It's Graze box time again! Now admittedly, I've skipped a box because I've been really busy! However, here is a quick review of my last box:

Omega Booster Seeds

I was a bit wary of these as I'm not a big 'seed' person, but these surprised me as they were quite moreish and nice to snack on. Also, because I only ate a few at a time they lasted ages!

Marvellous Macaroon 

I really liked the cheeky bit of white chocolate in this punnet, and the Amaretti drops were yummy! This was a nice but naughty treat.

Apple and Blackcurrant Crumble with Blackberry Compote

Part of the new 'Little Puds' range, this was honestly so nice and the perfect pudding for after Sunday dinner which satisfied that 'dessert' craving you sometimes get, but was also packed with lots of good stuff!

Tomato Dipinetti

This was the only thing in this Graze Box that I really wasn't a fan of, which shocked me really because I thought I would love this! I don't know what it was, but I just didn't enjoy the taste.. maybe it was a bit too tomato-y for me?

So, overall I enjoyed this box, but it wasn't the best I've had and I'll be making some adjustments to my Graze preferences! Now, moving on because I got a....

New Box!

Yay! So what did I get this week? Well...

Florentine

Belgian dark chocolate, cranberries & pumpkin seeds... erm, yum! This sounds right up my street and I'm looking forward to this a lot! It is 200cals per punnet though so I will probably eat this in two halves!

Slightly Sweet Popping Corn

This is one of the first items I ever got from Graze when I ordered a free trial box, and I loved it! You get so much popcorn from this little packet and it is so yummy (especially when warm). So happy to have been sent this again.

Korai Chutney

Don't really know what to expect from this one..The Korai chutney and little curry bites (which look like little rice cakes to me) only amount to 70cals so I'll be happy if I end up liking this one. I like chutney and I like curry so I have high hopes!

Fruit & Seed Flapjack

Graze Flapjacks have to be one of my favourite things I receive from them. They are so yummy and moist, whilst being packed full of goodness! They are split into three pieces and I like to split eating one over three days when I'm feeling the hunger!

But that's not all...!

I have a bonus Graze Box to share with you all. A Graze Breakfast Box! Yes, that's right, you can now get your breakfast from Graze! Well, sort of... You have to join the waiting list and wait for a code, but for me this literally took a day! So, like all Graze boxes, you get your first one free! So I thought, free food? Yes please! Before I knew it I was rating porridge like nobodies business! A few days later my breakfast box popped through the letterbox full of porridgy-yumness! Now, I was a bit naughty and forgot to actually snap a photo of the box... so here's a description of what was inside!

Blueberry & Lingonberry Porridge

Now, I have no idea what a 'lingonberry' is, but I do know blueberries and I love them. This was so nice, full of berries and refreshing!

Coconut & Date Porridge

This is the only one I haven't tried yet, but it looks full to the brim with coconut! Should definitely make my porridge a bit more interesting!

Blackcurrant & Cranberry Porridge

Another berry-based breakfast so a winner with me!

Apple & Cinnamon Porridge

This was by far my favourite! The flavors worked so well together and felt so warm and 'comfy' to eat on these ridiculously cold-for-May mornings.

I loved my breakfast box, and although I'm not sure I will re-order because I have a ton of porridge in my cupboard, it really opened my eyes to the new flavors I could try and what I could add to my porridge to make it a little more interesting. Best of all, porridge is really good for you and really fills you up! I could instantly tell the days I hadn't had porridge because I got oddly hungry only hours later. If you like porridge and want to try something new, join the waiting list and get a free box and discover some new flavors!*

*At present the Breakfast club is only open to current Graze customers.

I hope that's filled up your Graze cravings!

Until next time..

Love,

*Someone*

2013 for me, was a wake up call. I needed to do something about my water in-take, it was pitiful! Now I've never not liked water, but it can get quite boring and I found drinking anywhere near 8 glasses of water a day a chore! So, at the start of this year I set myself a challenge to drink more water and I found 10 helpful tips that really made drinking water enjoyable. It's now May, and while I don't manage 8 glasses everyday, I now drink WAY more water than I ever have, and I very rarely drink anything else (except on treat days of course).

 So here are my Top 10 ways to drink more water and how to enjoy doing so!

1.Keep a chart

One of the best things I did to motivate myself to drink more water, was to make a chart to track my progress. This took a couple of minutes to create in Microsoft Excel, and it's basically a tick chart where I can mark of drinks 1-8 everyday of the week. The challenge was to first mark off all 8 boxes in a day, and then 8 boxes for all seven days of the week. It's great to look at the chart at the end of the week too see all of the ticks and knowing all the good you've done to your body!

2. Add Flavour

Photo Source: keyingredient.com

Now water is odd. I for one can't describe it's taste. There's no denying it can be really refreshing, but five glasses in and the 'taste' (whatever it may be) can get really boring. Solution? Give it some flavour! Now I've seen this idea all over Pintrest and Instagram and I, for one, love it! Basically you take a big jug of water and add lots of tasty things, such as frozen fruits, lemon, lime, cucumber and mint for example, and let it sit for a while to infuse the water with all those delicious flavours. The longer you leave it, the more infused the water gets. Refreshing isn't the word! Bye, bye boring water!

3. Buy a fun cup!

I for one am a sucker for anything 'fun' or 'cute'. If a cocktail looks cool, I will probably buy it. So I thought, why can't the same thing work with water? So I went out and bought myself a bright and colourful cup, that at £1 from Tesco, definitely didn't break the bank. It's a small thing, but it definitely makes drinking water more colourful and less bland.

4. Have a drink every time you eat

If you drink every time you eat, you'll soon be consuming most of the water you need in one day. Have a glass of water every time you snack, and with every meal. Not only will you be consuming more water, you'll be keeping yourself hydrated and full up and the water fills up your stomach. Win, win!

5. Have a competition with a family member or friend

One of my main incentives for drinking more water, was to act as a good example for my niece. So I challenged her to a competition to see if we could both fill our drink charts with ticks by the end of the week, and if we succeeded we could both have a treat from the shop at the end of the week. This incentive inspired both myself and my niece to drink more, and it soon became habit.

6. Have an incentive... cheat day

Following the last tip, make sure you're giving yourself something to work towards, whether you're doing it with a friend or not. Have that treat day where you're allowed other drinks to keep you motivated. This also keeps it fun, and less like a everyday chore.

7. Take it with you!

To make sure you can drink all day, keep your water with you! Get a good 2 litre bottle, fill it up first thing, and keep it with you all day as your source of water. Aim to finish the bottle by bed time and you'll be drinking more water in no time. Remember to clean your bottle regularly, and change it after a while as it's not good to continuously re-use a bottle, especially if it's plastic.

8. Use an app to set reminders

I found one my biggest problems, was remembering to actually drink throughout the day. Luckily, there's an app (a few actually) that you can use to set reminders on to alert you to drink more water. You can also track your daily intake like on the chart. I personally use 'Drinking Water', a free app from the Google Play Store.

9. Instead of pop, get a fancy bottle of water

When you're out and about, there is far more temptation, especially in world of drinks. So, instead of getting that bottle of pop or cocktail (If it's not a treat day), invest in a nice bottle of water. Bottled water can be a real experience these days with different companies trying to out-do one another with fancy bottles, or unique tastes. If you really want to treat yourself, check out the range of water available from Selfridges, which includes limited edition water such as Love H20:

As part of my health-kick to get summer and holiday ready, I jumped on the Graze band-wagon after seeing a voucher code in an issue of Cosmopolitan. The offer allowed you to try a box for free so who I am to give up free food? Well, I tried it and I loved it. The portions are perfect for snacking and if you tailor it right, it can be really healthy. 

Many have argued that it is a gimmick and a waste of money; 'Why not just buy a pack of seeds?' I hear them say. Well, after trying to snack healthy since the start of this year, I know first hand how expensive it can get.  When you consider all the other healthy snacks you can get from Graze (over 100!), I personally see it as a bargain at £3.89 a box including delivery. Ofcourse, it's each to their own, but as I only have a box delivered fornightly it really doesn't put much of a dent in my spendings, and I get to try loads of foods I would never try normally because of their bulk price in the supermarket.

So, with that, I got my Graze box on Monday and I thought it would be a good idea to share what I got this week, and then I can review the snacks in a later blog post.

So here is this weeks Graze Box: