Breakfast to Keep Me Strong including giveaway

Who remembers that last year I reviewed a new breakfast cereal called Keep Me Going? Well the Keep Me brand has now come up with another new product and they have sent me a free box to try. This one is called Keep Me Strong.

Since trying Keep Me Going last year, I’ve attempted to eat more healthily at breakfast. I’ve been keeping an eye out for when the Keep Me range hits local supermarket shelves, but as yet it is still only stocked by Ocado. I do still sometimes treat myself to a less healthy cereal, but my two main alternatives are now oats or weetabix. For the oats, I either prepare a yoghurt and oatmeal dish the night before or make porridge served with banana or pear. You may see one of my oatmeal recipes here.

Like last time, we all tried it out and I got much more favourable responses from the boys to this variety. They both really enjoyed it. In comparison, son2 wasn’t that keen on Keep Me Going last year. Even my other half, who normally adds extra sugar to his cereal, was reasonably positive. However, son1 with his photographic memory was disappointed that there were no trading cards in the box this time.

Keep Me Strong (like Keep Me Going) is low sugar and salt and available at Ocado. It is usually priced at £2.65 for a 330g box, but is currently on special offer at 25% off (so £1.99) for the rest of June.

There are other high protein cereals out there, but nearly all use wheat gluten as their protein source, whereas Keep Me Strong uses brown rice protein, which is more easily digested and absorbed. The box indicates that a 30g serving (excluding the milk) provides about the same protein as a medium sized egg.

I enjoyed this cereal and recommend that you give it a try. I’m hoping that it will soon become available in more stores than just Ocado.

And I’m hosting a rafflecopter competition to giveaway 2 boxes of Keep Me Strong cereal each courtesy of Keep Me to 2 lucky winners.

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

And you may see my other giveaways here.

I’d love to hear what you enjoy best for breakfast.

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

A trio of high protein meals – casserole, curry and paella

Do you eat plenty of protein rich foods or do you need a protein boost? I recently received some high protein sauces free to review from Blend Bros. These comprised a 990g tin of Mexican Pibil Stew flavour and two individual 55g serving sachets of Thai Jungle Curry and Spanish Tomato & Chorizo.

 

So let me share the recipes for the dishes I made using these high protein sauces.

Paella

Ingredients (serves 3)

700 ml chicken stock
1 clove of garlic
1 tbsp olive oil
1 55g sachet of Spanish Tomato & Chorizo
225g risotto rice
30g cooked shredded chicken
50g peeled prawns
60g chorizo
90g frozen peas

Method

Defrost 2x 100 ml chicken stock and make upto 700 ml with boiling water.
Tip the protein sachet into a jug and mix in 150 ml boiling water.
Peel and crush the garlic.
Chop the chorizo.
Heat oil in a wok.
Add the garlic and cook for 1 minute.
Stir in the rice.
Stir in the sauce.
Stir in the stock.
Cook for about 15 minutes, stirring occasionally, until most of the liquid is absorbed.
Add the chicken, prawns, chorizo and peas.
Simmer for about 5 minutes until the rest of the liquid is absorbed and the rice is tender.
Serve and enjoy.

Chicken & Vegetable Curry

Ingredients (serves 3)

1 medium onion
1 tbsp olive oil
1 55g sachet of Thai Jungle Curry
100g mushrooms
75g cooked shredded chicken
75g broccoli
250g potato

Method

Peel and chop the onion and potato.
Slice the mushrooms.
Chop the broccoli including some stalk pieces.
Tip the protein sachet into a jug and mix in 150 ml boiling water.
Bring saucepan of water to the boil.
Add the potatoes and broccoli to the saucepan and par-boil them.
Broccoli will cook quicker than potato, so remove broccoli earlier with slotted spoon.
Heat oil in a wok.
Add the onion and cook for couple of minutes.
Add the mushrooms and cook for another minute.
Add the broccoli.
Add the potato.
Add the chicken.
Stir in the sauce.
Simmer for a few more minutes.
Serve with chappati or rice and enjoy.

Lamb Casserole

Ingredients (serves 2)

300g lamb
1 tbsp olive oil
350g potato
55g of Mexican Pibil Stew
1 large onion
150g carrot
25g samphire

Method

Preheat fan oven to 160 deg C.
Heat oil in an ovenproof casserole dish on the hob.
Brown the lamb in the casserole dish on a medium heat.
Peel and slice the potatoes and carrots.
Peel and chop the onion.
Add the carrots, onions and samphire to the casserole dish.
Stir and then add the potatoes.
Tip the protein sachet into a jug and mix in 150 ml boiling water.
Add the Mexican Pibil Stew Sauce to the dish and stir.
Add extra boiling water to cover contents and mix through.
Cover casserole dish with lid and place in preheated oven.
Cook for about 90 – 120 minutes.
Serve and enjoy.

These high protein sauces are targetted at athletes, but as you can see from my tasty recipes, they are great for everyone. I could really have done with this a couple of years ago when son1 first returned home from hospital after his leukaemia diagnosis. The steroids were making him incredibly hungry, but at the same time one of the side effects of the very strong chemotherapy was that his mouth was very painful. So he couldn’t manage to eat any of his favourite foods like pizza and instead I was mainly feeding him soup at very frequent intervals. Some high protein sauces would have been very handy then.

Each serving contains 20g of pea protein. And the sauces are so simple to make. Just add 55g of the powder to 150 ml of boiling water.

The sauces currently retail at Amazon for £19.62 for a 990g tin or £12 for 8 individual sachets. This is very good value for money in my opinion, especially compared against other high protein foods. They are also available to purchase from MuscleFood and will shortly be available at Holland & Barrett. And I was pleased to see that they are free from artificial colours, flavours, preservatives and sweeteners. They are also low salt, reduced sugar, dairy free and suitable for vegetarians and vegans.

Besides the three flavours I tried, other flavours in the range are Indian Kerala Curry and Sicilian Lemon & Oregano. I would love to try these too.

I’d love to hear what dish you would make with one of these sauces? You can see a few recipe ideas on the individual product pages on the Blend Bros website.

And if like me, you’ve never heard of Mexican Pibil Stew, then take a look here for more details. The original dish was prepared by marinating an entire suckling hog in Seville orange juice, wrapping the meat in banana leaves and slow-cooking in a fire pit.

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

Upbeat drinks review and giveaway

This week is National Protein Week, #NPW. It is designed to help people understand the often ‘forgotten nutrient’ protein and the role it plays in the body. #NPW aims to share the benefits of protein as part of a healthy balanced diet and to make people aware of the importance of protein in their diet.

Upbeat are chilled drinks which are high in protein but low in fat. They are produced by The Good Whey Company. The protein is from whey which is found naturally in British milk. Upbeat currently comes in two flavours – strawberry and mango & passionfruit in a 250ml size. Upbeat is a natural source of calcium, with no more than 150 calories and less than half the sugar of leading fruit juices. A new blueberry and raspberry flavour will be launched soon.

I received vouchers for 2 free bottles of Upbeat and a selection of goodies. According to their website, Upbeat is sold at Tesco, Waitrose, Ocado, WH Smith, Holland & Barrett and Booths. However I found it quite difficult to locate the product. My local Waitrose didn’t stock it, so I nipped into nearby Holland & Barrett. They sold it but were out of stock, perhaps due to the cheaper promotional price I spotted there. So I waited until doing my big shop at Tesco, but  even they only stocked the mango & passionfruit flavour. I had been hoping to review both flavours but never mind.

Son1 was disappointed, as he had been hoping to help review the strawberry flavour. He doesn’t usually like mango & passionfruit drinks, so he smelt it and then declined to taste. But that made it simpler, as it left a bottle each for son2 and me.

Son2 loved it and gave it the thumbs up. I found it perfectly acceptable, but there are other chilled drinks that I prefer more. The price at Tesco was £1.75 for a 250ml bottle which is quite expensive compared to most drinks. However this drink could also be considered as a supplement, in which case it would be much better value. In earlier stages of son1’s leukaemia, supplements were vital, as he was hardly eating. And don’t forget the promotional price of £1.29 which I spotted at Holland & Barrett.

Thumbs up for Upbeat from son2

You can also find some fun activities like the happiness barometer on the Upbeat website.

And I’m hosting a rafflecopter competition to giveaway a goodie bag courtesy of Upbeat to one lucky winner, including vouchers for free bottles of Upbeat plus lots of other goodies.

Win an Upbeat goodie bag

a Rafflecopter giveaway

If you can’t see the Rafflecopter box above, either click the Rafflecopter link or you may alternatively enter via my Facebook page.

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