I have to say that when I was invited along to find out all about EasiYo yogurt makers I was rather skeptical. You see yogurt is fairly inexpensive in the supermarket and the idea of making my own as an alternative sounded like it might be rather a faff too far for me! However, I’m open to finding out about new things and wanted to go along and see for real why people buy yet another gizmo gadget to store in their kitchens and find out if there was any real good reason for me to do the same.

I took my Mum and the children along with me as I am on a special diet at the moment (don’t ask why – too long a story) and can’t eat loads of food groups for the next few days so I needed some chief testers. Now, if there’s anyone in the world who’ll say it like it is then my Mother can definitely take the title! If I thought something was a waste of time I’d smile politely at the time, be courteous and leave with no intention of ever using it again. If my Mum thought something was a load of plank then she’d pipe up there and then and tell the whole world – risky taking her along to a PR event then? Just a bit!

Still, despite her concerns over why we would ever possibly need a yogurt maker when Aldi sell amazing yogurt for next to nothing on our journey there, we made it into the event at the exclusive Kensington based members only family club, Maggie and Rose, without offending anyone in the first ten minutes. So far so good and shortly after we arrived, with the children nicely ensconsed in craft heaven (declaring loudly that Mummy NEVER lets them do messy things at home – the shame) the yogurt started to be passed around in little tasting pots. Obviously I couldn’t indulge but was waiting for the moment when my Mum might stage whisper (which could be louder than a rugby player’s bellow) about how there was nothing significantly different about this yogurt or worse, that it was disgusting?! But… She didn’t!

Instead all I heard were lots of mumbles of approval and my Mum delcaring loudly that the yogurt was absolutely delicious, so creamy and that she was very impressed. Now this pricked my ears up because if she liked it enough to say that when I knew she thought the idea of making your own yogurt was all a bit, well, knit your own yogurt pot and a waste of time, then I also knew that perhaps her opinion on the whole thing might be changing… She might like the yogurt but usually, in this sort of situaton, it would have to be REALLY tasty for her to start considering it as perhaps better than the yogurt at Aldi… Believe me, she LOVES Aldi and obviously you don’t have to do anything more than purchase their yogurt and then eat it.

Anyway, back to the EasiYo event and by now people had started to gather, other bloggers including the lovely Lisa from NewMumOnLine had arrived and while the children were happily having their faces painted and being made baloon animals we were asked to take a seat and find out all about EasiYo from celebrity ambassador Jennie Falconer and EasiYo head honcho Paul. There’s a new EasiYo on the market and instead of the traditional white, this one is red. The other new features include little rubber feet to keep it in place when in use and instead of polystyrene, this time, the insulation is made from New Zealand lambs wool. We were shown the product inside and out (there are no electronics or moving parts) and shown the process of yogurt making which includes measuring out an amount of water, pouring in a sachet and then screwing the lid on. And that, well, that was it… 12 hours later (less if you prefer it runny and more if thicker) the yogurt is ready to chill and can then stay in the fridge, fresh to eat, for two weeks… And each sachet makes a whole kg of yogurt! Apparently, in New Zealand, where the EasiYo hails from, practically EVERYONE has one and it was invented by a Dad of 8 wanting to cut down costs on yogurt buying!

Paul and Jenni showed us that the products is actually quite slim and would fit into a small cupboard with ease either standing up or on its side. At this I knew my Mum would be thinkin about where she would keep one and if it would be worth taking up the space in a cupboard so I looked over to her but she was clearly rapt and I knew she was mentally already clearing somethign out and making room for a small red yogurt maker in one of her manykitchen cupboards. She has the luxury of a rather big kitchen whereas mine, at the moment, is absolutely tiny. We can only afford space to something that’s really worth it but the Easiyo actually isn’t all that big and as it can store on its side then it’s no bigger than a flask. Totally doable in our kitchen and that’s saying something!

We were then treated to a number of tastings from the recipe book that comes with an EasiYo maker and as well as fruit added to yogurt (that’s about as far as my mind had wandered when they said yogurt recipes) they actually had LOADS of things for us to try like hummus, guacamole, some sort of peanut desert (that every one went silent for about 5 minutes while eating and all you could hear was a slight hum of mmmmmmms), a frittata and lots more. In the book are soups, cakes, sauces… Even salads… The chef on hand for the day writes the recipes for Easiyo and it has to be said, everyone very much seemed to enjoy them.

When my Mum started waxing lyrical bout the feta and pea frittata using Easiyo I started to worry that the yogurt company might have brain washed her in some sort of hypnosis because my Mum thinks feta cheese is the devil. I challenged her on this and she just said ‘Well, this one is VERY nice, it must be the yogurt’. Of course it’s lovely that celebrities are obviously fans of the yogurt maker, Jenni Falconer was very knowledgable on the matter and clearly wasn’t just being paid to stand and smile next to a product.From what she said she obviously uses it regularly herself but what I was most impressed with was the fact that my Mum has fallen in love with it so much.

We were all gifted (my Mum included) a new Easiyo Maker (RRP £17.99) which comes with two sachets and a recipe book. Other accessories like yogurt pots to re-use for school and Sachets, which come in over 30 flavours) can be bought spearately from a variety of stockists including Lakeland, Holland and Barrett, Wilko’s, The Range, and Hobby Craft. They can also be bought on line at QVC or direct with the EasiYo shop. The RRP for a sachet is £2 so perhaps you can buy SOME yogurt less expensively but my Mum, the new EasiYo champion, says that the EasiYo yogurt is made with 63% whole milk powder and is much creamier than others. My Mum has delcared that it might not be the cheapest way of eating yogurt but it’s definitely the cheapest way of eating a luxury yogurt which she believes this to be – and I’m sure it is but remember, I’ve not yet tried it myself! I will absolutely be using my shiny new red EasiYo sometime soon though because the recipes (which can be found on the website as well as in the book) sound delicious!

When, later on in the day, we went to meet Jonny for some Saturday of half term madness at the Natural Hustory Museum (what WERE we thinking) he asked how the yogurt was made? With a powder I told him and to this he recoiled (he’s all one for natural and healthy eating). But! My Mum jumped in and explained that it’s just freeze dried and actually, it contains all the good bacteria like acidophilus that lots of shop bought yogurts don’t plus it’s gluten free and a source of calcium. She was instantly on the defence of her new ‘must have’ kitchen gadget the EasiYo!

We were invited to hear all about EasiYo and gifted a product.

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