Graham’s Dairy White Chocolate Raspberry Ripple Ice Cream

March 24, 2019, 1:56 am

≫ Next: Ilchester Light Cheese Selection

≪ Previous: Graham's Goodness Espresso Caramel Ice Cream

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Following my review of the Graham’s Dairy Espresso Caramel Low calorie ice cream today’s is for their White Chocolate and Raspberry Ripple tub, another low calorie high protein variety now available at Lidl stores for £2.99.

This is White chocolate ice cream with a raspberry ripple sauce and contains 350 calories in the whole tub, with 20g of protein. It’s also a source of fibre.

Even though this is a lower calorie ice cream I didn’t really think about that while eating it. It looks and tastes like a regular creamy tub of ice cream and has no thin consistency like some others do.

This tastes fantastic and is probably my second favourite after the Espresso Caramel tub. It’s super creamy with a strong taste of white chocolate, and with a light texture that isn’t quite as heavy as ice cream like Haagen Dazs, but still tastes luxurious. I’m not sure how they do it...the ingredients do have added fibre and sweeteners to lower the sugar content so I’m guessing that must be it.

The raspberry sauce is perfect and goes with the creamy ice cream beautifully, it’s tart and zingy and there’s a good amount of it too - it doesn’t skimp like some brands do!

Overall, this is yet another delicious tub from Graham’s and if you’re into low calorie ice creams like this I would urge you to check out this range at Lidl. I’m pretty sure it knocks the socks off the other supermarket lower calorie ice cream ranges (at least that’s what I’ve heard via Instagram!)

Nutrition per 100ml: 79 calories, 3.1g fat, 8.7g carbohydrates, 8.7g sugars, 4.5g protein, 3g fibre.

8.5/10.

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Ilchester Light Cheese Selection

March 24, 2019, 8:49 am

≫ Next: Karma Bites Coconut, Wasabi and Peri Peri Popped Lotus Seeds

≪ Previous: Graham’s Dairy White Chocolate Raspberry Ripple Ice Cream

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Low fat high protein products are all the rage right now, and to that end Ilchester (makers of that famous Cheese Advent Calendar!) have brought out a Light Cheese Selection net, with 30% less fat and 66 calories per serving. There's three individually wrapped snack sized portions of Creamy Ilchester Light Cheese, Smoky Applewood Light Cheese and Fiery Mexicana Light Cheese in the net. They're available from Morrisons, Waitrose and Asda stores. 

From the press release: “Perfect for popping in the office fridge, just grab a delicious morsel when an afternoon pick me up is needed, satisfying those pre dinner hunger pangs, or even pairing with a picnic, the Ilchester Light snacking Net is great for any snacking occasion - grab an apple and cheesy portion and steer clear of the treat cupboard”.

From Left to Right: Creamy Light, Smoky Applewood and Fiery Mexicana.

Starting with the creamy light, this is a soft mild cheese that is pretty much as described - creamy and light tasting, giving a nice hit of cheese flavour without leaving you feeling like you’ve overdone it. A good snack to go with your lunch time sandwiches and/or salad!

The smoky applewood is similar but with a smoked flavour, that unlike other smoked cheeses doesn’t leave a burnt aftertaste.

The Fiery Mexicana was the standout - if you like spicy flavours this is for you! Whilst the cheese is light the spices elevate the flavour and make it super tasty. Perfect for a healthier flavoursome snack. As a fan of jalanepno pepper I loved it!

Overall, this is a nice selection of healthier cheeses that although they’re light, they don’t skimp on flavour. If you’re watching your fat or calories I would recommend giving them a try. Find them in Morrisons, Waitrose and Asda stores.

8.5/10.

Karma Bites Coconut, Wasabi and Peri Peri Popped Lotus Seeds

March 27, 2019, 1:47 am

≫ Next: Cadbury Bournville Giant Buttons

≪ Previous: Ilchester Light Cheese Selection

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Many thanks to Karma Bites for sending me some of their “popped lotus seeds” snacks to review recently. I’ve tried some of their range before but this time they sent the Coconut, Vanilla & Cinnamon, Wasabi and Peri Peri varieties. I was very excited! The packaging has had a refresh and looks very nice indeed, and the health credentials are highlighted on the front- these snacks are high protein, low fat, gluten free, and vegan. They’re also nut free, so they’re covering all main allergy bases, hurrah!

I’ve said it before but lotus seeds have a unique taste that you’ll either like or you won’t. It’s hard to describe exactly. They remind me of a healthier version of popcorn in texture.

The coconut flavour were my favourites, they have a nice creamy taste thanks to the coconut milk powder used on them, and are pleasingly sweet. I didn’t notice the cinnamon but the vanilla flavour blended well with the creamy coconut.They’re highly moreish too and I ended up munching through quite a lot at once, but they’re also weirdly satisfying, probably more so than popcorn is. Maybe because of the protein?

The wasabi ones were HOT! Now I’m a little sensitive to mustard spices so these made my eyes water a little, but I still loved them, they’re very addictive and moreish but I guess whether they’re worth the intense flavour depends on you. 

The Peri Peri were again spicy but in a more tolerable way - they didn’t make my eyes water at least. They have a nice chilli flavour that’s tasty but are quite hot, so you won’t want to overdo them. 

All in all, these are some great flavours from Karma Bites and I like how unique popped lotus seeds are - if you have various allergies I’d say these are worth a try. I hope to see them more widely available in future!

For now you can buy them from Karma Bites Karma Shop:
https://www.karmabites.co.uk/karma-shop/

8/10.

Cadbury Bournville Giant Buttons

March 29, 2019, 8:14 am

≫ Next: Rowntree’s Randoms Squish’ems

≪ Previous: Karma Bites Coconut, Wasabi and Peri Peri Popped Lotus Seeds

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One product a lot of people have been highly anticipating since their announcement this year has been these new Bournville Giant Buttons from Cadbury. Why you ask? Simply because they’re suitable for vegans and dairy free and the first widely available chocolate buttons of this type. Disclaimer: although dairy free they’re made in an environment with dairy so may not be suitable if you have a dairy allergy. There’s no warning about containing nuts so they appear to be safe for those with Nut allergies.

These cost £1.50 a bag, currently only available in Sainsbury’s but I’m sure more stores will sell them soon (I’ll keep you updated). I think they’re a bit overpriced for 110g of chocolate but I guess people will pay it since they’re dairy free.

Described as “smooth dark chocolate Giant Buttons with a distinctively chocolatey Bournville taste”, they have a somewhat dusty and scuffed appearance as chocolate buttons tend to.

I tried making little stacks of them (channeling Eat Explore again!) and somewhat succeeded - they didn’t topple! Of course it was much easier using two fingers though...

They taste as you’d expect - like Bournville chocolate! I liked them, they’re rather munchable and cure a sweet craving, but they’re not the best quality around let’s be real. I’m sure the palm oil has made them more waxy than Bournville used to be, but as a dairy free mass produced option, I guess they’re the best we can expect. An orange variety would be nice...since they now produce an orange Bournville bar it’s not too much of a stretch!

If you want to pay a bit more for something better  there’s always Montezuma’s Dark Buttons, which are a similar thing but obviously higher quality (and more cocoa solids!). You can usually get them for £2 on special offer at Morrisons and Sainsbury’s, and Waitrose and WH Smith sell them too.

8/10.

Rowntree’s Randoms Squish’ems

March 31, 2019, 10:06 pm

≫ Next: Tango Strawberry & Watermelon Sugar Free

≪ Previous: Cadbury Bournville Giant Buttons

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Nestle recently announced that their Rowntree's range would be getting a refresh; they've stopped making Tooty Frooties (say what?!) and added some new varieties to the Randoms range. One of them is Foamies and the other is today’s review: Squish'ems, which are available currently from Poundland. (side note: who remembers Randoms Tandems, Squidgy Speak and Rip'ems? Check out my reviews of those!)

These are a mix of squishy jellies in various fruity flavours and shapes to make them "random":

Most of these are easy to tell but some are a little mysterious - I'm not sure what the square "tombstone" shape one is supposed to be...any guesses, leave a comment! According to the pack there's so many combinations that you'll never get the same bag twice.

The sweets are so sticky that they almost bonded to the plate, haha! So they definitely deliver on the promised "squishy" front, and they have that kind of texture too which is a welcome change from sweets like Haribo, which I often find are too hard and chewy.

The flavours are pretty good, there's tropical, berry, citrus and apart from those I couldn't distinguish the rest...but a strong fruitiness permeates them all. Very moreish in taste, although perhaps not as distinctive compared to some brands. There's no obvious "this is cherry" or "this is melon" standouts. The bottom half of the sweets has a sort of sticky foam layer, in white and pink colours with strawberry and vanilla flavours.

Overall, this is a pretty good bag, the texture is spot on and they have nice fruit flavours. The different shapes are a nice novelty even if it’s hard to tell what all of them are exactly!

Not suitable for vegetarians. 
Nutrition (per 5 sweets): 68 Calories, Trace Fat, 15.8g Carbohydrates, 10.8g Sugars, 1g Protein. 

7.5/10. 

Tango Strawberry & Watermelon Sugar Free

April 3, 2019, 12:51 am

≫ Next: Nestle Aero Bliss Salted Caramel

≪ Previous: Rowntree’s Randoms Squish’ems

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Tango has had a bit of a rebrand recently, and added two new sugar free varieties to its range: Tropical and Strawberry and Watermelon, which is today's review. People have been talking a lot about it over on Instagram - it seems that adding watermelon to drinks increases excitement levels by at least 50%! ;) Maybe melon will be the new Unicorn Trend, which might not be such a bad thing...

I bought this 600ml bottle from Poundland from the chiller section. There's also a can version there (along with Tropical, Cherry and Orange flavours) on the three for £1 deal, plus most supermarkets now sell multipacks of cans and large bottles.

I used my fancy Root 7 glass to drink it from - let's take a moment to appreciate just how cool this glass is! (I've lost count of how many times people ask me about it on Instagram).

Being a sugar free drink this of course contains artificial sweeteners, which are acesulfame k and sucralose. Not the best things in the world - I do wish companies would use stevia or erythritol instead as at least they're more natural, but I guess the masses aren't  ready. The ingredients also list 4% watermelon juice and 1% strawberry juice from concentrate, so at least some of the flavours are authentic.

This is a pleasant enough drink, it's very sweet and refreshing and tastes of the flavours it's supposed to but...the sweeteners ruin it for me. Now maybe I'm just more sensitive than most folks but I can always taste them strongly and I really don't like 'em - they make what could be a nice natural tasting drink into something artificially sweet. Honestly, using a dash of real sugar would be preferable (or even lots of it aka Fanta Fruit Punch!). But then I guess these wouldn't be "diet" drinks anymore. Ho hum.

Overall, not a bad flavour if you like sugar free artificially sweetened drinks. I don't, so won't be buying this again - I'd rather stick with the full sugar or natural fruit sugar sweetened drinks.

6.5/10.

Nestle Aero Bliss Salted Caramel

April 3, 2019, 11:45 pm

≫ Next: Rowntree’s Randoms Foamies Review

≪ Previous: Tango Strawberry & Watermelon Sugar Free

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This week, Nestle launched another new product to the confectionery world under the Aero brand. It's something I had always thought they should do - a fancier version of Aero - and comes in a similar style box to Nestle Kitkat Senses. There's three varieties in the range; Milk Chocolate, Mixed and Salted Caramel selections. Nestle kindly sent me all three to review, and I'm supposed to hashtag them with #blissmoment...but do they deliver said moments of bliss?

Well, I ate the whole pack in one go so that's probably a good sign! And I'm not alone in that which makes me feel a little less guilty. The pack opens in rather a cool way (you may have seen my mini video on Instagram) and kind of becomes a cardboard bowl...but in reality, let's be honest you're gonna eat the lot!

The chocolates are described as "Velvety whipped bubbles wrapped in delicious milk chocolate" and "smooth milk chocolate filled with a salted caramel aerated whipped centre (40%)". The description doesn't mention the salted caramel pieces it also contains, which are listed in the ingredients.

First thing to note is how it says smooth milk chocolate, suggesting the recipe is different in these compared to regular Nestle chocolate. I can confirm that it does taste different and is smoother and creamier. The second thing to note is the aerated whipped centre...I'm not sure what that means exactly, as there's no visible bubbles in the filling, but it does taste like a lighter version of a praline centre, I suppose.

I do like the shape of these chocolates, they're pretty much like bubbles to fit the Aero theme, and have a slight curve in the middle. I cut one in half to give a cross section of the filling - you can just about see the crunchy caramel pieces in there:

They taste pretty good! As mentioned the chocolate is smoother than usual, the filling is a buttery caramel flavoured truffle like mixture with the caramel pieces giving bursts of salty sweetness. The salt part was noticeable and actually blended very well with the centre, which tastes quite buttery. I found these very moreish actually, and admittedly ended up eating the whole box. Nom nom!

Overall, these aren't super posh chocolates like Lindor or Ferrero Rocher, but I don't think they're pretending to be - they're a step up though and add variety to the Aero brand. They're £3 a box in Asda currently which I think is pretty reasonable for what they are. They're being positioned next to KitKat Senses which is of course a similar product.

If you try these, do let me know your thoughts in the comments!

Contains milk, may contain tree nuts and gluten.
Nutrition (per 3 pieces): 132 Calories, 7.4g Fat, 14.3g Carbohydrates, 14.2g Sugars, 1.8g Protein.

8/10. 

Rowntree’s Randoms Foamies Review

April 6, 2019, 12:12 am

≫ Next: Brothers Parma Violet Cider Review

≪ Previous: Nestle Aero Bliss Salted Caramel

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As I wrote about in my review of Randoms Squish’ems, the Rowntree's sweets range has had a bit of a switchup, with the Randoms Foamies variety from the original bags now getting their very own selection. Hurrah! Nestle kindly sent me some to review recently and I was super excited to receive them - they're currently available from Tesco, while the Squish’ems are available from Poundland. 

The sweets come in a variety of "on trend" shapes, which I have to say look really quite cool, and they get bonus points because they didn't even include a unicorn. Hurrah! Instead they've gone for...

A mermaid! There's also a gnome, watermelons, and of course a rainbow:

Plus...a pug? 

And of course the symbols of modern life, hashtags and @'s...

All of the sweets have pink and orange and white and orange colours, and I have to say...I think these are the best Randoms bag yet! I've always loved foam sweets since being a kid, so am admittedly biased, but the texture is just spot on - neither too hard nor too chewy. They're very easy to eat thanks to the texture, and flavourwise they have flavours like vanilla, strawberry and orange with a general "fruitiness" overall. They're just very nommable, and I'm glad Rowntree's have finally given them their own bag. 

9/10.

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Brothers Parma Violet Cider Review

April 7, 2019, 8:24 am

≫ Next: Flying Tiger Only For Royalties Easter Eggs

≪ Previous: Rowntree’s Randoms Foamies Review

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Alcohol isn't something I often feature on the blog, as I'm not a big drinker really but when I was offered some samples of this new Brothers Cider Parma Violet flavour I couldbn't refuse! Whilst it might sound rather...weird...I'm a sucker for novelty and this really piqued my interest. I never much cared for Parma Violet sweets as a kid, but combined with sweet, refreshing cider? It might just work. I certainly wasn't expecting a huge crate of it to be delivered to my door - thanks so much Brothers!

This cider is available from B&M stores, although I haven't spotted it there yet myself, and apparently it sold out really fast due to its popularity when B&M got it in. I've been informed by Brothers that it should be back in stock in the next week and also that they'll be selling it on their online store.

I chilled the cider and drank it from one of my fancy Root 7 Geo Glasses (which have now appeared on Great British Menu!) The cider is gluten free and suitable for vegans, and contains parma violet flavouring. It's 4% volume and contains sulphites.

There's a vague aroma of flowery parma violet on sniffing it. Taking a swig, it's very fruity, tasting very sweet and like any cider should...of apple. And there's a gentle, subtle parma violet taste that permeates it. It's not too strong and I think this is a blessing, because it could easily overpower it otherwise. It's a lovely drink, sweet and refreshing and different enough to stand out from a regular cider. I think this will go down well over the Summer months, and it's made me want to check out the other flavours from Brothers range such as Rhubarb and Custard and Strawberries and Cream.

Overall, a great novelty drink that fans of flavoured cider will surely love (and ideal after a stressful day, I might add!) I hope they continue to do more interesting flavours like this...a fruit salad version would be very welcome.

8.5/10. 

Flying Tiger Only For Royalties Easter Eggs

April 11, 2019, 1:49 am

≫ Next: Smarties Llama Edition Review

≪ Previous: Brothers Parma Violet Cider Review

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If you've ever been to a Flying Tiger store you'll know they're chock full of cool items, from gifts to quirky homeware and more importantly for me...food! They're a Danish company with stores in over 30 countries - to find your nearest one you can check out their website for a store locator. If you've ever been to one please do let me know in the comments!

These "Only for Royalties Eggs" were kindly sent to me to review and are available in stores now for £3, they're quirky chocolate hollow eggs themed after Royalty - so perfect for couples! There's a lot of hollow Easter Eggs out there with varying quality, but these seem pretty decent in comparison to some - the chocolate is creamy and melts nicely. Presumably Danish chocolate is a step up from our British stuff! There's no vegetable fat in the ingredients, but please be aware they're made in a factory with wheat and nuts if that's an issue for you. The coloured decoration is made with all natural ingredients.

All in all, pretty fun and quirky Easter eggs...go check them out at Flying Tiger if these are your kind of thing!

Smarties Llama Edition Review

April 12, 2019, 12:18 am

≫ Next: Sweet Little Drinks Cream Egg Rum

≪ Previous: Flying Tiger Only For Royalties Easter Eggs

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Nestle recently sent me some of the new Smarties Limited Edition, or rather "Llama Edition" to review (I know, jammy so and so etc), and I have to say I am very pleased that Llamas are now becoming the new Unicorns, at least with Nestle anyway. The unicorns have had their day and need to be put out to pasture thanks very much!

Of course, with them being Llama themed they get their own colours...which are apparently pink, red, yellow and purple. I don't know who came up with the colour scheme but I guess it works. As well as that there's 4 different bag designs with different puns on, which is...fun. Things like "No Probllama" and so on.

The Smarties taste like any Smarties, sweet and delicious of course. It's a shame there's no orange ones in there and also that there isn't any new flavours, though I understand there's some difficulty producing flavoured ones due to costs and manufacturing processes etc.

All in all, these are a lot of fun even though they may be as much of a gimmick as last years Unicorn themed Smarties. But at least they're not a Unicorn gimmick! In that respect Nestle are ahead of the curve. It's dying, we need a new fresher model to take their place. And I'm happy with the raft of mermaids, llamas, narwahls etc that seem to be creeping in to do so... I just hope they don't become "in addition to"!

Now Nestle, if you can please bring back the White Chocolate Smarties from many years ago, I'd be eternally grateful and will buy them buy the bucketful (which is more eco-friendly I might add ;))

Smarties Llama Edition are an Asda exclusive. 

Sweet Little Drinks Cream Egg Rum

April 13, 2019, 1:26 am

≫ Next: Degustabox Review

≪ Previous: Smarties Llama Edition Review

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Sweet Little Drinks recently announced a new Cream Egg flavour rum to coincide with Easter, and lucky for me they kindly sent me their new creation to review. Thanks so much Sweet Little Drinks! You can find it on their websitealong with several other interesting gin, rum and liquer flavours. There's combinations like Bounty, Rum and Raisin, Banoffee Pie, Donut, Pear Drops and...Maple Bacon!

I was of course super curious if this would taste like Cadbury Creme Egg. Note that it doesn't use the actual words Crème Egg, which I presume is because of copyright, but we all know that's what it’s meant to be. The alcohol percentage is 18%.

I chilled it in the fridge, and after a long stressful day poured some into my Root 7 glass. The perfect glass for a drink like this.

It has a strong sweet vanilla aroma, which is reminiscent of Crème Egg as much as is possible. And it’s dangerously easy to drink...it's soft, sweet with a lovely strong vanilla edge...and there's even a hint of chocolate in there too! I'm not sure how they've achieved this but it's as much a Crème Egg flavour as you can get in a rum, I would imagine. I really enjoyed it - but like I said it's dangerously easy to drink. Usually with rum I'll sip it slowly or mix it with something else...but this doesn't need it at all.

Overall, I have to say this is a very interesting drink from Sweet Little Drinks and fits the Easter season nicely. I imagine it'd go down particularly well with some hot cross buns!

For more info/to buy: https://www.sweetlittledrinks.co.uk/creme-egg-rum-liqueur-50cl

Degustabox Review

April 13, 2019, 11:51 pm

≫ Next: Galaxy Darker Milk Review

≪ Previous: Sweet Little Drinks Cream Egg Rum

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My apologies to Degustabox for being so late doing a full review of their boxes lately. They've sent me a few so far which I mentioned on Instagram but haven't found the time to do a full review of. The February box I've already mentioned so I'll skip to the March box which was quite interesting, with a nice mix of both healthy and naughty snacks and some drinks and even a beer for good measure.

If you haven't heard of them before Degustabox are a surprise box delivered each month on a subscription basis - although you can opt out at any point. The products included work out as being cheaper than what you'd pay in shops, and they showcase small producers, unique products and brands you may not have had a chance to try before, which I think is a nice idea. To check them out see their website: https://www.degustabox.com/en/

This months box was an interesting mix...from Chum Fruit Bites which I'd never heard of before, and the packaging is amusing with the sinister looking animals. The company donates some of their profits from packs sold to help endangered species. They're endangered so that's why the animals look mad, perhaps? (Give them your money now or else!) The bites are triangular and look rather cool, and are pretty tasty (in an all natural way). They reminded me of fruit leathers.

The coffee...I hope I've made my thoughts on Costa coffee clear by now but their regular coffee is just not the best. I'm a Caffe Nero man and always will be. Needless to say, this stuff wasn't for me and I only ended up using it after running out of Dolce Gusto pods. (Dolce Gusto isn't the best quality around but it's still preferable and more convenient).

The Willie's Cacao 100% Bar I've tried before, and it's a pretty intense chocolate, but fantastic quality. If you're a purist this is for you!

The Chocolate Orange Popping Candy is pretty good, and weirdly is in a smaller bag than usual, I'm not sure why. Interesting to note that it's no longer made by Cadbury/Mondelez but a French company called Caramber. I do wish they'd take the vegetable fat out of it.

The Green and Blacks truffle bars are pretty tasty and remind me a bit of Cote Dor Truffle bars. Wouldn’t surprise me if they’re the same since Mondelez own both brands. They were a nice surprise. The Forest Feast Bites were pretty good too - one is mango pieces and the other is chocolate coated tropical pieces like coconut and mango, and those ones are super delicious. The other items are Jubel Peach Beer, Muscle Moose (which doesn't contain aspartame) energy drink, Weetabix breakfast shake, a Kind Bar (I love their bars!), some relish, and a Red Red black bean instant stew pot (add hot water). I haven’t tried the latter few yet but the stew pot looks pretty handy!

All in all, this is a pretty good box that I'm happy I received. Not every product may be to everyone's tastes of course, and I'm quite fussy when it comes to my food I will happily admit, but if you enjoy random boxes of surprise foods this one is worth checking out!

For more see Degustabox’s website: https://www.degustabox.com/en/

Galaxy Darker Milk Review

April 16, 2019, 7:18 am

≫ Next: Hungry Squirrel Nut Butters Review

≪ Previous: Degustabox Review

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Since the Cadbury Darkmilk surprised me with how nice it was, I thought I'd review one of its new competitiors in the form of this Galaxy Darker Milk. The name itself amuses me - it's almost a sly implication that it's darker and thus better than Darkmilk. But is it?

Firstly, it contains very different ingredients to Cadbury Darkmilk. The cocoa solids are 33% (much less than Darkmilk's 40%) and the ingredients contain lactose and whey protein, as well as palm fat. The Cadbury Darkmilk is already ahead of the game in that respect since it doesn't contain palm fat.

Firstly I have to say I like the block design of this bar - it's sleek and curved and a lot nicer than the Darkmilk. The 110g bars are available from Tesco and Asda now for around £1.50, and there's also a Hazelnut variety.

Unfortunately it has a very odd taste. When I first bit into it I was taken aback a little...it tasted smoky?! I thought I must have gotten a bad bar. This odd smoky flavour was then followed by the taste of calendar chocolate...you know the stale, chalky stuff. I persisted in eating more in the hopes of tasting something resembling Galaxy at all. Eventually I could detect the creamy Galaxy taste and texture, it's hard to describe but I'm sure you all know what I mean. The bar is described as a "blend of smooth Galaxy milk and dark chocolate" so I guess this is why the milk chocolate was hidden behind the dark. The result is just an odd, smoky tasting concoction that has a Galaxy flavour that isn't improved upon. I'm wondering if the cocoa beans Mars use are just poor quality?

After posting a quick review on Instagram a few people in the comments also mentioned the smoky taste, confirming I'm not alone (I thought I was going mad haha!)

Overall then, what can I say but this is just an odd bar that doesn't seem to have been thought through. I can't imagine it will stick around when Cadbury Darkmilk already does the same thing better, and even that bar is hard to find in shops.

Have you tried Galaxy Darker Milk? If so what did you think of it? 

Random bit of nostalgia...who remembers Galaxy Promises bars (shown above), which were blocks of milk and dark chocolate mixed together in the same bar? Leave a comment if so!

Hungry Squirrel Nut Butters Review

April 18, 2019, 9:43 am

≫ Next: Nature's Charm Coconut Salted Caramel & Matcha Sauces

≪ Previous: Galaxy Darker Milk Review

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A huge thanks to Hungry Squirrel who kindly sent me some of their of tasty nut butters to review recently. They are a Scottish company based in Deeside and their nut butters are all vegan, gluten free and some are even sugar free. One has also won a "Healthy Choice Scotland Food and Drink Award". Woo hoo!

The flavours they sent me were Chai Spiced Almond, Royal Raspberry, Almond Espresso and Crunchy ABC Mix. And I have to say I loved them all and can see why the ABC mix has won an award.

The ABC Mix consists of almonds, brazil nuts, cashews and sea salt - no sugar! And it honestly didn't need it - it tastes creamy, nutty, salty and savoury all in one - presumably the cashews give it a natural sweetness.

The brazils give it an earthy taste that mixes well with the other nuts. I seriously loved this and couldn't get enough!

The Almond Espresso one I was very excited to try...because I do love coffee! It's almond butter with added ground coffee, agave syrup and sea salt. At first I wasn't sure about this one.

But after coming back to it I enjoyed the mix of subtle coffee flavour and savoury sweet nuttiness, it gives a nice coffee flavour that makes an otherwise regular almond butter a bit more exciting.

The Chai Spiced Almond was superb! Seriously this stuff is so tasty and the flavours are full on Chai. It has all of them in there - cloves, cinnamon, cardamom and black pepper, but for some reason I could taste the nutmeg most, and while I was eating this it kept reminding me of something...Custard Tarts! You know the ones you get in the chiller sections sprinkled with nutmeg?

The creaminess of the nuts mixed with the spices makes it like those - almost dessert like. If you're a fan of anything chai based like chai teas or lattes, you have to check this one out!

The Royal Raspberry consists of almonds, freeze dried raspberries, agave syrup and sea salt. I'll be honest I didn't love this one.

 It's interesting to have a fruitier nut butter with the dried raspberry pieces in, but for me the tart flavour of them is a little jarring mixed with the almond butter. Could be just personal preference - I've never enjoyed dried raspberry too much. I'm thinking other dried fruit would be lush in a nut butter though...sultanas, raisins, apple...yum!

Overall, I have to give Hungry Squirrel a huge thumbs up for these nut butters. All were great quality, and even though I didn't love the raspberry one the idea is fantastic. I've never really seen flavoured nut butters of this type before so kudos to them for their innovation. I see on their online store they do a Cookie Cashew variety, now that sounds interesting. Do check out these guys if nut butters are your thing!

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Nature's Charm Coconut Salted Caramel & Matcha Sauces

April 21, 2019, 7:31 am

≫ Next: Cadbury Dairy Milk Top Deck Review

≪ Previous: Hungry Squirrel Nut Butters Review

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Many thanks to Nature's Charm for sending me some of their Vegan Coconut sauces to review recently. I've featured them before with my Condensed Coconut Milk review, and I really enjoyed that so was even more excited to see what these were like. 

It's hard finding dairy free alternatives to popular products, but luckily the market is gradually expanding to cater for all, and these fit in nicely. They are made with coconut milk, coconut sugar, sea salt and other natural ingredients. 

The Matcha sauce was the one I went for first because I didn't expect to like it and wanted to get it out of the way. It's made with coconut cream, cane sugar, matcha powder, coconut oil, calcium carbonate, salt and water. When I first took a spoonful it was as I expected; the earthy green tea flavour that I'm not a big fan of mixed with super sweet coconut. After seeing a post on Nature's Charm's Instagram I decided to try make a matcha latte with it and see if that tasted better. 

I used Koko coconut milk, so it was quite light, and added a good few dollops of it in whilst I heated it in a saucepan. The result tasted pretty good and was much nicer than eating it straight from the spoon - it made a sweet, creamy drink with just the right level of earthy green tea flavour. I think matcha must just be one of those things that only works in certain ways. The label has a tip from Nature's Charm creator to try it in smoothies or make your own matcha tart. Now that sounds a bit different! 

The Coconut Salted Caramel sauce was the one I was looking forward to most and it didn't disappoint. They describe it as "happiness in a mouthful" and they're not far wrong...this stuff is delicious! It's very silky and with just the right golden colour and gooey texture to use on desserts, as a filling for chocolates, or just spread on chunks of chocolate...as I did!

This was on Waitrose 1 Indian Ocean Coconut chocolate, just to bump up the levels of coconuttiness! 

I also tried it on some Karma Bites snacks...combining two interesting flavours in one, and that worked nicely too! 

Overall, this stuff is delicious, with the closest salted caramel flavour I've come across as far as dairy free alternatives go. It's something I'll be buying again as a treat if I'm avoiding dairy (I'm not allergic, but can't eat too much of it or I'll get sick). The Matcha one isn't something I can see myself ever desiring again, it's just not for me but hey if you love matcha lattes this sauce might be right up your street. 

A big thumbs up to Nature's Charm for this range - go check out their online store, they have a pretty great range of vegan sauces available on there. 

Cadbury Dairy Milk Top Deck Review

April 24, 2019, 9:53 am

≫ Next: Marmite Peanut Butter Review

≪ Previous: Nature's Charm Coconut Salted Caramel & Matcha Sauces

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I've had quite a few interesting snacks from A Taste Of The States now, and recently they have started stocking more Australian varieties. The Cadbury Dream we all know and miss was sadly out of stock so I went for a Cadbury Top Deck instead - you know, those bars we used to get in the UK many moons ago? It's a simple combination of a base layer of Dairy Milk and a top layer of Cadbury Dream white chocolate. This may sound pretty standard but it turns out it's a winner!

The Dairy Milk layer tastes pretty familiar, although I maintain that Australian Dairy Milk is a little better quality than our UK version. It seems creamier and less waxy. The upper layer of Dream is pretty sweet and creamy and like Dream used to be, and perhaps it's better mixed with Dairy Milk so you get a mix of sweet creaminess and cocoa mingled together. This is a great bar and super moreish.

Overall, not much to say other than that this is a fantastic bar that they should never have stopped making in the UK! Speaking of which they should never have stopped making Dream either, but it looks like things aren't likely to change any time soon. If you miss the Top Deck or Cadbury Dream of yore you certainly can't go wrong with a bar of this!

*Using code KEV20 gets 20% off this bar and all other purchases on A Taste Of The States:
https://atasteofthestates.com*

Marmite Peanut Butter Review

April 25, 2019, 12:53 am

≫ Next: GU Salted Caramel & Hazelnut Spreads Review

≪ Previous: Cadbury Dairy Milk Top Deck Review

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These days it seems you can now get marmite in almost anything you wish, and the latest concoction dreamt up by the snack gods seems to be this marriage of marmite and peanut butter. A match made in heaven or just an abomination? Your love or hate of the yeast spread will no doubt be the deciding factor in that...

These are available on Ocado as well as in Sainsbury’s stores, which is where I bought this from for £2.50. I don’t usually buy peanut butter but on this occasion was very curious....

It’s suitable for vegans which is one of the big marketing points for it - yeast extract  is a common vegan flavouring used in everything from crisps to cheeses, as it gives that umami flavour that some say is meaty. But how does that work in peanut butter?

Well it’s very strong and salty! Definitely not as bad as you might imagine - the salty flavours work well with the already savoury peanuts, but make no mistake this is no “sweet” peanut butter, so if you like it salty and savoury this is one for you. I didn’t dislike it at all but I couldn’t eat too much. I imagine it’s a great little topping for toast if you’re one of those who likes marmite on toast. All in all pretty tasty, but I’m not sure it’s a product the world truly needed.

Overall then, this gets a cautious thumbs up. Do let me know if you’ve tried it in the comments!

GU Salted Caramel & Hazelnut Spreads Review

April 27, 2019, 1:19 am

≫ Next: Freaks of Nature Cherry Bakewell Pudding Review

≪ Previous: Marmite Peanut Butter Review

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A big thanks to GU for today's review as they kindly sent me some vouchers to try some products from their range. One that I went for that I've been curious about for a while were these Chocolate and Salted Caramel and Hazelnut and Chocolate spreads, which were on offer for £2 in Sainsbury's (I believe Asda, Tesco, Morrisons, Waitrose and Ocado stock them too). They are both gluten free and suitable for vegetarians and contain no palm oil.

I started with the Salted Caramel and Chocolate variety. They describe the spread as velvety and boy they are not wrong! This stuff is silky AF...moreso than any other chocolate spread I think I've ever tried. They're usually either greasy or too firm, so it's nice to see that's not an issue here. The caramel flavour is spot on, it's not particularly salty but just enough to elevate it from regular caramel, and boy is it delicious. I was eating this stuff from the spoon and it's so easy to get carried away! I would highly recommend this flavour if you love salted caramel!

The Hazelnut and Chocolate variety intrigued me...would it live up to the mother of all hazelnut spreads Nutella? Well, yes it did and in some ways it was even better because - those nuts on top! There's a very generous sprinkling of chopped hazelnuts making it resemble a Ferrero Rocher, and it makes for a delightful experience digging through them to the spread below. They're crunchy, well roasted and flavoursome. Yum!

The only downside is that there weren't more of them in the actual spread...granted there are some here and there and they do enhance the texture but you can't taste them so much. The spread itself is again silky smooth, and perhaps less milky than Nutella. It made me think of the inside part of a Ferrero Rocher, similar to how the Lindt Hazelnut Spread did. All in all, it’s delicious stuff and this may be a worthy contender to Nutella's crown purely based on those chopped hazelnuts on top! If you haven't tried this stuff yet you really should.

Overall then, these are two fantastic spreads offering different flavours and textures. I enjoyed both so it would depend what mood I'm in which I'd get again, but the Hazelnut might just be up there.

Freaks of Nature Cherry Bakewell Pudding Review

April 28, 2019, 6:43 am

≫ Next: Haribo USA Gummi Berries and Frogs Review

≪ Previous: GU Salted Caramel & Hazelnut Spreads Review

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I was recently sent some of the new Freaks of Nature Cherry Bakewell puds to review by the creators - thanks so much guys, it's really appreciated! Freaks of Nature make vegan and gluten free desserts that are available from Waitrose and Ocado, without the use of allergens like soya, eggs, dairy etc, however they do contain nuts.

These cost £2 and are apparently the worlds first free from and vegan cherry bakewell hot pudding. They consist of light almond frangipane sponge on top of a layer of sweet cherry sauce, and flaxseeds are used in place of egg as a binder.

The desserts come in reusable glass ramekins, similar to GU puds, and contain 100g of dessert per pot. They can be heated in the oven or microwaved for a fast dessert.

I loved these! The almond sponge is nice and light with a good nutty flavour, and the sprinkling of almond slivers adds some crunch. The cherry sauce underneath was a lovely surprise - it's sweet and flavoursome and really captures the essence of a cherry bakewell. There's just enough in one ramekin for a nice light dessert, although of course me being me I ate a second one right after! I do think they'd be better in larger portions because hey, more dessert is always better!

Overall, these are some super desserts and it's so nice to have a new option that's both vegan and gluten free to cater to anyone with such dietary needs. Bravo Freaks of Nature for these!

For more info on Freaks of Nature dessert range see their website:

https://www.freaksofnature.co.uk