A review of two different bars...

'Ello
Today, I feel like reviewing two rather different bars, which are very similar in the overall aims and principles but quite different in taste and texture/appearance.

The two bars you will now read about are presented below! :3

Nākd- Caffé Mocha

LoveRaw- Coconut Chia

So... I'll evaluate each bar and provide you with a review, and then I'll compare them. Sounds good? YES. Now let's get going ^-^

Caffé Mocha

A rather recent coffee flavoured bar by the company Nākd. 

Ingredients- I have no problems at all with the ingredients used in this bar. The bar is approximately 67% dried fruit and 26% nuts. It is around 7% flavouring agents used to give it the unique, coffee taste. Don't get scared off by the term 'Flavouring Agents!'. What this means is ingredients that give this bar the unique taste that sets it apart from other bars. This is 6% cocoa to give it a chocolate touch, and 1% of what is listed as 'natural flavours'. In this case, there's a 99% chance that this contains some form of coffee extract, which is rather amazing because although the bar has a distinctive flavour, it is only about 1% 'Natural Flavours'. If you want to know how small this is, divide a Nākd bar into 10 pieces. Now divide each of those pieces into 10 again. Take one of those pieces, and that is how much 'Natural Flavours' the bar has. The ingredients are very impressive. Mainly dates and raisins, which come with benefits of their own. Dates and raisins are both very nutritious and boost the value of this bar. The high nut content, in the form of cashews in this bar, is also impressive and delivers healthy fats often found in nuts and some other nutritional benefit as well. Finally, cocoa is only around 6% of the bar but does contribute to the total antioxidant content of the bars. 

Appearance and Texture- I have to admit that for me, this is the most boring area to cover. However, the appearance of the bar is quite nice and not repulsive at all. It is a very nice bar shape, quite dark in colour and the appearance also shows just how raw the bar is. You can see the nut pieces inside quite clearly, too. The texture is fairly soft and moist, chewy but not too chewy- just right. 

Nutritional Value- Alright, again, I find this a fairly dull area to cover so... 

Let's just get to the parts most people are going to want to know. The bar clocks in at 130 calories (which is about 6-9% of most people's daily calorie intake recommendation). 3 grams of protein, 3 grams of Fibre which is approximately 12% of most people's suggested intake. 

Taste- Well, it's healthy, but how good  is the taste? There is no point of making a healthy food if it tastes horrible, so how does this particular bar stack up in terms of flavour? Well. Since I'm not American or English, I may not be able to make the same comparisons as you, so it's up to you to try it out and see what it tastes like :D In other reviews, I have seen comparisons to brownies. The bar has a strong coffee smell, and taste too. It is very sweet, and to be honest if you were to ask me what it reminds me of I would say... well...

You know how sometimes you have coffee flavoured chocolates with those coffee fillings inside?

Well... I have to say this particular bar reminded me of just this filling on its own in both taste and texture.

Coconut Chia

The first bar I have tried from the company LoveRaw. It is intended to be coconut flavoured. 

Ingredients- As with the Nākd bars, I have no problem at all with the ingredients used in this bar. The ingredients are as follows; Almonds, Dates,Coconut, Figs, Chia Seeds, Cinnamon.

Almonds contribute to the nutritional content and are high in positive nutrients such as Vitamin E. Dates , as previously mentioned, are quite nutrient-dense and so are the figs. The coconut is very healthy and makes sense to be the third ingredient, Chia seeds are a very popular 'superfood' that make up approximately 10% of the bar and cinnamon contributes to the unique flavour. No problem at all, every ingredient is very healthy and something I approve of ^o^

Appearance and Texture- Very similar to the Nākd bar in texture but much lighter in appearance (which is actually quite obvious). However, apart from that, both bars actually look very similar to each other. In texture, this bar is quite hard and stable to the touch and soft once you start to chew it. This bar has a different shape- it's wider and shorter. You can literally see the almonds and chia seeds in there :)

Nutritional Value- Unfortunately, I threw away my wrapper and was unable to find the information online. There are  213 calories (which is 10-15% of most people's suggested allowance) and about 6 grams of Fibre, which clocks in at about 25% of the suggested intake! :) Omega-3 content is 1272mg and there are 1997mg of Omega-6. 

Taste-  Coconut flavour is quite subtle but still detectable. The sweetness is at a good, balanced, level- not too sweet and not too...well...bland. The cinnamon flavour really does stand out and makes this bar taste great. Overall, I do like the taste of this bar and since I never had Chia seeds before, I cannot really comment on how much the Chia flavour stands out. However... I do know that the balance of ingredients used is surely good! Although the cinnamon is the last ingredient, it stands out quite strongly. 

Now, here goes the comparison ^-^

Similarities-  

• The overall aim of both bars is the same. A healthy snack bar that provides sufficient energy. 
• Main ingredients are also very similar. Fruit and nuts make up the base of both bars.
• The appearance is also almost identical except for colour and shape.
• Texture and taste is quite similar, with the flavour differing (obviously).

Differences-

• The flavour, quite frankly. Nākd is also sweeter.
• The shape- the Coconut Chia bar has a wider and shorter shape.
• Nākd is more suitable for a younger market because of the bright, appealing packaging and language used on the wrapper (for example; the encouraging messages  are very casual and user-friendly)  
• LoveRaw focuses more on the super-food content and health of the bar, and Nākd focuses more on taste than LoveRaw does. However, both companies appear to have both the taste and health in mind. 

That's it for today!

What am I reviewing next?  

Raw chocolate covered Goji Berries- predicted date for the review is Thursday

Other Notes:

• My birthday is coming up on Friday, and as a special (okay...that's a bit of an exaggeration but ya gotta learn how to exaggerate if ya wanna survive in today's world) treat, I think it won't do any harm to reveal my age. I already revealed that I live in London, so I assume I can also reveal my age. I won't get any more personal though. At least not now, anyway. 
• This blog is going to get an autumn make-over just in time for October. Actually... it would make more sense to switch it to a Halloween look for the month, and then in November back to autumn. I know I'm a little late since Autumn started over a week ago, but hey. 
• I'm finally going to comment on this for the sheer pleasure of whoever the heck posted that comment. M'kay, I got my first hater the day before I left for vacation, and yes, I DID anticipate this coming. Anyway, the exact comment said ''You have a horrible life. And you suck.'' Firstly, what do I suck? I'm actually sucking a hard candy right now UoU So if that was your intention, gee, surprisingly accurate. At first I didn't want to bring this up, I was just like.. ''Alright, haters gonna hate, move on.'' So I did, and managed to forget about it. In future, I probably won't bring up any more hater comments in the blog, but this was my first one. Anyway, moving on; okay, you can't really say I have a horrible life because what I wrote down was just a very vague outline of ONE day, which is in short about  0.02% of my entire life so far. Dude, you can't just make a judgement based on just over 0.01% of my life, and since that post wasn't even THAT detailed, you probably only got a glimpse of LESS than 0.01%. Logic in that? I doubt the commenter is even reading this blog unless they're really sad and are looking for more ways to envy me (oh yes, I'm that vain). Anyway, the hater is also very stuck-up and I can tell because they said I have a horrible life. Did I mention bullying, threats, abuse, violence, racism, slavery, captivity, murder, starvation, poverty etc. etc. ANYWHERE in the post? NO, I DID NOT.And those things are the defining parts of a truly horrible life. If you think my life is horrible, I dread to think how cold-hearted you are. Bottom line- I was not at all impacted by your comment and I find it funny you commented anonymously :) You are a very cold-hearted saddo that I don't want to get into any further contact with. Gee, I don't care who you are. For all I know, you could be the same person as one of my ''friends''. I don't even care x3

                                                                           

Fudge Flavors

I love fudge- but until this August I have only ever heard of the regular and chocolate flavours. Never before had I tried any other flavour, and I suppose you can imagine the look on my face when I, a fudge lover, saw newer flavours that I have never seen before.

Of course, not all fudge flavours are created equal and I have discover that whilst some of those fudge flavours truly are amazing, others would be better off making their way into other recipes that are not fudge.

Without further ado, here is my review of my top fudge flavours and those that don't really taste as good. Let's go!

Good Fudge Flavours

Way to go. The way those heavenly combinations of flavour simply melt in the mouth is truly amazing, like a culinary work of art. Literally.

Nut-  Nut is a great flavour. Of course, the taste of regular fudge dominates it but the subtle nutty flavour is a great addition. It's not too strong, but not too gentle, either, so you get just the right hint of nut in there. 

Vanilla- Well, I don't really know what to say about vanilla. It tastes just like regular fudge, but maybe even better. Why? It seems like vanilla is just made for fudge. Gee, I think vanilla should become a part of regular fudge. Vanilla fudge tastes amazing, and even though sometimes you cannot differentiate between vanilla and regular, I still love the taste.

Chocolate- Tastes like chocolate, but not so much that the fudge flavour is totally lost. It's a really balanced combination and tastes great whenever I want some chocolate. Chocolate lovers won't be disappointed, honest.

Coffee- Tastes as good as it smells. Fudge and coffee do make a great combination, and you can detect the slightly strong coffee flavour very well. However, it's not so strong that it makes you sick or want to spit the fudge out. Excellent for coffee lovers especially.

Regular- Of course, there's something about regular fudge that got me hooked. It's not just the sweetness, it's something about that unique flavour that makes fudge wonderful.

Bad Fudge Flavours

Yes. I love fudge. But I probably wouldn't eat those flavours because they just don't belong with fudge. Of course, you might love those flavours, and if you do- keep loving! It's just a matter of opinion and opinion≠fact.

Apple Cinnamon- It could be because of my recent random nauseous feelings after eating apple cake and now feeling slightly wary towards the Apple Cinnamon combination, but fudge, apples and cinnamon do not mix. Nope. I felt a bit strange after eating the fudge, but washed it down with a regular fudge.

Cinnamon- It's not just Apple Cinnamon, I'm not a fan of the cinnamon fudge combination either. It doesn't taste very good. Cinnamon belongs more in apple crumble and certain cereals!

Coconut- I don't hate the flavour, but I don't think it qualifies to be on the good fudge flavours either. Coconut isn't made for fudge, and the coconut flavour is also too subtle. 

Chocolate Mint- I like chocolate mint. So I thought I would like chocolate mint fudge, too. I was totally wrong. The fudge tastes a bit bitter and the chocolate flavour is totally lost in the mint. I felt a bit sick after eating this fudge. Darn :(

Which fudge flavours do you love, if any? Which don't you like?

~Lilac

The return

Hello!
Happy September!
I'm back, yay yay woo.
Well, actually, I have been back since Thursday very very very early morning.
Anyway!
I feel far too lazy to post every tiny detail of my vacation BUT I will post about it anyway.
Sadly, I don't have any photos that I can put on the blog.
The flight was cool, obviously I was a bit scared on take-off and landing but hey, I survived, right?
We landed at around 6-7pm (I think) and arrived at my grandma's house at about 11pm.
While I stayed at my grandma's house, I went to the city a lot, bought things, bought lots of candy and made my own box out of a shoebox for storing all those delicious little gems. Plenty of fun, we saw many things including a multimedia fountain :D
And... we relocated to a place nearer the wedding on the 4th of September. The journey was quite long, but we did it eventually. The apartment we stayed in was great. The wedding was from the 6th-7th, and that was plenty of fun too! I fell asleep at around 3am, and had to wake up at around 10-11am. I was very tired on the 7th though, and barely had any energy. Life lesson learnt; when invited to a wedding, it's best if I don't attend the second day if there is one because trust me, lack of sleep=awful me.
There were loads of fun things we did- I went in a cable car up a mountain, visited some amazing restaurants, bought funky souvenirs from the town centre, visited a mine (it was a guided tour),a park of miniature figures and even went on a bobsled twice! o3o
The journey back was extremely long, and tiring. I have to say that Germany is one of the worst countries I have ever traveled through end-to-end because of HOW LONG IT TAKES! And no, I don't see any of this;

Instead, it's just this;

We just about made it on time to board the ferry, which was cool,too. I ate a fruit salad and cornflakes.

DON'T JUDGE ME DUDE

I was tempted by a muffin, but then I noticed it was one of those big ones and had over 500 calories and things like that right before bed  make it harder for me to fall asleep O-o I was like; mkay then, never mind because then I won't be able to fall asleep T^T

HERE ARE MY MOST NOTABLE PURCHASES FROM VACATION! :D

• A beautiful blue nesting doll.

  

  Meet the family. Address- Plain Road,Dull City,Northern Desk.

• A sand picture. It's like sand and coloured water in a frame and when you turn the frame around, the sand goes from the top to bottom. It's very relaxing :O
• A mug. WITH THIS FACE.

• A lot of awesome key rings, one with my name on it! o3o Four are meme key rings, one has a cute mini purple nesting doll (which can't be opened sadly),one has a cute fluffy thing on it,one has a gemstone. Yeah, I think that's it.
• A nyan cat label for my bedroom door!!! :D
• A tiny blue glass swan.
• A 'lucky tree'. A small rock with gold metal twisted so it looks like twigs. On the 'branches' are small turquoise gemstones.
• LOTS AND LOTS OF CANDY
• A small fountain for my room. It's going to come in a parcel from my gran, but it's awesome! It cost me the equivalent of around £16.40, but I'm too lazy to work out the exactly exact cost. From what I remember, there's a little basin and you pour water into it (you can add essential oils for a nice smell circulating around your room. I already got Rosemary but I plan to buy Peppermint, Lavender and others). On top of it is a cover to hide the basin. There is a model of an angel on a clam shell, and inside the clam shell is a glass ball to signify a pearl. When the fountain is plugged into electricity, the water circulates around and also the glass ball spins. It is also illuminated by colour-changing light!
• That's all I remember. I probably missed some though. OH WELL XD

I CAN RETURN TO SCHOOL ON MONDAY, THE 15th OF SEPTEMBER.

HMM.

I WONDER HOW IT WILL GO O-O

My day :O

Hey! ~(◕◡◕)~
This is a description of my day today, thankfully I have made it more exciting for you. Aren't I so abnormally nice?
So, I woke up at around 10-ish BECAUSE BECAUSE BECAUSE I couldn't fall asleep last night! ◕◠◕
This has been happening to me for quite a while now and it's getting on my nerves. I don't want this to happen when I return to school!
This is what I had for breakfast. Note I didn't take a photo of my breakfast so this is somebody else's bowl but I had it too if you get what I mean.
DON'T JUDGE >:O

Om nom nom ♥○♥

Yummy yummy for my tummyyy! ♥

Refreshing.

My mum was away so I decided to work on my sequin art. But I couldn't get the first pin in because my finger hurt so much! So then I got round to writing in my journal.

Nothing exciting happened today, except the fact my mum bought me 3 Nākd bars! YAY!

She bought me;

Yay! Love the crunch ones! :D

More crunch!

Never tried those until today!

I then went to a shop. A shop which buys and sells entertainment, and stuff. Mum gave me £5 to spend on new DS games, especially for the flight.

Guess how many games I got for £5? THREE!

Oh, the joys of second-hand stuff. 

I tested them, and they are in excellent condition. WIN! Definitely going there again :D

There was a second-hand game for £35, though O_O

But the more popular games (Zelda,Pokemon, etc.) are the more expensive ones, and since I prefer most of the less popular stuff it's good for me cost-wise! :D

Anyway, the games I got are;

>Dr.Kawashima's Brain Training (£0.75)

>Big Brain Academy (£1.50)

>Planet Rescue Endangered Island (£2.50)

That should keep me occupied for the flight, especially since I also have a bunch of other games, my Kindle and a book.

On the bus home, I tried the Pecan Pie bar. I can say it's yummy! :D

And... I can say that's all I have to say for today.

Apologies!

-Lilac

Yummy Summer Smoothies!

Hey! {◕⩌◕}
Few Summer things can beat sipping a delicious, fruity smoothie bursting with flavour after a well-spent large amount of time in the sun.
I have been wanting to write about this for quite a long time now, but decided to wait until I got a picture of the smoothie. However, as I pondered on what to post about today, I figured that if I didn't post about the smoothie now then you wouldn't be seeing any smoothie posts until next Summer.
So... the long-awaited smoothie post at last!
I love those smoothies- they are quick, too, so go well with breakfast. Or any meal, to be honest! They are tasty, and you can mix and match flavours. Banana Chocolate? Go for it!
Here's how to make the smoothie- first of all make sure you have:
~ Your base- ideally a fruit  or fruits of your choice. For instance; bananas, strawberries,plums. Boil hard fruits in water for a bit until they soften.
~Any other extras- so, more fruit, chocolate, vanilla essence, peppermint oil etc.
~Optional but highly reccomended- milk or plain yogurt, or dairy-free milk such as coconut or soy.
~Optional;sugar,honey or any other sweetener

Once you have all those, you're good to go! <(^O^)>

1. Prepare the fruit- so peel and slice banana, peel,boil and slice apples, and so forth.
2. Put all the fruit in a food processor or blender. 
3. Toss in any other extra ingredients. This includes sweeteners. NOT THE MILK/YOGURT/DAIRY-FREE MILK THOUGH!
4. Blend the fruit for 5-10 seconds and add the milk/yogurt/dairy-free milk.
5. Continue blending.
6. Once the texture looks alright to you, pour it out into a glass, stick a straw in it and enjoy!

Aren't smoothies just awesome?
If you are stuck for extra ingredients, how about those?

• Cinnamon
• Ginger
• Oils such as orange,peppermint and so forth
• Chocolate
• Caramel
• Jam

See where your imagination takes you!
Good flavours are;

• banana-strawberry
• apple-cinnamon
• caramel-chocolate (a special treat- kind of like Millionaire's shortbread in a glass!)
• chocolate-mint
• chocolate-orange
• strawberry-vanilla

Have you ever tried making your own smoothie?
Stay happy,stay safe and have an incredible day!
-Lilac <3

Chibi Mania <(>∨<)>

Hello! (\(◕◡◕)
I found this awesome Chibi Maker on Doll Divine, and you too can take advantage of it!
So, I have expanded my imagination and made tons and tons of adorable Chibis, here are my favourites! ~⨀∇⨀~

Hatsune Miku

Spring Chibi

Summer Chibi

Autumn Chibi

Winter Chibi

Fire Chibi

Earth Chibi

Air Chibi

Water Chibi

Starfire (from one of my favourite TV programmes as a kid- Teen Titans! :P)

And her buddy, Raven!

Yay! It's Harry,Ron and Hermione! :3

I hope you all have a wonderful day, stay safe,healthy and kawaii! :3

Lilac <3

DIY Kawaii Pet!

Aloha! (\(∵◕◡◕∵)(\
As you know, I have previously expressed my love for making things. The 5 main reasons why making things is awesome are;

1. It's much cheaper! You see a scarf for £7 while you can make your own scarf using materials you already have for much less. Same goes for other things! For instance, a keyring might sell for £8 but you can make your own for much cheaper. A decent sized batch of polymer clay usually  costs around £5-10! (Prices may vary according to size)
2. You get a super-cool, rare object that NOBODY else has! As a result of making your own things, a rare object is in your hands that only YOU have.
3. It kills time! Making your own things is the perfect cure for boredom, with some ambitious projects even taking weeks! There's plenty of variety- whether you need to find a way to kill 15 minutes with something simple or a couple of hours, you are likely to find what you need.
4. You choose it ALL. Sure, store stuff is often awesome. However, do you wish that skirt was just a little softer, or do you think a heart pattern would have looked good on a hat? Making things puts you in complete control- you can choose how frilly you want to make something, or how bright you want the colours in your keyring to be. Making things is also a great way of getting stuff you can't find in stores!
5. It's the best gift- handmade stuff is always victorious over factory-made! Sure, those store birthday cards might have gorgeous art or funny jokes, but nothing beats a card you took your time and effort to make. Plus, it's much cheaper. I know for one that a batch of card/paper costs less than some of those cards!  Making gifts is totally awesome, too. For instance, handmade friendship necklaces or even a stuffed toy. (Yes, you can make stuffed toys! It takes a LOT of soft filling though U◡U)

Back in early  March, I made myself a REALLY cute fluffy pet thing. It was pink, and it lived in my school blazer pocket ^-^ It watched everyone as I walked around the school, it watched my teachers and watched me eat my lunch xD
However, on the bus back home one day, I LOST it! I was really sad because the material piece I used was my only one, but now I have some more of a similar material and I made myself another friend!
It's not exactly the same, it's a bit more fragile, but anyway...

Isn't that cute? *o*

I have some more of that material in bright blue, and I might make myself some more :D

It looks a bit like a hamster, hehe.

DIY Fluffy Pet

Difficulty: Easy

Time required: 5-15 minutes

This fluffy pet makes a great ( rather kawaii!) companion, and looks great poking out of shirt pockets ^3^

It's also a great gift for friends and family, and can also work as part of a nice birthday present for small children. Especially girls! To make it even better, make your own set to go with the pet- food, toys, etc. and maybe even a house! owo

Looks fantastic as a decoration and is a good collectible. Makes a good trading item too!

SO VERSATILE.

1. Gather your materials- a length of fluffy material (can be found in craft and sewing stores, you can also use a bit of an old boa if it's small enough), eyes, scissors, glue and a pom-pom for the tail. The tail is optional. You can also add things such as pipe cleaners, etc. to customise your friend! :D

2. Cut some of the fluffy material off the size of your friend. You choose the size, but the one I have is around 8-9cm long. You can make babies, and also adults. Haha XD 

You can also cut a rather long piece, fold it in half then put it together (sewing, glue...) to have a wider friend.

3. Spread glue evenly on the back of the eyes (if the eyes don't have adhesive already) and then firmly glue them on to your friend.

4. Put a bit of glue on the pom-pom and stick it on for the tail. Add any other accessories and you're done!

Don't be afraid to give your pet a personality! :D 

You can also make food for it, or buy little figures. A house is quite easy to make, too. You can make it from card, or even from wood if you are experienced!

Experiment, and have fun with your adorable pet! ^-^

They make fantastic gifts :D

Another cute doll I made on Doll Divine! :3

-Lilac