Category: Reviews

A while ago I was sent a few products to try out for the blog.

Some CandiasOil olive oil from Crete

Some tomato soup (from the Sainsbury’s blogger network)

And some Slendier low calorie pasta/ rice.

The olive oil is lovely although I am not really a connoisseur of oils and I tend to only cook vegetables with a little oil. The bottle that it came in was really pretty, but it is very hard to pour from and we have ended up decanting it into another bottle.

The soup was good too- I am afraid I would often choose tinned tomato soup over fresh soup- there is something very comforting about it. Alongside some toasted (not very toasted!) sourdough it makes a lovely lunch.

Now, the pasta, I was not a fan of. It is made from konjac, which is some kind of vegetable (extremely low calorie, in that it was 8 calories per 100g)- that is not too bad, But apparently it is really high in fibre (5g/100g) and swells in your stomach. I didn’t like the sound of that. It was very simple to cook- you had to cook it in boiling water for one minute, and then serve. I was going to have it with avocado and tomatoes, but as it was cooking I was changing my mind. In the end I tried one piece, but I didn’t like the texture, and had avocado and tomato on toast instead.

But the good news is if you want to try it then you can, as I have a packet of Rice style Slendier which I will happily post to anyone (in the UK)- just mention it in the comments and if anyone wants it then I will send it off (and if more than one person comments I will take names out of a hat on Sunday).

Soup- fresh or tinned? I often prefer tinned as they tend to be thicker and less lumpy- I don’t like watery soups or soups with too many bits in! (And yes home made is better, and I did make some pumpkin and tomato soup the other week, but sometimes it is much easier to buy some!)

A while ago I was sent some popcorn to sample, from Lord Poppington’s.

First up, I love the name! And the packaging is bright and eye catching, and makes the flavours pretty clear (seems simple, but so many packets are hard to read I think and you can spend ages looking for ingredients, what the flavour is etc).

They some in four flavours- Sweet and Salty, Lightly Sea-salted, Chilli and Lime, and Four Cheese.

I really liked this popcorn- it was “proper” stuff, and not coated in that crunchy solid syrup like a lot of popcorns are. The salty was good- I am not a massive salty fan, but it was not too salty for me. You could have one packet to yourself (they are pretty low calorie), but they are pretty big so we tended to share. I am not keen on cheese flavour things anyway, and I am afraid the Four Cheese one was too cheesy for me- however I took the packet to work, and other people enjoyed it, so if cheese flavour is your thing then they are worth a try.

The Sweet and Salty was my favourite as I do prefer sweet flavours- the salt stopped it being too sweet I suppose. Plus it was so nice to have a sweet popcorn that was not all crunchy- those ones end up sticking to your teeth too.

The Chilli and Lime was a very orange colour, I suppose due to the chilli powder. It was spicy, but it was not too strong. I am quite a wuss when it comes to spicy food, so I didn’t have a lot of it, but I did have more than just a taste so it was not overpowering. The lime flavour came through (zingy) and they really reminded me of something, but I am not sure what- it is still annoying me now!

Although I don’t find popcorn very filling, it is a good snack for when you fancy something to nibble on, and the serving sizes are generous. The perfect movie night snack.

I like the range of flavours- and who knows perhaps they will start making more flavours? I would go for a salt and vinegar one, or maybe a sweet cinnamon one. What would your ideal popcorn flavour be?

Hey all

I hope everyone is having a lovely weekend, and avoiding all the terrible flooding that is happening.

Ages ago I was sent a book, called Keep on Running, to read for my blog.

I read it a while back, but I keep on forgetting to review it. You can read more about it on the Amazon reviews page if you want, but basically the author (Phil Hewitt) takes you on a journey through all his marathons (and he has run 25!). It starts with him taking on the challenge as his job as a journalist, and how his love of marathon running bloomed. I found it so interesting to read, because he has run various marathons across the globe (New York, Paris, Berlin…) and it was wonderful to read a runner’s perspective on them. It is not a training book, but it is an inspiring and enjoyable book- it even made me think that maybe Stockholm did not have to be my first and only marathon….

And onto UR Nutrition:

I was sent some products from UR Nutrition to try (in very shiny packets). They make a wide range of products and supplements- lots of protein powders (whey, soya) and add ins like green tea powder too.

My absolute favourite product that they sent me was the soya crisp. This was like rice crispies or something like that- nice crunchy soya pieces with a cereal-like flavour. It was fab on cereal, with yoghurts, and in baking (I added it to cornflake cakes). The stats are impressive too- a 20g serving has 16g protein which I think is pretty great.

Some soya crisp with alpro dark chocolate dessert, raspberries and coconut.

Added to some overnight muesli and nectarines- a great protein boost at breakfast.

The soya sustain (which is a soya protein powder) was a great idea as it is plain (no flavour), but they also sell packs of various flavours including chocolate brownie, strawberry cheesecake and key lime pie.

At first I just tried mixing it (top picture) but it was very lumpy! It was better when I put it in the blender (that time with some strawberries too). I found the flavours OK, but they seemed very strong and I ended up using much less than what was recommended (and I have a sweet tooth). But then that is better because you can add the amount you need, instead of having a flavour pre-mixed and finding it too strong.

They have a page of recipes on their website which is great if you are looking for ideas as to how to cook/bake with the products. I noticed they have a version of cornflake cakes (which I made with the soya crisp)- good idea!

My favourite product was the soya crisp- I am so impressed with the nutritional stats, and I would buy it again for sure. I am not so sure about the protein powders, but I never seem to get on that well with which ever ones I try- maybe I need to get the hint that my stomach just does not like protein powders very much. They were good to try anyway- thanks UR Nutrition 🙂

 Do you get on with protein powders? 

What running (or non-running) books have inspired you?

Hello all.

As you all know, England (London for the most part) is lucky enough to be hosting the Olympic games this summer. I am really excited as I think it is the event of a lifetime- although I remember when it was announced that we had got it and I worked out that by then I will be 31! Doesn’t time fly? We applied for tickets in the first round, but didn’t get any. I was determined, so for the second round we got up super early, had the website loaded up and ready to go, and managed to get some (a hockey match and an athletics session I think- both on the same day). I am also planning on going in to watch the women’s marathon (it turns out we are on holiday when the men’s one goes on). Anyway, I was lucky enough to be sent a guide to the Olympics to review.

This is London 2012 Olympic Games The Official Book, published by Carlton, £12.99, available from all good book shops and online (I have seen it on Amazon for pre-order).

The book is really fantastic. It is set out really well. It has a section about the different stadiums being built, what events they will host and what will happen to them after. This includes the venues that are not in London.

It has an overview of the games in a little grid, to show what events will be happening on each day, sort of like an “at a glance” guide.

Then it has several pages on each sport, including little facts, athletes to watch, current champions and when the events will be held.

At the back it has a few pages of Olympic records- most gold medals, most medals, most appearances, youngest and oldest medal holders and so on. And in the very back it has photos of the London medals. It is all very exciting! The only thing I would say is that the Paralympics are not mentioned very much. I personally think they should run side by side, and not after, so perhaps that is just me.

I think the book is really lovely (Andy called it “a posh programme” which describes it well)- I think it will be a lovely reminder of the games once they have been here. Plus the information about the different sports is interesting too (and probably handy for a quiz night). The price is £12.99 which I think is pretty good value as it is a pretty good sized book and is packed with information, not just a load of photos.

The book is being launched on the 18th April, and to help launch the book the publishing group are getting people to put their burning questions to 4 time gold medalist and legendary sportsman, Matthew Pinsent. The best questions will be asked to him on the 18th April, and people can win signed copies of the book too! Exciting!

If you are on Twitter (I am not, so I hope I explain it properly) you can tweet @carltonbookspr using the hash tag #AskMatthewAnything. You can also leave the comments at the bottom of this post, or on my facebook page, and I will email them on.

So, what would you ask to Matthew Pinsent? Are you excited about the Olympics? If you got tickets, what are you going to see? And anyone else planning on going in for any of the free events?