Wake me up..

....before you go go cocoa.

I'm probably a marketer's dream consumer.

I'm a highly visual person so of course I'm going to be influenced by what something looks like.

I'm kind of ashamed to admit that if there were two identical products on a shelf, but one was pink - I'd pick the pink one every time.

So what do you think my reaction was went I was sent two mueslis from Therapeutic Gourmet?

Wake Me Up B4 U Cocoa and Get Up and Goji

I think my first reaction was cuteeeeeeeeeee followed closely by this song running through my head on repeat.

In fact, everytime I see the muesli, the song gets stuck in my head - but it's a good song to be stuck with!

Wake Me Up B4 U Cocoa is a mix of raw organic cocoa, coconut flakes, sunflower seeds, pepitas, almonds, flaxseeds, buckwheat kernels, puffed sorghum, puffed corn, rice bran flakes, cinnamon, vanilla and bush honey.

It's a high protein, nutritionally balanced muesli that will give you the energy to go-go :P

At first I thought I was going to find this too sweet, but I was pleased to find that wasn't the case.

The sweet bush honey was the perfect balance to the dark roasted cocoa, leaving only a hint of bitter cocoa flavour.

I loved that it stayed crunchy to the last spoonful thanks to all the delicious honey roasted nuts and seeds.

And it's fun too! I guess you could say it's like cocoa pops for a more mature palate? 

Get Up and Goji is a mix of organic Tibetan goji berries, honey roasted almonds, pepitas, sunflower seeds, sesame seeds, flax seeds, buckwheat kernels, puffed corn, puffed brown rice, puffed sorghum, coconut flakes and spices.

Again, this muesli is protein packed and full of flavour.

Get Up and Goji is a little sweeter than Wake Me Up B4 U Cocoa due to the absence of cocoa and the addition of goji berries.

It tastes great eaten with milk or yogurt and also makes a perfect trail mix style snack!

Therapeutic Gourmet's Muesli's are available from a number of online stores, but if you're interested - send off a quick email to info@therapeuticgourmet.com.au for more info! 

So tell me, 

Are you influenced by the marketing of products? 

and what's the one song that always gets stuck in your head?! 

While I am influenced by the look of products, I'm rarely influenced by their claims. 

I'll also not buy something specifically because it's covered in claims that it will help you lose weight, 

yaddaaayaddaaa

One song that always gets stuck in my head when someone mentions it is...

Copacabana by Barry Manilow (and if my mum reads this, she'll be cursing at me :P)

So now you know what song will be stuck in my head all day!

Kristy received Therapeutic Gourmet Mueslis courtesy of www.therapeuticgourmet.com.au

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

Rise and Shine

Breakfast, the first meal of the day - arguably the most important meal of the day.

It also happens to be my favourite!

I don't know about you, but if I were to skip breakfast my day would probably go no where.

A warm bowl of oatmeal, a crunchy bowl of cereal, a breakfast bake (a la Ashley), pancakes - you name it. 

Breakfast wakes me up and gives me the energy to go on with my day. 

 

Emma Dumas from The Muesli wanted to create a quality breakfast that is nutritionally balanced and tastes great.

The Muesli is 97% sugar free and filled with healthy fats

It's made up of - 

27% Raw Nuts (Almonds, hazelnuts, cashews, walnuts and brazil nuts) 

23% Seeds (Pumpkin, sunflower, linseed and sesame seeds)

36% Rolled Oats

14% Shredded Coconut 

It can be made bircher style by soaking overnight, sprinkled on top of yogurt, eaten straight up or however you fancy!

The Muesli would be good for someone watching their sugar intake, however, for someone like me who is all about balance - I felt like it needed an extra flavour boost.

By adding fresh or dried fruit to "The Muesli" I had a perfectly balanced breakfast that was full of flavour.

You can order some for yourself online or at a number of stockists.

So tell me - 

what's your go to breakfast?

I have a different breakfast every day, flavour wise - but they tend to be based around oatmeal, overnight oats, cereal or muesli with breakfast bakes and pancakes showing up when I have more time for a leisurely breakfast!

Kristy received The Muesli courtesy of www.themuesli.com.au

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

My favourite way to start the day

The first of December, already?!

This year is flying by. 

It seems Mother Nature is still quite confused,

I woke on the first day of Summer to pouring rain that hadn't ceased all night.

Uh, what?

You see, on the weekend when I took these photos it was sunny

and hot - definitely more summer-like weather.

Here I was thinking my breakfasts would be changing from my wintery oatmeal bowls

to summery bowls of cold cereal and muesli.

Well, they kind of have. 

Above was my breakfast on Saturday,

Food for Health Gluten Free Muesli, fresh blueberries

and milk and frozen banana slices were added later on. 

Yeaaah, I'm kind of obsessed with frozen banana.

But you have to try it - especially with muesli

because then you get super chewy pieces of dried fruit! 

Narelle from Food for Health was kind enough to send me their entire range!

I've seen the products at Coles and Woolworths but I hadn't had a chance to try them yet 

so I was definitely looking forward to breakfast! 

The Fibre Cleanse Muesli is packed full of psyllium, oat bran and rice bran to keep your bowels happy and your tummy full! It's also low GI so it keeps you fuller for longer and with the addition of linseeds it adds to your essential fatty acid intake. Your digestive system will love you with the additions of lecithin, magnesium and slippery elm powder. 

But don't worry! It's not just healthy - it tastes really good! Cinnamon, almonds and sunflower seeds work to give you a delicious flavoured muesli. 

The Fibre Cleanse muesli has no artificial flavours or sweeteners and no added sugar or salt

so you know exactly what is going into your breakfast bowl. 

It's fruit free too - which is perfect for someone who's not a dried fruit fan.

The Fibre Cleanse Muesli goes perfectly with some natural yogurt and fresh fruit 

or even straight up with milk.

It'd also be perfect for baking.

To be honest, If you had've told me the Fruit Free Clusters were going to be one of my favourites before I tasted it,

I would've said "Yeah... right.."  

But boy was I proven wrong. With this muesli, Food for Health proves that fruit free definitely doesn't mean flavourless or boring. 

Crunchy, chewy, flavourful clusters that'll make you think twice about their healthy ingredients.

It won over all my taste testers - even the ones who roll their eyes at chia seeds or psyllium.

These clusters are high in fibre and even have the addition of Chia seeds.

I loved the sweetness from the rice bran syrup and the crunch of almonds, hazelnuts, pecans, sunflower and pumpkin seeds. 

It's one of my favourite breakfasts of the moment with frozen banana slices (don't knock it til you try it) 

and milk - super summery! 

The Gluten Free Muesli is what you saw in the first picture,

a crunchy, chewy, flavourful muesli jam packed with dried apricots, apple, cranberries and currants.

You also get the crunch from the pepitas and sunflower seeds - making for the perfect balance.

Now this would probably have to be my hands down favourite.

In the last week I've not only had it for breakfast, but as a snack or dessert too.

It is delicious! and so filling.

The Liver Cleansing Muesli is a mix of ingredients designed to help your liver and digestive system. 

You get linseeds, sunflower seeds, almonds, pumpkin seeds, lecithin, barley bran, psyllium, millet, taurin and slippery elm.
Oh and don't worry - you get taste too :P


Another great tasting muesli that's low GI and packed full of nutrients. 
In my opinion - the perfect way to start your day. 

Food for Health Muesli is so delicious, you'll be wanting to take it everywhere you go.
Unfortunately, carting around a cereal bowl isn't always possible - especially if you're clumsy like me!


Luckily! their bars come to the rescue - chewy muesli in a convenient portable form.
They are perfect for snacking and eating on the go. 

Once again, these bars surprised me with the Gluten Free Fruit Free Bar being my favourite.
Though I am still a major fan of the Gluten Free Bar with Fruit as it's jam packed with apples, currants and cranberries. 


Oh and if you have issues with sulphur, you're safe! Because all of Food for Health's products have sulphur free fruit!
These bars are a perfect healthy snack and they're full of whole grains and healthy ingredients.


Best of all YOU CAN UNDERSTAND EVERY SINGLE INGREDIENT
(applause please, people!)
So that gets extra respect points in my books! 


These products are definitely some of my new favourites! 
and I'm more than excited to share them with you. 
So I think today, you should rush out to your local Coles, Woolworths or Health Food store and get your hands on some! Your tummy will love me! 


If you live in Hong Kong, Singapore, Malaysia or New Zealand - you don't have to miss out
Just check out their international stockists list

So tell me, 
Do your meals change with the season?
Or do you stick to the same things year round? 

Kristy received Food for Health Muesli courtesy of www.foodforhealth.com.au 
If you'd like a review of your products, send an email to ksayerphotography@gmail.com  

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

Nutty nourishment?

You roll over in bed, stretch a little, open your eyes to realise...

It's Monday morning. 

I don't know about you, but for me, 

the worst possible thing that could happen on a Monday morning is thinking it's Sunday.

That's what happened this morning, I got out of bed (still at 6am, mind you)

strolled into the kitchen to make my breakfast when I heard movement upstairs.

My lazy family awake before seven on a sunday?! what?!

It's okay... because they weren't. 

They were awake before seven on a Monday.

fail

But it's okay, Monday can always redeem itself with a delicious breakfast! 

Now that it's starting to get a little warmer (although currently its cold and overcast)

I'm getting back into muesli for breakfast.

For me, a perfect winter breakfast would have to be oatmeal

and for summer muesli with fruit and yogurt goes down a treat!

A little while ago I was sent some Brookfarm products to review.

Their toasted macadamia muesli (pictured second) was a perfect combination of grains, brans, seeds, dried fruit and crunchy macadamia nuts with a fantastic honey flavour. 

I loved the full bodied flavour and crunch of the macadamia nuts.

This muesli makes for a perfect breakfast because you're not only getting your whole grains - but also healthy fats from the almonds and all the benefits of the dried fruit without an overload of processed sugar!

I was also sent Brookfarm's gluten free macadamia muesli with cranberries (first picture)

which was filled with brown rice puffs, amaranth, buckwheat, sunflower and pumpkin kernels as well as sweet currants, sultanas and cranberries. 

Sometimes gluten free products are revolting

I'm talking flavourless cardboard.

But this muesli was delicious! and made for a great change from the regular oat-based muesli

I'm also a huge fan of trail mix.

It's one of my go-to snacks. 

For me, trail mix is about finding the perfect balance of flavour and texture.

Salty/sweet, crunchy/chewy etc. 

Brookfarm's Seven Mile Beach walkabout mix was a mix of dried fruit, nuts and belgian white chocolate.

I love the combination of white chocolate with dried fruit (well actually, I won't discriminate against any chocolate)

and the sweet white chocolate balanced perfectly with the tart dried pineapple. 

I loved how the proceeds from every pack of Walkabout Mix sold goes to Rainforest Rescue to help preserve rainforests in the Daintree. 

Because, afterall, how are you going to go on a "walkabout" if there's nothing to walk through?

Brookfarm also comes through for the Dark Chocolate lovers with their Mt. Bogong Walkabout Mix

This mix was a combination of dark chocolate, cranberries, pumpkin and sunflower kernels, oven roasted macadamias, pistachios, almonds and muscatel grapes.

I think this mix would have to be my favourite of the two because I loved the mix of dark chocolate with tart cranberries and crunchy nuts. 

and if trail mix isn't portable enough for you, Brookfarm have their delicious muesli in bar form

so you can grab and go. 

And the best thing about these bars for me? 

They're all natural with no dodgy ingredients.

Perfect for stashing in your bag for when the hunger monster attacks!

I hope I've knocked a little of the monday funk out of you,

but if I haven't, just remember... 

There's only 4 and a bit days left until the weekend! :P 

To get some Brookfarm products for yourself,
check out their list of  retail outlets and distributors or buy online
You can purchase the products WORLD WIDE. 
So any of you can try it for yourself :)

But do tell me, 

What's your go-to snack?

Kristy was sent Brookfarm products courtesy of www.brookfarm.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

Choices, choices, choices!

 

Breakfast, the most important meal of the day...

For me, I'm all about having variety

the more options I have, the more I'll look forward to breakfast. 

At the moment, my breakfast choices include 3 different types of cereals, K.I.S.S Blend muesli

and of course the muesli you see above! 

I was given the opportunity to make another customized muesli mix, this time by Muesli Mixer

I wanted to make something totally different from the K.I.S.S Blend

to give myself yet another option!

So lets have a closer look at what's in the muesli.. shall we?  

 

Obviously, this muesli is jam packed full of fruit - that's why it's called fruit frenzy!

In Fruit frenzy, there is;

• Three Grains
• Bran Straw
• Buckwheat
• Wheat Pillows (favourite!)
• Amaranth
• Raisins
• Dried Apple
• Apricots
• Currants
• Dates
• Gojiberries
• Paw paw
• Pineapple

This muesli was a bit more cereal-like with the wheat pillows and bran straws.
I loved how many different textures it had and it was a perfect partner for yoghurt! 
I loved this muesli! and it's a perfect choice for breakfast! 

 Do you want to make your own muesli mix like me? Head to Muesli Mixer and create your own from over 55 different ingredients.
Choices, choices, choices!!


So tell me, 
What do you have for breakfast?
and are you someone who likes variety, 
or do you stick to the same thing?



Kristy received this muesli courtesy of Muesli Mixer,
If you'd like a review of your products - send an email to ksayerphotography.blogspot.com