A New Year, A New Tea

Tea, Glorious Tea

I don’t do New Year resolutions. I might as well write down things that I have no intention of following through on as I always used to break them. Of course I have goals, targets, wants and wishes however these are ongoing.

One of my ongoing wants, wishes and needs is twofold; to continue working away at losing weight via Slimming World and to feel better (healthier) in myself. Last year a friend of mine from SW and outside gifted me a bag full of herbal teas, fruit teas and what not after I was diagnosed as being lactose intolerant which was a blow. I’d been feeling really rubbish for ages and won’t bore / disgust you with the sometimes rather severe symptoms but needless to say having cut dairy out of my diet I feel SO much better. The teas she gave me started me on a journey of really enjoying a relaxing and flavoursome (milk-free) brew (she’s a star!).

Since then I’ve cut my coffee down to two cups a day and am enjoying the health and hydration benefits of drinking caffeine free alternative teas such as green tea. Before Christmas the lovelies from Dragonfly Tea got in touch and asked if I would like to test out some of their teas to see what I thought. Being a new tea fan I was happy to agree and was thrilled when these four boxes appeared.

Mellow, clear, fresh, tasty and deeply satisfying are just some of the words I would use to describe these. My personal favourite (or my special tea as I call it) is the Moonlight Jasmine Organic Green tea although the other three flavours I’ve tested (vigorously), Moroccan Mint Organic Green Tea, Cape Malay Chai (a real warming tea) and Green Gaucho Organic Mate Tea are all delicious!

Thanks to Jackie for introducing me to alternative teas and to Dragonfly for sending these fabulous teas for me to try out. I find cutting the caffeine and drinking more of these types of drinks beneficial to my health , mood and of course my hydration.

Dragonfly Tea – The Company

Dragonfly are a British family-owned tea company with over a hundred years of experience is sourcing, growing and producing specialty or artisan teas, Their Dragonfly Specialty range has been certified by the Organic Food Federation and they are staunch members of the Fairtrade Foundation. All teas are GM-free, the bags are bio-degradable, the teabag wrappers are recyclable and chlorine free and more can be see, read and sampled via their website and you can speak to the lovelies at the company via Twitter.

 

Dragonfly

*I received four boxes of teas free of charge and was asked to write about my experience, good or bad, after testing them. Dragonfly have had no control or influence over my write up and therefore you may be confident that my words are true to my own thoughts, feelings and experiences.

Family Fever

The New, Improved and Fabulously Fruity Panda Drinks

panda

Who remembers those iconic blue coloured fizzy drinks which were a special treat (I remember them from the ice cream van or at the school disco)? They were Panda Drinks, great fun and lovely tasting.

Bringing their brand up to date so that our own children may enjoy the same quality of flavour with a healthy slant Panda Drinks have relaunched and released a new range of drinks. We were sent a selection of fruit flavoured waters and juices to try. Needless to say they didn’t last two minutes as the boys loved them! Panda Splash, the orange and pineapple flavoured water as well as blackcurrant flavour as well as the new Panda Still Juice range including blackcurrant and raspberry flavours look set to be every bit as popular, if not more so, that their earlier counterparts.

These new “no nasties” drinks are both delicious and perfect for packed lunch boxes. With schools employing a firm policy against what are deemed unhealthy foods and drinks in school pack-ups these new Panda Drinks bottles fit in nicely. Hydration boosting and perfectly sized (250ml) for little hands Taylor (3yrs) loved taking his to nursery. The sports caps make these easy to open and close and of course are considerably less messy than straw drinks and open bottle lids.

Currently available at Asda, Tesco and Ocado and priced at £1.99 for a six bottle multi-pack these work out competitively priced and in many Tesco stores Panda Squash is now available in one litre bottles for a very reasonable 99p each. With a number of new flavours to discover including the new tropical and summer fruits there is something here for everyone.

For school packed lunches, carpet picnics (we spread blankets out in the lounge for our picnics now the colder, wetter autumn weather has arrived!) and for on the go we love the new Panda Drinks which offer everything we look for as parents (health benefits, no rubbish, easy to use bottles and a decent price) and of course the kids love the flavours.

They may not be blue and fizzy anymore however Panda Drinks are still as special now as they were then, simply more focused on what we are looking for in a soft drink for children in 2014

 
Splash! Panda Drinks