Ben de Lisi Limited Edition Ryvita tin giveaway (c/d 29 September 2014)

What is your favourite Ryvita? Is it Fruit Crunch Crispbread or Mediterranean Herb? Pumpkin Seeds & Oats or Sweet Onion? And how do you keep your Ryvita crispy and crunchy? Do you have a special tin for your snacks?
I am very partial to tins, and have quite a collection, so I was very excited to read that Ryvita has teamed up with a renowned fashion designer Ben de Lisi to create a limited edition tin for the nation's favourite crispbread.

I am pleased to say that lovely people at Ryvita have kindly offered a prize for my blog readers. Now you have a chance to win a colourful modern art piece that will spruce up your kitchen! Ben de Lisi label is a synonym of chic and trendy, as this cheerful tin proves yet again.

Ben's bright and bold tin design reflects the exciting new changes occurring at Ryvita as the brand moves into a fresh and dynamic new era.
Ryvita and Ben de Lisi have teamed up to create this stylish new limited edition tin this autumn to celebrate the endless tasty combinations you can enjoy with Ryvita - anything goes!

One of my lucky blog readers will win an irresistible limited edition Ryvita tin that has been created by Ben.

For your chance to win this lovely tin, please answer the question and leave a comment below:
What renowned fashion designer has Ryvita teamed up with to create a limited edition tin?
- Matthew Williamson
- Ben de Lisi
- John Rocha

If you cannot wait to get your hands on your very own limited edition Ryvita tin (£7.49 including postage and packaging) please visit Ryvita tin shop page.

Terms & Conditions:
This giveaway is open to UK residents only.

All the names (who gave a correct answer) will go in the Raffleking widget, which will pick a winner's name.
The giveaway will end on the 29th of September at midnight.
If you login as Anonymous, please leave your Twitter name or Facebook name so that I have ways of contacting you if you're the winner.
I will contact the winner, if they don't reply in 28 days, the prize will be allocated to another person.
Good luck!

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Thank you all for your entries! All the names went to the Raffleking widget, and the winner is...
jacquelinec. Well done Jacqueline! Please let me know your full name & address details.

And watch this space for more giveaways, starting tomorrow, 1 October 2014, as I am celebrating my 4th blogversary this month.

Ryvita crackerbread

Are you stuck for ideas for healthy snacks that don't taste like made of cardboard? Following my 5:2 diet, I had my feel of boring rice cakes which taste of nothing much, and only serve to fill you in, but they are so dull-dull-dull. But of course, low-cal snacks don't have to be boring or flavourless. My latest addition to the list of products I can use on fasting days is Ryvita Crackerbread. This range from the well known and much loved Ryvita has two new delicious flavours: Pepper and Cheese. They taste lovely and what's even better, each crackerbread is only 19kcal, how fab is that?!

Ryvita crackerbread with babaganoush and roasted sweet pepper

Pepper Crackerbread from Ryvita is light and crispy, and is a perfect base for all kinds of healthy (or not so healthy, if you don't count the calories) toppings. These crispy snacks surely melt in your mouth.
Loved them, my kids loved them, especially the little man.

These crackerbreads are low in fat and have no nasties in them like artificial colours or preservatives. When you are feeling peckish, add a topping of your choice and enjoy: from virtuous low fat cottage cheese with coriander to more naughty guacamole or babaganoush.

Ryvita crackerbread with low fat cottage cheese and coriander

Cheese Crackerbread is the second new variety, with the same low count of calories.
Make your own guacamole:
Mash the ripe avocado with a dash of Tabasco or some chilli flakes. half a teaspoon of garlic puree, a teaspoon of freshly squeezed lemon juice, and top up with sliced cherry toms. For being a fruit, avocados are pretty high in calories (160kcal per 100g), it is a healthy food, which helps to lower cholesterol due to most of its fat being mono-saturated.

Ryvita with guacamole

For today's lunch, I had a couple of Ryvita crackerbreads with the chicken leftovers and some roasted garlic on low-fat hummus.

Babaganoush is another delicious dip which is easy to prepare. For the authentic smoky flavour, you need to blacken the skin of the aubergine over the hot flame or on the grill. Then wrap the aubergine in foil and cook at 180C for about 40 minutes or more, until soft. Once not too hot to handle, remove the skin and mash the flesh with a fork. Add 1tbsp of tahini, 2tbsp of olive oil, lemon juice, salt and pepper, and crushed garlic clove or two. To be honest, I could eat the whole lot, it is so tasty. But not on my fasting days. Add some grilled sweet pepper and radishes, and enjoy.

Ryvita with babaganoush.

For more recipes and ideas visit Ryvita Recipes page.

Disclosure: I received two packs of Ryvita for the purposes of testing and reviewing. All opinions are mine.

Ryvita-lise your Sunday morning!

Why Sunday? The recipes I am going to share with you, take a bit of time, so they are probably best for the more leisurely mornings. Our typical mornings during the week are way too hectic to have a cooked breakfast.
I have just done a post about the autumnal recipes to go with Ryvita crispbreads (see here). Inspired by Mark Sargeant, I am offering you a few more ideas for a leisurely Sunday breakfast or brunch, using Ryvita.

Dried apricots with pancetta

I also make this snack with prunes.
You will need:
about 2-3 apricots per each Ryvita crispbread
Ryvita Pumpkin Seed and Oats Crispbread (1-2 per person)
pancetta (one for every apricot or prune)
a handful of rocket leaves

Preheat the oven to 180C. Wrap each apricot or prune with the pancetta. Using a bamboo skewer, thread them (4-5 per skewer). Place in a ceramic dish or tray and move it in the oven, bake until the pancetta is crisp. It takes about 10 minutes.

Serve hot on the Ryvita with a few rocket leaves.


Mushrooms baked in ramekins

This takes a bit of time, but it's so worth it. It is a meat-free recipe but not a vegetarian one as it uses parmesan.

250g closed cup chestnut mushrooms
a tbsp of butter
a small piece of Stilton (about 50g)
1 tbsp olive oil
1 garlic clove
100ml plain yogurt (or soured cream)
a pinch of nutmeg
a few chopped chives
1/2 tsp dried oregano
salt, pepper
parmesan, freshly grated
Ryvita crispbreads to serve with the mushrooms

Depending on the size of your ramekins, this will be enough for 2 big or 3 medium ones.

Chop the mushrooms and pan fry in butter and olive oil, season well, and add all the herbs and chopped garlic. Add the yogurt or soured cream and the crumbled Stilton. Pour into the ramekins and place them in the oven preheated to 180C. Bake for about 20 minutes (half-way through take them out and sprinkle the grated cheese on top, then pop back in the oven). The mushrooms are ready when the cheese melts.
Serve with the Ryvita crispbreads to dip in the mushrooms.

Enjoy your Sunday breakfast!

Ryvita è bella (Autumn recipes with Ryvita)

The mornings are suddenly chilly, and the evenings have been creeping upon us with their shawl of darkness each day earlier. The autumn has come. The first days of September held a promise of the Indian summer, but there is no doubt now - the autumn is finally here.
This is the season of the heart warming dishes and mugs of hot steaming drinks. Consider soups infused with flavour of the autumn harvest, thick stews, hearty curries, mouthwatering crumbles and hot chocolate.

Celebrate the season with Ryvita and the talented chef Mark Sargeant, of celebrated Rocksalt in Folkestone, who created a selection of heart warming British autumnal toppings, tailored to perfectly accompany your favourite Ryvita® Crispbreads.

Be imaginative and creative with your choice of Ryvita and spreads. I was asked to try new recipes created by Mark. When I read the recipes and saw the photos, I knew I would be happy to try them. I love the richness of the autumnal vegetables, their full-bodied flavours and beautiful colours.

Photo credit: Ryvita

Mark comments, "Ryvita® provides a great base for these seasonal toppings. I particularly enjoy eating curried sweet potato, butternut squash, yoghurt and fresh mint on top a Ryvita® Pumpkin Seed and Oats Crispbread - the combination works perfectly, and gently warms you from inside."

A versatile base for seasonal ingredients and great to share with family and friends, Ryvita® is a must-have for autumn get-togethers.
With a wide selection of different variants, including Ryvita® Pumpkin Seed and Oats Crispbread and Ryvita® Sunflower Seeds and Oats Crispbread, there is something available for everyone. Get munching and crunching this autumn.

Recipes:
Ryvita® Pumpkin Seed and Oats Crispbread with curried sweet potato, butternut squash, yoghurt and mint

Serves 4-6 as a light supper

Ingredients
16 Ryvita® Pumpkin Seed and Oats Crispbreads
2 tbsps vegetable oil
1 onion (roughly chopped)
3 garlic cloves (crushed)
250 grams butternut squash (seeded and cut into chunks)
1 sweet potato (cut into chunks)
200 grams potatoes (cut into chunks)
1 apple (peeled, cored and cut into chunks)
2 tsps curry paste (mild)
1 tsp turmeric piece
ginger (2 1/2 cm piece fresh, peeled and finely chopped)
2 bay leaves
250 mls vegetable stock
25 grams raisins salt
black pepper
4 tbsps plain yogurt
1 bunch of mint

Heat the oil in a large pan and fry the onions for 4-5 minutes until golden. Add the garlic, butternut squash, sweet potatoes, potatoes and apple. Then stir in the curry paste, turmeric, ginger, bay leaves, stock, raisins and plenty of seasoning. Bring to the boil, stir well, then cover and simmer for 15-20 minutes, stirring occasionally, until the vegetables are just tender and the sauce is lovely and thick. Set aside to cool. Mix the yoghurt with the finely shredded mint and season. Spoon onto Ryvita® Pumpkin Seed and Oats Crispbreads and add a spoonful of yogurt and mint over the top.

My take on Mark's recipe: I didn't have any fresh mint (the one in the garden looked all stalks and hard leaves, past its best), so I used a teaspoon of dried mint instead. I also added less garlic.
My suggestion: if you don't have all the ingredients, use your imagination and think creatively.


Ryvita® Sunflower Seeds and Oats Crispbread with Waldorf Salad

Photo credit: Ryvita

Ingredients
10 Ryvita® Sunflower Seeds and Oats Crispbreads
2 Braeburn apples
1⁄2 lemon, juiced
4 tbsp mayonnaise
1 tbsp Dijon mustard
1 tbsp Grain mustard
2 stalks celery, peeled and cut into crescents
handful walnuts
couple of handfuls watercress

Cut the apple into chunks and toss with the lemon juice. Mix together the mayonnaise and mustard and toss with all the other ingredients. Spoon over 10 Ryvita® Sunflower Seeds and Oats Crispbreads.

This is a nice combination of flavours and textures. I didn't add the watercress and used Gala apples rather than Braeburn. Ryvita is a perfect base for this new take on the Waldorf salad.

If you liked these recipes with Ryvita, please visit their site for more inspiration.
You might also Like their Facebook page and follow all the latest news and developments.