Vow Protein Bar review

For the past couple of years, Pierre has been interested in working out, using weights to build up his muscles, alongside playing football and taking an interest in upping his protein intake. He's done that typical teenage thing of going through a growth spurt and is as tall as me now so I can understand his desire to build up his muscle mass to impress the girls ! I've switched over to a few protein-rich versions of things he likes to eat, including muesli, cereal bars, milkshakes and snack bars. I was therefore very interested to hear about the launch of a brand new range of protein bars that sounded right up his street.

Vow Bars are a new addition to the Vow Nutrition protein range, which includes Elite Whey, Protein Clusters, Protein Rocks and the innovative Sparklean Protein drink. Just glancing through the list of flavours was enough to win me over. The Protein Rocks come in the fab-sounding Salted Caramel, Cookie Dough and Birthday Cake flavours and the Protein Clusters are equally appealing, with the choice between White Chocolate Crunch, Milk Chocolate Crunch, Nacho Cheese Crunch and Smoked BBQ Crunch flavours. I'd eat all of those regardless of the protein content, just on taste alone !

The new Vow Bars have three tasty versions available - Salted Caramel, Cookies & Cream (which we tried) and Peanut Crunch. Each bar contains 16g of protein, is vegan-friendly and low in sugar, as well as Halal-certified and made with ethically-sourced ingredients. A 48g serving provides 185 calories so they are ideal for refuelling on the go or as a well-earned treat after a workout. The tasty, slightly chewy bar is topped with sweet cream and covered in vegan chocolate. The bars are Informed Sport approved so they are suitable for elite competition and they will actually be fuelling Team GB at this summer's Olympic Games. They taste great and don't have the slightly unpleasant aftertaste that some protein bars have.

The VOW Bars are available to purchase at www.vownutrition.com and will be rolled out to VOW Nutrition stockists, VOW ambassadors including Team GB athletes Joe Clarke, Matt Richards, Daryll Neita, boxer Fabio Wardley and VOW Nutrition sponsored sports organisations GB7s, London Broncos and Paddle UK later in the year. Vow Nutrition products can be bought in Boots and Holland & Barrett stores in the UK.

RRP : £29.99 for 12 bars making them £2.50 per bar (but they are currently on sale for £22.99)

Disclosure : We received the product in order to share our honest review.

A Trip to the Beach, Confinement- Style, with Guylian Belgian Chocolates ! (review)

Here we are, heading into the third week of Coronavirus lockdown and, for many of us, this means being in confinement. As a teacher, my days are still pretty hectic though. Every day, I start off by uploading the day's lesson plans, then I settle down with Pierre to clear his schoolwork, then it's back to my internet account to mark all the work and answer all the questions sent over by my pupils. I go out once every ten days to brave the supermarket and the kids haven't been out at all in three weeks, so we're all getting a bit fed up. When the postman dropped off this box of Guylian Belgian Chocolates, I excitedly called them downstairs and said "Let's have a trip to the beach, confinement-style !" 

They arrived swiftly, frowning in confusion as they knew I wasn't about to bundle them on a bus to go to the beach, but they soon had big grins on their faces when they saw what I had in my hands - a box full of sea creatures made from marbled chocolate.

Their favourites were the seahorses and shrimps. The designs are really detailed and realistic-looking, and they also loved the fact that, given the swirls of different coloured chocolate, no two designs are identical.

There are also lots of different sea shells, that we tried to identify. I think I started getting stuck after the cockles and mussels though, but never mind, at least we could still enjoy the chocolate !

This wasn't the first time that we have tried Guylian chocolates, so I knew that we all loved the rich, smooth chocolate taste just as much as the shapes. They are made with the finest, hand-selected Mediterranean hazelnuts, which are roasted and caramelised to perfection before being blended with premium Belgian chocolate. Delicious ! 

What I didn't know about Guylian is the origin of their name - it's the combination of the founders' names, as the company continues to use Guy's recipe with Lianne's marbled shell designs. I love this nod back at their beginnings. I also love the fact that every time you buy a box of Guylian Belgian Chocolate Sea Shells, you are helping donate to Project Seahorse, which is dedicated to preserving seahorses and other marine life throughout the world. Not only do they taste good, they also do good for the planet !

The chocolates are available in a 250g box (22 pieces, as shown here, RRP £5) or a bigger 375g box (RRP £7.50). They are available at all major supermarkets, selected independent stores and online at www.guylian.com.

Disclosure : We received the product in order to share our honest review.

Madhouse recipe : Chocolate fondants (aka Pierre's maths homework cakes !)

Pierre's teacher is a genius. She took a sheet of maths homework (boo !) and transformed it into a recipe for some utterly delicious chocolate cakes (yay !). This is a triple bonus, because (1) it kept Pierre occupied (2) it gave us a delicious chocolatey treat and (3) it made him practise his maths. The maths part was all about converting measurements, depending on whether you wanted 10 or 20 cakes. I ended up letting myself be persuaded to make 20 and, having tasted them, I'd definitely go for the larger quantity !

Chocolate Fondants

(makes 20)

4 eggs

75g plain flour

175g butter (we used margarine and it worked fine)

125g sugar

250g chocolate (we used milk chocolate)

Preheat oven to 200°C. Put the butter and the chocolate (broken into pieces) into a bowl and zap it in the microwave, removing it every twenty seconds to give it a stir, until you have a smooth liquid.  

Place to one side.

Put the sugar and flour in a separate bowl. Add the eggs one at a time.

Mix until combined then add the next egg. You should end up with a smooth, runny mixture.

Pour the butter-chocolate into the sugar-flour-eggs and mix until combined.

Pour into silicon muffin trays (or grease and flour metal tins).

Bake for 15 minutes. 

They felt very soft on the top so I left them in for the full 15 minutes, but ours didn't have a molten middle. I'd say you can reduce the cooking time by a few minutes or reduce the temperature maybe, but they tasted absolutely lovely as they were. (By way of comparison, when we made the Chocolate Fondants from a packet mix last week, they needed to be cooked for 8 minutes at 150°, and came out with a completely molten middle.)

Happy baking !

Prestat Vegan Friendly Chocolate review

In just one week, it will be Christmas Day - time is absolutely flying by at the moment ! Whether you're still looking for some last minute Christmas gifts or just stocking up on some extra festive nibbles, you could do far worse than opt for some bars of Prestat chocolate. Apart from tasting great, you also get some extra feel-good vibes from knowing that Prestat is chocolatier to Her Majesty The Queen. I bet they'll be nibbling on a few bars at Buckingham Palace over Christmas as they wait for the Queen's Speech to come on the telly !

Prestat have recently launched a new range of eight chocolate bars, five of which are Vegan Friendly. They are the first Prestat chocolate bars to be made with a couverture created by Domori, Prestat's sister company, widely recognised as being one of the finest chocolate manufacturers in the world. We received a few of the bars to test and were very impressed with the whole lot.

Prestat Dark Chocolate English Mint Crunch 62% is a popular bar, based on a best-selling recipe. The single origin cocoa beans give a subtle hint of coffee and hazelnut, which work very well with the zing of mint that comes through as the chocolate melts. A tasty way to finish off a meal.

Prestat Dark Chocolate with Raspberry 62% is based on an award-winning recipe and was a big hit with the whole family. The fruity zing of raspberries comes through, adding a sweet topnote to the smooth dark chocolate. Very tasty indeed !

Finally, Prestat Dark and Stormy Chocolate 73%, which was named as a tribute to Storm Athill, who designed all the bars' new wrapping, was another big hit. I wasn't sure what we would think of plain dark chocolate, but it is actually lovely and not at all bitter, as I expected.

Prestat's new bars are made with a bespoke Domori range of single origin Côte d'Ivoire couvertures, using a manufacturing process that roasts and mills cacao beans at low temperatures to preserve their aromatics. The lower temperatures and a more natural production technique both help to make the chocolate more environmentally friendly.

The five Vegan Friendly dark chocolate bars also include Dark Chocolate With Roasted Almond & Cocoa Nibs (a brand new recipe) and Dark Chocolate With Pink Himalayan Salt (based on an award-winning recipe). Definitely worth a taste, whether or not you follow a vegan lifestyle !

Each 75g Prestat bar retails for £4.50. 

Stocked at the Prestat shop, 14 Princes Arcade, Piccadilly, London SW1Y 6DS. Also available in John Lewis & Partners, Selfridges, Liberty and Waitrose.

Disclosure : We received the products in order to write an honest review.

Madhouse recipe : Pierre's chocolate cake

Poor Pierre is still hopping around with his leg in plaster. In fact, after the torrential rain that lasted most of last week, the end of his plaster was getting decidedly bendy, so we headed back to Casualty to see what they thought. They had a quick look and decided that his foot hadn't actually been placed in the right position, so they cut the original plaster off and put a new one on. Two weeks to go ! As he can't go outside to play, he asked if he could make a surprise in the kitchen. He actually made this cake all by himself, from start to finish, measuring out the ingredients, following the recipe (this one, on French site Marmiton), setting the timer and baking it all by himself. He even took step-by-step photos so that I could blog about it ! I have to say, I was very impressed. In fact, it was so tasty, the whole thing got munched and he went straight back into the kitchen and made another one !

Pierre's chocolate cake

serves 4 (or 8 small portions)

ingredients :

135g milk chocolate

70g butter

2 eggs

35g plain flour

70g sugar

Put the chocolate and butter in a bowl together.

Melt them in the microwave (in 15 second bursts), stirring to combine.

Put the sugar in a separate bowl. Break in the eggs.

Add the flour.

Whisk it all together with a fork or spoon.

Pour the melted chocolate/butter into the flour/eggs/sugar mixture. (As you can see, don't worry if the chocolate didn't melt completely - it still comes out fine at the end !)

Mix it all together.

Pour the cake mix into a silicon mould. (Don't forget to grease it with butter or oil if using a traditional metal mould.)

Bake for 20 minutes at 180°. This can be eaten warm or cold - they are both lovely. Juliette even served hers with custard - cold custard, but she's just weird !

Well done Pierre - you can start again whenever you want !

Trick or Treating Supplies from Cadbury ! (review)

Are you all ready for Halloween? Have you bought the glow-in-the-dark skeletons, fake blood and cobwebs? What about your goodies for the trick or treaters who are bound to come and ring your doorbell? Well, Cadbury's kindly sent us through some of their Halloween offerings to give out to the local kids, and we've been busy sampling them !

The Cadbury Heroes Party Bag is a great option for trick or treaters (or just for anyone who likes something to nibble on in front of the TV!). They come in various sizes, with 40, 20 or 16 sweets in the bag, and each bag contains mini versions of Dairy Milk Buttons, Flake, Twirl, Crunchie, Curly Wurly, Chomp and Fudge, so there's bound to be something to appeal to everyone !

You may prefer to choose your favourite chocolate bar, in which case, you might like the Fudge Treat Size bag, with 15 treat size bars per bag, 202g RRP £2.79.

My choice would be this one - Crunchie, with 12x treat size bars per bag, 210g, RRP £2.79.

If you want something a bit spooky for Halloween, how about these brand new Goo Heads, a spooky twist on the much loved classic Crème Egg and the perfect treat for trick or treating? They come in three sizes : Cadbury Goo Head, 40g, RRP £0.55, Cadbury Goo Head Five Pack, 200g, RRP: £2.85, Cadbury Goo Head Mini’s, 89g, RRP £0.89.

They are delicious Cadbury chocolate eggs filled with gooey white fondant. The spooky wrapping is what the kids love the most though ! Each gruesome head comes in a range of eerie characters, with a scary skeleton, petrifying pumpkin, frightening Frankenstein, dreadful Dracula or terrifying Were-Wolf.

Happy Halloween !

Disclosure : We received the products, in order to write an honest review.

Giveaway #687 : Win a Virginia Hayward Love Chocolate Hamper - closed - winner Lindsey Stuart

As soon as I hear the word hamper, I always think of Christmas hampers, but hampers can come in all shapes and sizes and make great gifts all year round. Virginia Hayward have a fabulous selection on offer, including drinks hampers, pamper hampers, tea or coffee hampers, even hampers for diabetic, gluten-free or vegan recipients.

One of the products in their range of chocolate hampers is the Love Chocolate Hamper, which retails at £19.99. It contains a fabulously tempting collection of pure chocolate indulgence! The Love Chocolate wicker tray holds an imaginative array of chocolatey treats, specially chosen for their irresistible flavours and fine quality :

Atkins & Potts Milk Chocolate Dipper 100g

Radfords Handmade West Country Chocolate & Caramel Fudge 113g

Reids Chocolate Chunk Shortbread 150g

The Cocoa Bean Company Hot Chocolate Spoon with Mini Mallows 30g 

The Original Cake Company Mini Chocolate Log topped with Fudge Pieces 

Vital Chocolate Nougat Bar 100g

Willow Tray

The perfect choice for chocolate lovers, this delectable gift would appeal to anyone with a sweet tooth, whatever their age or sex.

Virginia Hayward have kindly offered to send a Love Chocolate hamper to one lucky Madhouse Family Reviews reader. Fill in your entries via the Rafflecopter widget below. (If cheese is more your thing, keep your eyes open for another giveaway coming up next week !)

a Rafflecopter giveaway

UK only. Closing date : 28/8/18

T & C's : Entries close at midnight on the closing date. Winners will be selected with a random number generator and announced on facebook and in the giveaway post subject line. Please note, you will be contacted by email and/or twitter and if I haven't heard from you after 28 days, I'll have to pick another winner. Prizes will be sent out by the companies or their PR directly to winners. Madhouse Family Reviews cannot be held responsible for any prizes that go astray. Any personal data given as part of the competition entry is used for this purpose only and will not be shared with third parties, with the exception of the winners’ information. The winners' personal contact information will be passed on to the PR / Brand responsible and used only for delivery of their prize. 

You may also like to enter my other giveaways :

Giveaway #686 : Win a bundle of Bunch o Balloons toys - closing date 25/8

The Tale Of The Great Easter Bunny by Frankie Bridge & Cadbury

Singer-songwriter Frankie Bridge is famous for being a member of S Club 8 and The Saturdays, but away from the bright lights and recording studios, she is also a mum of two. She now has another feather in her cap after launching her debut storybook, ‘The Tale of The Great Easter Bunny,’ in partnership with Cadbury this Easter.

The story, available to download free from the Cadbury website, follows siblings Jack and Molly as they discover a series of mysterious clues and embark on an enchanting Easter Egg Hunt alongside their parents, Tom and Sarah. 

The tale takes place within the family home but what the family don’t know, is that there is a secret, hidden rabbit-hole at the bottom of their garden… where The Easter Bunny lives.

Speaking on the launch of The Tale of the Great Easter Bunny, Frankie said: “It’s actually a little bit of a secret but Easter is my favourite holiday! We used to have Easter Egg Hunts every year and now I love to do the same for my own children. Creating a book is also something I have always wanted to do and in many ways, it’s not so different to writing songs. I really do hope families will love the book and it will inspire them to go on their very own magical Easter Egg Hunts.”

If you don't fancy organising your own Easter Egg Hunt, the Cadbury Easter Egg Hunts National Trust are back for 2018 and there are over 300 hunts to choose from across England, Wales, Scotland and Northern Ireland, guaranteeing a fun-filled Easter for everyone. To discover the nearest hunt to you, visit cadbury.co.uk/Easter.

Along with a printed copy of Frankie's book, Cadbury provided us with a selection of scrummy eggs from their Easter 2018 range. We've been salivating over the Ultimate Daim Egg with Sharing Bar, the Ultimate Fruit & Nut Egg with Sharing Bar, a Boost Egg and a gorgeous Dairy Milk Peter Rabbit Egg with a flopsy rabbit toy and an Easter egg. The Creme Eggs have been stashed in a secret place to be hidden around the house on the big day !

To download the book and find out about all things Easter over at Cadbury, head over to https://easter.cadbury.co.uk/.

Disclosure : We received the book and some Easter goodies from Cadbury.

Choc On Choc Melt & Make Chocolate Egg Heads review

It was only a few weeks ago but, with the sad events here at The Madhouse, it seems like a lifetime ago that the kids had fun trying out the Choc On Choc Melt & Make Chocolate Egg Heads kit.

Inside the box, you get a big bag of Belgian chocolate chips, some sweets for decorating your egg heads and a plastic mould to make four half eggs.

The back of the box has simple instructions with very few words and lots of pictures so that even young children can get involved and understand what they have to do.

Pierre tried out the paper chef's hat but decided it was playing havoc with his trendy new haircut so he soon took it off ! After a quick glance at the instructions, he was off, pouring the chocolate chips into a bowl, ready to melt them in the microwave (or bain marie if you prefer).

The instructions suggest lining the moulds with a little oil to give them a glossy finish and make it easier to get them out without breaking them. We did find that this made it hard for the chocolate to "stick" all the way up to the top of the moulds though, as it had a tendency to slide down and pool in the bottom. As you can see, we weren't overly worried about getting a clean, professional finish though, so this wasn't a problem.

We put them in the fridge for half an hour to set and they came out as in the picture on the left. You need to remelt the chocolate in the bowl and add another layer, put it in the fridge then repeat so you have a triple layer of chocolate that covers the whole mould fairly evenly. I took the picture on the right just before pressing them out because I had visions of a Masterchef-style disaster in the making with broken eggs.

Well, it was fairly successful. As you can see, we got three halves because one broke, but that's not a problem because you just remelt the chocolate and start all over again. The surface isn't smooth and glossy but we were happy enough with it.

As there are three Madhouse kids and only four half egg moulds, we made more so that we would have enough for one each. There were plenty of chocolate chips to achieve this without scrimping.

The instructions suggest warming a baking tray (we used a plate in the microwave) so that you can lay the edges of the egg halves briefly on it to melt them and stick them together. This worked well, but you have to move fast or the heat from your fingers starts melting the chocolate of the eggs. We had just enough chocolate left to use as "glue" to stick on the sweets as funny faces. 

The kids all had great fun making them ... and eating them. They were proud of their creations and we've kept the moulds so that we can make more.

RRP : £12 (10% off for first order if you sign up to their newsletter)

for more information : https://www.choconchoc.co.uk/

Disclosure : We received the product in order to write an honest review.