I’m always on the lookout for new and amazing health and wellness products for life in the kitchen, the gym and at home. Here are my current faves; a combination of some of the latest sample products (gifted) that have come across my desk for me to try out, and the products I’ve found myself that I can’t get enough of right now!
Nibblish Gently Baked Bananas and Strawberries
I’m always keeping an eye out for new snack ideas to try with my toddler, so when Kiwi brand Nibblish sent me some of their Gently Baked fruit I was keen to give them a go. With no preservatives or added refined sugars, the banana flavour (100g – 5 servings) contains only bananas, while the strawberry (80g – 4 servings) contains strawberries with apple juice.
Sweet and delicious, the strawberries were the biggest hit in our household, made a great addition to lunchboxes or snacks, and I would be happy to buy them again. Available from selected New World and Pak ‘n Save supermarkets nationwide for RRP $4.99.
Red Seal Propolis natural toothpaste
As both the husband and myself have receding gums we’ve been doing a lot of thinking about our dental hygiene lately and putting some effort into changing our routine. As part of this, we’ve been giving Red Seal’s Propolis toothpaste (100g) a go which says on the pack that it’s for healthy gums. Paraben-free with no added fluoride, you simply use it in place of a normal toothpaste.
The propolis – a resin collected by bees from plant material – has antibacterial and antiseptic properties which may help maintain healthy teeth and gums. Once you get used to the flavour (unusual if you’re used to typical minty toothpastes!) and the light grey colour (comes from the propolis), it’s pretty much business as usual at toothbrushing time. Not sure on the RRP but I bought this from our local New World supermarket and I remember that the price didn’t make me flinch!
Miri Skincare Balm
I was given a sample of this and without reading properly I glimpsed the word ‘balm’ and assumed it was for my lips – given I needed lip balm at the time I applied it first then read the details afterwards and found it’s much more multipurpose!
This all-natural, New Zealand-made topical balm is made with kiwifruit seed oil, which adds moisture to the skin preventing dryness and cracking, and Manuka honey, which has healing and antibacterial properties. This is a simple, soothing solution for dry or cracked skin, burns, chapped lips, scrapes, insect bites, shaving rashes and preventing nappy rash. It’s highly likely to become a staple in my hand bag (which also doubles as my baby bag).
Get a tube of Miri Skincare Balm for yourself at leading pharmacies nationwide for RRP $12.99 (25ml).
Barkers of Geraldine Fruit Compotes
Samples of this new range were sent to me the other day and my family has been slowly working our way through them. Being compotes they do contain sugar, but as I’m an everything-in-moderation girl I’m happy to use them as part of our balanced diet. Preservative-free and gluten-free, they are made from 65% whole fruit and can be used in place of canned, fresh or frozen fruits.
Have them with your breakfast, use in baking, add to desserts, or for something different serve as a sweet addition to cheese and crackers. We’ve been enjoying the compotes on top of plain porridge, mixed through thick natural Greek yoghurt, or on top of fresh fruit salad. I’m excited about trying them out in some muffins over the next week.
Available in four different flavours – Rhubarb, strawberry & raspberry, Boysenberry & blackcurrant with chia, Black cherry & vanilla with apple, and Peach, mango & passionfruit, find this range of compotes at leading supermarkets around New Zealand in the canned fruit section for RRP $5.99 (500g pouch).
Lo Bros Organic Kombucha
I’ve been late on the kombucha bandwagon. I know it’s supposed to be good for you/all the fermentation/good bacteria/etc. but I’m not easily sucked in just because a food is considered by everyone on Instagram to be ‘healthy’. Besides, my criteria for continuing to buy a food or drink product extends to more than it just being healthy. I’ve tried kombucha three times now – one of them was home made – and to be honest I generally don’t like the taste (and I really don’t like the funky aftertaste).
I picked these two bottles up from my local New World and while the Original flavour still wasn’t my thing, I liked – perhaps even enjoyed!? – the Apple. I’d be interested to hear what your thoughts are on kombucha below; by all means give it a go and if it’s not your thing, try the Lo Bros Apple I would actually recommend it. Plus bonus points for it being made in New Zealand.
Dettol Disinfectant Wipes
I’ve said a few times on the blog that I will always try to use natural cleaning products around the house when possible, but sometimes – especially as a mum of a toddler – you really just want to nuke the germs and disinfect some of the surfaces in your home (and I’m yet to find natural products that can disinfect to a standard I’m happy with when I’m on the go).
Dettol recently sent me some of their new Disinfectant Wipes in lemon and lime twist fragrance, and their Glen 20 Disinfectant Spray in crisp linen. The wipes come in three sizes – I like it that the smaller ones are handy for travelling; I’m likely to keep the smaller pack in the car or I’d even carry it in my handbag when I’m out and about… cafe tables and supermarket trolley handles scare me when it comes to cold-weather illnesses and my baby! All of the above products kill 99.9% of germs and viruses which sounds pretty good to me.
Fibre One Salted Caramel Squares
These days I don’t really tend to advocate snack bars unless they’re made from wholefoods, however, I’m realistic enough to know that many of my clients and blog readers still want to know about other pre-packaged food options in the supermarket as they are convenient to take to school and work for snacks. A packet of these were sent to me for review so I checked them out.
Each individually packaged serve is 90 calories (your average processed snack bar like a muesli bar is probably around 120-150 calories) and contains a little over 5g of dietary fibre per serve which is about the same amount as what’s in two average-sized apples.
I’m not sure whether these are quite as guilt-free as positioned with just under two teaspoons of sugar per serve, however, it’s probably to be expected from a salted caramel-flavoured treat! Personally I’d rather get my fibre from fruits, veges and wholegrain bread or breakfast foods, however, if you’re after a sweet treat to kick a craving these are a better bet than a chocolate bar.
Find them in leading supermarkets nationwide for RRP $4.99.
Images / NZ Real Health