Macadamia Energy Bites

Disclosure.  This post is a review of products I was sent for free.  All opinions are my own.

I do enjoy cooking, so I was very pleased to receive the following selection of products from Buy Whole Foods Online free to review.

Organic Carob Powder 500g
Ceylon Cinnamon Powder (True) 250g
Organic Amla Powder 125g
Raw Wild Flower Bulgarian Honey 900g
Macadamia Nut Halves, Raw 250g

I had already formulated a tentative recipe idea in my head when I chose this selection which was to make some healthy raw energy snacks.

I do like this brand and have previously blogged some TVP meal recipes and my healthy yummy chocolate puds, made using their products. However this was back near the start of this year, so I was keen to see whether they would have taken on board my packaging suggestions, as I hadn’t had any feedback.

I was also pleased to see that everything was long-dated, with best before dates of October 2020 and beyond. Even the nuts, which was quite a pleasant surprise to me.

Now let me tell you a little about these products, especially if like me, you get confused between cocoa, cacao and carob. Carob powder is produced by grinding the dried carob pods into a powder. I have now discovered that unlike cacao and cocoa, carob is naturally caffeine-free and much lower in fat than other forms of chocolate, plus it has a naturally sweet flavour. And 2 tablespoons contains almost 20% of your fibre RDA. It is also a form of calcium, which is great news for the bones as well as the taste buds!

Amla powder is something I hadn’t heard of previously. I have now discovered that it is made from drying Indian gooseberries and grinding them down to make a powder. It is rich in vitamins and minerals and has had Ayurvedic uses for centuries.

Raw honey, unlike your average honey, is unfiltered and unpasteurised, so it retains all the precious nutrients which are normally lost through heating and filtering. Plus raw honey is a natural sweetener free from additives that other conventional honeys may have. And raw honey contains a considerable amount of bee pollen, which is a complete source of protein.

Cinnamon is a spice which I often add to the likes of cookies and buns, but it also works well in savoury dishes too. However I didn’t realise there are variations in the grade of cinnamon. Apparently this Ceylon cinnamon is the purest form of cinnamon you can buy. Packed with nutrition, there are a number of health benefits associated with consuming Ceylon cinnamon on a daily basis including anti-inflammatory properties and easing digestion issues.

Macadamia nuts are something that I buy on an adhoc basis for snacks. Ideal as they are high in protein, fibre and healthy fats. But I’ve also now discovered that they are great for creating your own macadamia nut butter. That is something I’ve never tried yet.

So let me share my Macadamia Energy Bites recipe with you.

Macadamia Energy Bites

Ingredients (makes 10 – 12)

125g macadamia nuts
2 tbsp carob powder
2 tbsp honey
1 tsp cinnamon
1 tsp amla powder

Method

Grind the nuts in a blender.
Tip ground nuts into a mixing bowl.
Mix in the carob, cinnamon and amla powder.
Mix in the honey.
Break off walnut-size amounts of mixture and roll into small balls.
Serve and enjoy.
These may be stored for upto a week in the fridge.

These were absolutely delicious and didn’t last long. I used half the macadamia nuts in the recipe, so there is only enough left to make one more batch. After that, I need to come up with some more recipe ideas for the other products, particularly the cinnamon, which is a huge packet. I’ve got about a year to use 250g, when a small spice jar usually lasts me about that length of time. I’ll have to see if the boys like cinnamon toast. I used to eat that quite regularly, but haven’t had it in years. So please hit me with your recipe suggestions.

The honey is one standard size extra large jar, but all the dry products come in a wide range of sizes from 50g to the bulk 25kg.

Unfortunately no change in the packaging as yet. Apart from the honey, the products are all in plastic, even if it is labelled as BPA free plastic. I’m still hoping Buy Whole Foods Online will review their product packaging and switch to a paper-based solution. Or the fact that some of them can be purchased in sizes upto 25kg, maybe they could start selling those via bulk stores, so we could take our own containers to fill.

I do recommend that you take a look at the Buy Whole Foods Online store. There is a huge amount to choose from.

And I’m hosting a rafflecopter competition to giveaway the same selection of products as I received from Buy Whole Foods Online to one lucky winner. You’ll certainly be able to make some tasty treats with these.

a Rafflecopter giveaway – Please click on the link to enter.

And you may see my other giveaways here.

I’d love to hear your recipe suggestions using any of these products.

I’ve subsequently seen the most beautiful recipe for Rose and Almond Nougat on the Marvellous Mrs P blog, which I’m wondering how well it would adapt to using macadamia nuts. I’ve got a rose bush in the garden and had been considering the possibility of using the rose hips to make a cordial, but had never considered the potential of the rose petals.

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A duo of Honeycomb desserts

Regular readers of my blog may remember that I sampled a Dark Chocolate Honeycomb Bar last month but there wasn’t enough to try out any recipes. Well Mighty Fine Honeycomb have now sent me a free bag of Salted Caramel Honeycomb Dips, so I was able to put my cooking hat on after all.

My immediate thought was to make a chocolate honeycomb mousse, but of course I couldn’t do a traditional raw egg mousse recipe, as son1 isn’t even permitted to eat a runny boiled egg, let alone raw. So I decided to adapt and use mascapone cheese instead and then I increased my base recipe in order to make a cheesecake at the same time as well as the mousses.

Honeycomb Cheesecake and Chocolate Honeycomb Mousses

Ingredients (both serve 4)

70g salted caramel honeycomb dips
250g mascapone cheese
300ml double cream
100g milk chocolate
6 digestive biscuits
40g margarine

Method

Line a 6 inch springform tin with greaseproof paper.
Put the digestives in a plastic food bag and crush into crumbs with a rolling pin.
Melt the margarine in a saucepan.
Mix in the crushed digestives.
Tip mixture into the tin and press down well.
Place in refrigerator for at least an hour before continuing with recipe.
Remove the base from the tin and place on serving plate.
Reposition just the side piece of the springform tin around the base.
Break the chocolate into small pieces and melt in a basin over a pan of boiling water.
Whip the cream in a large bowl.
Fold the mascapone cheese into the cream.
Use a blender to crush the honeycomb into shards.
Reserve some of the larger honeycomb shards and then mix the rest into the cream cheese mixture.
Remove the basin of melted chocolate from the heat.
Spread about 2/3 of the cream cheese mixture onto the base.
Mix the rest of the cream cheese mixture into the melted chocolate.
Spoon into 4 ramekin dishes.
Place cheesecake and mousses into refrigerator for at least several hours or overnight.
Just before serving, sprinkle reserved honeycomb shards over top of cheesecake and mousses.
Serve and enjoy.

Both desserts were delicious, although we all agreed the mousses were best. However with hindsight I think the cheesecake could be improved with a few drops of vanilla essence.

And I did save a couple of salted caramel honeycomb dips for a larger neat taste. Just as excellent as the dark chocolate covered bar. Yummy.

This product currently retails at £3.50 for a 90g pack and is also available in 50g bars and 220g gift packs. I highly recommend it. Do take a look at the range to see the other flavours.

As mentioned last time, I am also pleased to see that they donate 5% of profits to Friends of the Honey Bee, a campaign organised by the British Beekeepers Association to halt the decreasing number of Britain’s honey bees and other pollinators and build a better future for them.

The range is available to buy in-store at Harvey Nichols and at various local shops and delis, as well as online at www.mightyfine.co and www.notonthehighstreet.com.

I’d love to hear your favourite sweet treat.

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Disclosure.  This post is a review of a product I was sent for free.  All opinions are my own.

Honeycomb is the bees knees!

Gwyneth Paltrow recently revealed that she uses an ancient health treatment in which she is voluntarily stung by bees. Not something I would fancy, but I do appreciate bees for everything honey related. So I immediately said yes when I was offered the chance to sample some Mighty Fine Honeycomb for free.

I received a Dark Chocolate Honeycomb Bar, but the boys had their eyes on it too, so I ended up cutting into 4 pieces, so we could all have a taste.

It was delicious, a very tasty treat, but the others all said it was very similar to Crunchie apart from being coated in dark chocolate rather than milk chocolate. I can’t comment on the comparison myself as I haven’t had a Crunchie in years. But I have found out that Crunchie doesn’t actually contain honey, whilst this product does. In fact, this is all natural ingredients and handcrafted.

Pity there wasn’t some more, as I would have liked to experiment using it in a dessert recipe.

This product currently retails at £1.79 for a 50g bar and is also available in 90g and 220g gift packs. I highly recommend it. Do take a look at the range to see the other flavours.

I was also pleased to see that they donate 5% of profits to Friends of the Honey Bee, a campaign organised by the British Beekeepers Association to halt the decreasing number of Britain’s honey bees and other pollinators and build a better future for them.

The range is available to buy in-store at Harvey Nichols and at various local shops and delis, as well as online at www.mightyfine.co and www.notonthehighstreet.com.

I’d love to hear your favourite sweet treat.

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Disclosure.  This post is a review of a product I was sent for free.  All opinions are my own.

Comvita bloggers’ recipe competition – Fruity Honey Flapjack

Comvita Health Foods are running a competition for food loving bloggers to create a recipe including a Comvita product from the choices below.  The selected product is provided for free. Research shows we can influence our health by modifying our diet, so Comvita’s commitment is to provide effective products, enabling us to achieve a healthy life.

Bee Pollen Granules 125g
Wildlands Honey 250g
Southernlands Honey 250g
45 Degree South Clover Honey 250g
Manuka Honey UMF 5+ 250g
Olive Leaf Complex 500ml
Olive Leaf Complex Peppermint 500ml
Olive and Mixed Berry 500ml
Olive and Aloe 500ml
Broccoli Extract 500ml
Propolis Extract (Alcohol free) PFL15
Manuka Honey and Apple Cider Vinegar
Manuka Honey Bar Energy
Manuka Honey Bar Boost

I decided to choose one of the honeys and opted for the manuka honey.  I’ve never tried manuka honey before but I’d heard that manuka honey is sometimes used to prevent or treat cancer.  Therefore as well as being tasty, I’m hoping it will be beneficial to son1 who has leukaemia.  Certainly it is a well-known fact that honey has been used since ancient times for its medicinal qualities.

Comvita Manuka Honey UMF 5+

Next to choose a recipe.  My favourite honey recipe that I have created is a hot honey and lemon drink.  I find this a very comforting drink but it is not very challenging for a competition entry.  So instead I decided to trial a different version of my flapjack recipe to use manuka honey rather than golden syrup.

Fruity Honey Flapjack

Ingredients

200g soft brown sugar
200g Comvita manuka honey UMF 5+
200g margarine
400g porridge oats
50g dried mixed fruit

Method

Grease and line a 20cm x 30cm baking tin.
Melt the honey, margarine and sugar in a large saucepan.
Remove from heat.
Stir in the oats and fruit.
Spoon into the tin and flatten.
Cook in fan oven at 170deg for 15 minutes.
Allow to cool and cut into squares.

Put honey, sugar and margarine in saucepan

Heat until melted

Mix in the oats and fruit

Flatten into the tin

Allow to cool in the tin

Cut into squares

Son1 enjoying a slice

Disclosure.  This post is a recipe using a product I was sent for free.  All opinions are my own.