nakd snacks: the little wholefood wonders.

i was recently sent a few treats to try from the lovely people of natural balance foods; a variety of flavours of their nakd raisins and bars. so they're gluten free, wheat free, dairy free, part of your 5 a day and no added sugar or nasties... stop right there and pass me a multipack of daim bars! only kidding, these little things really did feel like quite a naughty sweet after a meal or as a scrumptious mid morning snack. 

steamed pork dumplings.

i absolutely love the type of meals with lots of little dishes - dim sum, tapas and sushi especially. i recently bought a bamboo steamer basket as i've always wanted to try making my own dim sum. i loved the idea of making something again with the stack of rice paper wrappers i bought in chinatown - having made vietnamese summer rolls the other week. so this is a bit of a mix and match of my favourite asian inspired flavours to make these steamed pork dumplings.

i bought this bamboo steamer set with two tiers from amazon for £9.99. i could've maybe picked one up at a local chinese supermaket - though the three near me all close around the same time i finish work :( so what next?

homemade dips with warburtons' escapes chips.

when i found out about warburtons' escapes chips i thought it'd be a great chance to try out making homemade dips. but these aren't just any old chip for dippin' - british bakers warburtons have stuck to their bread loving routes and created a pitta-based snack with 45% less fat than potato crisps. i was sent sea salt and cracked black pepper, sour cream and chive, spicy chilli jack and sea salt and malt vinegar.

for these i made an edamame and chilli dip and posh houmous - both found on bbc good food. i found the edamame and chilli had an expected kick which went well with the black pepper and sour cream (my personal faves!) and the stronger flavour of salt and vinegar and chilli jack (a little too spicy for me!) went well with the cooler houmous flavour. they were really light and were a great shape and texture for dipping (bit of snackology for you).

so how did i make them?