Devon's Healthier Alternative to Olive Oil: Bell & Loxton Rapeseed Oil

I tried to buy a bottle of this Bell & Loxton Rapeseed Oil a couple of weeks ago at Darts Farm, and they were out of stock, so it was just good luck that I happened to meet the growers at a Taste Buds Magazine event a few days later at Twenty Six cafe.  John and Rachel Bell, the producers, are a lovely couple and seem to be passionate about their oil.  They were kind enough to send me a sample to try out.  I warned them that I only tend to blog about things that I genuinely use and like - I'm not in the blogging business to be cynical or untruthful....they were confident enough that I would be won over.

The oil can be bought in glass or aluminium bottles.  The metal ones are rather stylish with a beautiful graphic design on the label.  The gold detail of the label really evokes the glow of the bright yellow crops in the summer.  I'm happier to keep this on the kitchen work surface than my rather boring plastic bottle of Tesco Olive Oil. And interestingly this is where the Bells are pitching their product.  This is a Devon-grown cold-pressed oil that is comparable to a good olive oil, but wait for this, with even more of the right Omega 3,6 and 9 and half the saturated fat of olive oil.

I straight away dipped some sour dough bread in to the oil.  It wasn't overly strong tasting but had a faint nuttiness and sweetness.  Although I'm a die hard butter user for toast, I tend to drizzle olive oil on sandwiches as I feel that butter is wasted in a sandwich.  So, overnight this oil has become my new 'healthy' butter.

It's also good for frying and roasting - the smoking point must be high enough as it coped really well with a delicious (modified from Jamie) tray bake of salmon and 'what ever veg I had in the fridge and freezer'.  I'm not sure if it was the natural sugars from the peas or the cooked lemon zest, but there was a definite overall light sweetness to the finished dish that we all enjoyed. Photo shows it prior to going in the oven.

It's getting to the point where we can almost stock our entire basic kitchen store cupboard with Devon produce.  I wish John and Rachel the best of luck with their top notch Devon product which certainly won me over, and I look forward to trying the new additions to the range later in the year.

Stocked locally at Shaldon Bakery, Powderham Country Store, Ullacombe Farm Shop , Devon branches of Waitrose and at least forty other locations.

Graze - A New Concept in 'Healthy Snacks'

I have noticed this company, Graze, primarily as it is so close to my own moniker, Grazing Kate.  The concept is that they deliver 'healthy' snacks through the post to your home or workplace, twice a week and you hand over your credit card details and end up paying £ 3.49/ box, including delivery.  I think this is aimed at people with office jobs who know they snack unhealthily whilst at their desk.  The aim is to replace the old crisps / kitkat / another kitkat routine with healthier alternatives in snack-size portions.

 The first two attempts at entering my details on their website failed, but third time lucky.  The package arrived as promised, on a Wednesday.  Next one due on Friday.  I had heard from fellow blogger, Mme Guillotine, that they had paid no attention to her personal taste preferences that she had edited on their website.  Like Madame G, I can't eat seeds or whole nuts (and a lot of their products are very nut and seed based), so I I unticked all those boxes, and I was happy to receive this selection with no nuts or seeds whatsover.

My first pack contained Korean Chilli Rice Crackers (a guilty pleasure), Sticky Choccy Pudding (chocolate buttons and two types of raisin), Pitted Kalamata Olives with Herbs and Milkshake Mix (white chocolate discs, dried strawberries and bananas).  My daughter and I ate the Milkshake Mix straight after school today - they were delicious, and we kidded ourselves that they were healthy.  

Value for money?  I guess if I were a City Slicker (oh, yes, I once was, hard to believe, but that's another story) these would be convenient, a bit trendy and not too expensive compared with other products within the Square Mile.  

However..... I'm an unslick, unhip Devon food blogger who minds her pennies, so after the first pack (free of charge) and second pack (half price), I shall cancel my regular order.

They claim their packaging is as eco and recycled as they can be, although anything in such small packets (within a packet, within a packet) like this is going to involved an excess of packaging.  But at least they've tried.  And I really like the little bamboo cocktail stick for picking up olives.  And I liked it arriving through the letterbox with the rest of the post.  And I liked kidding myself that eating chocolate buttons with raisins is healthy.

This is the 'personalised' nutritional info sheet they include.  I'm really off some of the 'matey chit chat' packaging companies use at the moment e.g. Innocent smoothies springs to mind 'contains 100% absolutely no squirrels', but I quite liked being addressed by name: 

'so Katy, how healthy is this box....?'

'Er....not very.  But thanks anyway.'