Shloer Berry Punch

I've given the limited edition Berry Punch flavour from Shloer a try.



The colour is an appealing red, like Rosé wine. Straight after opening the bottle you are hit by the fantastic aroma; a combination of blackberries and spices. The taste is amazing, it's not too sweet and certainly not sour.

They recommend serving it with pieces of pear and blackberries or raspberries but I had it just by itself and was very pleased.

Like all the other schoer drinks you will find no preservatives, artificial colours, sweeteners or flavourings. All flavours are suitable for vegetarians and are best served chilled.

But you'll have to hurry up if you want to give this one a try as Berry Punch with its berry flavours and a warming hint of spice is only on the shelves for a limited time - until March 2012.

It's all in the serve
Whether it's enjoyed after returning from a beautiful woodland walk or sitting around the fireplace on a crisp winter evening, Shloer's Berry Punch is best served over ice and quintessentially English fruits. For the taste of the English countryside, pour over slices of pear and blackberries for a sparkling and fruity autumnal drink, perfect for sharing.

The natural alcohol alternative
Shloer uses only the best ingredients to create a delicious non-alcoholic sparkling juice drink. All varieties make a tasty-grape based alternative to alcohol, suitable for the family - including those who want to enjoy the winter months without drinking alcohol. Shloer contains no preservatives, artificial colours, sweeteners or flavourings and is available from all supermarkets.

Best-served shared
Shloer's new Berry Punch will add a little sparkle to any social gathering, planned or impromptu. Whether it's huddled around a bonfire, or enjoyed with a long lazy Sunday lunch, Shloer is here to provide a new taste of winter.

Entertaining inspiration
As the weather turns cold we're looking forward to nights in together with a good movie and having the family around for long lazy Sunday lunches. If, like us, you enjoy entertaining but sometimes need a little extra inspiration for your menus then check out the Shloer Sunday Cookbook by simply visiting the official Shloer Facebook page at www.facebook.com/shloer

The recipes you'll find here are created by devoted Shloer fans themselves, around a 'simple and sharing' principle - no one wants to slave over a hot stove for hours on a well-deserved weekend.

Share recipes and win
It's easy to contribute your own tasty dishes, or vote for your favourites on our Shloer Sunday Cookbook, either way you have the chance to win some fabulous prizes.

A flavour for everyone
Shloer is available in White Grape, Red Grape, Rosé, Apple & White Grape, White Grape, Raspberry & Cranberry, White Grape & Elderflower and new Berry Punch and is priced at about £2.29

Alpro Soya Cream

I've given Alpro Soya Single Cream alternative a try. I'm not vegan, but all Alpro's soya products are suitable for a vegan diet.

I had no problems with the cream and overall I'm very impressed with it. I was a little worried it may have a slightly different taste to regular cream, but I can honestly say I didn't notice one. I used it in coffee and as a ingredient to make korma curry with. It mixed in just fine and tasted fine.

Try a healthier alternative to single cream. With 45% less fat than single cream you can enjoy your healthier indulgence poured over fruit or desserts or use it in cooking to create delicious soups and sauces.



The Chinese have been using soya as an excellent source of protein and for its many nutritional benefits for thousands of years.

Several hundred varieties of soya plant exist, the most common being the one that provides yellow soya beans. These take between 150 and 200 days to develop in hot and humid climates. The plant itself reaches about 80 centimetres in height, growing small white or purple flowers that create pods that yield between 1 and 4 beans. These beans are one of the best plant sources of protein.

Alpro soya products have a wide range of health benefits.  Your needs and priorities may change as you move through life but our products will help you along the way to a healthier diet for yourself and your family.

Whether you are 18 or 80, good nutrition can have a positive impact on the way you feel, which in turn affects the way you live your life and, more significantly, how much you may get out of it.

Because plant proteins use less of the Earth’s resources than animal proteins, it’s great for the planet as well as for you!

The soya protein found in soya foods can also help to naturally lower cholesterol levels, another great reason to incorporate soya into your daily diet

In 2002 the Joint Health Claims Initiative stated that the inclusion of at least 25g of soya protein a day as part of a diet low in saturated fat can help to reduce cholesterol in the blood.

All of Alpro soya products are suitable for people who are lactose intolerant.  They are naturally dairy and lactose free.

Snapfish

I gave Snapfish online digital photo printing service a go. They have been around since 2000 and are owned by Hewlett Packard.

I've got 100s of digital photos from various trips we've been on and they sit around on my computer rarely seen, so it's nice to have photos and other things like posters, coasters and more with pictures on around the house to actually see.

Signing up to the website took a few seconds and only asks for email address, password and name.

As soon as you enter the site you are told about special offers that are available, for example you can get 20 free 6"x4" prints when you first upload your photos.

Uploading photos is very simple and quick. You can upload multiple photos at once, just select the ones you want to upload, you can select lots all at once. It has the option to automatically do red-eye reduction as they upload which seemed handy. You also have the option of selecting your Facebook photos or even from Flickr, both of which save time on uploading and is very handy if you have them uploaded to one of these services already.

The photos you upload are arranged into albums so you can group particular ones together, maybe you will have one album for last year's holiday and another from Christmas. This makes finding the photos very easy.

They sell a wide variety of products, all can be personalised with photos and some with text as well. You can get anything from acrylic blocks, calendars, posters, t-shirts and even stamps. In general you browse the site to find what you are after, then you are given the opportunity to browse your albums and pick out a photo or some allow you to have many photos, the collage mugs for example.

You can add any number of items to your basket and you can keep shopping or adjusting the basket items until you are happy with them. One thing I did find frustrating was that the P&P doesn't show up straight away, not until the next step after you checkout.

You can pay with your credit or debit card or even with Paypal. You can have your goodies sent to yourself or straight to someone else if they are a present.

I ordered quite a selection of things and I will tell you more about them when they arrive.

Kelburn Castle, Country Centre and Estate

Oops, wrote this a while back and forgot to publish it! This was from our holiday to Scotland.

The only other thing we went to was Kelburn Castle. It was very good. When we got there they were doing a Viking reenactment which was quite fun to watch. They battled with swords and axes.

Again there were lots of animals. We mistakenly followed a sign to the castle and it took us on a rather long route across the river and back round past the castle. Its not a  good big stoney castle but they have painted the sides of it graffiti style :-\ it looks quite good but a little strange.

They had a nicely tended garden bit I imagine you'd have liked. We never did see how to get in to the castle but we looked at the leaflet when we got back and it would've cost extra anyway. The kids wandered off and we lost them for a couple of mins it turned out they wandered off into a no-entry bit :-( but unfortunately we found them again. There was also a "secret forest " which was rather fun. It was a big maze with various buildings and crazy stuff all in a forest. It was big and took ages to walk around and I don't know if we saw it all. The kids always picked opposite directions so they had to take turns to lead.

Bottle Green and Limited Edition Bottle Pink

Today I've been enjoying the yummy drinks from Bottle Green.

I tried the Cox's Apple & Plum cordial, which is delicious. This is one of their new enjoy hot cordial flavours. This fruity, full-bodied cordial is bursting with the natural goodness of ripe red plums, orchard-picked Cox’s apples and spring water. It’s deliciously refreshing when diluted with cold still or sparkling water. Or for a warming, autumnal alternative to tea or coffee, just pour in hot water.

I also tried the limited edition Bottlepink Sparkling. Bottlegreen believe in the work that Breakthrough Breast Cancer does so much that in October 2011, they are turning bottlegreen into bottlepink for the second year running. For the entire month they are donating 10% of all sales of their pink bottle to Breakthrough Breast Cancer and help raise awareness of this important charity.

Warm up this winter with bottlegreen's

Enjoy hot cordials! The crisp winter days are finally upon us, which means evenings in front of the fire with loved ones, weekend walks through snow covered countryside and a whole host of fantastic seasonal parties. This year, embrace the winter spirit with bottlegreen's range of enjoy hot cordials , gorgeous fruity flavours, guaranteed to keep you warm right through until spring.

With five delicious flavours to choose from, bottlegreen's enjoy hot cordial range is perfect for every winter occasion. For the ultimate winter warmer, dilute the fragrant ginger & lemongrass cordial with hot water. With its distinct aroma and fiery taste it's ideal for keeping toasty on bonfire night. Alternatively, try lime cordial, the zesty flavours of fresh limes blended with rare aromatic bitters creates a zingy winter combination, and is perfect as a warming treat after a festive night out with the girls. While to bring back the memories of summer, the delicate flavours of elderflower cordial work together beautifully with hot water to create a warming and soft drink that's perfect for adding a sophisticated touch to cosy winter social gatherings. Other winter warmer flavours include cox's apple & plum cordial, with its mouth watering flavours of ripe red plums and crispy orchard picked apples, and the rich and succulent spiced berry cordial, which conjures up festive thoughts and feelings. bottlegreen cordials are also a great option for fruit tea lovers looking for a caffeine free alternative, perfect to brighten up a winter's day. So for a delicious hot drink with a difference, try the range of bottlegreen enjoy hot cordials for the ultimate in winter treat.

Bottlegreen (and pink) drinks can be found in most supermarkets from about £2.99

You can find more information about Bottlegreen on Twitter and Facebook.

Competition Winner

Comgratulations to "Piper and Daisy" (@piperanddaisy on twitter) for winning the Comic Heroes #8

I've contacted them via Twitter and the prize will be out to them soon. Thanks to everyone who took part. Keep checking back for future competitions and prizes.

Nākd Infused Raisins

Nākd have released two new flavours in their Infused Raisin range - Tangy Lime and Crazy Cola. Each raisin is infused with natural flavouring to create a healthy and delicious alternative to processed and sugar laden sweets and chocolate. The Nākd Infused Raisins are fat free, contain only 68 calories and count as one of your five a day, and are available from www.eatnakd.com and Asda, priced 39p.

The lime raisins have a nice strong flavour, very tangy. The smell was really nice as I first opened the bag. I'm certain my son would be happy with these instead of a packet of sweets. And as one of your five a day they do make an ideal substitute to the sugary treats most kids usually get.

The cola ones reminded me of cola bottle sweets and I was surprised to learn that they only had 100% natural ingredients and no added sugar.

They come in handy little bagsand make Nākd Infused Raisins perfect for lunchboxes, mid-afternoon nibbling as a pick me up, baking and sprinkling over your favourite foods.

Both flavours of raisins were delicious and I'd recommend them to parents who want to give their kids less unhealthy snacks. I'd also recommend them to the parents themselves as they are delicious.


Nākd also make Cherry, Lemon, Pineapple and Orange flavoured raisins, all sugar free and great value.