The temptation to binge on junk food and sugary drinks during the bitter winter months is undeniable, but as the saying goes, you are what you eat. Thankfully, there are plenty of healthier alternatives out there that can deliver that comfort food hit, whilst not skimping on flavour.
From collagen-rich broths and reduced-sugar jam, to chocolatey mushroom honey to fruity magnesium water, we’ve hand-picked some of the best food and drink brands designed to make you feel good.
Freja Bone Broth
The popularity of bone broth has skyrocketed over the past decade, and nobody does it better than Freja. Produced sustainably in Norway, the UK-founded brand specialises in collagen and nutrient-rich chicken, beef and fish broths that instantly enrich soups, ramen, gravies, and stews. It’s by far one of the most practical and delicious ways to aid gut health.
Freja Classic Beef Bone Broth is made with grass-fed beef and is free from gluten, GMO, yeast, hormones and dairy. I added some to my tried-and-tested homemade chilli and the results were incredible. Freja Chicken Instant Broth is another winner. Simply add hot water and grated ginger for a nutritious, warming drink, or to your chicken gravy for extra depth of flavour.
To prove just how versatile bone broth is, Freja has teamed up with Harper Collins to publish their first recipe book. The Bone Broth Book is loaded with ingeniously simple ways to enhance your recipes with unparalleled natural nutrition and rich flavours. We can’t wait to try the Hot and Sour Prawn Tom Yum Soup, or the Sticky Short Rib Birria (Mexican beef stew).
Shop Freja at your local Holland & Barrett , Waitrose, or save money with a Freja subscription. Grab The Bone Broth Book here.
Good Phats
Top-notch oils for cooking and drizzling are well worth celebrating, and firebrand Good Phats fully commits to this notion. Designed to add vibrancy to recipes whilst aiding metabolic health, this eye-catching range has a delicious fat for every occasion.
Sourced from sun-kissed Puglia, Good Phats Italian Extra Virgin Olive Oil (RRP £16.95) delivers a bold, grassy finish to salad, and elevates barbecued chicken and fish with its irresistibly peppery notes and a dash of spice. It also comes housed in a stylish black bottle to protect the oil from sunlight.
Good Phats Spanish Extra Virgin Olive Oil Squeezy (RRP £14.95) is dreamy when drizzled into salsa verde or shakshuka, adding fruitiness and rounded flavour, whilst their Spanish Light Avocado Oil Spray (RRP £6.95) is perfect for stir-frying and grilling kebabs.
For a cracking versatile all-rounder, Good Phats Organic British Grass-Fed Beef Tallow (RRP £8.45) brings a buttery umami depth to ramen, curries, roasties, ragus and more. Its high smoke point makes it ideal for frying, roasting or sautéing.
Clearspring Organic Japanese Fine Foods
Since launching back in 1993, family-run Clearspring has been pioneering organic Japanese fine foods, and now has a collection of over 300 premium products. Their Organic Tofu is delicious when added to pumpkin soup, smoothies or pasta dishes, and was handed a Great Taste award for its creaminess and silky texture.
Clearspring White Miso is great for adding a sweet and savoury umami kick to nutritious soups, sauces and glazes, whilst their Shichimi Togarashi Seven Spice Blend is perfect for sprinkling on noodles. For guilt-free snacking, try the flavoursome Yaemon Tamari Roasted Cashew Nuts or our favourite – Chill Seaveg Crispies.
Discover selected Clearspring products at your local M&S or Holland & Barrett. Alternatively, shop the brand directly from the Clearspring website, where you’ll find the entire collection and subscriber discounts.
Nature’s Path Organic Cereals
Proving that cereal doesn’t need to be loaded with rubbish to taste good, Nature’s Path cereals are both moreish and flavour-packed. Nice and Nobbly Granola is gluten-free and packed with satisfying blueberry, raspberry, strawberry and yogurt chunks.
Maple Sunrise blends corn, ancient grains and maple syrup, resulting in a heavenly flavour that packs a mighty crunch. Choco Chimps are made with Fair Trade cocoa, whole grain corn, cane sugar and sea salt and should come with a warning in my humble opinion. This cereal is highly addictive and wipes the floor with Coco Pops – sorry Kellogg’s.
Nature’s Path cereals are available from Ocado and Asda.
Biotiful Kefir Gut Health
Whole foods provide a more natural way to nourish your gut, and Biotiful Kefir products offer a wealth of health benefits. Their tasty yogurts and drinks help support a balanced gut microbiome for smoother digestion, strengthen immunity, and improve sleep. The live cultures and nutrients also help you achieve glowing skin.
Biotiful Kefir Strawberry Drink has no added sugar, billions of live cultures and an irresistible fruity flavour. We’re also big fans of their rich and creamy Kefir Madagascan Vanilla Yogurt, which is great on its own, or with granola and mixed berries.
Grab a pack of Biotiful from your local Tesco, Sainsbury’s, Asda, Waitrose or Ocado.
Bio&Me Cereals
Packed with 12+ different types of plant goodness, Bio&Me granola and cereal bars are also amongst the tastiest on the market. We loved their Blueberry Immunity Granola, which is generously loaded with crunchy almonds and fruity berries, high in fibre and vegan-friendly.
For a guilt-free snack on the go, Bio&Me Cocoa Fibre+Protein Bars deliver. Ideal for packed lunches, or a post-gym snack, these gluten-free treats bring the flavour with almond butter, wholegrain oats and pumpkin seeds.
Shop the brand directly, or at your local Holland & Barrett or Waitrose.
Honey Heaven’s Mushrooms in Honey
Functional mushrooms have been on trend for a few years now, but they’ve never tasted as good as they do in this award-winning Organic Mushroom Honey (RRP £22.00). Infused with the power of seven adaptogenic mushrooms all grown in Hampshire- reishi, chaga, shitake, maitake, lion’s mane, cordyceps and tremella – this indulgent spread is heavenly on buttered toast.
It also contains raw honey and is 100% natural and gluten-free. Pick up a jar at your local health store or directly from Honey Heaven.
Pukka Tea
Born from a fascination with plants and the power of herbs, Pukka has fast become an iconic British brand and a leader in the herbal tea industry. Each blend is naturally caffeine-free and formulated using only ethically and sustainably sourced ingredients.
Pukka Lemon & Ginger offers a warming sip with a burst of vitality to keep the chills away, with a touch of mauka honey for good measure. Designed to help your stomach feel settled after dinner, Pukka Three Mint is a refreshingly crisp mix of spearmint, peppermint and fieldmint.
For a more gentle, natural way to unwind and drift off after a long day, Pukka Night Time blends sweet chamomile, lavender and valerian to create an easy sipper to aid restorative rest. Pukka Teas are available from all good supermarkets.
Kind Nut Bars
Taking the simple but effective approach to snacking, Kind mixes high-quality ingredients with irresistible recipes to create its bestselling nut bar range. My go-to Kind Bar changes depending on my mood, but you can’t go wrong with Caramel Almond & Sea Salt with its satisfying whole almonds and caramel drizzle.
Crunchy Peanut Butter combines smooth nut butter with golden peanuts and a caramel-flavoured coating to create a winning, energy-boosting snack whilst you’re on the go. Kind has just dropped an indulgent Milk & White Chocolate nut bar, which is sure to satisfy those with a sweet tooth.
Grab a box of Kind at your local Sainsbury’s, Tesco, or Ocado.
Jamu Premium Soda
Billed as wildly refreshing and naturally gut-friendly, Jamu is not your average canned soda. 100% natural with no sweeteners and high in prebiotic fibre, Jamu is available in a range of enticing flavours. Blood Orange & Peach is pure summer in a can, whilst Lemon & Basil gives off some serious Med-vibes with its zesty and refreshing botanicals.
Cucumber & Pineapple is fresh, fruity and ideal for sipping over ice, and can even be mixed with your favourite non-alcoholic spirit of choice. Pick up a multipack of flavours from Jamu and discover your new favourite soda.
Benefit Juice
Formulated especially for women, Benefit has been building its collection of delicious and nutritious juices since 2015. Benefit Wellness focuses on supporting general health and well-being, blending mango, passionfruit, carrot, vitamins and minerals to aid energy and healthier hormone levels.
Menosupport is crafted with berries, sour cherry, beetroot, apple and vitamins to support psychological function and hormonal balance. Both are delicious, provide an excellent source of fibre, and make for an excellent way to start your morning.
Shop Benefit Juice at your local Tesco, Waitrose or Holland & Barrett.
Better You Magnesium Water
Better You has come up with an ingenious way to get your daily magnesium fix with its Magnesium Water Hydrate. Each can of this still electrolyte rich triple blend water comes with a subtle yet refreshing flavour, is low-calorie and free from artificial sweeteners.
Hydrate mixes citrus and botanicals, Energy comes in pomegranate and rhubarb flavour, and Focus adds blueberry and mint into the mix. Each variant contains 180mg of magnesium and can be purchased in multipacks from Better You.
Vieve Protein Bars
Protein bars can so often be overly sweet with a chalky aftertaste, but not Vieve. These low-sugar, high-protein snack bars are bonafide flavour bombs. Strawberry Blondie combines pieces of strawberry with a creamy white chocolate coating, whilst Pistachio Punch packs roasted pistachios with a smooth chocolate coating.
Each bar contains just 157 calories, 15g of protein, and around a third of your daily fibre. Available directly from Vieve.
Remedy Kombucha
Rich in probiotics and antioxidants, kombucha comes with a vast range of benefits and has never been more popular. Remedy Kombucha provides a more thirst-quenching way to aid gut health with their collection of canned drinks.
Ginger Lemon is warming, tangy and citrussy, and tastes great over ice with a slice of lemon. Mango Passion is a mouthwatering blend of fruity mango and passionfruit, making it the ideal summer sipper. Pick up a 12-pack from Amazon for as little as £12.50.
Tom Parker Creamery
Established way back in 1921, Tom Parkery Creamery has always believed that healthy, grass-fed cows deliver the best milk and this is still evident today. Tom Parker Whole Milk is free-range, vitamin enriched and contains magnesium, vitamin K and vitamin D, all housed in a traditional glass bottle.
We can’t get enough of their Lavender & Chamomile Bedtime Milk, which contains magnolia to help reduce stress and nod off a little easier. It’s subtle flavour makes it the ideal post-supper drink before bed. Tom Parker is stocked in all good Waitrose, Tesco, and Sainsbury’s.
Super Nutrio Milk
Promising ‘cow’s milk like never before’, Super Nutrio has doubled down on the protein with their whole and semi-skimmed milks. Containing 70g of protein per litre and 80% more calcium than standard milk, each carton is free from nasties and full of rich, creamy flavour.
Pick up a carton from your local Asda, Waitrose, or Sainsbury’s.
Twining’s Sparkling Tea
Legendary tea makers Twining’s recently launched an impressive range of sparkling drinks, and we’re here for it. Lemon & Ginger is a black tea infusion containing lemon balm and vitamins B6, B12 and C. Refresh is a raspberry & lemon flavoured white tea infusion, with hibiscus, magnesium, niacin and vitamin C.
Twining’s Sparkling Teas are available from Holland & Barrett, Ocado and Sainsbury’s.
Love Mushrooms Lion’s Mane Coffee
Start your day right with a smooth and creamy cup of Lion’s Mane Coffee from this brilliant Scottish brand. Love Mushrooms grow their produce at Marcassie Farm, Scotland, and have created an adaptogenic superblend that gives you an energy boost without the crash.
Made from a mix of lion’s mane, cordyceps, ashwagandha, maca root and ginkgo biloba, this rich blend contains 20% less caffeine than regular coffee and 100% fruiting bodies. We can’t get enough of this stuff. Pick up a bag from Love Mushrooms here.
Fearne & Rosie Jam
Founded in the rolling hills of Yorkshire in 2019, Fearne & Rosie was created by ex-teacher Rachel, who was looking to create a reduced sugar jam that didn’t skimp on flavour. Mission accomplished; these jams are a real fruit bomb. Made with 70% fruit and 40% less sugar than the standard UK jam, each jar is bursting with goodness.
The brand has already picked up a Great Taste award and has crafted a limited edition Children in Need Strawberry Jam to help raise money for the beloved charity. Picking a favourite isn’t easy, but we’d have to go with the divine Blackcurrant Preserve, if we must choose one.