Plant Hemp Vegan Snacks + Oil

One of the best things about blogging, besides meeting lovely bloggers and PRs and being part of such a supportive online community, is being able to try out new products and brands that I might not have come across if I hadn't been blogging.

Plant Hemp produce a range of hemp based products, grown in Canada. I was very kindly sent a couple of products to try. I haven't tried anything containing hemp before so I didn't know what to expect - I remember a couple of seasons of Bake Off ago, one of the contestants used hemp oil to make flapjack/breakfast bars, I think

I have the *Plant Hemp Super Minis Forbidden Fruit which are natural, suitable for vegans and gluten free. They come in little squares, two of which contain 110 calories, 4g protein and magnesium, manganese and iron. The bars are quite hard, I would definitely prefer them if they were softer but they do taste great - they have a nutty/seed and earthy taste. I've been having them as a snack with a cup of herbal tea. Overall rating: ★★★★☆, 4/5.

I also have the *Plant Hemp Oil which is a great source of omega 3 and 6; it is suitable for vegans, it is raw and it is non-GMO verified. There are so many brands of hemp oil online as well as SO many articles about it so it can be a little overwhelming. I have only used it a few times so far mainly as part of a very simple lemon salad dressing and it works well but I really need to try other recipes. It has a nutty/seed and earthy flavour so I think it would be great for upcoming autumnal recipes. There's a recipe on the Plant Hemp website for avocado hemp oil dressing which I need to try as I LOVE avocados. Overall rating: ★★★☆, 3/5.

Overall, I'm happy with both products, more so the super mini snacks but if these aren't your thing, they do have lots of other products including maple cinnamon superfood which can be added to smoothies. These products aren't going to be for everyone but I'd definitely recommend them if you are looking to try some hemp products but don't know where to start.

Have you tried any hemp products?

Buko Coconut Jam

Last year I tested out the Buko coconut water, which I really liked and now Buko have released their line of coconut jam...yes, coconut jam. I didn't know what to expect but I love coconut so I wanted to give them a go.

I have the *Buko Organic Coconut Jam (£4.55, 330g) in the chocolate flavour, original and naturally sweet with sea salt. The coconut jam is naturally sweet 100% organic, gluten free, Non GMO and preservative free.

The *Buko Organic Coconut Jam with Chocolate was the one I wanted to try the most and I pretty much instantly loved it. It looks like chocolate spread but it has the consistency of solid coconut oil and it tastes like a melted country bar (but not quite as chocolatey or super sweet). While writing this post I've already made quite a dent in it...oops.

Next up the *Buko Organic Coconut Jam with Sea Salt which is almost as moreish and delicious as the chocolate one. It has the same solid coconut oil texture which I like but I think if you're not used to it then it will be a little unusual. I've been using a small amount on toast and I'm thinking of ways to incorporate it into recipes and baking - I think it would be great as a binding agent for homemade granola.

Lastly, the *Buko Organic Coconut Jam - Original; sadly it's my least favourite probably because it isn't quite as sweet as the other two flavours. Overall, I'm really happy with the sea salt and chocolate flavours and I'm quite surprised at how much I like them! Overall rating: ★★★★☆, 4/5.

Have you tried any of the Buko coconut jams? Would you try them?

Halloween: Vegan Chocolate & Coconut Muffins with Vegan Jelly

Halloween is almost here *squeals* and it's time to start baking halloween treats! I am trying to cut out dairy as much as I can from my vegetarian diet so the frosting, cupcakes and jellies are all 100% vegan. 

Firstly, the jellies as it is best if you set them in the fridge overnight. I used the Molecule R kits from IWOOT. I used the noodle version as the syringe made it easier to dispense the jelly into my moulds. I followed the instructions on the packet and I used cranberry juice as the flavouring along with some vegan red food colouring. I had a silicone mini gingerbread man mould already that I used to make the decorations and I used the kit as it should be used to make red noodles! I left them to cool then put them in the fridge overnight - they don't keep that well so I wouldn't leave them for more then a day or so in the fridge. 

Now onto the muffins, I found a recipe online and I adapted it as I didn't have some of the ingredients and I'm so happy with how they turned out because I personally don't like really sweet cupcakes (that's one of the reasons I don't ever make them or eat them). The muffins are a little dense, they are not like cupcakes or non-vegan muffins but I think they are just as good. Here are the ingredients:

1 1/2 cups of plain white flour

1 cup of white sugar

1/4 cup of cocoa powder

1/4 teaspoon of salt

1/3 coconut oil

1 teaspoon of vanilla extract

1 teaspoon of baking soda (bicarbonate of soda)

1 teaspoon of apple cider vinegar 

1 cup of water

Step one: I measured out the solid coconut oil and melted it, you just want it to be liquid (don't let it boil) - it melts very quickly and leave to cool slightly off the heat. 

Step two: Measure out the flour, sugar, cocoa powder, bicarbonate of soda and salt into a bowl and mix. If your flour or sugar are lumpy then sift them into the bowl. I used powdered hot chocolate as we didn't have any cocoa powder so the taste wasn't as chocolately as it would have been with the actually cocoa powder. We usually have the Cadbury Bournville Cocoa Powder for baking which is great! Some hot chocolate powders and cocoa powders have added milk powder in them already so you need to find one that is just cocoa. 

Step three: Add the wet ingredients to the dry ones we already have in the bowl. Pour in the melted coconut oil, vanilla extract, apple cider vinegar and water and mix well! Don't worry you don't taste the vinegar - just the chocolate and coconut. 

Step Four: Pour the mixture into your muffin/cupcake cases, I used cute halloween cases! Make sure the mixture is as even as possible in each one but don't worry if they aren't perfect! I filled my cases 2/3 full and then baked for about 20 - 25 minutes in the oven at 170 degree celsius on the fan setting. 

Step Five: To test if they are cooked push a wooden cocktail stick through the muffins in different areas and if it comes out clean each time then they are cooked, if not then leave in for a few more minutes but keep an eye on them! When baked leave to cool completely otherwise the frosting and jellies will melt and slide around. 

Now onto the frosting and this was definitely a trial and error process that became very messy, very quickly and if I made these again I wouldn't add the frosting as I don't really like frosting anyway but it does make the muffins looks more traditional/non-vegan. 

I used icing sugar, vegan butter (I use the Pure non-dairy sunflower spread) and various flavourings from Taylor and Colledge pastes - I used the peppermint and vanilla flavours. I had to experiment with differing amounts of butter to icing sugar to get the thickness and amount that I wanted so I don't have any measurements, sorry!

Finally for the presentation, for some I left them without any decoration and others I added the frosting and jellies which I think looks so cute with some pre-made coloured icing on to make them more colourful. For two of the muffins I crushed some chocolate biscuits (non-vegan) into small red baking bowls and added the muffins. You can present them any way you like! 

Will you be making some halloween treats? What do you think of my vegan recipe? Have you tried any of the Molecule R kits?