When in Spain...

I have just come back from yet another holiday, this time to Majorca. It was very relaxing and a great opportunity to top up my tan! I was still on the hunt for new health trends in the market and whilst there, I came across the most fantastic frozen yogurt shop "yao-yogurt".

It sold frozen yogurt, smoothies, juice and fresh fruit pots. It was situated by the beach, along the main strip of shops, therefore experienced lots of passing trade throughout the day and also stayed open till about midnight in the evening. As you can see the main colour scheme is fluorescent pink, which is eye catching and runs consistently through the text, chairs, menu and staff uniform. This colour stands out in the sign against the competition surrounding where all the shops looked very similar and bland

Frozen yogurt is a relatively new trend in the market and offers the cold, creamy refreshment as ice-cream but with less than half the calories and sugar content. At "Yao-yogurt" you could choose from a variety of toppings, including fresh fruit, chocolate and cookies. I chose strawberries and then counteracted this healthy choice with white chocolate, but its all about balance (which I probably told myself far too many times last week). However, it was delicious and we visited a few more times throughout the holiday.

There was a real gap in the market for this shop in  Majorca as the weather was gorgeous, therefore meaning that the ice-cream market would be thriving. However, I still believe this could be exploited in the UK, perhaps selling smoothies and juices aswell, to balance out the seasonality affect of the horrendous weather in England.

If  you have not tried frozen yogurt yet, then give it a try as I can guarantee it will surpass your expectations. You can also make your own in the freezer and serve with fresh fruit, meringue or fresh fruit purée for a healthier dessert option.

Thanks for reading, now to return to rainy English life.



Caio for now
Toni
xoxoxoxo

Juicy lucy

Hola, I have finally made my blog look prettier, wahoo!!

Recently, I have developed a real sweet tooth for fruity drinks. I think this has originated from my recent holiday to Spain, where frankly water is just not what you desire on a sandy beach, in the heat of the sun, whilst listening to the sound of the waves (ahhhhhh, bliss!) However, after reading the nutritional value of my favourite drinks, such as Fanta, Diet Coke and Lilt, I decided that they there were 2 options: cut them out of my diet or substitute for something healthier.

Cue healthy fruit drink review....

I spotted this drink on the supermarket shelves quite a while ago, purely due to its beautiful bottle. This is a fantastic marketing move due to the fact that the fresh juice market is very populated. With top brands such as Tropicana, Innocent and Copella providing natural, high quality, yet slightly above average price juices. There are also own brands, which also provide delicious juices, which are lower in price and have the consistent and reputable brand of, for example, Sainsbury's. Therefore, it is more important than ever for any new entrants which aren't category leaders to differentiate on the shelf.

Coldpress is a natural fruit juice brand, with the slogan: no cooking = pure taste. They differentiate through the technology of their juicing process. This process is called HPP, which goes against the widely used methods of heating the juice, in order to pasteurise it, so that it lasts longer. Instead coldpress, plunge their bottles into cold water, to ensure that each fruit stands out in the flavour provided.

Coldpress have various flavours, but I went for the pink lady flavour, which was beautiful. Pink lady apples are my favourite, however as a student I don't get to indulge in them as much as I would like, as they are quite expensive. But, fortunately my mum loves them just as much, so being back home is bliss! The juice was heavenly and low in calories for a sweet, fruity drink and would be perfect in the morning or as a mid-afternoon pick me up. It is priced around £2 a bottle, which is relatively highly priced compared to competition, but what it has to offer is fantastic.

Thanks for reading.

Caio for now
Toni <3
xoxoxoxxoxoxoxo

Vegetable cake..... healthy right?!?

This blog post is going to be slightly different, it was inspired by my dad bringing home what looked like 2000 pieces of rhubarb from his allotment. Summer time is fabulous in the Watson household, there are fresh fruit, vegetables and salad everywhere from my dads allotment plot, along with constant talk of watering cans, compost and the hose pipe ban ....

I have recently noticed the increase in emphasis in supermarkets providing their fruit and veg in more like a market style. Particularly Morrison's, where you pick the fruit and veg and even better it is guaranteed to be fresh, due to the fact that it is sprayed by a mist of water all day. This is a fantastic mover advantage for Morrison's as it makes them stand out from the market leaders, Tesco, Asda and Sainsbury's. Which has definitely come at the right time for consumers, as there has been a significant increase in organic produce and customers being more interested in the freshness and origins in produce, as opposed to the cost.

So, with this mass of rhubarb, I decided to make a cake! Baking is not my strong point, but I gave it a good bash! It was a courgette cake (which alright is still cake, but surely slightly healthy as it is one of your five a day.... well maybe not!) with a rhubarb curd.

I mixed the rhubarb with sugar and water to make the curd and added it to crème fraiche, which is far healthier than cream. Then made a sponge mix and added about 3 grated courgettes, again fresh from the garden. I did add sultanas, however, on reflection would be better without.

The finished product was looking too good to be true to be honest, but in it went into the oven. Obviously licked the bowl prior to that, has to be done.

The cake suprisingly was beautiful and went down a treat with the family. However, now I am worried that we are going to have rhubarb coming out of our ears next year, with hope that more of these cakes will materialise..... However, in terms of health content I am going to stick to savoury vegetables and stir frys.... maybe ;)

Caio for now
Toni
xoxoxox