Reviews – THE MUSCLE BAKERY

Review: Menstrual Reliever✨

What do women want more than roses and romance? Not having to deal with unbearable period pains.

Honestly though, if you’re stuck on what to get on Valentines Day for that special lady in your life… this is it and i’m here to tell you why:

Firstly, what is it?

The menstrual/ period pain reliever designed by Beurer offers an alternative remedy for severe menstrual and endometriosis cramps that does not involve medication – treating it in a targeted manner. You place it on the skin underneath your tummy and you can wear it discreetly at home or at work (yay).

How does it work?

It has two functions which can be used solo or combined: soothing heat and TENS treatment (transcutaneous electrical nerve stimulation) increasing up to 15x intensity levels.

Whats does TENS do?

TENS is a method of pain relief involving the use of mild electrical currents. The electrical impulses are delivered through electrodes located in adhesive pads that stick to your skin, flooding the nervous system and reducing the ability to transmit pain signals. The same impulses also stimulate the body to produce natural pain relievers called endorphins.

Personal experience:

I was really sceptical at first! I could not imagine anything helping my excruciating period pains – after all not even tramadol would relieve my pain on bad days. But, me writing this post is evidence enough of how much I loved it because I would have not written it otherwise.

The heat option is not as scalding as a hot water bottle would be (those who know bad period pains will understand this) BUT the fact that you can walk around with this comfortably underneath your clothes with heat applied to the sensitive area is good enough imo.

When only heat option is on light is green (shows white in img)

The TENS option on the other hand is what makes this a MUST buy. The settings are adjustable by means of higher/ lower buttons and can reach high levels of intensity (think belly shaking type of intensity). The electrodes come within two patches which you place on your lower tummy, the pulses are delivered with variating rhythms and increasing intensity – basically it makes your lower tummy vibrate and helps soothe the discomfort.

Replaceable sticky pads for ease of use

It automatically goes off after 20mins so you don’t have to worry about it staying on if you wear it to sleep for example. I even tried this at work and it was a pleasure, considering I’m on my feet all day it wasn’t uncomfortable.

When using both heat + TENS both lights go on

I got this as a gift but pricing varies between £40-£50 depending on where you purchase. They have it available locally at Pure Wellness (opposite Star Bar) or you can get it delivered from them via Rock Hero app, alternatively you could find it online but I’d much rather buy local where possible.

Does it actually work!?

I posted this on my instagram and the most common question was ‘Does it ACTUALLY work???’ – so to summarise: yes, it does. I wouldn’t say it completely removes the pain but it DOES provide an immense sense of relief from the discomfort of period pains. Worth every penny.

This post is not sponsored and is a real review based on personal experience, I would not recommend products that I don’t use or wouldn’t buy myself.

Hope you enjoyed this review and enjoy this product as much as I do 🙂

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Review: Straits Apparel 🏋️‍♀️

Straits Apparel, born and bred in Gibraltar is an up and coming sportswear brand who hope to create sportswear fit for everyone.

Im excited to be an ambassador for this brand because its not often you get to work with people with so much energy and zest like its owner:Christina. She has so many great ideas for the brand and I can’t wait to watch it grow.

Fun fact: each set is named or inspired by local history: Keys, Defence, Castle sets are to name a few.

CASTLE SET – PISTACHIO

This set is my favourite one to date, the cut on the leggings is really high and figure hugging and everything is held in place tightly (important) even though the material isn’t ‘compression.’ – basically, te aguanta la barriga guys que es lo que cuenta.

The bra is really comfortable and also holds everything in place wonderfully. It has removable padding but i like leaving them in because it makes them twins look a bit nicer *hides face*

I usually i wear size 8-10/S-M on top (bra size: 36DD) and a size 8/S on bottom – these are both size S.

As you can see from the pictures, the colour is truly gorgeous – this one is called Pistachio but it also comes in 3x other colours: Azur, Black & Mauve. (The azur one is also so beaut and definitely have my eyes on that one next).

The highlight of this set for me is the back pocket which is big enough to hold your phone – i went as far as to test this set on a run with my phone in the back pocket and I give it a 10/10!

FORTRESS SET – SAND

This set is lovely, the cut on the leggings is a little bit lower which made it a bit more uncomfortable for me (i like them super high) but the material is far tighter and has more of a compression feel. So much so, that i had to upsize on this one and get a size M instead.

The bra is comfortable but doesn’t have a strong hold, i would say that its perfect for weight training – rather than high intensity workouts.

On both the bra and leggings I’m wearing a size M.

The colour is really nice, however I much prefer darker colours for training because i always stain all my lighter colour leggings, so if you’re like me… buy a darker colour in this range. These come in Sand, Mocha and Graphite colours.

These sets are just 2x of the new 2021 collection which are NOW AVAILABLE on Straits Apparel. Tune into their instagram for regular updates and exclusive discounts.

+ get a 15% discount, using code: ELKE15 🙂

Any other questions or queries feel free to get in touch, you can do so via the comment section OR find me on instagram as @themusclebaker.

BrunchIt: Marbella 🥞

Brunch It Cafe (New Marbella location).

Location: Calle Francisco Nte, 5 29602 – Marbella, Malaga📍

After my first BrunchIt experience in Malaga, i fell in love with the place.

Its decor, food, branding and ethos stood out from the rest and after having reviewed their first location, Lydia the owner (who is absolutely adorable may i add) invited me to try out their new Marbella branch.

The decor is a little different to the original blacks and whites from my first BrunchIt visit back in Malaga. Instead, you are greeted with wooden and yellow tones with a fresh and modern feel.

Review: Hectares Sweet Potato Crisps

The lovely team at Crisps ‘N’ stuff sent us a bag full of their Hectares Sweet Potato Crisps and ofc we (very) happily dug in to review them! We were big fans to start off with, so we were SUPER excited to get so many bags sent to us! (Thanks guys) 😋

They have a selection of 3 flavours: Lightly Sea Salted, Chorizo & Sundried Tomato and Red Onion & Black Pepper. All of which are free from Gluten, Wheat, Dairy and Vegan friendly (inclusive of the Sundried Tomato & Chorizo flavour.)

Red Onion & Black Pepper:

Perfect for those who love a bit of a peppery tang due to the predominant pepper flavour. The flavour does state ‘Onion & Pepper’ but the onion flavour is definitely more subtle.

I would use it in a combo for a recipe or as an addition to a salad or sandwich whereas the pepper flavour would compliment the meal rather than override it. Plus, crisps in a sandwich is always a winner!

Or, you could always try out Sweet Potato Crusted Chicken Breast Recipe.

Per 35g bag: 179Cals | 11F | 17.8C | 1.2P Ingredients: Sweet Potatoes, High Oleic Sunflower Oil, Red Onion & Black Pepper Flavoured Seasoning (Black Pepper, Dextrose, Sea Salt, Rice Flour, Red Onion Powder, Colour: Beetroot Red, Natural Black Pepper Flavouring).

Lightly Sea Salted:

It is what it is, like Ready Salted except made with sweet taters. Perfect if you’re not too adventurous and like your snacks plain. Unlike a lot of veggie crisps out there, these are way less greasy and super tasty! PLUS (out of all 3) these contain the least ingredients so if you are fussy like that, they are comprised simply of sweet potatoes, high oleic sunflower oil and salt!

Per 35g bag: 184Cals | 11.6F | 17.7C | 1.2P Ingredients: Sweet Potatoes, High Oleic Sunflower Oil, Salt.

Chorizo & Sun-Dried Tomato:

If a sweet potato eloped with a Bag of Lays Campesina flavour crisps you’d end up with these. No doubt my favourite flavour of the lot!

So full of smokey/ tangy/ paprika flavours Which remind me of the Lays mentioned above. Anyone who has shopped in a Spanish supermarket before will know it as the bright green packet. It’s one of my favourite crisps but it’s riddled with wheat and dairy which I cannot have so when I tried these… Ohhhhh the happiness!

Eat them solo, add to your salad for a little crunch (pic below) or try the chicken recipe with these instead!

Per 35g bag: 179Cals | 10.9F | 17.7C | 1.3P Ingredients: Sweet Potatoes, High Oleic Sunflower Oil, Red Onion & Black Pepper Flavoured Seasoning (Rice Flour, Salt, Tomato Powder, Paprika, Cayenne, Yeast Extract Powder, Sugar, Natural Flavourings, Dried Bell Pepper Powder, Garlic Powder, Onion Powder, Oregano, Colour: Paprika Extract, Chorizo Extract).

You may be wondering what High Oleic Sunflower Oil is (seeing as all 3 flavours contain this ingredient). Well, hi-oleic sunflower oil is a type of sunflower oil bred to have a high concentration of the fatty acid oleic acid, a monounsaturated fatty acid which is found in olive oil and macadamia nuts. It is also considered as a Non-GMO ingredient as it is the result of traditional plant breeding.

To get your hands on these delicious crisps, follow Crisps ‘N’ Stuff on FB and order via their page directly or buy at any of their point of sales. La Parrilla On The Go sell them AND Muscle Bakery treats so we suggest you go there best 😝

For anyone in the UK, you can find them in a variety of outlets such as Holland & Barrett, Ocado, Wholefoods and more! Check Hectares website for more info.

We hope you enjoyed our little review! We plan to try some recipes featuring these crisps (when we manage to get a break from making Muscle Malts) so keep an eye out! You can find us on @themusclebakery on all social outlets, or follow @themusclebaker directly on Instagram!

Tag us if your try them!

Much love <3

Free-From Eats: Brunch It (Malaga)

Brunch It Cafe

Location: Calle Carreteria, 46 29008 – Malaga📍

Whenever i need to go somewhere the first thing i do is find somewhere new to eat, (it isn’t really worthwhile without some good food) so one quick search and i found this cute place in Malaga. The typography and cool design kinda sold it to me, the food looked pretty good too. Thanks Instagram.

To get to this location, we used the Sat Nav as we are not very familiar with the area. It’s a good job we did as there were roadworks around the area, which meant a sudden route change. Best suggestion is follow directions as best and as close as possible then park and walk there.

The decor is modern, blacks and whites with a fresh tone from plants, fruits and ornaments. Their large window opens up to allow seating on the front, there is a bar seating area at the entrance, then more seating indoors with one ‘lounge’ table with sofa seating towards the back of the establishment.

To start off I ordered a fresh fruit/veg smoothie. There was a few to choose from and each had a description of what they would help with ie. Digestion, alcalizing, energising etc. I chose the ‘Kotao’ which was for ‘digestion’ and comprised of apples, pear, ginger, lemon and spinach.

They were all priced at €3.50.

The other half decided to go for a slice of their freshly made pizzas, parma ham and pumpkin flavour made on a focaccia style base which looked and smelt DIVINE. (These moments are when i realise how much i miss cheese.)

Anyhow, the pizzas/ sandwiches etc are all made with their freshly baked focaccia style bread and each piece is sold by weight not by slice which is pretty cool. Especially if you’re one of those unlucky people who always ends up with the smaller pieces 😛

For my mains, after much deliberation I chose a salad, bacon salad to be exact. In hindsight it was not the best option and I should have gone for the quinoa salad or veggie burger, which had initially caught my eye. I’m used to eating turkey bacon so when the salad came it was a lot greasier and it was the typical Spanish bacon which has loadsa fat pieces and i dunno i just felt bad eating it. I think the wanting of cheese clouded my judgement!

By default, my partner chose a burger. There was a few to choose from including a turkey burger, veggie burger and soya burger by the names of Buey, Crunchit, Pavo Eco, Veggie & Tofu, all priced at €8.90 and came with a side of fresh cut chips.

Same goes for all their meals, they have a bit of a variety to choose from, designed to suit all and any. They even have a veggie and vegan pizza option: veggie had olive oil, cucumber, aubergine, peppers and Pecorino cheese (made from Sheeps milk) and vegan one had sweet onion, aubergine, cucumber and pepper. Each of the pizzas also had a different type of cheese, some with mozarella, others Parmesan and even one with provolone.

We weren’t sure if to stay for dessert but like most occasions, i was there… i may as well. But, much to my disappointment i wasn’t able to have anything as none were wheat-free or vegan friendly (without dairy/egg) so i opted for a green tea to soothe my tummy post-food and watched the other one eat a Nutella stuffed focaccia. Sigh.

Price: ☺️ | Location: 😰 | Service: 😄 | Food: ☺️

The place is super cool, the layout is awesome, the decor is trendy and they even have iPads on the tables so you can surf the net. I wouldn’t consider it to be an ‘organic’ place per say, more like a healthified eatery with Italian vibes. They have meal options to suit all and any which is great, especially if you’re travelling there with a variety of people who have different diets and even though they don’t specifically cater to Gluten-Free they do have salad/ smoothie options to choose from. Perfect place if you’re not Gluten/ Wheat intolerant as you can enjoy any of the burgers or pizzas too, whether you’re Vegan or not.

Caters to Vegan/ Vegetarian diets (and people who love pizza).

Tip: For anyone counting calories/ macros etc my advise would be to log in similar counterparts to what you are eating and be mindful about it. Eg. bean burger isn’t hard to find on MFP, and it is very unlikely that there is a vast difference in macros. Trust me, at some point, someone has logged in something similar in MFP, a quick search and you’re good! If at the very least, for peace of mind.

Another from our series of #EatsFreeFrom as we travel around taste testing all the delicious (free-from) foods for you!

Any requests? Let us know! 🙂

Much love,

The Muscle Baker

Free-From Eats: Pane Cioccolate (Marbella)

Pane Cioccolate

Located on: Calle 19A, Marbella📍

Opening Hours: 09:00- 21:30 (Closed Sunday’s).

This chain has two eateries, one situated in Sotogrande and one in San Pedro and after visiting (and loving) the Sotogrande one, we just had to visit their bigger San Pedro one. It’s location can easily go unnoticed which is actually a good thing as it means less people.

Here are the directions as it could very easily go amiss:

– Travel along the AP-7 Autopista del Mediterraneo (if coming from Gib-Marbella direction) and take exit 157 which merges onto the A-7 towards Estepona/ San Pedro Alcantara.

– Take exit 170 towards Gaudalmina, San Pedro de Alcantara and take the 3rd exit once you get to the roundabout.

– At the next roundabout take the 4th exit and follow on until the last roundabout, take the 2nd exit.

– Continue and turn right onto Calle 18, left onto Calle 19, follow left again and your destination will be on your right.

The setting is lovely, a little bit of shabby chic meets hipster vibes with blue hues and pastel colours all around and delicate decor in the form of cushions, quotes and cute ornaments.

At first glance the menu is extensive with a wide variety of items, all of which are clearly labelled with intolerances (see below). Unfortunately, the wide variety is narrowed down considerably if you need to avoid dairy, egg and wheat but none-the-less there are a few items as well as off the carte Vegan menu items (which you need to ask for).

My first choice was the Apple Pie Smoothie, I had tried it before and it is my absolute favourite! Made with apples, almond milk, agave, lemon and cinnamon, so simple yet so tasty! Definitely recommend if you like apple/cinnamon flavours, but there is something to suit all tastes.

The most impressive part of the menu was their great selection of toasts combinations, they have a different type of bread depending on what ingredient you would need to avoid which is absolutely awesome! There were combinations for all sorts of diets, whether you wanted eggs, tomato, olive oil or avocado, and if it isn’t on menu they are happy to customise it for you.

After reading the menu several times I decided I wanted bread (there is always time for bread) and decided on a Rye/ Spelt Wheat-Free toast. I really wanted a high protein topping that wasn’t eggs though, so I asked if I could have turkey, they happily noted it down and brought me some delicious chargrilled turkey pieces atop of my toast! A pleasant surprise as I was kinda expecting cheap supermarket cold cuts!

The mains had a little bit to suit anyone and everyone, a selection of salads, wraps, burgers, pastas etc. Perfect if there is a group of people with varying diets and taste preferences which was the case for us. (The boys wanted burgers while the girls wanted salads.)

However, I did find the mains a bit hard to choose, mainly because I’m a fussy eater who has to cater to intolerances which is a double whammy of annoyingness for the poor waiters/ waitresses *hides face*

I decided to opt for the ‘Nicky’ salad which is comprised of salad greens, cherry toms, walnuts, chicken breast and a balsamic glaze. (It also contains Parmesan but I had to omit that.)

The other half decided to go for the burger which came in a seedy bun filled with salad greens and a fried quail egg.

Other meals that were ordered were Goats cheese salad and a spaghetti pasta dish, everyone seemed satisfied and happy with their meals (with space left for dessert).

Now, I’m going to be completely honest here… The dessert was the most disappointing part for me because I never got to have any! 😩

All the cakes contained some form of gluten, wheat, dairy or egg and when asked if there was any Vegan desserts available, the waitress offered me a cake but wasn’t too convinced herself about the contents which didn’t inspire much confidence. (And then i asked the guy waiter and he thought i asked for Veal!) lol

Thing is, yes there was some Vegan items, yes there was some gluten-free items (which is great)… But no crossover treats catering to an all in one.

Watching everyone eat delicious Banoffee cake isn’t fun when it looks this incredible 👉🏻

Having said that, i would still go again (maybe prompt them beforehand to make sure there is Vegan cake available) 😛

Price: 😅 | Location: 😄 | Service: 😊 | Food: 😄

Would recommend for mixed groups as they cater to all sorts of diets, perfect for breakfasts, smoothies and non-vegan cakes. This place is also child-friendly and has sweets, cookies etc that children would prefer to eat. Overall prices are decent, smoothies at €5, salads around 10€, just don’t be too frivolous ordering drinks as they do add up!

Caters to Gluten-Free/ Wheat-Free/ Vegan/ Vegetarian diets.

The first in our series of #EatsFreeFrom as we travel around taste testing all the delicious (free-from) foods for you!

Any requests? Let us know! 🙂

Much love,

The Muscle Baker