ChillFactor Squeeze Cup Slushy Maker Review

Posted on May 14, 2013 by Dragons and Fairy Dust

As a kid I always used to love slush drinks and now my son loves them as well. Now the weather is starting to get a bit warmer it is nice to have a cold drink when when it gets a little hot. I was recently sent the ChillFactor Squeeze Cup Slushy Maker to try out. This is an easy to use slushy maker that does not use batteries and even kids can use. I was delighted but I was not at all sure that it would actually work.

Inside the box is a squeeze cup with a lid and a straw that also acts as a spoon. This one is a nice green colour but it also available in red, blue and yellow. The outside cup is made from a very soft plastic that is very squishy.

The lid unscrews easily and inside there is a plastic liner. This is filled with some sort of liquid. The idea is that the cup is placed inside the freezer for four to six hours until the inside liner is frozen.

Once it is frozen you then pour your chosen drink into the slushy maker. The drink needs to be cool before you pour it in so I chilled a jug of orange in the fridge. The orange is then poured into the slushy maker, the lid screwed on and the cup is squeezed. Amazingly it really did work, as the cup is squeezed you can see the ice forming and you end up with a cup full of slush.

We were really impressed at the result and it was so easy to use. My son loved making his own slush and tried a number of different drinks which all worked well. The cup is really easy to clean as well, you can unscrew the top and the inner lining comes out allowing it to be washed thoroughly.

ChillFactor Slushy Maker is available from Character Options, you can find more information at http://www.character-online.com/products/Chill-Factor/Chill-Factor-Squeeze-Cup-Slushy-Maker/ It is RRP £12.99. ChillFactor Slushy Maker is a great way to make a refreshing drink this summer.

Disclosure: I was sent a ChillFactor Slushy Maker to do an honest review. All opinions are my own.

Calin+ Yoghurt Review

Posted on May 9, 2013 by Dragons and Fairy Dust

Our family loves eating yoghurt and when we were asked if we wanted to try Calin+ yoghurt we were happy to give it a try. I was sent a voucher but I carried it around for quite a while as our local supermarket didn’t stock it. I was in the other day and I found some so added to my basket.
There were three flavours to choose from, Strawberry, Vanilla, Cherry or Apricot. I picked up the Vanilla flavour to try. The pots are a decent size and the yoghurt has a nice consistency, it is not too runny. Calin+ also has a lovely taste, the vanilla is not too strong or sweet.

I was pleased to learn that Calin+ is free from artificial flavours and contains real fruit. It is also less that 125 calories per 125 g pot and is less than 2.3 g saturated fat. What makes Calin+ different from other yoghurt is that it contains 100% of your daily Vitamin D needs as well as being rich in calcium.

Vitamin D is a vitamin that we normally get from the sun. Given the lack of sun in Britain it is not always possible to get enough vitamin D. Calcium is used to make bones healthy and vitamin D helps the body absorb it. If we do not get enough vitamin D it can effect our bone health and this is a tasty way of getting more in our diet.

The whole family loved the yoghurt, although looking at the website it does mention it is not suitable for children under 10 due to the amount of calcium it contains. It has been designed to meet an adult’s daily calcium allowance and children need less per day. My son is twelve so he was quite happy he was allowed to have some.

Calin+ is RRP £1.99 for a pack of four yoghurts and it is available inTesco, Asda, Morrisons, Waitrose and Sainsbury’s this month. You can find more information about Calin+ on their website: http://www.calinplus.co.uk

Disclosure: I was sent a voucher to buy some Calin+ yoghurt to do an honest review.

Cinco De Mayo Mexican Feast

Posted on May 3, 2013 by Dragons and Fairy Dust

Cinco De Mayo, or the fifth of May,is a Mexican holiday which celebrates the Mexican army’s 1862 victory over France at the Battle of Puebla during the Franco-Mexican War. It is marked with celebrations including parades, street festivals and mariachi bands. It sounds like a fun and colourful occasion. In order to celebrate Discovery sent me some ingredients so I could create my own Cinco De Mayo Mexican Feast.

The goodies included the Discovery Perfect Fajita kit, Discovery Cajan Season and Sauce and Discovery Garlic and Herb Soured Cream.

I knew I was going to have fun coming up with some recipes using this little lot. I started off by making the Fajitas as these are really easy to make and nice to eat. I have previously reviewed the Discovery Fajita Kit and found that the taste was really nice and the family loved them. I sliced onions, red peppers and mushrooms and some chicken and added them to a frying pan.
When they were cooked I added the fajita seasoning and stirred until everything was evenly coated. I then spread the mixture evenly between the tortilla wraps and added a squirt of the Discovery Garlic and Herb Soured Cream.

I had salad in bowls so the family could add tomatoes, lettuce and cucumber to their own taste.
These were a big hit and I have to say I loved the Discovery Garlic and Herb Soured Cream. It is my new favourite ingredient. The garlic and herb add a really nice taste to the soured cream and it goes really well with the spicy Mexican food adding a taste of coolness that brings out the flavour.

Inspired by the taste of the Discovery Garlic and Herb Soured Cream I decided to make a dish of Cucumber Tomato and Lime Salsa and serve some tortilla chips with it.

I also served some tortilla chips with the Soured Cream.

The two dips complemented each other perfectly, if you found a hot chilli in the salsa you could cool your mouth with the soured cream. Both of these worked really well with the tortilla chips.

Next I tried the Discovery Cajan Season and Shake Sauce.

I chopped up some chicken, onions and mushrooms and fried them. Part way though the cooking I added the Cajan Seasoning and continued cooking until it was cooked though. Finally I poured on the sauce and cooked for another minute.

I served the resulting dish with rice. It was a really nice dish, the flavour was slightly spicy and a little fruity. It did not last long and the whole family enjoyed it.

Feeling inspired I decided to create another dish that would go perfectly with the Discovery Garlic and Herb Soured Cream and came up with a Mexican Chilli Beef Stew recipe.

This is perfect served with rice or tortillas with the soured cream on the side. Needless to say we were all rather stuffed after our Mexican Feast and now I just need to create a batch of Margaritas!

You can find more information about Discovery products on their website http://www.discoveryfoods.co.uk/. They also have a host of recipe and meal ideas for all occasions.

Disclosure: I was sent some Discovery products in order to create a Mexican feast for Cinco De Mayo.

New Recipe Special K Review

Posted on May 1, 2013 by Dragons and Fairy Dust

Most people are familiar with Special K, a lightly toasted breakfast cereal made from multi-grain flakes. It is low in fat and comes in a range of flavours which aim to give you a good start to the day. Special K is also very familiar with women trying to lose weight and in fact they offer lots of advice on weight loss on their site. Interestingly it actually started life in 1959 as a high protein health cereal which was aimed at men as a healthier alternative to a fry up.

Special K recently contacting me with exciting news, for the first time in 30 years they are changing their Special K recipe and giving the cereal a flakeover.

Special K will now be made using wholegrain and instead of just two grains, it now contains three. These are wheat, rice and barley which makes the cereal a great source of fibre. It also contains 8 vitamins and iron.

It sounds great, but what does it taste like? Pouring the new recipe Special K into a bowl it looks fairly similar to the old recipe. The flakes are possibly a little darker in colour.

It does have a nice taste though and the flakes seem to stay crunchy for longer in the milk without going soggy. That is a definite plus in my eyes. The cereal also seemed to make me feel fuller for longer. My son also loved this new recipe cereal which is great as I know he is getting a good start to the day.

New Recipe Special K can be found in most supermarkets.

Chicken Tonight French Chicken Seasoning Mix

Posted on April 30, 2013 by Dragons and Fairy Dust

Do you ever have one of those moments where you have planned dinner and go to cook it then realise that one of the key ingredients is missing? I did that last night with the chicken dish I was planning and had to quickly replan. Luckily I found this packet of Chicken Tonight French Chicken Seasoning Mix in the cupboard and decided to try that instead.

As well as chicken I needed green beans and mushrooms which I had in the fridge. These Chicken Tonight Bag and Bake sauces are really easy to make. At the top of the packet is a plastic bag which comes with a blue tie to allow you to do the bag up when you have added everything. You place all the ingredients in the bag then shake on the seasoning mix. The bag is then placed in the oven and left to cook for forty minutes.

I chopped up the chicken, mushrooms and green beans and added them to the bag. I then added the seasoning and gave the bag a shake about to ensure the chicken was coated evenly. I placed the bag in a casserole dish and put it in the oven to cook.

I decided I was going to serve the dish with mashed potato with some red onion chopped though it and a little taste of mustard mashed in for flavour. This is how the finished dish looked.

The Chicken Tonight French Chicken Seasoning Mix contains garlic, thyme and rosemary. The taste was delicious, whilst you could taste the garlic it was not overpowering and the rosemary and thyme blended well to make a lovely flavour. I have to say I really enjoyed the meal and would try this again. My husband and son loved it as well. The dog did his best to get some by looking pathetic and begging but there was none left for him much to his disappointment. These bag and bake sauces are really quick to prepare and very easy to use when you come home after a long day at work.

You can find more information on the Chicken Tonight Bag and Bake Range on the Chicken Tonight website. You will find the Chicken Tonight sauces in most supermarkets.