lot healthier. Would I sign up to Mindful Chef? I would indeed. It is healthy eating made easy as they team up with nutritionists. Another great thing about them is that there is no food waste. Good stuff indeed.

RECIPE BOXES

Recipe box companies are still relatively new to the UK. The concept was born in Sweden to provide healthy meals for busy people and this has translated well on our hard-working shores.

Naturally popular in busy towns and cities such as London and Manchester, recipe box deliveries take away the hassle of shopping and cooking, promising all the ingredients needed to a make a quick meal at the end of a long day with no waste.

PRICE

From £6 per meal

EXAMPLE RECIPES

Meat and Fish Recipes:

  •   Beef & mustard burger with balsamic onions & carrot fries
  •   Red Thai chicken curry with courgetti & cashew nuts
  •   Peanut satay pork with wild rice, leek & red pepper
  •   Pan-fried plaice with asparagus , dill quinoa & crispy capersPlant- based Recipes:
  •   Vietnamese pho with courgetti noodles, tofu & cashews
  •   Mexican veggie chilli with sweet potato nachos & guacamole
  •   Roasted cauliflower & chickpea tikka masala with black rice
  •   Veggie lasagna with aubergine, cannellini bean ragu & pesto

 

 

Mindful Chef is more than a recipe box company, it is a lifestyle brand offering customers a healthy, mindful way of life.

 

For more information see: www.mindfulchef.com

Instagram & Twitter: @MindfulChefUK
Facebook: https://www.facebook.com/MindfulChefUK/

 

Mindful Chef have great reviews on Trust Pilot: https://uk.trustpilot.com/review/mindfulchef.com

 

 

One Summer In Tuscany By Domenica De Rosa Book Review

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One Summer In Tuscany By Domenica De Rosa Book Review

It is always interesting reading a book about writers as a writer. I always find it fascinating. I loved the way One Summer in Tuscany is written. It is easy to read and flows very well. Each writer who is heading to Patricia Wilson’s writers’ retreat is a great character, and each is introduced in a quick biography at the beginning. From the mothers who want more from life, to the older people who want to finally publish that book. The setting- an idilic writers retreat in Tuscany- is a good one. It made me want to go on holiday. Domenica de Rosa also has a gift when it comes to writing about food. I was constantly hungry reading about all of the delicious Italian food in this book.

One Summer in Tuscany has all of the ingredients of a great book: a good plot with enough mystery, interesting, well-written characters and good observations. Add in Italy and the food and this book is a winner. The perfect holiday read.

 

Rivalries and romance in a Tuscan paradise. A relaxing writers’ retreat? If only! Perfect holiday reading from Domenica de Rosa, author of the bestselling Dr Ruth Galloway series under the name Elly Griffiths. Previously published as SUMMER SCHOOL.

Patricia Wilson’s carefully composed ads for the writers’ retreat she runs at her thirteenth-century Italian castle promise so much. But while the splendour of their surroundings and chef Aldo’s melanzane never fail to wow the guests, huge maintenance bills and bad news from the bank threaten to close Patricia down. It’s make or break time for the Castello.

Each of her seven aspiring authors arrives with the inevitable baggage alongside their unpublished manuscripts. But this August something is different, and soon lifelong spinster Mary is riding on the back of Aldo’s vespa, and smouldering odd-job man Fabio has set more than one heart racing.

As temperatures rise, the writers gossip, flirt and gently polish their prose by the pool. But with ghosts, scorpions, and some unexpected visitors to contend with, one thing’s for sure: neither the Castello, nor Patricia, has ever seen a summer like this.

 

One Summer In Tuscany By Domenica De Rosa is available here.

Gazelli White Oil Eye Cream: The Ancient Healing Power of Black Tea

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gazelli eye creamI have been reviewing Gazelli Triple Youth White Oil Reviving Eye Cream. Many beauty writers are not huge fans of eye creams, believing that their promises don’t live up to the hype. I take them on individual merit and have always thought a good eye cream is a worthwhile investment. The eye area is delicate and most face creams say to avoid the delicate eye area. And this is where Gazelli Triple Youth White Oil Reviving Eye Cream really becomes a winner. It is so light and it absorbs so well. It has the perfect consistency for an eye cream. It can also be used as a lightweight moisturiser so is perfect for travel.

But what ingredients are in it, and is it any good? The eye cream has regenerative Gazelli White Oil to accelerate cell renewal and revive the eye contour area, reducing dark circles and targeting puffiness. Fine lines are diminished with improved elasticity and skin is left looking firm, bright and youthful. It also has black tea and peptides which are made up of amino acids. They penetrate the skin and stimulate the production of collagen to plump and tone the skin. This is what Gazelli say about the black tea:

BLACK TEA

Camellia Sinensis
Black tea is rich in vitamins (B2, C, and E,) minerals (magnesium, potassium, zinc), essential oils, polyphenols and tannins. It is a mild stimulant and has anti-inflammatory properties, also acting as an astringent to tighten and soothe the skin, and reduce puffiness in the eye area.

Overall they say their eye cream

• Increases elasticity

• Diminishes fine lines and wrinkles

• Improves the appearance of dark circles

• Reduces puffiness

 

I have been using the eye cream for a while now and I do think it is good. I am a working mother so if I don’t use a good product on my face I get dark circles. This is a lightweight eye cream that is keeping everything intact. It is pricey at £45, but it is the best eye cream I have used.

 

https://www.gazelliskincare.com/reviving-eye-cream.html

 

 

 

 

SugarSin Opens New Store In Brighton. We Try Out Their Sweets

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We can have a sweet tooth at Frost so we jumped at the chance to review some SugarSin Sweets. Their packaging is great and the sweets always look delicious. We tried Sicilian Lemon White Chocolate, Handmade Lollies, Sparkling Rosé Gummies and Fizzy Prosecco Gummies. The chocolate is divine, with the perfect amount of lemon, the handmade lollies are both fun and yummy. The gummies are as unique as they are yummy. The Rosé ones are soft and refreshing. The Prosecco ones are hard with just the right amount of tang. All are highly recommended. Delicious and naughty: what more could you ask for?

 

SugarSin co-founders and sisters Anna Nilsson and Josefin Deckel have opened SugarSin Brighton on Duke Street, in the stunning historic quarter of the city.

SugarSin opened the doors to its first sweet shop in London’s Covent Garden in 2011. The concept was born from a lifelong passion for all things sweet and tasty. Disappointed, in particular by the Pick‘n’Mix selection available in the UK, Anna and Josefin worked to create a modern Willy Wonka style store, filled with the world’s most fabulous sweets. The sisters travelled the globe tasting countless varieties, on a mission to create the most distinctive and delicious grown-up, gourmet confectionery collection, as beautiful to look at as it is to taste.

Anna, co-founder of SugarSin comments “We love Brighton – the city is as colourful as our sweets! As soon as we arrived it felt like home and the perfect fit for our second SugarSin store. We are so passionate about sweets that we thought it was time to share that passion with a new city. Since 2011 we have made it our mission to bring current, quality sweets and flavours, with inherent style and plenty of temptation to the people of London, but sweets are made for sharing! For those who doesn’t know us, inspired by our Swedish roots, we produce high quality sweets with intense flavours, great textures and natural ingredients. Josefin and I are extremely excited to open the doors to SugarSin Brighton next weekend!”

 

The beautifully contemporary store on Duke Street will be filled with SugarSin’s own handmade sweets including:

  • Prosecco Gummies
  • Sea Salt Fudge
  • Juicy Strawberry Lollies
  • Cocoa Dusted Chocolate Almonds

A carefully curated Pick’n’Mix featuring hundreds of nostalgic favourites and flavours to surprise, sourced from all over the world will take centre stage.

Mindful of dietary requirements, SugarSin Brighton, like the London store, will stock sweets suitable for vegetarians and vegans.

 

 

Hape Pop-up Monkey Track Review

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This train track with popping monkeys was a huge hit with the Frost toddler. The cute banana train makes the monkeys pop out in a very satisfying way. Smart and fun, it has fast become a favourite toy. You can also buy additional track. Very much recommended: another great hit from brilliant toy brand Hape who focus on high-quality wooden and education focused toys.

Three monkeys hide in the jungle just waiting for their chance at snatching a banana treat. Watch as they hop out just as the banana car passes!

  • Suitable for age 18 months +
  • Dimensions (LWH) 23.4×12.3×11.4cm
  • Includes: 7 Pieces
  • Encourages imaginative play, creativity and helps to develop planning and logic skills.
  • Warning: Not suitable for children under 18 months

 

Available from debenhams.com

At Long Last Love By Milly Adams Review

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Milly Adams has quite a few books under her belt now and they just keep getting better. She mixes a great talent for fiction writing with a historians gift of facts, weaving the talent and the knowledge together to make the most enjoyable, and readable, war fiction out there. I almost read At Long Last Love in one day. And I would have if my toddler had not been hanging off me. This riveting book is a real page turner, with enough drama and twists to keep you guessing. All books play like a movie in your head, but this one should be made into a real-life one. It has it all: war, spying, the claustrophobia of small village life, family drama, the lot. I loved this book and the characters in it. Grab it before you go off on holiday. It is perfect summer reading.

‘Would anyone ever think of her with real love?’

It’s July 1942, and twenty-three year old nightclub singer Kate Watson has made a home for herself in bombed-blitzed London. A motley crew of friends has replaced the family she’s not spoken to in years. That is until the evening Kate’s sister Sarah walks back into her life.

Sarah has a favour to ask: she needs Kate to return home to Dorset for one month to look after her daughter, Lizzie. Reluctantly Kate agrees, even though it means facing the troubled past she hoped she’d escaped.

Kate is confronted once again by the prejudice and scrutiny of the townsfolk, including the new village vicar. As the war continues, Kate must fight her own battles and find not only the courage to forge a future but perhaps, at long last, love.

A compelling new Second World War novel. Perfect for fans of Katie Flynn and Ellie Dean.

At Long Last Love is available here.

This Modern Love by Will Darbyshire Book Review

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This Modern Love by Will Darbyshire Book Review

There are a few things which are unique about This Modern Love. Firstly, it was crowdsourced. Secondly, the idea: people sharing their personal stories of love and loss. It is full of letters, stories and photographs all put together by YouTuber Will Darbyshire. The submissions are deeply personal. They are sometimes beautiful and other times heartbreaking. A glimpse into other people’s love lives that we would never usually get to see. A unique book that is definitely worth a read.

 

This Modern Love is a unique crowdsourced book of letters, stories, and photographs about the state of modern romance by YouTuber Will Darbyshire. 

‘Question 1. What would you say to your ex, without judgement?’

Seeking closure after a tough break-up, Will Darbyshire was driven to strike up an intimate conversation with his online audience. Posting a series of questions via his YouTube, Twitter and Instagram channels, Will asked his followers to share their innermost thoughts about their relationship experiences, in the form of hand-written letters, poems, photographs, and emails.

After 6 months and over 15,000 heartfelt submissions later, from over 100 countries, This Modern Love collects these letters together to form a compendium of 21st century love, structured into the beginning, middle and end of a relationship.

Tender, funny and cathartic, This Modern Love is a compelling portrait of individual desires, resentments and fears that reminds us that, whether we’re in or out of love, we’re not alone.

 

This Modern Love is available here.

 

Piccolo Baby Food Review

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piccolobabyfoodreview stage 1and 2

Baby food is big business, and pouches even bigger still. Convenient and healthy, most – if not all- parents will give their little ones baby food pouches. They are great for eating out, keeping in a bag for an emergency, or just for a meal indoors. They are also great for when parents are too tired to cook. Piccolo are an Italian brand bringing Mediterranean goodness to the market.

Piccolo Pure – is their first single fruits range, for which they have handpicked and blended the tastiest fruit varieties including Stanley Plum, Fairtrade Banana, Fairtrade Mango and Williams Pear: each chosen because their delicious and distinctive tastes, making them perfect for little ones as their taste buds begin to explore first flavours. My son loved all of these. He devoured them in minutes.

Their Pure Banana and Pure Mango blends are the only baby food pouches to hold Fairtrade accreditation, as they continue their commitment to give back through ethical and sustainable sourcing and by donating 10% profits to charity.

 

They have also launched variety baskets of Piccolo recipes crammed full of delicious fruit and veg to excite little ones’ taste buds.  And with a pouch to get parents through Monday to Friday, there won’t be any need for that last-minute empty cupboard panic when their baby is hungry. I think this is a brilliant idea. It takes some of the pressure of parenting. Something which is always much needed.

 

Finally, they have new recipes launching this summer, using nutritious, organic ingredients and distinctive flavours including coconut, cinnamon, sage and rosemary.  They are launching a delicious Lamb Ratatouille (with a hint of rosemary), perfect for recreating the end of summer Mediterranean feeling, our first fish based pouch with Salmon Fish Pie (with a pinch of parsley, basil and thyme) and a very English Roast Pork, Parsnip and Apple recipe.

My little one tried the ones in bold and loved them all. Particular favourites were the Lamb Ratatouille with a hint of rosemary and Squash, Mac & Cheese with a hint of sage. 

 

Stage 1

  • Blushing Berries, Pear & Banana
  • Banana, Coconut & Baby Brown Rice with a pinch of cinnamon
  • Pear, Strawberry & Yoghurt with wholegrain Oats

Veg Only

  • Sun-ripened Tomato and Red Pepper with a dash of olive oil
  • Parsnip Carrot & Leek with a hint of thyme

Stage 2

  • Lamb Ratatouille with a hint of rosemary
  • Tomato, Lentil & Angel Pasta with a dash of olive oil
  • Squash, Mac & Cheese with a hint of sage
  • Roast Pork, Parsnip & Apple with a hint of rosemary
  • Salmon Fish Pie with a pinch of parsley, basil and thyme

 

As you can see from the list, the recipes are exciting and different. They make some other baby food pouches look very boring indeed. We are a fan of Piccolo, the brand is a great way to feed your child in a healthy and sustainable way. Frost loves.