Review: Black Tower B Fruitiful Passionfruit / Strawberry

I’ve been on something of a quest all summer to find the perfect low-syn tipple and today I’m going to tell you about another innovative low-calorie, low syn offering by Black Tower: the B Fruitiful range. It’s very exciting to see well-established brands responding to demand for lower calorie drinks with just as much variety and flavour as full sugar alternatives. Read on for a review of the range, and some fun ideas for how these can be enjoyed.

Black Tower are on a mission with their extensive lower calorie range. I reviewed the B Secco White and Rosé back in June, which we enjoyed as a toast to my bridesmaid proposal - it went down a storm!

This offering is a light wine infused with fruit flavours - there are two options on the market: B Fruitiful Passionfruit & Pineapple (in a White wine style) and B Fruitiful Strawberry & Raspberry which is in the style of a Rosé.

Each 125ml glass of B Fruitful wine is 5.5% alcohol and 55 calories, which is just 3 syns on slimming world. This is just half of the syn value of regular wine, meaning — more for you!

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With Cheese, Please:

I’m a sucker for anything with passionfruit in, so was very excited to try the passionfruit version first. The passionfruit and pineapple flavours were prominent but not overbearing - it was zingy and refreshing. I had a couple of glasses with a cheese board (Light Halloumi, Brie and Cheddar for my Healthy Extra A) - highly recommend! The combination was absolutely delicious.

Drunken Strawberries:

Later that week, I tried the B Fruitful Strawberry with dessert. I mean that quite literally — I made “Drunken Strawberries” which is a very simple dessert. Simply soak strawberries in about 75ml of B Fruitiful Strawberry, leave in the fridge for about an hour and serve with a large spray of Tesco Lighter Real Dairy Spray Cream (2 syns per portion). This dessert came to 4 syns and since I couldn’t resist an extra glass - my total for the day came to 7 syns. The strawberry version is sweeter than the passionfruit offering, and is nicely balanced with the wine flavours.

In summary, If you enjoy wine and have quite the sweet tooth - there is nothing really comparable on the market today. If you are usually into the very dry wines, you may prefer one of the B by Black Tower low calorie wines, but these can still be enjoyed as a dessert drink.

B Fruitiful wines are exclusively available at Tesco Ireland at the moment at a mere 5 Euro. There is still some nice weather left to be enjoyed - I recommend this as the perfect companion to the longer evenings!



Low Syn Essentials - BBQ Special - June 2019

As the weather is starting to pick up (finally!) I’m hoping to host a barbeque at some point, there is absolutely no better smell in the world than a burger on the grill! So I’ve been keeping an eye out for low-syn BBQ sausages, burgers and all the other bits and bobs that come with it to keep the syns as low as I can. Luckily, most of the supermarkets are well stocked for BBQ season and there is no shortage of options. Find below a list of slimming world friendly BBQ options from local supermarkets.

 

The Mains

It’s always an option to make your own syn free burgers, but if you are looking to save time or have a break from the usual beef burger, why not try these Venison Burgers from Morrisons for 3 syns each. Venison is deer meat, which is beautifully tender and juicy. These are quarter pounders, so they are a decent size and will set you back just 3 syns.

Not a fan of red meat? For a different vibe altogether, why not go for Morrisons Chicken and Spanish Chorizo Kebabs, just a half of a syn each!

And who can forget the veggies. Linda McCartney is representing you with these pulled “pork” quarter pounders, also just 1 syn each. These can be found in Tesco, Sainsburys or Ocado.

The Booze

On offer at B&M at the moment is a treat for us Winos. The B by Black Tower range offer both a while wine and rose wine option, , at 5.5% alcohol is just 3 syns per glass - going a lot further than the average bottle of wine or Rosé!

If you are more into the fizzy stuff, check out my recent review of the B Secco Range, a sparkling wine range which also 3 syns a glass - you can read all about it here!

B by Black Tower White and Rosé

B by Black Tower White and Rosé

The Garnishes

If you haven’t tried Halloumi (or Squeaky Cheese as I like to call it) you really need to give it a go. It’s honestly one of my favourite foods. Since this particular version by Sainbury’s is lighter - it will give you the most for your healthy extra A choice - 50g in fact. Slice it, whack it on the BBQ for a few mins each side or just dry fry in a pan. A slice of this on top of a burger would be a dream, but it it can also be enjoyed in little taster cubes or as a kebab.

This Skinny Coronation Potato Salad from Marks and Spencers is possibly the lowest-syn potato salad I’ve come across at just 3 syns for the pack. There is a subtle fruity twang to this one, the perfect compliment to a burger or chicken, or whatever BBQ dish you’re having.

If you’re into the classics, Iceland offer one of the lowest syn coleslaws - their reduced fat Coleslaw is just 3 syns per 100g and is well rated.

The Buns

Some would argue that every burger needs a bun, and if you’re not willing to go without, a standard burger bun can set you back up to 8 syns. Save a couple of syns by going with Aldi’s Ballymore Crust Thins - the white ones are 5 syns while the seeded ones are 6. Even better, use your healthy B choice for a Schar white ciabatta roll. These are Gluten Free and one roll counts as a healthy B. Available in Tesco, Asda and online.

The Desserts

You’re going to need something to cool you down after all of that. So dessert is ice lollies or ice creams.

Halo Top is a high-protein low calorie ice cream for just 4.5 syns a pop, you can find these in Birthday Cake pops in Tesco - plenty of other flavours to choose from too. Or for something a bit more fruity, you can’t go wrong with a Fruit Pastille Lolly for just 2.5 syns, found in most local shops. Lastly, for a bit of a combo, these fab minis are also just 2.5 syns each - spotted in Tesco and Asda.

So there you have it, some low syn barbecue finds to keep you satisfied throughout the summer. This weekend is set to be a scorcher, so enjoy!

Have you tried any of the above low-syn supermarket finds or come across something new and interesting that you fellow slimmers can enjoy? Let us know in the comments below! 

Remember, we have curated slimming world shopping lists for all of the supermarkets mentioned here and more. You can view these here.