kerrrrrrrrrrr-unch!

I don't know about you but I always get excited when I see new products on the shelves.

It's probably because I get suckered into marketing ploys

or maybe it's my love of variety that does it.

Carman's Fine Foods have recently extended their muesli bar range to include yogurt and dark chocolate dipped bars. 

The yogurt bars are an Apricot and Almond bar dipped in a creamy yogurt coating.

They're sweet - but not too sweet and are definitely more decadent than your run of the mill muesli bar. 

I loved the addition of the yogurt coating on these bars. 

Not only did you get crunch, but you got the smooth texture of the yogurt too!

Definitely a new favourite for me!

 

The dark chocolate bars are a cranberry and almond flavoured bar dipped in rich dark chocolate.

I love the combination of chocolate, almond and nuts and this bar was like my favourite trail mix compacted into one convenient snack.

Plus, how can you go wrong with chocolate?

I don't know about you, but I'm often ridiculously indecisive. 

I can stand at a supermarket shelve for ages going "yes, no, yes, no - oh I'll get this one - wait! that one looks good too!" and it takes me about 10 minutes to decide on which item to bring home.
Well Carman's have solved my indecisiveness with their new combo box! 

You get three flavours - thus you don't need to spend 10 minutes trying to decide

and you get the variety of if you bought 3 separate boxes! 

I love Carman's products - there's only one thing I'd wish they'd do

and that's much a crunchy bar range for the crunch lovers like me! 

So tell me, 

Are you a crunch lover or do you prefer soft and chewy? 

and do you get excited over new products too?!

Kristy received Carmans products courtesy of www.carmansfinefoods.com.au 

If you'd like a review of your products send an email to ksayerphotography@gmail.com

Hello mother nature?

Is it just me, or did mother nature miss the memo that...

IT'S OCTOBER!

 Or maybe she's a little confused,

because this weather is definitely more fall-like than summer.

But, alas, it is what it is.

This cold weather has meant i'm back to eating my fall and winter favourites,

piping hot oatmeal sprinkled with warming spices like cinnamon,

hot chocolates instead of ice cream for dessert,

and steamed vegetables instead of summer salads. 

My wardrobe even had to revert itself back to winter mode

and my cute summery skirts and dresses are right back in the wardrobe. 

I've also realised that studying in the sun makes it 100x more bearable than studying inside.

and studying inside when the skies are dark, miserable and gray and the heavens seem to be streaming from the clouds? yeah, hardly motivating is it?

But hey, I'm not a study bug

so I get to do other fun things,

like reviewing products, 

shopping,

cooking,

exams? pssshhh!

 So here are the Carman's Muesli bars I talked about in my last Carman's post

their signature flavour of warming cinnamon is perfect for this cold weather.

The Apricot and Almond bar is soft and chewy 

with a perfect balance of crunchy almonds and soft apricot pieces. 

 The deluxe muesli bars could quite possibly be my favourite. 

They're chewy with a slight crunchy from the puffed rice and nut pieces. 

These bars are perfect for those with coeliac disease or gluten intolerances

and they don't taste horrible like some other alternatives available. 

Don't like dried fruit but still want to enjoy the chewy oat-y goodness?

Well, Carman's solves that problem too with their Fruit-free muesli bar. 

 You won't find any fruit here! Just oats, honey, cinnamon and nuts. 

Not my favourite because I'm a big dried fruit fan

but this was the favourite of one of my fussy mini taste testers!

Sometimes its good to stick with the tried and true, 

and that's exactly what classic muesli bar is. 

Sultanas, currants and dried apricots are the perfect addition to the honey oat base.

They're soft and chewy and definitely taste more home-made than other store bought bars.

For me, 

the best thing about Carman's muesli bars is what they're made of. 

 All natural, Australian made, GM free, Preservative free and REAL.

Carman's believe that food should come from the kitchen and not the chemist

and this is something I agree with, 110 percent! 

and they're not going to cost you a fortune 

- you can buy them in supermarkets Australia wide! 

....

So this cold weather has me thinking, 

does the weather affect what you choose to eat?

what's your favourite comfort food?

 

For me, when it's cold, I tend to seek the comfort of a warm bowl of oatmeal 

or a hot cup of tea or hot chocolate.

When i'm feeling sick, I crave salad vegetables - why? I have no idea!

For some reason, the freshness of crisp fresh vegetables seems to do the trick every time.

 

 Kristy received Carman's muesli products courtesy of www.carmansfinefoods.com.au

If you'd like a review of your products, send an email to ksayerphotography@gmail.com

You are my sunshine

Why hello sunshines, 

speaking of sunshine.. I think I may have developed a teeeeeeeeeeeeeeny addiction to vitamin D. 

okay, teeny was totally a lie.

If the suns out, then so am I. 

I've been spending 90% of the daylight hours outside, 

soaking up my favourite vitamin :P

The sun making a regular appearance not only puts me in a brighter mood, 

I get to take more photos! Hooray!

I really love how different things look during different stages of the day.

The above photo was taken in the early morning sun.

I've almost developed a crazy "sun schedule" because I've figured out the best places to take photos during different stages of the day. 

Can you tell I'm INCREDIBLY bored with this waiting for my exams thing?

Worse still that while I'm trying to occupy myself during the day, everyone else is busy working or at school.

A while ago I was sent a box full of Carman's Muesli Products

and i'm still making my way through the box! 

These Carman's muesli rounds are just like a big muesli/oatmeal cookie!

They seem more "grown up" than a muesli bar

and would be perfect with a cup of tea.

The apricot and almond rounds had the distinctive cinnamon flavour found in all Carman's products

with the crunch of almonds and soft juicy bursts of apricots, sultanas and raisins.

I loved the soft and chewy texture of the rounds, just like a homemade cookie!

The classic fruit rounds were very similar to the apricot and almond rounds, with that same cinnamon flavour and sweet sultanas, raisins and apricots, however, they didn't have the crunch of the almonds.

These would be perfect for someone who isn't a fan of nuts

Carman's products are available in supermarkets Australia wide! 

So you can easily try some for yourself

..

I found that these rounds are perfect to crumble into my much loved yogurt messes!

Next in line are the range of Muesli bars, but I thought I'd leave that for another post :) 

This week I have my days all messed up.

I swear I thought tomorrow is Saturday.

Maybe I'm just a little too keen for Sweet Saturday!

But tell meeee, 

What's planned for the rest of your week?

and what are you looking forward to?

I'm looking forward to heading to the Farmer's markets on the weekend

and hopefully soaking up some more vitamin D!

Kristy received Carman's muesli products courtesy of www.carmansfinefoods.com.au

If you'd like a review of your products, send an email to ksayerphotography@gmail.com

064.

l

Ladies and Gentlemen, I have an announcement....

I have a new favourite muesli!

While making my way through my box of Carman's Muesli Products 

Carman's Deluxe Fruit Muesli was next in line.

Before being sent the products I'd never tried this muesli - Only their oat based muesli

Carman's Deluxe Fruit Muesli is a crispy, chewy, delicious combination of lightly toasted rice flakes, puffed rice, honey, cinnamon, gourmet nuts and dried fruit.

And it pairs perfectly with yoghurt.

I was inspired by the deluxe title and wanted to make something a little more special than a bowl of muesli,

so I decided to layer the muesli with greek yoghurt and fresh blueberries and top it with a drizzle of honey.

After the photos were taken and I had taken my first mouthful I was impressed,

I loveeeeeeed the chewyness of this muesli.

It's so different from regular muesli and a really nice change.

And the other good thing about this muesli? 

It's gluten free!

So that means that celiacs don't have to miss out on this delicious breakfast 

(or lunch, if you're like me)

When I was younger I had quite a few friends who were celiacs, 

and I learnt how hard it was to find products that were completely gluten free.

It also meant that my friends would miss out on eating alot of the things I would eat.

But thankfully, Food Manufacturers, like Carmans, are becoming more aware of food intolerances.

But keep in mind, just because a product is "Gluten Free" it doesn't mean that it is taste free.

This muesli is my new favourite of the Carman's range. 

And it gets an 11/10. 

And remember, Carman's is available from all super markets - 

So go out and grab a box of their Deluxe muesli to try,

Especially if you're already a muesli fan!

Or if you're not a fan of oats. 

If you wanna know more check out the Carman's Fine Foods Website

So I've asked you about your favourite breakfast,

and I've asked you for recipes..

But now I just want you to tell me something, ANYTHING!

Whatever you like :) 

A story?

A quote? 

A fact?

A joke?

061.

 

another muesli review!

this time I wanted to do something different, 

so I made cookies! 

I was trying to think of things I could do with the muesli to make it a little bit more interesting than 4 muesli reviews

and I suddenly had a craving for cookies.

So I scoured recipe books, hoping to find a good recipe. 

 

 I ended up creating my own recipe because I really wanted chewy muesli cookies 

and I only had a small amount of brown sugar

Kristy's Chewy Muesli Cookie Recipe 

300 grams butter, softened (I actually used light nuttelex)

1 cup brown sugar

1 1/2 cups wholemeal flour (you can use regular white flour if you like)

1 tsp baking soda

3 cups Carman's Classic Fruit Muesli

Preheat oven to 180 Degrees C (355 degrees F)

Cream butter and sugar with a mixer.

Sift flour and baking soda and add into creamed butter and mix until combined.

Slowly mix in muesli, making sure everything is combined.

Shape into balls with two spoons (or a cookie scoop) and flatten.

Bake for 10 - 12 minutes or until golden brown. 

Makes about 20 Medium sized cookies.

 

You have to make sure you really cream the butter and sugar to make sure you get the right texture.

You also might want to refridgerate the dough for half an hour or so to get a more workable dough as it's really soft.

The cookies will come out a little soft in the centre when you take them out of the oven - But don't worry, they firm up once they cool.. And it just makes them soft and chewy in the centre.

These cookies were really delicious! 

However if you want crispy cookies you may want to reduce the butter in the recipe and cook them for a little longer.

The best thing about using Carman's Classic Fruit Muesli in cookies is that I didn't need to add any nuts, fruit, cinnamon etc. Like I usually would in an oatmeal cookie recipe. 

These cookies should keep in an airtight container for about 3-4 days - If they last that long! 

 and they also freeze really well, so once you've shaped them you can pop a tray in the freezerand put them in zip lock bags once their frozen.

So that when a cookie craving occurs all you have to do is break off as many cookies as you'd like and put them in the freezer,

Just add 5 minutes or so extra cooking time.

  

I'm starting to see a pattern with Carman's Muesli, 

its all extremely delicious! 

And I can't wait to make my way through some more products in the coming days. 

Another 10/10!

So tell me, what's the weirdest food you've ever had a craving for?

And how do you like your cookies?

Kristy received Carman's Muesli courtesy of Carman's Fine Foods,

If you'd like a review of your own products send an email to ksayerphotography@gmail.com

 

060.

 

Carman's Natural Bircher Muesli.

Now, I'm a bigggggg muesli fan

so when I received a box full of muesli products from Justine at Carman's Muesli I got excited.

I've had carman's muesli bars before, but never their loose muesli. 

So this morning I sat down to a bowl of Carman's Natural Bircher Muesli 

 mixed with greek yoghurt and topped with blueberries and a drizzle of honey.

The box suggested adding grated apple and keeping it in a sealed container in the fridge but I was out of apples! 

 

But the muesli was delishhh,

As it's untoasted it wasn't crunchy however their was crunch from the tiny pieces of almonds, hazelnuts and pecans as well as sunflower and sesame seeds.

The dried fruit is what made it for me, probably the best part of any muesli in my opinion.

There were sweet bursts of raisins, sultanas and dried apricots. 

The muesli was jam packed with flavour - especially what seems to be Carman's signature spice, cinnamon.

Now i'm no cinnamon fan but I really loved the warm cinnamon taste. 

  

And the best thing of all?

All of Carman's Muesli Products are preservative free and 100% Australian Made and Owned

So you know exactly what's going in your stomach!

You can buy Carman's Muesli products at all good grocery stores :) 

It's definitely a 10/10 for me :) 

So now I want to know, 

What's your favourite breakfast food?

 And do you have a recipe involving muesli you think I should use in my upcoming reviews? 

There will be plenty more reviews of Carman's Muesli coming up soon and I'm hoping to make some interesting recipes with the products - Rather than just muesli in a bowl :) 

Kristy received Carman's Muesli courtesy of Carman's Fine Foods,

If you'd like a review of your own products send an email to ksayerphotography@gmail.com