13 Jul 9 healthy food brands you NEED to try..

So, last weekend I visited the Just V Show and the Allergy, FreeFrom expo in Olympia London with my good friend Rick Hay, (if you think you recognise him it’s probably because he’s on a lot of health TV shows…)  if you haven’t been to a health expo before, it’s basically a large hall filled with the best, yummiest and most current food brands in the industry mixed with HUNDREDS of foodies, bloggers and consumers all with the same interest – FOOD.

Vicky and Rick at the Bloomon Stand

As I ate my way around the stalls (see the photo below for proof…) I chatted to brands I already knew and LOVED… i.e Trek, B Free and Gosh and also discovered new brands that I hadn’t yet tried but I already know will become sure staples in my food cupboard.

https://www.instagram.com/p/BWVDl5al9z4/?taken-by=vickyhadleyfitness
So, without further ado, here are some of my favourite healthy, free-from food brands you may already know and some you may not have heard of. Although not all of them were at The Just V show – some you just NEED to know anyway!

Photo credit: Trek

I genuinely am still in shock when people say they haven’t heard of Trek bars yet… Where have you been?! But none the less it’s time to introduce yourself. Trek bars are my favourite protein bars around. They have a good macronutrient split and are high in vegan protein thanks to added the soya crunchies. They come in plenty of flavours from coconut, to banana bread to peanut power (not for me, I’m allergic – but Deni and my partner Josh rave about them!)

Trek have just launched their new ‘chunks’ packet and ‘ohemgeeee’ they’re incredible. They basically look like small cubes of Trek bars and taste like the naughtiest snack possible, however, of course are healthy. My favourite flavour is the Toffee Triumph packet with dates, cashews, soya protein, gluten free oats and other healthy ingredients.

Gosh may be one you have not yet heard of despite the fact they’ve been around for quite some time – although I do wonder how they managed to stay under the radar when they taste THIS good. Free from 14 allergens this is one brand you need to know if you’ve got an intolerance.

Gosh have a range of different dishes that can be eaten as a snack alone or used to accompany your meal. From little chickpea, courgette and Moroccan spicy snacks to large mushroom, puy lentil and butter bean burgers you have a range of everything.

Gosh are available in Tesco, Morrisons and can be found online here.

We all love crisps… yet, we know they are very bad for us and are very fattening, right?… WRONG. Hippeas bring about a new edge – they are made from chickpea flour and are extremely low in fat and under 100 calories per pack. Hippeas are high in plant-based protein and are certified gluten free.

Hippeas have nailed the crisp market with spicy flavours that gets your tongue tingling from ‘sweet and smokin’ to ‘far out fajita’ to cooler alternatives including, ‘in herbs we trust’ and ‘cheese and love’ – which is vegan – of course! They can be found on amazon, ocado and in Holland and Barrett.

Photo credit: BeFree Twitter

For the lunch box alternative. I had previously tried and reviewed B Free’s sweet potato wraps here so, when I saw this brand at the Just V expo, I jumped in excitement at the latest additions to their collection. B Free bread, pitta bread and of course the famous wraps have all expanded.

With chia seed and sweet potato wraps, gluten free pitta and seeded breads, B Free is still my favourite go-to brand for healthy carbs. The products are low in fat and high in fibre and have each got a slightly unique alternative. If you are avoiding gluten or thinking about going gluten free- take my advice – this is the brand you NEED to go to. You won’t feel as though you’re missing out and your stomach and gut will thank you too!

B Free is available at Asda and Tesco and can be found online here.

Vicky with her first ever Bounce ball

Well, I’m sure you’ve heard of Bounce before. I definitely had but due to the fact I’ve only recently been able to add nuts back into my diet I hadn’t yet tried them. Bounce have just launched their new VLife balls which are a blend of vegan protein mixed with fruits, veg and nuts. I tried the almond and kale flavour and it was incredible! They do not taste at all like kale – but the health benefit is there.

They have unique flavours including cashew and peanut, almond and spirulina, almond and kale, beetroot and cashew amongst others. The balls have around 9 grams of vegan protein within them due to the rice protein addition and are chewy and delicious thanks to the grape juice and gluten free oats – yum!

They are available in most supermarkets as well as boots, holland and barrett and more. For the full range of stockists see here.

Photo credit: Wellaby’s

The second in the crisp family to be featured are Wellaby’s simple bakes. Brand new to the health industry, Simple Bakes from Wellaby’s are a healthy wholegrain snack with only 6% fat per packet. They are another free-from option and are certified vegan. Simple Bakes have under 100 calories per serving and have a delicious spicy kick to the flavours; from Spicy Chilli and Smoky BBQ to Salt & Pepper they have given those with food intolerances or clean eating foodies a perfect healthy substitute and the Bikini Girls LOVE them for it!

The chocolate spread to DIE for! For all us dairy intolerant sufferers or plant based lovers who opt for dairy free alternatives this will be your saviour. Free from dairy, gluten and nuts sweet freedom is a delicious chocolate spread with almost nothing in it! It has 13 calories per 5g serving and has an extremely low macronutrient content making it a dieters dream.

Sweet Freedom also do a hot chocolate product which I haven’t tried yet but if the chocolate spread is anything to go by I’m going to guess it’s probably pretty great… (Christmas list… what?)

Rather a supplement brand than a food brand as such, but Your Zooki is one to remember. Say goodbye to the days where we used to swallow the disgusting fish oil capsules that gave us our omega 3 and hello to a fruity, delicious alternative. YourZooki have a range of products that can be taken alone or with food in order to get your omega 3s, vitamins or minerals in. I have been trying the Omega – Peach Mango flavour (the orange one) and the Omega V 3-6-9 flaxseed oil (the pink one) which comes in strawberry banana flavour and I can honestly say they are amazing! You can not taste the supplements at all – in fact the taste is extremely pleasant and mixes well on top of oats, in smoothies and on fruit salads.

Buy them here

Another protein bar in the list. Huel bars are a chocoholics’ dream, very high in protein and fibre they are a fantastic alternative to a chocolate bar. Huel bars contain all 26 essential vitamins and minerals and are thankfully certified gluten-free and 100% vegan – thanks to their gluten free oats and pea protein ingredients – yay!
Huel bars are extremely filling so you won’t need to worry about continuously snacking if you’re dieting as just one bar will keep you going for a while!

Huel are available here.