UGOT: Healthy Food On the Go

Newcastle's Central Station has recently had a much needed makeover which has seen the appearance of a swanky new entrance as well as modern looking glass fronted shops inside the station.  One of the residents of these new shops is UGOT, an eatery that offers travellers the opportunity for a healthier on the go lifestyle.

When it comes to hunting out food in a train station I am a bit of an expert.  Simon and I spent a year in a long distance relationship between London and Newcastle.  This involved us spending many hours travelling up and down the East Coast line or having to time waste in stations waiting for trains.  So I know from experience that when you're bored and hungry in a train station it's very easy to make bad food choices, especially when you're surrounded by nothing but food outlets offering you unhealthy quick fixes.

Luckily, UGOT have realised that not everyone wants this and so they promote a healthier way to grab food on the go with tasty, fresh and honest produce.   They have recently opened shops in  Central Station and York Station, with plans to expand to Harrogate, Leeds and Manchester next year. 

Simon and I found ourselves at Central Station very early on Friday with a 7:00 am train bound for Manchester to catch.   There was no way I was going to have time to get any breakfast at home so I headed straight for UGOT to see what food they had for the early riser.

I was really impressed by the wide choice they had for breakfast, to the point where it took me a good long while to pick out what to have.  There was a huge stand of fruit as well as a variety of croissants and porridge pots.

There was also a rather eye catching range of hand pressed drinks.   The good thing about this process is that the fruit and vegetables inside the drinks don't lose their vitamins and are packed full of natural sweet juices to keep your head awake and your insides happy. 

At this point I'd love to tell you that I made a very sensible breakfast choice, but obviously this is me we're talking about so I headed straight for the counter where there was a nice selection of muffins tempting me over.

Whilst you may think that muffins aren't the most healthy thing to have for your breakfast, the muffins at UGOT are sweetened with orange rather than artificial sugars and are packed full of delicious fruit combinations.    I opted for the chocolate and banana and picked out an orange, carrot and ginger drink to wash it down with.

I was itching to tear open my paper bag as soon as I got on the train and taste my breakfast treats.  The muffin was delicious, the sponge had a slightly stickier consistency to what I am used to but I really enjoyed it.  The biggest shock hit when I came to the chocolate, I had been expecting some chocolate chips but instead the middle of the muffin contained a massive chunk of chocolate.   Wow!  It felt like such an indulgent treat, so to know that what I was eating was actually better for me than a regular muffin made me feel pretty smug.    The muffin was very filling and set me up nicely for the busy day ahead.   Definitely a good choice for a foodie like me.

My juice was refreshing and I could tell immediately that it wasn't full of nasty chemicals, I could pick out all of the different flavours really easily.

Next time I'm in the Station I will be heading to UGOT to try out one of their yoghurts that I have heard very good things about and I'm definitely interested in giving some of those other muffins a try.


UGOT invited me to try out their food and treated me to a free breakfast.  However all opinions are my own.