A new month and a new series of totally unbiased, unsolicited and non-sponsored reviews of…well, new stuff I’ve tried. It’s a pretty simple premise really – nobody pays me to do these so all opinions are incredibly honest. Sometimes too honest.
Three months in, I think this category is here to stay, so if you want to check out the last few, you can do so here.
Boom Bars
Elzaan and I are always on some or other diet. We call them ‘eating plans’ or ‘lifestyle choices’, but really they’re just there to stop us from stuffing our faces with pizza and doughnuts.
Our latest ‘lifestyle choice’ is a Paleo based diet. It’s pretty complicated, but I’ll try and explain it briefly, otherwise, there’s always Google. Basically, if your ancient palaeolithic ancestors didn’t eat it, you shouldn’t either. It’s dairy free, grain free, legume free, sugar free… and can sometimes be, a little fun free.
To be fair, we really enjoy it and it’s the best eating plan I’ve ever been on. I have loads of energy and very little cravings. Very little. But sometimes, you just need something to replace that sweet, sweet 9pm Twix bar hit. We’ve ended up trying a whole bunch of these primal / paleo snack bars and they’re all okay, but we’ve always agreed that they don’t really replace the real thing – Our test is “would you buy it if you didn’t have to?”.
These Boom bars are the first time we’ve said, ‘holy shit, that’s delicious’. Basically, these things are filled with all kinds of superfood goodness while still remaining dairy-free, egg-free, gluten-free, soy-free and peanut free. I’m not really sure what they put into them, but deliciousness might be a key ingredient.
The conclusion: At about R30 a pop they’re not cheap but If you’re looking for a better alternative to that afternoon snack, they’re definitely worth it. We’ve done a bit of research and it seems that Faithful to Nature is the best place to get them (if you can get around that lame delivery fee). Go for the Metamorphic Brownie, its a winner.
Marshall Stanmore Bluetooth Speaker
Okay. Full disclosure on this one. We didn’t only test out this Marshal speaker in September, we’ve had it for over a year now, which makes it about the perfect time to review it!
We love our music! In fact, Elzaan is borderline obsessed with having music on all the time, it’s like soul food to her. We also like things that look nice. This Marshal Speaker was really a no-brainer when we needed to replace the Bluetooth speaker in our new apartment. I mean look at it!! It looks awesome right? It has just the right amount of retro cool to make it suitably modern.
But how does it sound? Again, awesome. It’s louder and clearer than you would expect, so a definite plus. The build quality is also outstanding. It’s solid and really well finished off.
But the real question is would I recommend it? I’m just not sure that I would to be honest. See, with all its beautiful looks and sounds, it’s not without its problems – much like those kids on Pop Idols (Is it still called Pop Idols?). The Bluetooth on the Stanmore, is a little wonky (technical term) sometimes it connects, sometimes it doesn’t, sometimes it holds a connection, sometimes it doesn’t. The overall Bluetooth range seems to be about a metre or 10…again, wonky. Luckily though it comes with that super cool spirally earphone jack, and although it looks and works great, it decreases your range by even less than the Bluetooth. This brings me to our biggest grievance, those little flippy nobs and buttons. Boy oh boy do they look good, it really finishes off that retro look right? Yep. But that means that combined with the wonky Bluetooth, everytime you want to turn it on/off, up or down, you need to do it manually. Doesn’t sound like a big deal, but over time, it becomes a real pain in the ass.
The conclusion: If they could just sort out the Bluetooth and give this guy a remote control, it would be perfect. Until then, there are way better speakers out there. I say throw a little more money at it and maybe go for a Bose (I’ve heard good things).
Clemengold Gin
This little Clemengold package was dropped off about 2 weeks ago and although we haven’t had a chance to try the chocolate, marmalade or panaforte (too busy smashing boom bars) we got stuck right into the Gin – We used it to make a Tom Collins on our latest WMBW Drinks post and it was a real winner.
There really isn’t much to say here. The stuff is delicious. The citrus flavour is slight enough to not be overpowering and just strong enough to give a citrusy undertone. It just works so perfectly with most Gin drinks (generally served with a twist) and will literally make the best G&T you’ve ever had in your life.
There is, however, one slight problem. The bottle is only 500ml, and with a Gin this good, it really doesn’t last long – our bottle lasted a little over a week. What!? It was a hot week and we were hydrating!! This wouldn’t be a massive problem if it didn’t cost R350 a bottle, but it does. And at R350 for 500ml it puts it in a pretty premium price range.
The Conclusion: Buy it, try it and hide it. You can’t go through summer without trying this delicious gin, but be warned, it’s addictive.
That’s it for September. I’ve already got some ‘great’ hair vitamins I’m trying out in October, but am open to requests.
Okay. Stay Fancy.
