(Ad - Gifted) Healthy and tasty treats from Creative Nature!

I am a snacker and I am always on the look out for something a little healthier. Recently I was asked if I would like to try out some tasty treats from Creative Nature.

At Creative Nature they believe that products that claim to be healthy, should also be tasty. Why have a healthy diet if you’re just not going to enjoy yourself! It’s the same for ‘free from’ products, just because it doesn’t have gluten, dairy, nuts or sweeteners in, doesn’t mean it has to be free from flavour.

I got on with making the Cacao Rich Chocolate Cake which came in the form of a baking mix which is gluten, dairy, wheat free and nut safe! 

This brand new baking mix is Creative Natures most versatile recipe yet. You just add 2 ingredients: your favourite milk (they recommend rice milk) and your favourite oil (they recommend sunflower oil) it really is that simple!

I did worry that by adding the 250ml of milk and 110ml of vegetable oil it would be too watery but the baking mixture soaked it all up! Phew! I may have had a sneaky taste of the batter before it went in the oven and it tasted good!!

It cooked in about 25 minutes and looked and smelled great. I gave it to my family and they couldn't tell the difference from this cake and one which has wheat, dairy, nuts and everything in.

If you are looking for an easy, mess free and delicious recipe that can cater for everyone at the party, this one is for you!

I was also sent a couple of packets of Gnawbles to try. These are crispy nibbles of pea protein coated in dark chocolate. I was sent the Brilliant Orange Cacao one's and Super Salted Caramel Crispy Protein one's.

They are Free From all top 14 Allergens making them  suitable for vegans and allergy sufferers! With 43% less sugar than the market leading brand you can enjoy your favourite snack without having to worry about eating too much sugar!

Gnawbles are as environmentally friendly as possible not including ingredients such as dairy and palm oil and comes in fully recyclable packaging!

They are very tasty and so more-ish. It's impossible to eat just one. Both flavours are delicious but the orange cacao one's were my favourite. They felt like such a treat and I was quite smug that they were a healthy snack.

You can buy these products in major supermarkets like Asda, Co-op and Ocado, high street retailers like TK Max and high end health conscious stores like The Natural Kitchen, Vital Ingredient and Sourced Market.

I was sent these products free of charge in exchange for this blog post.

This week my Word of the Week is: Advent! #WotW

This week my Word of the Week is:

I've chosen advent as my word this week because I can't think of anything else. lol We've had one of those weeks where we've just happily plodded on with life and not much has gone on. We are looking forward to Christmas though.

We finished putting the Christmas decorations up at the weekend and I think it looks brilliant in here. It's the most festive our home has looked in years. I am putting it down to having the 2 Christmas trees. We still have the wreath to put on the front door and then it's all done.

The first of December arrived and the kids finally got to open their advent calendars! As much as I didn't like paying the price for the Ellie's Smiggle one I am impressed with it. I think she's going to get her money's worth with it. She's so far got a key ring, pencils, an eraser and a flexi ruler that she was so excited about. lol Becky is loving her calendars too. Pringles and bath fizzers and I am having a new candle to burn every day with mine.

I hadn't planned on doing Elf on the shelf this year and said Ellie can be in charge of moving it but it keeps moving and she's not the one moving it. (She says) It really must be magic because both of the girls are denying moving it. There was me worrying about keeping the Christmas magic alive but it somehow feels more special this year.

We will be having a real family Christmas this year as Stu found out that he will be off work from the 23rd of December until the new year. He has worked in retail the whole time we've been together so has always had to work either Christmas Eve or Boxing day, sometimes both. Last year when we went away at Christmas he jiggled his shifts so he got from the 23rd until the 27th off but then had to make his time up by doing a few 10 hour shifts. I can't wait to have him home and the kids are looking forward to it too.

Stu and I are hopefully going Christmas shopping tomorrow to get the last of the presents and the Christmas pj's then I will start wrapping everything. I must, I keep putting it off but it has to be done. 

Our Christmas trees and decorations.

We put the decorations up at the end of November. We got our Christmas trees from the local auction, two for £7 and I wanted to check how big they actually were so once they were up there was no point taking them back down until December. 

Every other year we've had one big tree but to be honest we didn't know where a big one would fit in here so the two little one's were perfect and it also gave the girls chance to decorate one each. They had great fun and they had less arguments than if they were sharing the work of decorating one tree.

It's been a couple of years since we bought some new decorations and with it being a new house we thought we deserved some. There are the decorations in both the living and dining room. There is a mixture of the new one's and some we've had since the girls were little.

Snowy the snowman is back. I've had him since Becky was about 3 years old. My dad gave me him and it's one of the decorations that he used to have up in his house when I was younger.

I got the felt Christmas tree a few years ago from Hobbycraft. It was very similar to the one they sell at the moment. The presents and the baubles can be moved around and the girls still can't help themselves rearranging them. 

When we first moved in here I hated the door going from the living room into the dining room. There just seemed a lot of glass but it does come in handy for sticking the Christmas stickers on. We got them from Poundland.

The Santa head is back for another year. It is supposed to light up but hasn't for years. We're not to fussed he looks cute anyway.

Another thing I wasn't keen on when we moved in here was the fireplace but it really is handy at Christmas. I put all of my normal ornaments away and the Christmas one's came out.

We had a spare set of lights which are perfect for across the fireplace and I love the Merry Christmas banner. I think I got it from Home Bargains or it could have been B&M.

When I looked at all the decorations in the bags and boxes I thought nothing was going to match but they do seem to. Mostly everything is red with bits of silver and gold in. It's feeling very festive in here.

(Ad - Gifted) ICEBREAKER Pop! A new way to freeze ice cubes!

In the past I have been known to buy ready made ice cubes. Making them myself always seemed such a faff. Using normal ice cube trays I would spill the water while putting it into the freezer and struggle to find somewhere flat to put. Ugh!

ICEBREAKER Pop! is the new way of making ice cubes! You simply fill it with water, like a bottle and place it in the freezer like a conventional ice cube tray but because of it's design there is no worry about spilling any water! It is 100% water tight and the closed container prevents odor absorption in the freezer.

You leave the water to freeze like a normal ice cube tray but when it comes to getting the ice cubes out, that is something different. All you do is remove the lid and use the handles to pull the ice cubes apart then you can pour them out into a glass when you need them without having to touch them.

The ICEBREAKER POP makes 18 large ice cubes and can be easily taken anywhere because it keeps your ice frozen for longer. The thermo effective closed container limits melting, even after several hours in room temperature!

Made from BPA-free food grade rubber and plastics and 100% non-toxic which means that it safe for you, your family and friends. It isdurable and dishwasher safe so you will never have to replace it! 

I really like this. I think it's a great little gadget. It's one of those things that I didn't know I needed until I got one. It is simple to use and the ice cubes always come out great!

It would be fab to use in the summer as the ice cubes while in the container will last longer but at this time of year it is great too. I always like to have some ice in the freezer to go in Christmassy drinks but sometime with all the party food, leftovers and random things in the freezer space is limited. This container is perfect as it doesn't take up much space at all.

I was sent the Icebreaker Pop free of charge in exchange for this blog post.