So here’s the real reason why things have been more quiet than ever before in the last 6 months.
Our IVF journey was one that moved at breakneck speed, and we barely had time to breathe.
I’m 12 weeks and 4 days pregnant now and the last 6 weeks have been especially rough in terms of nausea and tiredness so blogging has blogging has been the last thing I’ve felt like doing!
Anyway, I’m feeling loads better now and the secret is out. Hopefully this might mean less massive gaps between blog posts (but no promises, I’ve made that mistake before!)
Box gifted by Degustabox This is a PR box, this means there will sometimes be additional flavours or products than you’d get as a subscriber, I will highlight this within my post.
I’m pretty sure my one and only resolution for this year was to be more regular with my blogging. Given that is has now been a full month since my last post you can see how well that’s going…mostly thanks to the rest of my life going crazily well and keeping me well and truly occupied. Expect my resolution to pick up after a few more weeks (she says optimistically) and in the meantime, enjoy another review of yet another cracking Degustabox!
Quite a few years ago now Smarties released a block chocolate bar that then vanished. I was devastated, absolutely devastated. Seeing it land back on our shelves in a milk, white AND orange form bought joy to my heart. The orange bar is the latest addition to the range and is perfect for those who favour the orange smarties (which I do since they took all the colourings out of the blue ones!). This retails at £1 from major supermarket chains.
I do love a good flapjack but often find the bars you pick up in the shops are just too big, and once open I just can’t not finish it, leaving me feeling sick and on a major sugar high! These new 40g size bars from Brynmor Flapjacks are the solution to my greed- I tested out the apple & raspberry flavour which I didn’t think I would love, but actually I did- the tartness of the fruit balances the extreme amount of sugar! Available at Holland&Barrett, Ocado, Nisam WHSmith Travel and Grapetree (as well as online) for £2 for a pack of four.
I’m still not sure how I feel about these fruit smoothie jellies from Maynards if I’m honest. They were nice, fruity and with awesome flavour combinations, but I think if I’m going to eat sweets I’ll always favour wine gums or sports mix over something like this. However, if another bag made turned up in front of me I certainly wouldn’t turn them away! £1 RRP from major supermarket chains.
The Esprala apple and red plum is a lightly sparkling vegan fruit drink that apparently also makes a fabulous mixer for gin. Unfortunately I can’t confirm or deny this as I managed to drop and explode the can, oops! This costs £1.09 per single unit or £12.57 for a pack of 12 from Amazon. Thankfully I managed not to drop both drinks in this month’s box and got to sample the Lucozade Zero tropical. I really liked this- the flavours of pineapple and mango come through well and it provides a good hit of caffeine without the sugar associated with normal Lucozade. This retails at £1.49 from all major supermarkets.
Bob was in charge of testing these Pitch Bloc’O’Choc brioche rolls out and he did so with great enthusiasm. These are great breakfasts or snacks on the go- a soft and fluffy brioche roll with a solid chocolate bar inside (we recommend warming it up if you’re having it at home). Individually wrapped for top on the go points! £1.40 per pack from Co-Op.
I love mug shots (I’m sure I’ve mentioned that once or twice before!) but don’t always find them a very substantial lunch, especially at the moment when I’m trying to eat bigger meals and snack on rubbish a bit less! Mighty Chicken & Mushroom noodles gets a thumbs up from me and my grumbly tummy, and at £1.49 from major supermarket stores it’s a lot more wallet friendly than my usual daily snack haul when I’m at work!
This was the Degustabox product of the month and easily mine too! I’m obsessed with peanut butter on toast right now (and chocolate spread) and I’m all about this blend of smooth peanut butter and crunchy honey roasted peanuts. There 100% needs to be more cereal and peanut butter mash-ups in the world please. £2.50 a jar from Sainsbury’s, Morrisons, Iceland, One Stop and sometimes from Aldi.
My all time favourite cereals are the sugary American ones, but when I’m trying to be good, or trying to not spend £5+ on an import box then it’s Cheerios I always return to. These cheery looking box marks Cheerios UK debut in to the organic market- honey flavour hoops and chocolate cereal pieces make for a delicious breakfast (or lunch, or dinner, or snack…) £3 from Waitrose and on Ocado.
I am currently more obsessed than ever with savoury snacks and did a little dance when I saw Hippeas in the Degustabox! Salt and Vinegar is my favourite flavour, but if you haven’t tried Hippeas yet then you really can’t go wrong with any flavour. These have crunch and flavour like no other and I am addicted. From all major supermarkets and online for around 99p per bag. Shame it’s Easter Monday, the shops are about to close and I have none of these in the house as I could really go for some right now!
How cute are these little bottles of extra virgin olive oil and balsamic vinegar from Fillipo Berio? We are going to save these for when we go camping over the summer as they are the perfect solution to lugging big bottles around with us and both items are staples for us. £1.29 from major supermarket chains.
Not going to lie, I didn’t even try the Enervit Protein bar, I can’t deal with berries and chocolate together and knew I just wouldn’t enjoy this, which is a shame as the product itself sounds awesome- 20g of protein, low sugar, no gluten, no palm oil. I’d 100% try this in any other flavour! The Mallow & Marsh vanilla marshmallow bar coated in milk chocolate definitely DID appeal. I love marshmallows and this was so indulgent for 134 calories. £1.35 per bar from Sainsbury’s, BP, Boots, WH Smith and Waitrose (I know what one snack I’ll be picking up on my lunch break tomorrow!)
I hope you enjoyed this month’s round up. Let me know which products caught your eye the most and what some of your favourite festive snacks are.
If you’re new to Degustabox, it’s a monthly food subscription box that gives you the chance to try new and exciting products on the market whilst providing amazing value for money. On a month by month basis the box costs £12.99 (with a discount for longer subscriptions) but the contents are generally worth far more than this as you can see if you do the maths.
If you’re persuaded to give Degustabox a go (and really, you should) you can claim £3.00 off of your first box (making it just £9.99!) by entering the code XOQGC at the checkout. It’s been a pleasure to work with the brand regularly over the last couple of years and it’s without a doubt something that I will continue to purchase long after our partnership ends. I love the monthly surprise and excitement as well as the chance to discover products I’d otherwise pass up on the supermarket shelves.
Another set of photos that I have had sat on my laptop for the longest time. Every day I sit down at my desk and think “right, today I’ll write a blog post” and then something needs doing, netflix calls my name or the cat demands attention and I completely forget.
Quite the contrast to just a few short years ago when I lived my whole life online. Having a blog was such a positive thing for me for so long. Documenting my journey through my anorexia relapses, giving me space to let off steam and share my thoughts on everything and anything…and as I’ve said before, I miss it. I miss it a lot and I do vow to come back to it.
And then along comes life, getting all busy and in the way. Between appointments, work and wanting to curl up on the sofa with Bob and Pablo…my laptop and my social media channels don’t quite hold the same appeal. That and life being so damn boring outside of work. I’m hoping we can have some adventures this summer, that my fashion inspiration will return and, once the golf courses re-open I will find myself with a few hours a week Bob free to dedicate to getting my online life back on track. We’ve got some big things on the agenda that I definitely want to share!
Until then, I hope people still enjoy my sporadic postings. This is one of my current favourite outfits- a New Look dress I picked up just after Christmas, Zara chunky heeled boots that I don’t wear nearly enough, and a random experiment with a hair crimping/waver thing that I didn’t even remember buying.
Box gifted by Degustabox This is a PR box, this means there will sometimes be additional flavours or products than you’d get as a subscriber, I will highlight this within my post.
After the success of the January box, I did wonder if the February 2021 Degustabox would be able to reach the same level of success. In actual fact, I think it surpassed the first box of the year, with a theme of home comforts I really don’t think there was a single product in here that hasn’t been enjoyed by either Bob or myself over the last few weeks. Read on to find out our collaborative thoughts.
Before I became obsessed with almond milk, I went through a phase of only using Koko original milk in my porridge or cereal. I’m not vegan, but I hate the taste of cow’s milk so I always look for a plant based alternative. Getting a carton of this in this month’s Degustabox reminded me of how much I love the Koko original- it’s light and fresh and a little bit sweet. I’m definitely going to switch things up a bit and buy more of this. Available in all major supermarkets and independent health food stores for £1.50.
I’ve been a long time purchaser of BelVita breakfast biscuits, ever since they first launched in 2010; they are so handy for breakfast and snacking on the go, but I’ve never really taken the time to explore the other products in the range. The soft bakes are really rather nice, it’s hard to explain the texture, somewhere between and biscuit and a cake. They are also quite crumbly and not as sweet as you might think and certainly a lot more substantial than they look. These are something I’ll pick up again for sure, I preferred the chocolate flavour over the blueberry (surprise!) but at 60p per single bar I’d happily grab any flavour for an on the go snack. Available in most grocery stores.
On a weekday I always make Bob some toast before he goes to work (pretty sure this is why he’s marrying me!) and his topping of choice is nearly always jam. There’s a reason Hartley’s is the UK’s No. 1 jam; it’s fruity, it’s delicious and on white bread with melted butter makes for the ultimate comfort food. When he’s not in the mood for jam Bob will sometimes have honey. He really liked this little pots of Hilltop Blossom Honey which will also be perfect for us to take camping with us over the summery- is there anything better than campfire toast? The jam is £1.59 and widely available in all major supermarkets. The honey is 75p and again, widely available.
Growing up Pot Noodles were a rare treat and something I always coveted. It’s been years since I last had one and I’ve kind of lost track of the brand, but I loved the spin-off Lost the Pot Noodle. My preference was for the roast chicken, but both had a good hit of flavour and at 80p per pack they are a great lock-down lunch or emergency dinner option. Available in all major supermarket chains. I definitely need to hunt down a chicken and mushroom pot noodle too, for old times sake.
Here we have a few items that you’re likely to find in our store cupboard regularly (but we had actually run out of). We love the Very Lazy chopped chillies- we add them to stir fries mainly, and in place of fresh chillies where a recipe calls for them, it saves the pain of chopping and also saves waste as well. Since we started batch cooking more (hello new freezer) stock pots have become a must-have for casseroles, soups and, well, just about everything really! I find the pots have more flavour than stock cubes and make a lot less mess; I’m yet to master the art of crumbling a stock cube! Chillies £1.50 from all major supermarket chains (we also regularly buy and use the garlic). Stock pots 95p per two pack.
Snacks Snacks Snacks! I love snacks. Boka bars have been my favourite cereal bar since I first tried one a few years ago thanks to Degustabox. These bars have the perfect texture, taste amazing and score all green on the nutritional traffic lights. They come in 4 flavours and my favourite is hands down the choco mallow one. They cost 75p per bar or £2 for a pack of 4. Available from Sainsburys, Amazon or the Boka website. The Bounce Almond Plant protein ball was also really, really good. Full of vegan protein, fibre and nut butter…all for under 160 calories. I’m hooked. £1.69 from Holland and Barrett, BP and WHSmith stores.
I’m not entirely sure you should mess with a classic, and nothing will ever beat the original Jaffa Cakes, but these new flavours were quite exciting. I was all over the cherry ones which Bob rejected in favour of the passion fruit ones. Both pair really well with the dark chocolate and iconic sponge base… I would happily eat both again but only if orange wasn’t available! £1.20 per pack from all major grocery store chains.
Love to share?! I do not love to share where these Milkybar Cookies and Cream bits are concerned. Creamy white chocolate with crunchy cookie pieces? I could eat these all day everyday if I wouldn’t wind up the size of a house. £1.59 from most major supermarket chains.
And finally we have a nice cup of tea! Eloments Vitamin Tea (Ceylon breakfast blend) is not only a delicious cuppa in it’s own right, but it also boats 9 essential vitamins including B1, B2, B3, B5, B6, B7, B9, vitamin C and zinc. Wow. All derived from herbs, fruits and spices this is probably the hardest working brew you’ll have in your life! It’s also certified organic and fair trade. It costs £3.99 from Holland and Barrett & Ocado.
I hope you enjoyed this month’s round up. Let me know which products caught your eye the most and what some of your favourite festive snacks are.
If you’re new to Degustabox, it’s a monthly food subscription box that gives you the chance to try new and exciting products on the market whilst providing amazing value for money. On a month by month basis the box costs £12.99 (with a discount for longer subscriptions) but the contents are generally worth far more than this as you can see if you do the maths.
If you’re persuaded to give Degustabox a go (and really, you should) you can claim £3.00 off of your first box (making it just £9.99!) by entering the code XOQGC at the checkout. It’s been a pleasure to work with the brand regularly over the last couple of years and it’s without a doubt something that I will continue to purchase long after our partnership ends. I love the monthly surprise and excitement as well as the chance to discover products I’d otherwise pass up on the supermarket shelves.
Mother’s Day is just around the corner and flowers are always a fail safe gift to show Mum just how much you care, especially when they are as beautiful as the ones I received from The Flower Shops.
The Flower Shops is a family run network of florists all over the UK. They have a dedicated florist in each region of the country, meaning wherever your order is headed it has been expertly selected and crafted just for you.
I was recently sent a bouquet from The Flower Shops to show how the concept works and I was blown away by what I received. I can honestly say this is the nicest bunch of flowers I have ever been sent in my life- so gorgeous presented and carefully packaged meaning there was not a petal out of place when they arrived. I wish we had a better home layout in terms of places to actually stand things to photograph things so that I could have showed these off in their best light, but alas we don’t, but I think you get the picture!
The Flower Shops currently have a competition running for Mother’s Day 2021 where you can win a luxurious bouquet worth £100! It’s super easy to enter and I promise you, whichever Mum gets this will be one happy lady! You can find all of the information to enter here.
If you’re wondering how to make the best of (another) lockdown Mother’s Day then the company have also put together a guide with some simple ideas of how to celebrate either in person or from afar.
Good luck if you decide to enter, let me know what makes your mum great in the comments (although I wouldn’t know where to start with answering this myself, my mother is an absolute legend!)
