Perkier Bar Review

Perkier bars are full of nutritious ingredients which comes in a huge variety of ways such as berries seeds and nuts. The Perkier brand is extremely well know and are found in stores such as Tesco, Asda and Holland & Barrett. I feel very privileged to be working with them.

I decide to take these bars on a walk with me to get some scenic pictures, they looked so delicious I couldn't resist trying one on the way back. The first bar I tried was the cacao and cashew. This was amazing! Its perfect for when you want to treat yourself, the rich cacao flavour makes it seem naughty but is high in antioxidants and magnesium. The nuts add a lovely crunchy texture and without the cashews being to strong.

Brown- Cacao and cashew

Pink- Goji and cranberry

Purple- Oaty cranberry and cashew

Green- Coconut and chia

Orange- Cashew, chia and pumpkin seeds

Red- Peanut

The flavour of goji and cranberry bar was very different,  it was very fruity which made the bar quite sticky.

The cranberry and cashew bar was my least favourite only because I could taste the cashews. I did however love the fact that it includes sprouted quinoa an buckwheat.

The peanut bar was amazing! The peanut flavour is really bold and has a mixture of textures from the crunchy peanuts and the smooth peanut butter.  

The only minor thing is that in hot weather whilst in your bag then they will easily break and become crumbly. This doesn't effect the taste, they are still delicious.

Wild thing snack review

Before I went to South Africa I was in contact with Wild Thing who kindly sent me some popcorn flats and some raw bars to take with me. 

When the corn flats arrived the sharing bags were unfortunately too big to take with me, so I took them on my family holiday to Devon. My whole family tried the Protein and Sunset burst popcorn flats, we agreed that the protein burst was our favourite. This was down to the different textures from the buckwheat, quinoa and chia as well as the simple flavour, with a hint of cumin which is one of my favourite spices. You could just snack on these or add different toppings like vegan cheese and tomato. I did find that when I got to the bottom of the bag the discs were in little pieces so I couldn't put on the toppings.  

The Ingredients: corn* (76.5%), buckwheat* (10%), lentils* (5%), quinoa * (4%), coconut oil* (1.5%), chia seeds* (1%), whole cumin seeds* (1%), sea salt. *Organic ingredients

The sunset burs flavour sounded delicious as I love carrot, beetroot and ginger, but I was disappointed. The flavour was weak and we couldn't taste all the ingredients like we expected.  

The Ingredients: corn* (87.7%), dried & ground carrot* (4%), dried beetroot* (3%), coconut oil* (1.5%), dried & ground tomato* (1%), ground coriander seeds* (1%), sea salt, dried & ground root ginger* (0.8%). *Organic ingredients

Both raw bars were amazing! I ate the Berries and seeds bar at the top of the sand dune in South Africa whilst watching the dolphins in the waters below. The pumpkin seeds were the strongest flavour in the bar which I love as with other bars you can't always taste the seeds. 

The Cacao and almond raw snack bar tasted like a raw brownie, and who doesn't love a raw chocolate brownie. I will be purchasing the Cacao and almond raw bar and the protein burst flats again.

Disclaimer- These products were sent to me for review purposes and I am very thankful to a wild thing, however all opinions are my own.  

Bamboo toothbrush- A fine choice

This toothbrush is not your average toothbrush It's BPA free, vegan, sustainable and made from biodegradable bamboo. Needing eco-friendly toiletries for my research assistant role in South Africa, I took this one step further and contacted A Fine Choice. Daniela then kindly sent me a biodegradable toothbrush to take with me on my adventure. 

When I first saw the toothbrush, the bright blue attracted my attention straight away, it goes great with the natural bamboo. This is so much more natural than plastic toothbrushes which cause harm to the environment and remain in landfill indefinitely. 

When I first used this toothbrush in Africa I was pleasantly surprised by how soft the biodegradable nylon bristles were. Even with them being super soft I knew the toothbrush was keeping my teeth very clean. This toothbrush is great to use as the bamboo is smooth and the handle is nice to hold. One minor point is that the paint is beginning to chip around the bottom edge of the brush. 

By purchasing a eco-friendly bamboo toothbrush, not only are you helping to reduce landfill, but the amount of plastic being washed up on the beaches. You can help make a difference my spending £3.99 that's it. 

Disclaimer- This toothbrush was sent to me for review purposes and I am very thankful to a fine choice, however all opinions are my own.  

Vegan Travel Snacks

When traveling abroad as a vegan you need to be more prepared with the snacks you take. Recently I returned from south Africa where I worked as a research assistant for two weeks. During this time, I was very unsure of what food would be available to me. I made sure I left with plenty of snacks. It just so happened that there were three vegans and in the first week we had Fry’s products which I don’t even buy in England. We were spoilt, but even with the delicious meals, putting a bar in my backpack to eat during the long days made a huge difference. 

Tropical Wholefoods kindly send me the Date and Walnut, 5 Fruit Salad and Apricot and Raisin bars to take with me. These bars were all different, the Date and Walnut was my favourite because it tasted like a very moist flapjack. The oats gave it a different texture from the other two bars. The 5 Fruit Salad bar had a very distinctive taste of mango which is 20% of ingredients in the bar, I really liked this taste. 

From N'eat I received the mixed sample box which contains all of the 5 flavours. 

Cacoa, coconuts and chia seeds bar

Apricots, chia seeds and pumpkin seeds bars

Banana, chia seeds and multi seeds bar

Blueberry and chia seeds bar 

Red berries and quinoa bar

I really enjoyed the Cacoa, coconuts and chia seeds bar, the flavour was balanced as it had just the right amount of cacao. I didn't like the Blueberry and chia seeds bar or the Apricots, chia seeds and pumpkin seeds bars. These had the least flavour and the chia seeds seemed to stick out making the texture odd. The packaging however is the nicest of all the bars I tried, the foil letters reflect the sunlight making the brand name jump out. Overall these bars were ok but I don't think I will be buying these in the future. 

Creative Nature sent me the Goji Goodness bar to try, this was especially nice as a strong berry flavour came through.  I expected it to contain more oats and be harder in texture, as it doesn't taste like a typical flapjack. Having said that I will definitely be checking out their other bars hopefully they will match up to this one. 

Disclaimer- These products were sent to me for review purposes and I am very thankful to all of the companies, however all opinions are my own. 

The perfect weekend in Venice

Me and my friend recently visited Venice, this is by far the nicest place I have visited and I would recommend it to anyone. 

We stayed at Camping Village Jolly in a Bungalow, this was extremely cheap and I would definitely stay there again. They have a restaurant, market and a swimming pool. They also provide an airport shuttle bus for €25 and a shuttle bus into Venice priced at €5. This was really handy at the campsite is in Marghera and there were still places available when booked the evening before. 

The shuttle bus took about 10 minutes to get into Venice, from there you can get a water taxi or walk like we did. You need either a printed map or an offline map. I used maps.me this was extremely accurate and had most sights and eating places downloaded. Now to the amazing pictures. 

 Day 1- We arrived in Venice, got the airport shuttle to the campsite, walked to lidl to get some food whilst waiting for the 2pm check in. We then got the 4pm shuttle into the centre and explored to get our Bearings.  

The flight was stunning! We went over the Alps which were snow capped and had beautiful blue lakes.





This is the Rialto bridge, we crossed this everyday to get to the other side of the grand canal.







These gondolas were there only traffic as no cars are allowed in the city which I loved, some of them have people singing and playing an accordion.

Day 2- We set off early and decided to let ourselves get lost as people had said that was the best way to see the city. We then went to climb Scala Contarini del Bovolo I think it was €7 to climb but i think it was well wort the money as there aren't many places in Venice when you can get above the stunning houses.  

 Day 3- On our last day we decided to visit Burano, if you are visiting Venice you must go here! It is absolutely beautiful. All of the houses are painted differently and are all unique, it was like walking into Balamory. We got the vaporetto and it was the first time we want on the water as we walked everywhere else which made the experience even better. 

What is it with Italy at leaning buildings? This bell tower was really wonky due to land subsidence. 

Just look how beautiful the houses are, this island is made for Instagram

 

vegan guide to venice

Italy is known for its pizza, pasta and gelato all of which contain animal products, but this doesn't mean you have to miss out by being vegan. It does however mean that you have to be more prepared and know exactly where your available options are. The website happycow is amazing at showing you all of the vegetarian/vegan restaurants and shops in the local area, if you haven't already I'd definitely check it out.


 Local food shops


Finding a local food shop close to where you are staying will let you stock up on some snacks. This just gives you peace of mind that if needed you can just reach into your bag if you feel peckish. As soon as we arrived at camping village jolly, we walked 30 minutes to the local Lidl. Whilst I was there I picked up some apples, bananas and a French stick. I had sure I had 2 fruits for each day just to make sure. The apples were huge!


Market stores

 If you happen to be in the Rialto area any time between 7am-12:30 you can pick up some cheap fruit and veg from the Rialto market. This is full of fish, so if you don’t like the smell or don’t want to see the fish then I suggest avoiding this.

Also in Rialto there are about 2 little stores which sell fruit juices and a mixture of cut fruit. I had 3 wedges of fruit which were watermelon, pineapple and cantaloupe melon. This was really fresh and cool as it was kept on display in ice.

 Pizzaria L’Angelo

The first meal I had was at pizzeria L’Angelo they have five vegan pizzas all of which have vegan cheese. I had the Vega which was cheese, spinach, sun dried tomatoes and olives. This was such a good pizza, the cheese was really great, but just watch out for the olives, they aren’t stoned. This was well worth the €7.50. They also have lighter options which are salads and sandwiches which again contain vegan cheese.

We love Italy pasta to go


As soon as I stepped in this pasta bar and was greeted by smiley friendly staff I knew I was going to love the food. This is a takeaway pasta bar or you can opt to eat inside but you have to stand up. You get to choose your pasta, sauce and any other sides. I went with the dried fusilli and Pomodoro e basilico (tomato Sauce and basil). The dried pasta is vegan friendly however I don’t think the fresh are. This pasta was honestly incredible, the box was good quality and can clip together to keep your pasta warm when you find a lovely place to sit. We ventured off with our warm pasta and we came across a lovely place to sit. It was on the main thoroughfare so was full of  gondolas and water taxies but it was a dead end so you don't have anybody walking by.

Al Vecio Canton

 We left this restaurant for our last evening as the reviews told us it would be great. There are two vegan options a margarita or a mixed vegetable pizza. The mixed vegetable was lovely and the cheeses was the best I've had. It did make the base go soggy but for some reason I really liked that.

Suso Gelatoteca

This has a certificate of excellence and I can see why, we walked past several times and the queue was ever so long. I didn’t know they did vegan gelato until I looked it up online. I was so excited to try it. When I asked about vegan they gave me two choices I had the Rasbperry which has a thick layer of chocolate on the top. This was the best ice-cream/gelato I have had since going vegan. A nice touch is that you have an option to get a pot that is edible.

Gelato fancy

Gelato fancy also has vegan options, they are fruit flavours and one chocolate. I had the melon (on the left) these were both small and the portions are huge. This wasn't as good as Suso but the size made up for it.

My favorite place in Plymouth

I feel as though this place in Plymouth deserves its own blog post. Saltram is owned by the national trust and features a house, gardens, beautiful walks and a little beach. You will find me here when I want to escape for a little while, when i'm running or showing my family round my new home.

After geocaching as a child I recently discovered it now has an app. Saltram is a great place to go geocaching, its basically a treasure hunt for all of the family were you find hidden caches. I highly recommend doing it, its so much fun. When you find the cache its really exciting.

Along the way you can follow the well signposted walks around the grounds. After a long walk you can sit and eat a picnic or you can stop in the café for refreshments, they do a vegan sorbet which I highly recommend.

Wild Trail Snacks Review

Wild trail kindly send me some bars to try, these have become my go to snack. After a run, between lectures as a night time treat, I have become obsessed!

Wild trail bars are gluten free, dairy free, high in fibre, have no added sugar and are suitable for vegans. Each bar contains only 5 natural ingredients which are peanuts, raisins, gluten free oats and apple juice concentrate. The only thing that changes in the topping. You may be thinking that's boring, but trust me the topping changes the whole bar.

My favourite bar is the apple fruit and nut. The dried apple changes the whole bar by adding a punchy flavour. Visit their website and shop to find out more and purchase these delicious bars. The mixed box of 6 bars is £5.50 which is well worth the price.  

My Summer Plans

I am extremely excited for the summer this year, I have so much planned and I can't wait to share it all with you.

The major reason I am so excited is because I am traveling to South Africa. I will be working with researchers from Operation Wallacea to carry out habitat assessments and population monitoring. I will be doing game transects meaning I will be walking on foot alongside the big five. In the second week, I will be working in the marine environment completing the PADI diving course as well as having ecology lectures. I can’t tell you how exited I am to dive. Diving will be like nothing else I have experienced before. South Africa has always been on my place to go for such a long time and I can’t believe I am going. There is no better place in the world to gain these specific scientific skills and learn to dive. Remember to keep checking back to my blog as I will have many more posts like what I take to the bush and how I will eat vegan in South Africa.  

In the summer I am also going to Brighton with my friend, I can’t wait to explore the lanes and eat lots of delicious vegan foods. My other friends are coming down to visit I am so excited to show them around my new home. I will have finished my first year then so it will give me more time to relax and enjoy my surroundings.

Variety Vegan Tuck box

Vegan subscription boxes are just the best idea. To fill a box with healthy, nutritious treats is just magic. When I received this variety vegan tuck box I was so excited to get it open and try everything. The variety box means that you receive 5-8 items whereas ultimate customers receive all 10-13 products. The variety box per month is £9.50, the ultimate box is £16.50 per month, don't forget to use the code blog20 at the checkout to receive 20% off your first subscription box.

The products above are what I received in the variety box. As you can see there is a great selection of sweet and savoury. I haven't tried any of these products before which I was pleased about. The first thing that took my eye was the Liberty Loves Raw Raspberry Chocolate Tart. This is delicious, the chocolate is rich but is toned down by the raw shell. This was my favourite thing in the box. The second product Eat Real White Cheddar Quinoa Puffs were really fluffy and tasted exactly like cheese. I have tried Eat Real products before but I think these puffs top the others ever so slightly.

I am yet to try the T+ drinks or the Perkier bar however I am sure they are jam packed full of flavour.

When I saw Chika's Chili And Lime Cashews I was a bit sceptical, I don't like cashews and I am not a bit fan of heat. How wrong could I have been, these were incredible. The chilli and lime balance each other so well and the taste of cashews isn't strong at all. The Vanilla Fudge from Fudge kitchen was ok, I don't like fudge so I don't think I can really comment on this.

 I recommend purchasing this chocolate bar, this is the only milk chocolate I have had since going vegan 5 months ago. This was amazing and it brought back the taste from before. It just shows that you don't have to kill animals to have similar if not better tasting chocolate. The puffed rice in the chocolate gives it a lovely texture and it reminds me of rice crispy cakes.

All of these products together RRP at £12.89. I think price wise this variety box was perfect. 10p from every box is donated to a vegan cause each month which I love. I will definitely be purchasing these products again and I will be buying a one off box for special occasions. They also have many other boxes available, make sure to check out there website

My family holiday to Llaindoles

Last week me and my family went on holiday to Llaindoles in Wales. This area is full of beautiful walks and viewpoints. After arriving and setting up our caravan at the Red Kite Touring Park we decided to take the longest walk from the site into town of Llaindoels.

This was such a lovely walk, it went past a river, through fields full of sheep and quaint shops. Using run keeper I recorded all of the walks we did throughout the 5 days we stayed. This walk was 6.5km and took 1 hour 45 minutes.

How can anyone eat this beautiful animal

The next day we took the car out to Hafren forest for a walk, we completed the waterfall walk, this wasn't on the notice board at the parking area but it is available online. It was such a beautiful walk encompassing many of the other walks which are described and plotted around the forest. This walk was 11.5km and took 2 hours 40 minutes. After this long walk we decided to then walk a further 3.8km 52 minutes into the town to get some chips for the evening meal. I think we deserved them.

The next day we did the Semi Sabrina walk this was the longest by far and it took 5.5 hours and was just over 19km. This was my favourite walk as it went directly past the Llyn Clywedog man made dam and the Bryntail lead mine. It was very tiring but I would do it all again because of the scenery.

The next day my sister came to visit, we went to the Gilfach nature reserve for a 4km nature trail walk along the river. My sister ended up staying the night so we made up the double bed in the caravan and all four of us shared that. It was a cosy night.

On our last day we visited the Dyfi Osprey Project, we were unable to see any of the Osprey through the binoculars or telescope due to the bad weather. However there is a large tv screen with live streaming, you can also what live online. Even with the bad weather its worth the trip, the volunteers  know lots of details and the donations go to such a great cause.

I had such a lovely time, during the Easter we tend to go on walking holidays as the weather is usually beginning to get better. This has to be one of my favourite ones. Currently I am back to university doing my last four weeks of lectures. I cant believe my first year has almost finished. I hope you all had a lovely Easter!

Hippeas

Hippeas organic chickpea puffs are delicious! If your looking for quick healthy vegan snacks you must try these.

I love all things chickpea, hummus roasted chickpeas even chickpea tuna but I was a bit sceptical about these puffs at first. How wrong could I be. These puffs are full of flavour and with such an amazing range. Me and my parents took these on holiday and tried every favour. At around 90 calories per packet and 2.9 grams of protein they are hard not to love. It's really hard to choose my favourite because they are all completely different but I would say that the far out fajita just tops it. My mum prefers the cheese and love and dad likes pepper power.

I will definitely be buying more of these puffs, the only fault would be that there isn't enough in the packet. 

Chosan Drinks

Recently I contacted the drink brand Chosan who create 100% organic drinks in the flavours Pure Hibiscus, Baobab Superfruit, Fiery Ginger and Refreshing Mint. Not only do these drinks come in delicious flavours the packaging is perfect, the bright colours make them extremely eye catching. 

My Favourite flavour was the refreshing mint, they have this name spot on because it is extremely refreshing I felt like it was summer when I was drinking it. The flavour contains just the right amount of mint. The Fiery ginger was again Firery, I didn't enjoy this one because I don't like ginger but i'm sure other people would. 

Besides the lovely packaging, what I like the most about the drinks is they support food producers in Africa as with every drink sold 5p is donated. I believe touches like this make a brand even more special. 

Jennycliff Bay

Today I am going to take you to my favourite place on the outside the city of Plymouth. Jennycliff is a beautiful place along the coast which has both a beach and a bay. Jennycliff bay is lovely they have toilets and a café which was needed after the long walk. My friend bought a millionaire shortbread which looked delicious, if it was vegan I would have definitely had one.

This walk from Plymouth City Centre took 1 hour 20 minutes (4.4 miles) to get here we walked though Hoe and Radford lake so you can do the walk in my last post the same time. On the way we walked past some village shops and The Royal Oak pub which we will be popping into next time.