Chilli Papas Gurkha Curry Mix Review

Following a post on Facebook, we were lucky enough to be selected to review a new curry spice mix from Chilli Papas.

So let me introduce Chicken Gurkha Curry!  The spice mixes from Chilli Papas are really, really simple to use.  They look fantastic in the clear pouches and smell even better when opened!

For the gurkha curry, you need to add some ingredients (tomatoes, lemon juice, soya sauce and stock) and whichever meat you are using (if any) to the spice mix and marinade for up to 8 hours.

We marinated in the fridge for about 4 hours - this was enough to develop the flavours... but we could have left it longer and no harm would have been done!

Going in to the fridge to marinate....

Now for the taste test!  The resulting curry was wonderfully spiced and enjoyed by myself and hubby.  My two children aged 5 and 8 tried it too... it was a little too hot for them to eat a full serving but they didn't complain when dipping their naan bread into mine!  Homemade naan bread, might I add - my husband has been perfecting his recipe for weeks by using different recipes found online.  I'll post the link here when I've typed the latest edition up!

The only improvement I would make would be that the sauce was a little too thin for how I usually like my curries.  I would perhaps suggest a little less stock, to reduce the sauce by heating on a high heat at the end of the cooking time or to add a little cornflour starch to thicken at the end.  We thinned ours down slightly by reducing over a high heat.  The flavour was fantastic though and unlike any curry I have eaten before - homemade or takeaway/restaurant!

So, thumbs up from us!  Another idea would possibly be a milder version if possible... so all in all, I would recommend this spice mix to anyone who likes a bit of spice in their life :)

Dydd Gŵyl Dewi Hapus!

Dydd Gŵyl Dewi Hapus!

 Just a quick post to say Happy St. David's Day to you all - Welsh or not!

Image via Google

Can you smell Spring yet....?

Almond Breeze Almond Milk Pear & Banana Smoothie

 Almond Breeze is a delicious alternative to dairy milk - perfect to drink on it's own, to pour over cereal, to use in coffee or other recipe ideas including smoothies!  In conjunction with Foodies100, Almond Breeze are challenging you to create a quick, easy and tasty breakfast smoothie for a chance to win a fantastic gourmet hotel stay for two people.

To find out more about Unsweetened Almond Breeze, visit their website here.  The unsweetened variant boasts 60 per cent fewer calories than even skimmed milk, as well being low in saturated fat and a good source of calcium, making it a really healthy – and delicious – way to start the day.

Here are my entries to the competition....

Pear and banana smoothie

1 banana
1 pear
200ml Almond Breeze almond milk

Simply blend the ingredients together in a liquidiser or with hand blender.  Serve chilled in a glass with an optional umbrella(!) to brighten your morning.

The riper the fruit the better... perfect for when the pears in the fruit bowl are really, REALLY juicy!

You can also freeze these smoothies in ice lolly moulds for a refreshing cooler later in the afternoon!

Now we just need weather to match now!

We also tried a delicious Strawberry & Kiwi Cheesecake flavour...

Blend 1 kiwi (peeled), about 3 strawberries, 1 tablespoon of low-fat soft cheese and 100ml Almond Milk in a liquidiser or with a hand blender.  Add a banana for extra flavour!

Pour into a chilled glass and sprinkle with a teaspoon of granola.

This recipe isn't dairy-free but delicious for anyone able to consume dairy :)

Roasted pepper soup - Recommended Recipe!

Roasted Pepper Soup - serves 4, takes 15 mins to make, 40 mins to cook.

Ingredients
2 red peppers
2 red onions
8 vine tomatoes, halved
3 cloves garlic, unpeeled
2 tbsp olive oil
500-700ml vegetable stock, depending on how thick you like your soup to be!
Handful fresh basil leaves, torn

Method

1. Preheat the oven to 200C/fan 180C/Gas 6.  Cut the peppers in half, scoop out the seeds and cut the flesh into small chunks.  Peel the onions, halve and cut into similarly sized pieces to the peppers.  Put the onions, peppers, tomatoes and garlic into a roasting dish.  Drizzle with oil and roast for 35 minutes or until all the vegetables are cooked.
2. Squeeze the garlic out of it's skin.  Put the vegetables and garlic into a food processor and add the stock.  Puree until smooth.  Pour into a saucepan and heat for 5 minutes or until warmed through.  Divide between 4 bowls and scatter fresh basil leaves over.

Per serving: 135 calories, 7.5g fat, 1.1g saturated fat, 12.1g sugars, 1.0g salt.

Source - The Co-Operative Membership Magazine.   

Be Food Smart - Change4Life

Change4Life is a government initiative that helps families and individuals to eat healthier and keep fit.  Their latest leaflet publication helps us to “Be Food Smart”.

We all like food to be cheap, easy and tasty and so often reach for the ready-made foods, snacks and take-aways, but it’s often cheaper (not to mention tastier!) to make your own!

The five principles of the Change4Life Be Food Smart campaign are:

1. 5 a day – aim for a variety of 5 portions of fruit and vegetables per day.  Remember, they don’t all have to be fresh.  Frozen, juiced, dried or canned – they all count.
2. Sugar swaps – swap sugary drinks for no added sugar drinks like water or skimmed/1% fat milk.  Switch sweet snacks for fruit or unsalted popcorn.  And why not replace your sugary puddings with plain low-fat yoghurts and fruit?
3. Watch the salt – most us don’t realise that there’s hidden salt in every day products that don’t even taste salty – bread, cereals, pizza and some sauces.  So, go easy with ketchup, mayo and soy sauce and skip adding salt next time you tuck into a meal. 
4. Cut back on fat – we all know that too much fat is bad for us but often we don’t realise that fat is hidden in many of the foods we eat.  It’s easy to be food smart about fat; choose lower fat spreads, lower fat dairy products and leaner cuts of meat to make a good start! 
5.  Be calorie smart – calories are a clue to what you should be eating each day and area really handy for planning how much to eat and when.  Try to aim for 400 calories for breakfast, 600 for lunch and 600 for your evening meal.  That leaves a few calories for any healthy snacks.  And remember, we don’t all need to eat the same amounts.  Women don’t need as many calories as men and kids need even less – so get into the habit of “me-sized” meals!

Here’s the link to the Meal Mixer app from the Change4Life website.  So when you are stuck for inspiration, because it happens to everyone(!) - have a browse through their recipes and your creatuve cokoing juices will be flowing once again!

And lastly, there are many ways to be food smart all day.

Being food smart at breakfast means you’ll be less tempted to reach for a mid-morning snack:

• Pick cereals with no added sugar – you  can always sweeten it up with a bit of chopped fruit. 
•  Swap white toast for wholegrain toast to release energy throughout the morning to keep you on the go.

Perk up a packed lunch with these tips:

• It’s fun to dunk – cucumber, pepper and carrot sticks are delicious with a low fat dip. 
•  Low fat yoghurts always go down well – they’re a good source of calcium too.

For a quick and simple snack after school:

• Swap crisps for plain rice cakes dunked in low fat cream cheese. 
•  For a sweet tooth, forget the cakes and biscuits – fresh fruit is great for munching on the go.

For more meal ideas and food smart tips, search online for Change4Life.

The Big Breaktask in conjunction with Warburtons

Mornings, you either love them or hate them!  Overall, I would say that my mornings are pretty OK.... but is that due to the planning that takes place the night before?  Or would everything fall nicely in to place regardless of the planning that takes place!

Did you know that Mums have to juggle twice as many tasks as business owners, directors and decision makers during the breakfast rush, according to new research by Warburtons. Between 7.17am and 8.30am each weekday morning, busy mums face a constant series of domestic tasks and chores – these often include tactical strategies, coercion and juggling children, partners and dogs (in my case, anyway!).

Warburtons are compiling a collection of useful tips, ideas and recipes in a handy book to make the weekday breakfast routine as smooth and enjoyable as possible, as well as providing inspiration for the more relaxed weekend breakfast.

Considering we (me and hubby) run a bed and breakfast serving breakfast to our guests from 8.30am to 9.30am and have to get the children (aged 5 and 8) to school at 9am – sometimes I think we deserve a medalfor what we manage to achieve!  But, at the end of the day, it’s our choice to be self-employed and we love it!

So how do we manage? This is often a question asked of us by our guests and so the answer is ready to give.... BE ORGANISED!

Our local primary school runs a breakfast club where the children can go to school at 8.15am and have a healthy breakfast (cereal, toast and fruit juice) followed by an outdoor activity – weather permitting, of course!  So, during the summer school term when we often have more guests than at this time of year, the breakfast club is truly a god send!  I get the children dressed and ready for school, whilst hubby does the prep for the breakfast service.  I take the children to school - only 5 minutes walk away – and then back in time for the guests to arrive in the dining room and eat.

At quieter times of the year, we take the children to school for the normal time of 9am – but we still prepare in advance what we can.  Organising the uniforms, PE kits, dinner money, fruit, etc... the night before is a must, as well as making sure we have both the left and right shoe of a matching pair of school shoes!

I must confess that once I nearly (only nearly!) took my son to school with odd shoes on!   Luckily, we noticed when we were at the endof my garden path! 

And then the questions of what to eat in a morning?  My daughter is perfectly happy with a drink of milk and a bowl of cereal or toast, but my son, given the choice, would love scrambled eggs, bacon and tomatoes for his breakfast with a glass of apple juice on the side!  During the week, this just does not happen(!) so he is happy with cereal and toast.  But at the weekends he can have his cooked breakfast, no problem!

The only thing we leave until the morning is the sandwiches part of the packed lunch for my daughter.  We put everything else in her box in the fridge – but I can’t stand soggy sandwiches and so always make them fresh in the morning!  It only takes 5 minutes and what can go wrong with a ham sandwich!

I also like to get up about 30 minutes before everyone else.... just to get myself ready and check my emails in peace!

So, to sum up, here are my top tips for juggling the family Breakfast Rush Hour:

• Plan ahead - do what you can the night before.
• Make sure all parts of the school uniform (including shoes) are ready to put on.
• Don't give your children too much choice with breakfast items.
• Wash up later on - just put all the dishes in the sink/dishwasher and deal with them when you return from the school drop-off.
• And most importantly, don't get stressed!  Children are very sensitive to your mood and to try and ensure a great start to the day, keep a smile on your face and breathe! 

So, if any of you Mum’s and Dad’s out there have any top tips, advice and recipes for juggling the family Breakfast Rush Hour, you can submit them through the Warburtons Facebook page here.

Silent Sunday 17th February 2013