Ilumi Gluten Free Product Review & Giveaway: Wuthering Bites

Allergen Friendly Heaven and Convenience with Ilumi…

After the Allergy Show that was held in London this June i was hearing lots of praise and hype on Twitter about this new company Ilumi, or ‘Ilumi World’ producing some rather inspiring new convenience products. As i was unable to make it to the show they kindly had got in contact with me to see if i wanted to try out some of their products to review. I was about to order some anyway to try so this was a very pleasant request!

One thing that really stands out for me about Ilumi is their branding, some people – like my husband and a few people on Instagram have referred to it looking like ‘Space food’ or super modern, which i don’t think is a bad thing. I think the branding is simple, effective, colourful- healthy looking and i was intrigued to see if this was reflected in their approaches and products.

The box i received contained a handy little booklet detailing their approaches to cooking, how their main focus is to create healthy, preservative free meals that are suitable for gluten free, nut free and dairy free diets. They use quality ingredients from British suppliers with a real focus on the cooking process to ensure that flavour is a top priority. The meals i received were- Spanish Rice and Vegetables, Tom Kha Gai (Thai Chicken Soup), Chicken Cacciatore, Slow Cooked Lamb Casserole and Sweet Chilli Stir Fry Sauce.

I love how they have focused on putting the ingredients list on the front of the products, it shows no nasty cane sugar or unnecessary chemical thickeners, just a very detailed clear list of natural goodies (including what’s used to make the stock in the recipes.) Their dishes are made in “modern space-saving pouches in a pressure cooker to naturally preserve all those fabulous flavours (which also conveniently means they don’t need refrigeration)” By this point i was so impressed i almost didn’t believe it!

The meals themselves are good portion sizes and i found the Spanish Rice and Vegetables Dish a perfect option for lunch. This was full of great flavour, and the distinct taste of smoked paprika had me wanting more- i love paprika spice. I did have to add a bit more seasoning for my taste but that is only personal preference. At 277 Calories it was a tasty lunch that kept me full up till dinner time- it would also be nice as a dinner dish with a side salad and some garlic prawns. Top marks here.

gluten free, nut free, dairy free, ilumi meal, — Spanish Rice with Vegetables

My husband tried some of the products too (as it’s always good to get a non gluten free-er’s point of view!) The Chicken Cacciatore and the Slow Cooked Lamb Casserole, he both ooohh’d and ahhh’d over. Good noises. The Chicken was lovely rich and flavoursome with some chickpea pasta that we had to use up but would be just as lovely with some wild rice. The slow cooked lamb casserole was perfect- their website (which is a fantastic allergen information resource too, gave us a handy tip- if we wanted to brown the potatoes we transfered the contents into an oven proof dish and popped it under the grill- this was definitely worth it for the added texture!

I haven’t yet got to try the Thai Chicken Soup or Chilli stir fry sauce yet but as soon as i do i will let you know what i think on my Facebook page. I cannot also wait to try the curry’s – i’m intrigued by the nut free-ness which i’m sure will please a lot of people.

These products are a very welcome addition to the free-from world. Perfect for catering to guests with allergies, taking away on holiday and just in general for stocking up in the kitchen cupboard! All i can finally say is can we please get the big airlines to see the potential of these products?! Long haul flights would be a dream.