I'll start off by saying I am NOT a fan of healthy food.
Takeaways, sweets, chocolate, crisps, McDonalds, that's pretty much my staple diet. Every now and then, I buy fruit, eat a bit, forget about it and it goes off. So I adopt a buy now, eat now tactic! However, since I've been spending time with @SpamellaB, I've been encouraged to, well, eat a little healthier.
So when The Frozen Fruit Company got in touch with us on Twitter, I was determined to give it a go. However as I read through the blurb - just made from fruit, free of additives,
flavourings, chemicals, fat, refined sugar, colourings and calories - I was bloody suspicious. To me those are all the things that make food and especially desserts, tickle my taste buds.
When a box arrived up in Manchester for Pamela & I, I was pretty sure I wouldn't like it anyway. I had it in my head that it would be sour, tangy, bland and tasteless crushed up fruity yoghurt or fruit sorbet wrapped up in pretty packaging . We each took a pot of each of the three flavours, Strawgo, Orangeberry and Blackberryblue and headed home to test them out.
You can read Pamela's review of The Frozen Fruit company from a healthy food lover's perspective of them on her blog over on - SpamellaB.com
Check it out.
No seriously, I mean it.
It's an excellent read!
I'm not just saying that because I'm her friend and biased - her blog is what started our friendship in the first place.
The first thing I noticed was the package was VERY pretty. I'm a sucker for things that look luxurious and gold rimmed lids with clean labels and colourful pots appealed to me straight away. They remind me a little of the Duchys Original range.
In true junk food lover style, I scoffed a plate of fish & chips before settling down to test out the frozen fruit pots. The first thing that I noticed when browsing in the ingredients is it's literally just fruit. It's not an ice cream mix, or a sorbet mix or a frozen yoghurt - just pure fruit.
The first thing you notice when you take the lid off, is how punchy and bright the contents appear. When I knew it was just fruit, I was expecting it to look quite chunky but the reality was a smooth looking, vibrantly coloured treat. Things were off to a good start! I decided to get started with the Strawgo flavour first.
Made up of mango & strawberry, it was surprisingly sweet. I find strawberries can often be quite tart, but the creaminess of the mango was a pleasant counterbalance and even after a night in my freezer, it was still quite pliable and didn't give me the dreadred brain freeze. I also have very sensitive teeth and normally, can only manage small mouthfuls at a time with ice cream before it hurts.
Not so with The Frozen Fruit!
It simply melted into my mouth before it had a chance to attack those dreaded nerve endings.
Next up came Orangeberry.
Tangier then the first one, the flavours didn't blend with each other rather than explode together to create an overwhelming distinctive taste. I could pratically taste the Vitamin C getting to work in my system and it rather reminded me of a Calippo ice lolly. Quite possibly my favourite - I think it would work very well with a creamy dessert like cheesecake to mix up the flavours though the Frozen Fruit guys suggest you can try having it with with granola for breakfast.
Finally, BlackberryBlue.
The Frozen Fruit guys sent us tasting cards which describe this one as their most subtle and least sweet. I love berries, particularly when they're all mixed together or those forest fruit type ranges but they were pretty spot on with their description here. For me it was the most disappointing, I could barely taste anything and for something that looks so dark and appealing, I was a little bit gutted by the lack of flavour. Thumbs down for that one unfortunately, sorry guys!
The verdict
Whilst I won't be rushing to change my eating habits any time soon (you've got your work cut out Spam!), these were definitely a surprising alternative for me and a way for me to snack on something healthy and good for me without wasting money on fruit I won't finish whilst at the same time satisfying my incessant sweet tooth. I'll definitely be stocking up on the Orangeberry one!
The 500ml tubs are pretty filling (I still have about half a pot of each left after two days of scoffing) and because they're fat, dairy and gluten free, low in calories and contribute towards your 5-a-day, they're suitable for just about anyone! Now if only I could get my hands on the little bitesize 120ml tubs, I could quite happily snack on these all day long as an alternative to all the rubbish I normally eat and tick my 5 a day box (one for breakfast, mid morning, lunch, mid-afternoon & dinner = SORTED!)
The mission is to bring them up to Manchester and get them stocked somewhere so I can constantly get my hands on them!
If you want some tips on how to jazz up your frozen fruit, check out the fantastic Creative page on their website for amazing serving suggestions. It's making my mouth water just looking at them....better head to the freezer!
