Degustabox March 2023 review : Hello Spring

 

Things have been so hectic lately that when the postie arrived with the latest Degustabox, my instant reaction was "Already ?!!". It doesn't seem five minutes ago that we were opening up the last one ! It is indeed time for the March Degustabox though and this month's theme really underlines the passing of time and the change of seasons - welcome to ... Hello Spring. Bye bye winter, time to get out of here. Bring on the sunshine ! So, what's hiding inside this month's box ?

Fruit-tella Strawberry Multipack (RRP £1.50) contains four packs of the iconic strawberry flavoured chews. They are made with real fruit juice and only natural colourings and flavours. They are dairy, gluten and nut free and taste delicious. We haven't eaten these for ages but it's just reminded us how tasty they are so we'll definitely be buying them again ! 

 

Get More Vits (RRP 2 x £1.30) are fruity flavoured sparkling drinks with added benefits. Apple & Raspberry flavour includes B vitamins for supporting energy release, while Mango & Passionfruit provides vitamin D for supporting heathy bones and immune system. As well as being sugar free, low calorie and made with real fruit flavours, the drinks provide 100% of your daily dose of essential vitamins. What's more, they taste lovely and are very refreshing. Available at Sainsbury's, Waitrose, Ocado, Amazon and getmorevits.com.

Good Earth Passionfruit & Orange Tea (RRP £2.99) contains 15 biodegradable teabags of fruity and zesty herbal tea. I passed them on to Sophie who said they were very nice. Use code TRYUS for a free box of tea (with a £1 shipping charge) on their website.

Kelloggs Crunchy Nut Salted Caramel Flavour Twist (RRP £2.99) are a new variety of one of my favourite breakfast cereals. I already love the sweet, crunchy texture of classic Crunchy Nut Cornflakes but the addition of the salted caramel flavour takes it to a higher level. They're sweet, salty, totally moreish and utterly delicious ! Available at ASDA and Iceland, they will be rolled out to other retailers in the first half of 2023.

 

Maille Traditional Dijon Mustard (£2.75) is a classic French condiment, perfect for scooping on the side of the plate, adding to a a ham sandwich, stirring through mash or livening up the leftovers from the Sunday roast. It always makes my nose sting but a tiny amount added to potato salad, chicken salad or pork casserole always gets my taste buds tingling !

This month's Product of the Month, Mutti Rossoro Tomato Pasta Sauce with Parmigiano Reggiano (RRP £3.10) is the perfect sauce for turning leftovers into a quick and satisfying pasta dish. Made with high quality, 100% Italian summer tomatoes and the sharp, complex flavour of Parmigiano Reggiano cheese, it is delicious and the perfect time saver when you need dinner on the table quickly. It is also lovely stirred through chicken if you have leftovers after the Sunday roast. Available at Sainsbury's, Tesco, Ocado and Booth's.

Knorr Beef Stock Pots (RRP £1.65) are great for throwing into casseroles or whatever is bubbling away in the slow cooker. They are gluten free and melt into whatever you are cooking, leaving absolutely no lumps, just a lovely, deep, rich, meaty flavour. My favourite part? They avoid the gritty, beefy smelling fingers you always end up with after crumbling a classic stock cube into whatever you're cooking ! 

 

Nescafé Gold Blend Refill (RRP £5.50) uses 97% less packaging than the regular Gold Blend jars and, once empty, can be recycled. You still get the same smooth, rich instant coffee inside and the resealable top helps to preserve the freshness of the coffee. Besides the eco-friendly virtues, I love the fact that it makes the shopping lighter to carry home !

Sxollie Golden Delicious Xider (RRP £2.99) offers the sunshiney taste of apples with zero added sugar and no added flavours or nasties. It is B corps certified which means it prioritises people and the planet over profits. It has a 4.5% ABV and is very tasty and refreshing. Available at WHSmith Travel and on Amazon Prime.

Bounce Maple Pecan Cashew Protein Ball (RRP £1.70) is a plant based protein ball packed with a squishy cashew nut butter centre. As Pierre is still trying to up his protein levels and work out his muscles, I donated this to him and he said it was very tasty. 

 A subscription to Degustabox costs £12.99 per month including delivery, with each box having a value of much more than that, but the great news is, I have a discount coupon code for you which means you'll get the first box for just £9.99 - enter code PKUFE at the checkout. 

for more information :

http://bit.ly/DBhomepage - website

http://bit.ly/DBUKfacebook - Facebook

http://bit.ly/DBUKTwitter - twitter

Also now on Instagram @DegustaboxUK

Disclosure : We received the box in order to write an honest review. As a Degustabox blogger, I receive all of the products that go into the monthly boxes, but subscribers may not get exactly the same selection.

What's Cooking At The Madhouse ? menu plan week 13

Last week was as hectic as I predicted. This week should be better as I only have one meeting left, on Monday. Thank goodness for that ! The rest of the week is back to normal routine so I should have some time to deal with other problems around the house - fingers crossed ! 

Monday

lunch- canteen for me, leftovers/canteen for the kids

dinner - leftover chicken with pasta or rice (hopefully Juliette will sort out dinner as I'll be late home)

Tuesday

lunch- canteen for me, leftovers/canteen for the kids

dinner- sweet Chinese pork with noodles (or rice if there's some leftovers)

Wednesday

lunch- chicken burgers with ebly (and red peppers in a jar, that need using up)

dinner- Spicy tomato chicken with mash & green beans

Thursday

lunch - lunch with a friend

dinner- Hawaiian shoyu chicken with pasta

Friday

lunch- canteen for me, leftovers/canteen for the kids

dinner - Hawaiian pork chops with rice

Saturday

lunch- pasta bolognese

dinner- baked potatoes (with cheese/bacon/mushrooms/beans)

Sunday 

lunch- roast dinner (probably chicken)

dinner- leftovers or toast

***Click on my Menu Plans tag to see all my other weekly menu plan blogposts.***

What's Cooking At The Madhouse ? menu plan week 12

Last week, I said I should have a pretty calm week coming up. Ha ha ha, best joke I've told in a long time ! It was brutal, combining report filling, after-school meetings at work and rushing about with doctor's appointments. Next week is a week of meetings (Tuesday, Thursday and Friday), so I'm not sure how much cooking I'll be doing (I can see us relying on the kids pitching in or grabbing takeaways if I get in too late and totally knackered !) but in theory, the worst is behind us. At least I've finished the reports ! Now I have to start tackling the problems around the house again (mainly involving dealing with a leak in Sophie's bathroom in the loft leaking into Pierre's room underneath - which may be coming in through the roof but maybe not). Sounds fun (not !)

Monday

lunch- canteen for me, leftovers/canteen for the kids

dinner - savoury mince and veg (either over rice or in pasties with mash)

Tuesday

lunch- canteen for me, leftovers/canteen for the kids

dinner- pasta with sausages/tomatoes/onions/mushrooms

Wednesday

lunch- chicken fajitas

dinner- battered fish, rice & veg

Thursday

lunch - lunch with a friend

dinner- pasta carbonara

Friday

lunch- canteen for me, leftovers/canteen for the kids

dinner - probably a takeaway/Deliveroo

Saturday

lunch- omelettes for me and Juliette, fridge-raiding for Pierre !

dinner- chicken and leeks in a cheesy, creamy sauce with pasta

Sunday 

lunch- roast chicken, roast potatoes, veg and lashings of gravy

dinner- leftovers or toast

***Click on my Menu Plans tag to see all my other weekly menu plan blogposts.***

What's Cooking At The Madhouse ? menu plan week 11

This week was busy, filling in as many school reports as possible on my days off. I got about half of them done so I should be pretty chilled out with no last-minute cramming before the class meetings that kick off at the end of the week. Phew ! That was as exciting as it got this week ! In terms of meals, the chicken pie was a big hit - we used to eat them pretty much every week with the leftovers from our roast chicken, then, after Mike died and Sophie moved out, a whole chicken was too much so we went down to chicken fillets. They're easy to cook and very tasty but there are no leftovers for pie making sadly ! The pork chops received rave reviews too, even though I did absolutely nothing special with them. No complaints from me though - I bought some more for this week !

Monday

lunch- canteen for me, leftovers/canteen for the kids

dinner - pork chops, rice and ratatouille

Tuesday

lunch- canteen for me, leftovers/canteen for the kids

dinner- sweet & sour chicken and noodles

Wednesday

lunch- chicken and chorizo jambalaya

dinner- pasta carbonara

Thursday

lunch - leftovers or cheese/ham (or maybe tuna/mayo) baguettes

dinner- fishfingers, pan-fried potatoes & coleslaw

Friday

lunch- canteen for me, leftovers/canteen for the kids

dinner - after school meeting so probably Deliveroo by the time I get home

Saturday

lunch- salami and goat's cheese tartlets (or they may end up as bacon and cheese ones) with mash & beans

dinner- pork curry & rice

Sunday 

lunch- tartiflette (stinky cheese baked over baked potatoes, bacon and onions)

dinner- leftovers or toast

***Click on my Menu Plans tag to see all my other weekly menu plan blogposts.***

Kelly Loves sushi kits (... and so do we !) (review)

Sophie and Juliette both love eating sushi so they sometimes grab some from the supermarket or our local Japanese restaurant. The problem though is that Sophie doesn't really like fish and Juliette is not a huge fan of vegetables so they are limited in what they can choose. Making your own sushi is a great way of getting around this problem as you can customise it to suit your own tastes. Not only that - it's great fun too !

Kelly Loves recently sent us a fabulous selection of products for us to have a play around with. Created by Kelly Choi, a woman who was born in Korea then moved to Japan, immersing herself in their culture, Kelly Loves offers a wide range of ingredients that are a perfect introduction to Asian food. Let's take a closer look at what we received.

 

Kimchi is a classic Korean dish, made principally with fermented cabbage, and this Kimchi sachet (£1.79) is a simple way to enjoy the flavours. It contains Napa cabbage, radish, red pepper powder, salt, onion and garlic, amongst other things, and is suitable for vegans. It can be eaten on its own, served over rice or fried up in a wok with noodles. It's perfect as an introduction to Korean food and makes a refreshing change if you want to try some new flavours.

 Crispy fried onions (£2.75) are great for adding flavour and texture to sushi, as well as offering an impressive finish if you stick them all around the outside (a particularly good idea if you don't like the traditional seaweed sheets). However, they are very versatile and have been sprinkled over everything from cheese on toast and mashed potato to pizza and soup. Whatever they go with, they are delicious and really perk up the most mundane of dishes.

This Bento box (£14.95) is the perfect way of storing your sushi or taking it to work or school for lunch (and showing off to all your friends !). 

It has a unique double layer that is firmly held in place with an elastic band. This is ideal for keeping fruit or cakes/biscuits separate from your sushi if you don't want your whole lunch to smell of fish ! It's a great size and has been instantly adopted by Juliette.

  

Back to the ingredients, soy sauce (£3.95) and spicy mayo (£3.35) are both great ways of adding instant flavour to your sushi. They are also enjoyed by the non-sushi lovers though, with rice or noodles (for the soy sauce) and sandwiches or carrot sticks (for the spicy mayo).

Ramune (£2.55) is the perfect accompaniment to sip along with your sushi. It is a traditional Japanese lemonade, served in a classic glass bottle. As well as the original Ramune flavour that we got, this is also available in lychee or yuzu flavours. The kids love the little glass marble designed to keep the fizz in the drink !

 

A sushi mat (£2.30) is indispensable if you are trying to make sushi. (Well, you probably could make it without one but this makes it all much easier !) It's perfect for rolling up sushi and pressing it into shape so that it doesn't all fall apart. I would suggest buying one mat per person so that you can all make sushi at the same time, without waiting your turn.

Sushi nori (£3.35) is one of the classic sushi ingredients, guaranteed to give your homemade creations an authentic look and taste. They are toasted seaweed sheets that add taste and texture, as well as providing an appealing colour contrast to the rice. Each pack contains seven sheets but we split them in half to make smaller sushi.

 

Sushi rice (£2.50) is the other absolute must-have when making sushi. This fine short-grain rice is perfect for sticking your creations together (but I warn you in advance - it does end up sticking to your fingers like glue when you've made a few!)

Sushi vinegar (£2.10) should be stirred through your cooked sushi rice and this instantly brings it to life, giving it a lovely authentic flavour.

 

Finally, add a hit of authentic flavour and zing to your sushi with sushi ginger (£3.35) or wasabi (£2.35). Now, we are all wimps so we didn't like either of these, but they are a great way of adding a traditional kick to your food.

You won't get perfect looking sushi the first time you try to make a roll but it is great fun and incredibly simple. Just chop up some small strips of fish and vegetables (we used smoked salmon, prawns, carrots, and cucumber) and let your creative juices flow !

Once rolled, chop it into slices and serve on a plate (or stick it straight in your bento box ... or mouth !) Meshiagare !

I have shown you the prices for each individual ingredient but it is cheaper to buy the Ultimate Sushi Kit for £29.99 which contains everything above except the Ramune drink and the kimchi. Whatever you think of sushi, these are great fun to make and you may surprise yourself. I was not keen on the idea at all but by picking my favourite ingredients, they actually came out really nice.

for more information : https://kellyloves.com/products/ultimate-sushi-kit

Disclosure : I received the products in order to share my honest review.

What's Cooking At The Madhouse ? menu plan week 10

The first week back at school was hectic. On Tuesday we took the kids to the cinema to see BlacKKKlansman as it ties in with their Martin Luther King/peacefighters project. On Wednesday I had a visit from the insurance people, as the girls have reached an age when they can get their hands on their money. I'm starting to feel old !! On my Thursday afternoon off, I had an appointment at the bank to sign some papers, then had to go back to school for a meeting that went on for hours. Next week is no better as I have to start filling in the school reports - aaaggghhh ! I think I'll go for an easy week of meals this week as I'll be on my knees by the end of the week ! 

Monday

lunch- canteen for me, leftovers/canteen for the kids

dinner - chicken pie with mash & carrots

Tuesday

lunch- canteen for me, leftovers/canteen for the kids

dinner- bacon/tomato/onion/potato hotpot

Wednesday

lunch- chicken burgers with rice & ratatouille

dinner- chicken lazone with pasta

Thursday

lunch - meal with friends for me, leftovers/canteen for the kids

dinner- pork chops with onion gravy, apple sauce & rice

Friday

lunch- canteen for me, leftovers/canteen for the kids

dinner - cottage pie

Saturday

lunch- leftovers

dinner- takeaway or pizza

Sunday 

lunch- pork filet mignon with roast potatoes, peas and carrots

dinner- leftovers or toast

***Click on my Menu Plans tag to see all my other weekly menu plan blogposts.***