Special K granola (review + giveaway c/d 18 March NOW CLOSED)

"Mama, may I have some more please?" (Eddie)

Are you struggling to keep your New Year's resolutions to eat healthy (and maybe even lose a bit of weight?). I have been on 5:2 diet this year, and while in January I was very enthusiastic about it, losing just 1.6kg slightly dampened my enthusiasm. Though I continue fasting, there were a couple of times, when I succumbed to the temptation. I blame my husband, of course, who brought a huge box of Belgian chocolates from one of his recent trips. I am eager to try new food products that would help me to stay on track, and was pleased to find out that Kellogg's Special K has launched new Special K Granola in two varieties: Raisins and Red Apples as well as Cranberry, Pumpkin Seeds and Almonds.

Special K granola muffins

Special K porridge is now one of my fasting days' staples, and it is exciting that Special K has expanded its range to accommodate the tastes of slimmers and health-conscious eaters.
New Special K Granola with its five grain recipe consists of Oats, Barley, Wheat, Spelt and Rye, and is 30% less fat than most other granolas.
It comes in convenient pouches, which are easy to open and reseal for freshness. Each pouch contains 8 servings (45g). Typical values per serving: 174kcal, 3.4g fat, 7.7g sugar. It is also fortified with six vitamins and iron.

The first granola we tried was Special K Granola with Cranberries, Pumpkin Seeds and Almonds.
My children love pumpkin seeds, they eat them as snacks very often, and I also use them widely in salads and in baking.

My guys also tend to eat cereals and granolas without milk, just like a snack (hence the photo with the red Peppa Pig bowl).

I added milk to my portion. It is a lovely granola, with plenty of seeds and a variety of textures, from crispy to crunchy and chewy. 45g might not sound like a big amount, but actually it is quite filling, especially with milk. It does keep you going until lunch without snacking (though I did have a small cup of diet coffee at eleven).

Special K Granola With Raisins and red apples is the second variety of the granola, made from wholegrain cereals with the added goodness of raisins and dried apples. Each 45g serving has 175kcal. It looks very appetizing, with big pieces of dried apples.

I can easily see this granola becoming another product to add to my 5:2 diet fastng days' list.
As of this month, Special K granola is available in all major supermarkets at £2.99 per 370g bag.

Two bags of granola which I received for testing and reviewing were delivered with a pretty tea towel (illustration by Charlotte Farmer), which has a recipe for Special K granola muffins printed on it.
Of course, I wanted to try the recipe.

The muffins were lovely, even if they looked a bit like Hairy Bikers with pieces of granola on the top like the unruly hair.
Top marks for Special K granola in our household, both from the slimmers (aka myself) and kids who munched on granola as tasty snacks.

For more information please visit Special K.

GIVEAWAY
I have 2 cases (one of each flavour) of Special K granola to give away for one of my lucky readers.
To be in with a chance of winning, please fill in the Rafflecopter widget.

a Rafflecopter giveaway

T&Cs:
Only the first step is mandatory: all you need is to answer the question by leaving a comment (there is no right or wrong answer)
(if you login as Anonymous, please leave your Twitter name or FB name, so that I could identify you, I do not suggest leaving the email address in the comment)

All the other steps are optional, you don't have to do them all. All it takes to win is just one entry.
Only one entry per person is allowed (however, you can tweet daily to increase your chances).
The giveaway is open to the UK residents only.
Once the Rafflecopter picks the winner, I will check if the winner has done what was requested. I will contact the winner, if they do not reply within a week, the prize will be allocated to another person.

If you haven't used the Rafflecopter before, you might want to watch this simple video.
The giveaway will close on 18 March at midnight (night from the 17th to 18th).

Good luck! 
-----------------------------------------------------------------------------------------

Many thanks to you all! The Rafflecopter has selected the winner. It is Alexandra B. Big well done! I have tweeted to you. Please respond to me by Direct Message with your address details.

Kellogg's Special K porridge

Most of us have been on a diet at some point of our lives, and I am sure you are all familiar with Kellogg's Special K brand. The Special K diet is well known, and though I could never stick to it for two meals a day, I usually have a box or two of Special K cereals in the kitchen, with the Red Berries being my total favourite. That's why I was very curious to try a new range of multi-grain porridge from Kellogg's Special K.
For the last week I have being trying several new flavours of porridge for slimmers. As they promised, "Special K is turning up the heat this winter as it introduces its first ever porridge for slimmers!"
The new range comes in three varieties: Simply Original, Red Berries and Almond & Honey.

Each box of porridge contains 6-7 sachets. I don't have a microwave, but it takes minutes to cook the porridge on the standard hob. The sachet comes with an inside line which shows you how much milk you need for a portion.
Each 27g serving contains 104 calories and 1.5g of fat. It is 30% less fat than other porridges (in comparison with the main brands).

Like all the porridges in the range Kellogg's Special K Multi-Grain porridge/Simply Original (see photo below) is made with oats, rye and barley. It is naturally high in fibre and is fortified with 7 vitamins and minerals.
I served it with the good old maple syrup, and it was a very satisfying meal.
The original porridge is a versatile product, to which you can add whatever you fancy, making it as healthy (or not so healthy) as you like: top it up with the fresh berries, nuts, seeds, pour a golden syrup or honey, maple syrup or cream. I have recently discovered vanilla pumpkin seeds in M&S, and that is a super topping for any porridge. Or be a bit naughty and sprinkle it with the cinnamon or lavender sugar (if you don't count calories).

If I have to choose my favourite, then I would opt for Kellogg's Special K multi-grain porridge/Almond & honey (6 sachets). It appeals to an inner child in me with its honeyed sweetness and a nice crunch of almonds. It is sweet but not overpowering-sweet. Very enjoyable combination of flavours and textures.

Kellogg's Special K multi-grain porridge/Red Berries (6 sachets) is packed full of freeze dried fruit (strawberry and raspberry). As you can see from the photo below, the porridge is speckled with the red berries. What's the difference from the Red Berries cereal? The berries here come in smaller pieces. And there is no cherry (I like the sour note it adds to the cereal).

You don't have to be on a diet to enjoy the porridge from Special K.

To find more information about the new range, visit My Special K.

Disclosure: I received three boxes of the new Special K porridge range for the purposes of reviewing. All opinions are mine.

Back to 1983

This year Kellogg's Special K is celebrating its 30th anniversary. So much has happened in these 30 years.

Sometimes when I look back at those times, it feels like a different era, as if that life happened to someone else, as if it wasn't me. I don't mean just the fashions or music, though shoulder pads do make me feel a bit nostalgic, and I still love Sweet Dreams and Uptown Girl.
And now for the first time since 1983, Kellogg’s is changing Special K with a new, more wholesome recipe.

Going back to 1983 would take me to the Soviet Union. Brezhnev was dead but it was still a very depressive-stagnation period. The high school was a bit of a nightmare for me, as I found it difficult to conform. It would be another three years till perestroika started, by then I will be a University student. I remember my uni days as completely different from school. With all the political changes, we felt that it was time to say Farewell to the dim past and embrace the new world. Everything seemed possible. I felt happy and ready to conquer the world.

Reader, I tried but I could not find a photo of myself taken exactly 30 years ago, I am not even sure my Mum has any. At 15, I wasn't happy about my looks (as probably most teenagers), and tried to avoid having my photos taken. Actually, that's not entirely true, I posed for a professional photographer who came to our art school, he wanted me to look really sad, and did the photo shoot outside some old dilapidated building (my brother was present). I'm sure they would have made a good image for a mis-lit book cover or a ghost story.

At that time Kellogg's didn't mean much to me. It wasn't available in Russia, at least not in my home town, and I can't remember eating cereals in my childhood at all (we had lots of different kinds of porridge and kasha).
Kellogg's was something the American kids ate in the movies and books.

How old was I in this photo? I tried to figure the date out, and can't quite pinpoint the year, maybe 19.
Shoulder pads. I loved them. They made me feel stronger, like wearing an armour. I was quite insecure and naive. I am certainly a lot wiser now and much-much stronger. Well, I have to, being a mother of two wonderful boys who are the centre of my Universe.

Music? In 1983 and later, Russia was crazy about the Italian music. Among many others: Loredana Berte, Ricchi e Poveri, Riccardo Fogli, Pupo, Al Bano-Romina Power and of course, Toto Cutugno.
L'Italiano just swept us all away in 1983, and I fell in love, head over heels.
Later, when I met my future husband, he laughed at my tastes in Italian music and introduced me to the beautiful lyrics of Fabrizio De Andre and Roberto Vecchioni. And while I love their songs, my heart still goes a bit aflutter whenever I hear Toto Cutugno's velvet voice.

In those faraway 1980s I was dreaming that one day I would marry an Italian, and he will be an aristocrat as well. Thirty years later, I have been married to my Italian for almost 17 years, and he comes from a prominent family whose history goes centuries back. One day I will tell you the story of how we met. An irony of fate, as I am more of a socialist than I have ever been before, and don't have much respect for the empty titles and crowns. So, that has definitely changed for me. Thankfully, my husband shares my views.

And while 30 years ago, I haven't had Kellogg's Special K for breakfast, now there is always a pack of Special K on the kitchen counter. I have been eating it for the last couple of weeks every morning, as I am testing it for a month to see whether I'll really be able to go one size down. So far I haven't noticed any difference but the night is young.

What did I think of the new Special K?
"The new recipe contains three grains — rice, wheat and barley (previously there were two) — and is made with wholegrain, for a source of fibre as well as 8 vitamins and minerals. It gives health-conscious, weight-watching women a tastier breakfast".
It definitely is more wholesome and it tastes healthier, but I do miss the sour note of Red berries, which is my favourite variety of Kellogg's Special K. And don't even mention the naughty Strawberry and chocolate. So, I found myself adding bits and pieces to the new flavour.

Have I changed much? Yes and No. I am stronger, wiser, almost unbreakable, a fierce tigress ready to fight for her cubs, especially for my older boy who has autism. Looking at me, you might presume I am armoured against any eventuality, but scratch the surface, and deep beneath you might still find that vulnerable young girl who was hurting at the unkind remark.
But just like the Special K, I will always be special to my family, whether I have wrinkles or carry extra weight.

If you enjoyed reading about my trip down the memory lane, you might like to read the other bloggers' posts on the theme of what has changed in 30 years of our lives. This post is my entry to BritMums/Special K How I've changed Linky Challenge (link removed as expired).