New Food Finds | Part 5

Gifted | Affiliate links This month's food finds feature four fantastic brands. Take a look. Chef Akila's Vegetarian and Ve...

Gifted | Affiliate links

This month's food finds feature four fantastic brands. Take a look.

Chef Akila's Vegetarian and Vegan Curries

Based in Yorkshire, Chef Akila is a multi-award winning start-up that specialises in clean curries that are handmade, freshly frozen and delivered to homes around the UK. The start-up was founded by Akila Chockalingham, a 75-year-old grandmother from southern India and her son, Dr Senthil Kumar who is an NHS consultant doctor.

Coming from South India myself, I was very keen to try out Chef Akila's curries and was not disappointed. The food was clean, delicious, healthy and as tasty as I had expected it to be.

All of Chef Akila's curries are hand-cooked by Akila and her team, out of their 5-star rated, gluten-free kitchen in Yorkshire. Everything is cooked from scratch with no base gravies or ready sauces used. They also do not use artificial colours, flavour enhancers, preservatives or MSG. All the food is cooked using traditional Indian methods with the finest ingredients. The freshly cooked food is frozen within minutes of cooking using special blast freezers. So, when you receive the food and heat it up it feels and tastes freshly made.

The process of ordering from Chef Akila is very easy. Browse their selection of hand-crafted recipes, pick your choices and place your order. Your food will be delivered to your door frozen in insulated boxes. All you have to do is heat-up the food and enjoy delicious and authentic India recipes!

Chef Akila's menu includes vegan, vegetarian and meat based options. We tried out some of their vegan and vegetarian offerings and LOVED it. The curries and biryanis that we tried out were:
- Vegetable Salna
- Vegan Tikka Masala
- Aubergine & Peanut Curry
- Akila’s Black Dal
- Paneer Butter Masala
- Lentil & Vegetable Curry
- Chef's Jackfruit Biryani
- Coconut and Cashew Rice

All of the food was delicious and perfectly seasoned but our favourites were:
- Paneer Butter Masala (real, proper Indian Paneer Butter Masala with an authentic taste.)
- Aubergine & Peanut Curry (reminded me of my mother's brinjal curry.)
- Lentil & Vegetable Curry (we enjoyed this with 'Vada' which is an Indian deep-fried, savoury snack. It made for a great combination along with vada and coconut chutney.)
- Jackfruit Biryani (this was a revelation; so tasty. I have never been a fan of jackfruit and was surprised how well it worked in the biryani both in terms of taste and texture.)

You can order individual curries or you can choose from one of the Chef’s Choice Curry Boxes (6 packs of curries/biryanis/rice). The 6-pack Curry Boxes cost between £49 to £70 per month, including delivery. There is even the option to order monthly curry box deliveries where you can get 12.5% discount.

Interested? You can browse Chef Akila's menu and place your order at www.chefakila.com

Nexba Kombucha and Kefir

Another fantastic find this month has been Nexba's Kombucha and Kefir.

Nexba is a leading Australian soft drinks brand and they recently launched their range of sugar-free drinks in the UK.

We tried two of their offerings - Kombucha and Kefir (both fermented drinks loaded with nutrients and millions of live probiotics and great for the gut).

Nexba's Kombucha is currently available in 4 flavours - Strawberry & Peach, Elderflower & Lemon, Rose Lemonade and Mixed Berry. The fermented drinks are made from real oolong tea leaves and contain a unique strain of 500 million probiotics in each bottle!

The Kefir is available in Strawberry & Peach flavour and is fermented using real kefir crystals and is packed with anti-inflammatory, antioxidant and antimicrobial goodness.

Both the drinks contain no sugar or fructose, no nasty preservatives, have zero alcohol, are GMO free, BPA free, keto friendly and are 100% vegan. They are sweetened with a Secret Nexba Blend that is a mix of stevia (pure plant-based sweetener) and erythritol (made by fermenting the natural starches in fruits such as pears and melons). According to Nexba, the blend tastes just as sweet as sugar but has none of the nasty side effects.

Another thing that I would like to bring to your notice is that Nexba use a special strain of smart live culture, Bacillus Coagulans. These are encased in a hard shell which means they can survive the harsh PH levels in the human stomach and make it to the gut intact.

We enjoyed both the Kombucha and the Kefir. Great tasting products with nothing artificial at all!

Nexba's products are available from Sainsbury’s. For more information on the brand, visit www.nexba.co.uk

ChicP Veggie Bites and Hummus

ChicP is a sustainable UK brand known for its hummus range that is made  entirely from surplus vegetables. Founded by Hannah McCollum, the brand's ethos is to prevent food waste by creating healthy and delicious hummus from vegetables that would otherwise go waste.

The hummus range (RPP £1.99) comes in a number of different flavours like:
- Raw beetroot & horseradish
- Carrot, ginger & turmeric
- Chilli pumpkin and
- Herby.

We tried the 'Herby Houmous', which is an earthy, green houmous. Some key ingredients in the hummus include chickpea, parsley, spinach and garlic. It has a delicious taste and can be used as a dip, sandwich spread or for dunking. It paired well another of ChicP's offerings, the Veggie Bites (RRP 2.50). The veggie bites are yummy and healthy balls full of aromatic flavours and vegetables. Great taste too. The Veggie Bites are available in three flavours:

- Sweet potato & rosemary veggie bites
- Beetroot & Apple veggie bites
- Spinach, parsley & red pepper veggie bites

Both the products are dairy, nut and additive-free, and are suitable for vegans and those on low calorie diets. To learn more about ChicP and stockists, visit www.chicp.co.uk

Jubel - Fruit-infused, Vegan Craft Lager 

Jubel is a craft lager that is gluten-free, suitable for vegans and just 125 kcal per bottle.

The small batch beer range currently includes three flavours - Peach, Grapefruit and Elderflower, all of them containing carefully selected natural ingredients. At just 4% ABV, the light gold lagers are refreshing and deliciously flavoured making them a lovely summer treat! We loved it. My favourites - peach and grapefruit!

Jubel is available in Sainsbury’s (330ml, RRP £1.85) and in most pubs and bars across the country.

For more information, visit www.jubelbeer.com