New Stuff I’m Loving – August 2013

I love trying out new products, especially if they fall into the ‘healthy lifestyle’ category. Today, I thought I’d share six new-to-me products that I’m currently loving

1. Tropicana Essentials Calcium
This 100% squeezed smooth orange juice has been fortified with calcium, with a 200ml glass providing 31% of the calcium RDA. This is such an easy way to boost our calcium intake! I give a glass to Lil’ L every morning with his breakfast, sometimes mixed in with the Tropicana Magnesium (a five fruit blend which we’re also loving!)  In the UK, these juices are available in Waitrose, Tesco and Sainsbury’s. I just can’t believe it took me this long to discover them!

Tropicana 400

2. Carley’s Organic Raw White Almond Butter
I discovered the Carley’s of Cornwall range of organic nut and seed butters and chocolate spreads in our local Harvest health food store in Bath. Lil’ L’s current favourite is the Organic Raw White Almond Butter. He loves it slathered on wholegrain toast or bagels, especially when he’s fuelling up before his Kung Fu lessons! I haven’t had direct contact with Carley’s yet, but it sounds like an interesting company. They’re currently
converting buildings at a disused ochre and tin mine in Cornwall into an eco-friendly, zero-carbon, zero-waste factory. Sounds like a very interesting project! A list of Carley’s stockists can be found on their website.

Carley's Organic White Almond Butter 300

3. Clarks ‘Fruit Sweet’
I’m already a huge fan of the Clarks range of maple syrups, so I was delighted when they sent me a bottle of their new carob fruit syrup to try.  This sweetener is derived from the sugars of the Mediterranean carob fruit. It has a low glycemic index and 25% less calories than sugar. It’s great for anyone who wants to control their sugar intake, and is suitable for diabetics.
I love this syrup’s subtle fruity flavour, which I find perfect for sweetening our smoothies, stewed fruits and fruit crumbles. It’s also delicious drizzled over berry-topped porridge and overnight oats. This syrup is currently only available wholesale from Cotswold Fayre. As soon as it’s available in the shops, I’ll let you know.

Clarks Fruit Sweet 300

4. Beyond Dark ‘Moments of Pleasure’ Chocolate Drops
I was lucky to win a box of these chocolate drops in a giveaway hosted by the lovely food blogger Nikki. They are the most superior choc chips I’ve ever tasted. They are far too good to throw into cookie dough mixture (which I did with the first packet before I’d actually tasted them!)  They make a yummy treat all on their own. Since they’re 70% cocoa, I find that you only need to eat a few before you feel satiated. I’ve been enjoying them with my afternoon coffee, or while movie watching. I’ve just discovered that Beyond Dark also sell raspberry and orange flavoured chocolate drops. These are two of my favourite chocolate flavours so I can’t wait to give them a try!  A list of stockists is available here.

Beyond_Dark_Bag 400

5. Grip & Go Glass Drinking Bottles
For me, nothing beats drinking water out of a glass. I really dislike plastic water bottles and I’m not very keen on aluminum either. I find that both affect the taste of water. I recently read about the Grip and Go glass water bottles and was very keen to try one. Imagine my surprise when, a few days after reading about them, Grip and Go actually contacted me and asked if they could send me one of their bottles to review. Obviously I jumped at the chance! Their 500ml bottles have a slender middle (to make them easy to hold) and come with a funky coloured silicone grip (mine’s orange). They also have a leak-proof aluminum lid. I absolutely love my bottle! Yes, it’s a little heavier than a plastic or aluminum bottle, but it’s worth carrying the extra weight to have fresh tasting water
🙂 

Grip and Go Bottles copy

Grip & Go have kindly given me a code which entitles my readers to a £1 discount off their water bottles. Just enter the voucher code BOTGSAUG at the checkout. This code works on both the Grip & Go website and Amazon (there is free supersaver delivery available from Amazon).

6. Nike Pegasus Air Running Shoes
And finally, off the subject of food (for a change!) I finally got round to replacing my very loved, very old Nike Pegasus Air running shoes with a brand new pair.
  Check out how bright they are! If you live round Bath, you’ll definitely spot me coming! My old Nike’s were fantastic and since I hadn’t experienced any aches or pains whilst running in them, I wasn’t in a rush to change them. However, after 9 years(!), friends and family kept telling me that I really should replace them. I finally got round to it and I’m so glad I did. I can’t believe how much lighter and bouncy the new shoes are. I feel like Tigger when I run now!

Nike Pegasus Collage

So that’s some of the new stuff that I’m loving right now. How about you? Have you tried anything new recently that you’re loving? If so, I’d love to hear about it!

Please note: This post contains an Amazon Affiliate link – if you click on the link and purchase something I will receive a small percentage from Amazon which will goes towards the development of Bit of the Good Stuff. Thank you!

 

11 thoughts on “New Stuff I’m Loving – August 2013

    1. … and I love the sound of your Choc-Hazel-Goji Granola. Three ingredients I love all in one granola. Yum! I’m heading over to your site right now!

    1. Hi Kim! Grip & Go have just sent me a code which entitles my readers to a £1 discount per bottle 🙂 The code is BOTGSAUG and works on both their website as well as Amazon (there’s free delivery available when you buy the bottles from Amazon). The website links can be found in my blog post x

  1. Some new-to-me products here. Love the sound of the raw nut butters especially. I love roasted almond butter but would love to try the raw kind. The carob syrup is intriguing me too..
    Oh, and love your new pink trainers!

    1. As you can imagine, the raw nut butters have a much milder taste compared to the roasted kind. I guess it all comes down to personal preference. My hubbie prefers the roasted kind, while Lil’ L loves the raw butters. The raw white almond butter is especially mild and creamy.
      Glad you like the pink trainers! I didn’t have any choice over colour as it was the one they had in my size in the running shop in Bath. I’ve since grown to love them and have even bought a pink nike running vest to match. I’m feeling very girly at the mo 😉

    1. You better get yourself a loyalty card because you’re going to be in there a lot 😉 They have a huge selection of the Carley’s nut & seed butters. I adore their raw tahini. It’s so creamy & perfect for making hummus. Their chocolate spreads look seriously good too!
      At the moment, Harvest are stocking some great priced chia and hemp seeds. Far better than any price I’ve seen on the web. I’ve stocked up with enough to last me well into 2014 😀

  2. Loving the bright new runners! I am a huge fan of the Carley’s nut butters, they are mega expensive over here in Dublin (10 euros for the tiny pecan butter!) but they are nice as a treat from time to time. Those glass bottles look so cool!

    1. Glad you like the shoes. I’ve never been a ‘pink’ person before, but I’m getting used to them now 😉
      Wow that is a seriously expensive nut butter! I bought another jar of the Raw White Almond Butter today and it cost me £3.65. I thought that was dear enough but it sounds good value now!

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