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The Veg Pledge

November 7, 2018 by Charlotte Markham

This month Cancer Research U.K. is challenging people to go vegetarian or vegan for 30 days to help raise money as part of the Veg Pledge. Now, whether you’ve decided to take part in the Veg Pledge or not, you will probably be aware that there is a growing school of thought that we should all be limiting our intake of meat.

Firstly, cutting back on meat is beneficial for our health. It can help to lower cholesterol levels, as well as reducing the risk of diseases, including heart disease and bowel cancer.

Secondly, by reducing the meat we eat, we’d all be doing a little bit more for the planet. This article from the Guardian, “Avoiding meat and dairy is ‘single biggest way’ to reduce your impact on Earth“, is well worth a read.

In the Markham household, while not full vegetarians, we have certainly taken steps to reduce the meat we eat. We have steered more towards plant-based meals, and we eat very few processed foods. I also think that being mindful of where we source our food from is essential. Buying organic has been a revelation for me. Getting a veg bag from Tuppenny Barn is the highlight of the food shopping week here, the flavours of the produce are so delicious compared to those you get when you buy in the supermarket. I have decided, I rather enjoy scrubbing the mud off my carrots, rather than buying them in a perfect sanitised form wrapped in plastic!

If you’re thinking about reducing your meat intake, here are a few tips that I have found useful.

  • I didn’t go cold turkey (excuse the pun), as like any significant dietary change you rarely stick to the plan if you feel like you are being deprived of something.
  • Changing the ratio on your plate can help. I tend to make the meat part the smallest and make the vegetable or grains the stars of the show. Sometimes I use meat only as a condiment, to sprinkle on top of other main dishes.
  • Eating out can be a bit of a challenge, but many restaurants now include vegetarian and vegan dishes on their menus. The Happy Cow app lists all the local eateries serving vegan and vegetarian options. I have found this really handy when out and about.
  • Cutting down on meat at the same time as a friend helps too. You can bounce recipe ideas off each other, and it helps when the craving for a bacon sandwich gets too much!
  • Check out these two websites for more ideas… The Vegan Society and The Vegetarian Society.

At Frog Hollow all of our healthy snacks and superfood cakes are suitable for vegetarians, as well as being gluten, dairy and refined sugar free. We’ve recently added some brand new raw cookies to our online shop. There are two flavours, Cherry Bakewell and Gingerbread. with eight cookies in a (home compostable) PLA bag… One for each day of the week, and one extra for a day when you feel like sharing! Shop HERE.

Filed Under: Healthy lifestyle, Ideas and Inspiration, Vegetarian

How to climb a mountain with super snacks…

October 24, 2018 by Charlotte Markham

We’re delighted that one of our regular customers, Stuart Walsh, has agreed to share his journey to the summit of Mont Blanc in this month’s blog article! Stuart recently completed his first Alpine climb, and we’d like to think that our energy bites played a small part in fuelling his endeavours… Read on for our interview with Stuart!



Q: Was this your first mountain climb?

A: Believe it or not, this was my first trek at Alpine Climbing. I’m a huge goal setter, and I believe we can achieve anything if we put our mind to it, get focused and work hard. The first mountain was the Gran Paradiso at 4,061m, we then went onto Mont Blanc (4,810m).

Q: Why Mont Blanc?

A: When I was doing my research on mountaineering, I was setting my sights too low and playing it safe, and I just thought, let’s go for the highest mountain in Western Europe, why not?! Once I set my mind to it, it was a plan to get the hard work done in the gym.

Q: What sort of training did you do before your climb?

A: I finished an Ultra Marathon in December, so I had worked on a lot of strength and core with my P.T., but when I told him about my new goal, he had to tailor my training, so it was suitable for climbing Mont Blanc. I’m always running and biking, so my cardiovascular work is part of my daily routine.

Q: Did you adopt a special diet before your climb?

A: I wouldn’t say it was special, but I listened to what my body was asking for as the training got more intense, keeping the macronutrients balanced to the type of training I was doing. This is where Frog Hollow helped me out massively with their energy bites, different recipes giving different levels of nutrition.

Q: Who climbed it with you? Did you climb in a guided group?

A: I climbed in a guided group with five other people I’d never met. You always meet like-minded people when you share the same goals, so more often than not, you all get on even though you come from different backgrounds. I met friends for life, I was fortunate; they were a special group.

Q: Did you suffer from altitude sickness?

A: I didn’t suffer from altitude sickness, but the first time I was exposed to 4000m+, I felt it, less oxygen and intense climbing, it was hard!

Q: What was the most difficult thing about climbing Mont Blanc and how did you cope?

A: The most difficult thing about climbing Mont Blanc was the final part of the descent. We were climbing down and running through the Gran Couloir (super dangerous for rockfall) and at this point my legs were feeling it, using different muscles as we climbed down the mountain. But when you know, you’ve got to get down, and if you don’t focus you’re at significant risk, you pull in the energy from somewhere. It’s as much of an amazing feeling getting to the bottom as it is getting to the summit.

Q: What were you most pleasantly surprised by?

A: It has to be when we were at the summit, it takes everything out of you, and when you get to the top, the view is just spectacular. The thing that surprised me the most was the rush of emotion I got, tears starting to roll down my face as a real sense of achievement rushed through my body. At that point, I didn’t care about getting down; I just wanted to enjoy the moment.

Q: How long did it take you to reach the summit?

A: To reach the summit and back was a nine hour round climb, but we were on the mountain for three days as we moved up to camp and acclimatised.

Q: What did you learn about yourself as a result of climbing Mont Blanc?

A: I pushed my body to the limits on this trip; it was the hardest thing I have achieved. But the thing I learnt the most, was that the mind is a wonderful paradox, it uses itself to understand itself, and with this, the body will follow. This makes our limits limitless!

Q: How did you sustain yourself mentally and physically during your climb?

A: With any big goals, you are going to go through mental and physical battles, and I had my fair share on this trip, but it’s important to listen to your body. The biggest thing I found was the amount of fuel you need; you have to be continually eating on your journey. The energy bites from Frog Hollow were perfect for the Mont Blanc climb, compact, packed with nutritional goodness and something I could eat regularly to keep my energy levels up. If your energy levels are depleted, then it’s game over, so it’s essential to have to right fuel for your body!

Q: What would be your #1 piece of advice to anybody else who has a goal to climb Mont Blanc?

A: It would have to be to believe in yourself, a mountain is like any big goal, believe you can do it and get to work. You have to want to achieve it more than do breathing the oxygen in the air, focus, train hard and when it’s show time, just have fun! That’s the most important part, smile and enjoy it.

Q: So what goal do you have set next?

A: I found myself with Alpine Climbing, so I’m just finalising plans to climb Mount Elbrus in Russia (5,642m) in the first half of next year. Then it’s Aconcagua (6,962m) in Argentina later in the year. Two big goals that require more intensive training, so I’ll need my energy bites!


We’d like to wish Stuart the very best with his next challenge and remember our energy bites are perfect after any exercise; you don’t have to be a mountain climber! They are also great for lunch boxes, on-the-go breakfasts, afternoon pick-me-ups, in fact, any time of day or night that you need an energy boost!

Buy yours HERE.

Filed Under: Energy Bites, Happy Customers

Healthy Lunch Box Ideas

September 11, 2018 by Charlotte Markham

We’re barely a week into the new term at school, and yet it might already feel like you’ve been filling lunchboxes for months!

I recently heard Pollyanna Hale from the Fitmum Formula on Sky News, talking about school lunchboxes and how they need to be radically improved. You can listen to the interview here. With some children’s lunchboxes containing more sugar than they should be consuming in an entire day, Pollyanna talks about how healthy lunches for your kids don’t need to be complicated. Nor, does she try to convince the listeners that their children should be eating lentil and spinach salad.

In this week’s blog, I wanted to share with you some healthy lunch box tips and ideas from the Frog Hollow kitchen.

  • Bread isn’t the enemy – The humble sandwich has always been a lunchbox staple. These days, bread often has an undeserved bad reputation. Any growing kid needs starchy foods for fuel and energy. And whole grain bread is a fantastic food for this. That said, do think about the fillings you use. Sugary jams and chocolate spreads are not the best choices. But a protein filled sandwich is. Tuna, ham and cheese are all good fillings. If you really want to avoid bread, then don’t desert the all-important tummy fillers altogether. A carbohydrate-rich pasta or rice salad will also fuel your child for the afternoon ahead.
  • Five a day fever – I always try to pack at least two or three of Olivia’s five a day in her school lunch box. Rather than packing a whole piece of fruit, you may find your littlies prefers a few berries or a mandarin that has been peeled and segmented. If you get caught out and have little fresh fruit in the house, you could combine a variety of dried fruit and seeds, into a homemade healthy trail mix.
  • Going crazy for calcium – There are some straightforward ways to support your child’s growing bones with a healthy lunch box. Cubed mild cheddar cheese (not processed cheese) is a firm lunchbox favourite and yoghurts, or fromage frais are an obvious choice. But if your child doesn’t eat dairy consider some hummus and broccoli spears, (both are rich in calcium).
  • Something sweet – A sweet treat doesn’t have to be sugar-laden. If you can batch cook flapjacks or shortbread it’s easy to keep a check on the sugar content; it’s not so easy if you’re buying pre-packaged or processed sweet treats. Frog Hollow energy bites make a perfect sweet treat, but with many schools being nut free zones, you may find it easier to save these for a sweet treat at the end of the day. I always take a few energy bites with me when I collect Olivia from school. She’s always hungry when she comes out, and two or three bites are all she needs to fill the gap between school pick-up and supper! Our new No Added Sugar Energy Bites Pack, contains four favourite flavours.

    Buy Your Energy Bites Here!

Filed Under: Energy Bites, Ideas and Inspiration

A Summer Garden Party

August 9, 2018 by Charlotte Markham

The temperatures may have cooled a little, but hopefully, it’s only temporary. With a forecast for higher than average temperatures through August and September, there’s still time to host a garden party.

The quintessentially British garden party conjures up images of tea on the lawn and croquet games, which is great if you live in a stately home, but not quite as achievable if you live in a semi-detached the city!

So, in this post, we wanted to share some ideas to help you throw your own garden party no matter where you live… Read on for inspiration!

No garden, no problem – If you’re a city dweller and your outside space is minimal use a local park to host your party. Be sure to take plenty of recycling and rubbish bags with you, so you leave no trace of your summer shenanigans.

Decoration – Who doesn’t love a little bunting? And what a great holiday project for your little treasures. Simply cut triangles from brightly patterned or vintage style paper (dig out all the little pieces of leftover birthday wrap from the drawer in the dining room) and glue them on to string. Hang these in your hedges or on your garden fences for a festive flavour.

It’s all fun and games – If you’re in the park or have a large garden you can get active with rounders or cricket, but if space is limited bust out the board games and run a Yahtzee knockout championship!

Make memories – You may have seen those marvellous party photobooths, but it’s really easy to create your own. Simply source an old picture frame and dig out the dressing up box for props. Your guests will have so much fun with their phones, create your own #hashtag so you can easily view all the fabulous photos on social media.

Raw Blueberry & Lemon Mousse CakeLet them eat cake – It is a good rule to live life by, that wherever there is a party, there must also be cake! That’s where we come in… Our superfood cakes are bursting with goodness and fresh flavours; we use seasonal fruits and vegetables ensuring the use of the very best quality, mostly organic ingredients. Order yours HERE.

 

Filed Under: Ideas and Inspiration

A Summer Smoothie Bowl

July 17, 2018 by Charlotte Markham

Ever since the advent of the NutriBullet and Vitamix we’ve all been going silly for smoothies. But if you haven’t got the latest kitchen gadgetry, you can still whizz up a storm for a nutrient-packed power punch. A basic liquidiser or humble hand blender will do the same job as some of the more expensive appliances on the market!

Lately, the smoothie has taken a new turn… Your breakfast blend just got slightly thicker, so you can serve it in a bowl! As the children sit down to summer holiday breakfasts, wave bye-bye to sugar-laden cereal and say hello to the summer smoothie bowl. One of the great things about the thicker, creamier-textured smoothie bowl is the fun you can have with toppings. Kids love sprinkles and toppings, so let them create their own from a selection of healthy choices. Olivia and I love using fresh or dried fruit, seeds, nuts and coconut chips. For a bigger boost of Va Va Voom, we often add some Frog Hollow energy bites to the mixture.

Here’s a recipe for you to try.

Summer Love Smoothie Bowl

  • 1 small pot of coconut yogurt
  • A handful of your favourite summer fruits, strawberries, raspberries, blackberries, etc
  • 2 medjool dates – pitted

Toppings:

  • Desiccated coconut
  • Kiwi fruit
  • Blackberries
  • Coco-currant energy bites
  • Strawberries

Method:

  1. Puree the fruits with the yoghurt and dates and pour into a bowl.
  2. Decorate the top with sliced fruits, coconut and a swirl of yogurt and the energy bites.

This summer smoothie bowl makes a fabulous start to the day, or a super sweet treat to replace ice cream and other sugar-laden desserts and snacks.

Why not have a smoothie bowl decorating competition in your house? Such fun! Upload your images to Instagram and add the hashtag #froghollowsummerlove

Buy your energy bites HERE.

Filed Under: Energy Bites, Recipes

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From the Blog

The Veg Pledge

This month Cancer Research U.K. is challenging people to go vegetarian or vegan for 30 days to help raise money as part of the Veg Pledge. Now, whether you've decided to take part in the Veg Pledge or … [Read More...]

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