So my goodies Arrived

Holland and Barrett 

So my goodies have arrived slightly more in volume than previously purchased so these have been going a while! 

Plamil dairy free chocolate £1.15 45g 

Plamil dairy free alternative to mint chocolate £2.29 100g 

Celtic chocolates free from fine dark chocolate bar £0.85  unsure of size. 

Ok so let's start on price all seemed fairly reasonable for the size of each bar, they did have buy one get one half price on when I ordered them so the prices I paid where less than above but I would happily pay the full price for these items. 

First up Plamil dairy free - this was a very yummy bar , in fact I could demolish this in one sitting if I really wanted, the loft silky texture and chocolately scent had me over excited before I could even get it out the packet towards the end of the bar. Definatley the closets to milk chocolate substitute I've tried so far.  New favourite ! 

Mint chocolate - the texture of this one took some work I'm a but on thr picky side when it comes to the texture of food including my beloved chocolate. So this was a little different I put felt very sugary in your mouth. Although it didn't taste it, I wonder if it's to do with the way it is produced. The other thing that stood out on this for me was the mint, was peppermint oil, so quite strong in taste. It was a nice treat and good to try something with some flavour in. 

Last but not least was the fine dark chocolate- once taken out of the packet this could pass of as either of the ones I've tried so far from the supermarkets, it looked identical and had the same smell. I was in fact different to taste. It tasted more like a rich dark chocolate, I'd say like a high cocoa percentage. As I think you've probably all gathered by now I'm not a massive fan of dark chocolate. 

Might pay a visit to Holland and Barrats shop see what else they can offer! 

Another week another chocolate

Ok so due to some personal reasons, lack of Internet connection and me being poorly blogs have seemed to disappear again recently so here's some more I've written recently, oh yes I'm still expłoring dairy free chocolate and reviewing it for any one interested.

Tesco free from , this week I did my shopping in Tesco and was surprised at the variety available, I did manage to control my urge to buy everything and settled for four things because I want to be able to make comparisons to the items I trialed last week. Most exciting for me was the fact there was a white chocolate substitute! 

All of the items are in my picture, first taster was the White buttons obviously. Unlike the price variation in Morrisons all of these where £0.45 each. 

The White buttons - these where ok, they remind me very much of the old fashioned white mice I had as a child from the penny sweet shop in my pic and mix. I'm not sure I'd rush out and buy more but they did the job and sorted my chocolate fix, I've always loved white chocolate but you do have to go a long way to get the consistency right for me, Milkybar has it spot on and not many others have the lovely creaminess that it does so I guess that's even harder to achieve with dairy free. They where as the picture shows a little on the yellow side.

Both the chocolate bar and buttons are very much the same taste wise as each other just shaped differently, they also look very similar equally to the versions I brought from Morrisons last week. However I do prefer the Tesco ones for taste they had a smoother texture and tasted a little less dark  than the others I've tried. Thumbs up Tesco. 

What do they say save the best till last, boy did I get that right! The Crispie bar is by far the best I've had so far, imagine rice crispies in chocolate (heaven right) yes they've done it.  Top of my list and definatley one I'll be buying plenty of ! 

That's it from me for now, I've just but in an order at Holland & Barrett and purchased a few dairy free goodies, mainly so I got free postage but I will be writing on them so watch this space !! 

Living dairy free...

Ok so as you may already know from previous posts, dairy is a trigger for my asthma. It started out as being able to tolerate a small amount but now any amount is a no go! 

I switched most things easily, I hate cheese, so no issues there and  I've never been a fan of butter so that was just cut straight out, I switched to soya milk although I think I now prefer almond milk but either make a good substitute for the real thing. I punched on with yoghurt a bit longer but now there soya alternatives too. 

So how does a chocoholic give up chocolate you ask? With greatest difficulty I assure you! I've fought holding onto it for so long but it has had to go, I did manage to try these before hand though. Any chocolate lovers out there will probably already know how amazing they are especially me being a white chocolate lover.  If you haven't tried them your missing out!! 

Ok so the switch has been made and I thought I'd take the time to review some products for anyone out there who's interested. This week is the turn of Morrisons. There free from range says they are milk free this is as close to dairy free ad they produce.  Here's what I brought : 

M Chococy Buttons £0.40p , M Choccy bar £0.45p and M Choccy orange bar £0.75p. 

Off course before I'd even made it back to the car I had sampled the buttons 

I've had a small taste of them all so as I can write this post. So here's what I though: 

Buttons - these where nice, obviously not the real thing, they lacked the silky feel of chocolate, and obviously as there is no milk they are very close to a dark chocolate. I don't mind dark chocolate but it's not my favourite. I enjoyed the buttons and they come in a nice small treat size packet which are ideal and especially at £0.40p I'd buy these again.

Choccy bar - this is again a also good alternative and a little like opening a bar of dark. It did melt a little an your mouth, and was very similar to the taste if the buttons. I'm hoping the rest of the bar will be as good for a small £0.45p 

Choccy orange bar - this had a similar texture and look to the Choccy bar but was most disappointed with the taste. I was hoping that the orange would sweeten the bar slightly so it didn't taste so much like dark chocolate but it didn't the orange is almost to artificial tasting. Nothing like a Terry's chocolate orange! I'd give it full marks for smell as the orange smelt beautiful just didn't taste so nice! I wouldn't buy this again as it was a disappointment In general and came in well above the previous Choccy bar at £0.75. So for an extra £0.30p I got some orange flavouring which was not as good as it smelt! Not sure if I'm going to continue this bar either and that's saying something for a chocoholic ! 

In summary my favourite was the Choccy buttons. 

Hopefully I'll have some different ones to review next week. Next supermarket... 

30 Things About My Invisible Illness You May Not Know

Invisible Ilness Awareness Week ( 8th - 14th September 2014 )

To mark this, I've below answered 30 questions on my condition to hopefully help raise awareness and better understanding. Asthma kills. 

1. The illness I live with is: Asthma - Asthma is a condition that affects the airways - the small tubes that carry air in and out of the lungs. When a person with asthma comes into contact with an asthma trigger, the muscles around the walls of the airways tighten and the airways become narrower. The lining of the airways becomes red and swollen and often sticky mucus or phlegm is produced. All these reactions cause the airways to become narrower and irritated - leading to the symptoms of asthma.



2. I was diagnosed with it in the year:  1998 (aged 6)

3. But I had symptoms since:  1994 (aged 2)

4. The biggest adjustment I’ve had to make is:  Learning to accept what I can and can't do, when enough is enough. Sometimes I've the fight but no strength.

5. Most people assume: "That it's just Asthma" - Asthma kills 3 people everyday. Many of these deaths could of been prevented, see my previous post on the NRAD. 

6. The hardest part about mornings are:  Getting up, when you've been up all night symptomatic, you just want to sleeps and breathe. Not much to ask surely! 

7. My favorite medical TV show is: Casualty!!! 

8. A gadget I couldn’t live without is: I'm not a massive techno gadget person, I could live without them but that said my kindle is amazing I can read anywhere and everywhere, always got a book to hand. Apps I can download to help with managing my condition and medication. 

9. The hardest part about nights are:  Lying down increases my Shortness Of Breath (SOB) so even getting in bed creates problems when I'm having a flareup. There's also being woken by symptoms and not getting deserved sleep. -I love sleep! 

10. Each day I take : Inhalers and tablets. ( I won't turn this into a Med essay)  

11. Regarding alternative treatments I: Haven't really tried any, theres so much conflicting opinion and no proven results as far as I'm aware.

12. If I had to choose between an invisible illness or visible I would choose: Invisible.

13. Regarding working and career: I had to make adjustments in my last job as I was quite physical, my current job doesn't affect my condition.  There are careers out there if I wanted to peruse I wouldn't be able to because of the effects of my condition, there are also jobs who simply won't allow someone with my condition.

14. People would be surprised to know: Not everyone with asthma wheezes -yes it's true! Sometimes it can be very dangerous doctors who don't hear a wheeze can assume your not in danger yet there can be so little air entry there is no sound and others just don't wheeze. 

15. The hardest thing to accept about my illness is: Accepting what someone people see as normal simple life tasks can I fact be very difficult. On a bad day stairs can be a nightmare.

16. Something I never thought I could do with my illness that I did was:  Tricky one I'm not sure I've ever thought about this I have the attitude that I will do everything I can, that I want to do and it's safe to do, it might just take me longer and need adapting. 

17. The commercials/adverts about my illness:  There isn't any, I feel this lack of awareness leads to a negative stereotype.

18. Something I really miss doing since I was diagnosed is: I've had it so long I've not had a chance to miss anything really, but if i had the chance to be a normal kid I'd love to run round the playground and take part in games & PE etc properly without people judging me for always sitting out in class. I'd also love to go back in time and tell the bully's that it's not my fault, and what happened as a result of there bullying was dangerous and could of been the end. 

19. It was really hard to have to give up; Dairy , this really upsets my chest but as you will know from my posts chocolate Its my nemesis , I also love ice cream but it hates me. Still the world of free from and substitutes has come a long way. Only real chocolate solves cravings for chocolate though! 

20. A new hobby I have taken up since my diagnosis is:  As I've previously mentioned I've lived with asthma most of my life , so I guess here where I say if I wasn't me I wouldn't do the things in life I've done. 

21. If I could have one day of feeling normal again I would: Love to run, seriously what I'd give to be able to run! Crazy right??!! 

22. My illness has taught me: To grab life by the the horns and enjoy every minute, life is precious and no one can't anticipate where it's going, make memories and do everything you can, you want. 

23. Want to know a secret? It's not secret by now but It makes me very cross when people say it's just asthma, this is what I thought some many years ago , ITS NOT. 

24. But I love it when people:  Are considerate, take my condition seriously remember my triggers and make me smile when I'm down. 

25. My favorite motto, scripture, quote that gets me through tough times is: "What doesn't  kill you makes you stronger" (song , Kelly Clarkson) meaning everyday you fight more for the next. 

26. When someone is diagnosed I’d like to tell them: It will be hard, but it will be ok. I tell them that they know their bodies best, they need to be their own advocate fight for what you need, fight for what you deserve. 

27. Something that has surprised me about living with an illness is:  Other peoples ignorance. 

28. The nicest thing someone did for me when I wasn’t feeling well was: To supply me with a goody bag of feel good items! Very sweet!

29. I’m involved with Invisible Illness Awarness week because: it promotes awareness and support for people living with illness. Considering there are 5.4 million people in the UK with asthma, it is not portrayed well, there as so many different degrees of severity, yet "It's just Asthma"

30. The fact that you read this list makes me feel: like I've achieved something, and hopefully you'll go away knowing something you didn't about asthma when you started.