Walkers Pops Sour Cream & Onion review

Popped crisps are becoming increasingly popular and so the range of flavours seems to be expanding. I don't think these sour cream and onion are a new flavour but I haven't seen them around so decided to give them a try. Walkers are a well established brand and probably the nations favourite and so I had high hopes that I would be impressed.

They had the same light and airy texture as most varieties of popped crisps. There was a subtle smell on opening the bag and the crisps had flecks of herbs throughout. They had a good crunch and the flavour was a perfect mixture of both sour cream and onion. There was a good strong flavour that wasn't overwhelming and didn't leave too much of an after taste which can often be a problem with these types of flavours.

I really enjoyed these Pops and this flavour was impressive. I could detect both the sour cream and the onion with neither one being too strong. These were really tasty and although there weren't a huge amount of crisps inside the bag it was certainly enough to fulfil my crisp cravings. Walkers have lived up to there excellent reputation with these Pops and I would happily buy them again.

Starbucks UK Cookie Dough Frappuccino review

Summer weather and a bank holiday hangover can only mean one thing.... coffee! I headed to Starbucks seeking a caffeine fix but then a sign with "fan favourites" caught my eye. A cookie dough Frappuccino made with hazelnut syrup, white chocolate mocha sauce and chocolate chips sounded amazing and I felt the need to try it immediately.

I opted for it without cream and it came with a generous amount of chocolate chips clearly throughout. I took a sip and fell in love. It doesn't actually taste a lot like cookie dough but I would describe it as a mixture of Oreo and Nutella flavours. It was creamy and the mixture of the white chocolate mocha sauce and hazelnut syrup worked perfectly in providing a Frappuccino that is definitely one for those of us with a very sweet tooth. The chocolate chips added to the texture and lets face it, everything tastes better with chocolate. I already feel the need to have another one of these delicious and sweet drinks especially whilst the weather is so nice and I cant wait to try the other fan flavours that are available.

Marks & Spencer's Blueberry Pancakes review

Marks and Spencer's always release some interesting flavoured pancakes this time of year so I have been on the look out to see if they would release any new additions this summer. I saw these blueberry pancakes in store (finally) as they have been sold out every time I have tried to buy them so I grabbed the last packet on the shelf and couldn't wait to give them a try.

There are only 4 pancakes in the packet but this is because they are not the size of a standard pancake. These are really large and I cant imagine anybody needing more than one. They had a strong blueberry smell and they felt soft and squishy as a pancake should be.

Taste wise these were like a direct cross of a blueberry muffin and a pancake.. what a perfect combination. These were absolutely delicious. The blueberries were soft and although there didn't look like there were a lot throughout the pancake the flavour was certainly there. The pancake itself was up to M&S's usual high quality and was spongy and fluffy. I cant recommend these enough to anyone who enjoys the odd blueberry muffin as they make a lovely change of texture whilst maintain the sweet and fruity flavour.

Ben & Jerry's Son of a Wich review

I remember when Ben & Jerry's released their ice cream sandwiches several years ago and I was devastated when they were discontinued. When I saw that they had released them again, I got stupidly excited. I went to buy some and saw that they had also released a smaller version called "son of a wich". Being as these were on offer I thought that I would try these first.

Described as vanilla ice cream with chocolate chunks in-between two chewy chocolate chip cookies it sounded like perfection. I opened my ice cream and my first reaction was.... is that it? Now I know these are designed to be small but I mean ... they were really small! This may however just be me being a bit greedy and after all the taste is what matters. The cookies were slightly firmer than a lot of ice cream sandwich cookies and had slightly more of a bite than I am used to but there is nothing wrong with that. The flavour  however really let these down. They were dare I say it, slightly bland which is something I never thought that I would admit. They contained the high quality vanilla ice cream that Ben & Jerrys are famous for with a decent amount of chocolate chunks but there was very little flavour to the cookies and for some reason they just didn't seem to compliment the ice cream at all.

I really did expect to fall in love with these ice cream sandwiches and maybe that's what the problem was here. Maybe my expectations were too high and they were never going to live up to what I remembered but I am pretty positive that these are no the same as the previously released version and in my opinion not as good. There is a lack of flavour with the cookies themselves and as a result the ice cream didn't taste as good as it usually does. They weren't not nice but I was left disappointed and I doubt I will buy them again, especially in this tiny version.

Waitrose Mixed Vegetable Crisps review

I have never had a bag of vegetable crisps that I didn't enjoy, in fact in all honesty they are my favourite. I love the mixture of the saltiness with the natural sweetness of the vegetables. I saw these mixed vegetable crisps in Waitrose and couldn't wait to try them despite thinking that they would be exactly the same as every other variety that I have tasted and thoroughly enjoyed.

I opened the bag and there was a generous portion of crisps inside. There was a mixture of purple and orang-y colours from the different vegetables. There wasn't much of a smell to them butt then there usually isn't with vegetable crisps so I excitingly took a bite. I was really surprised to find that they were very unpleasant. They had a similar taste to most vegetable crisps but for some reason I could taste dirt. On further inspection I saw that these were flavoured with thyme, basil and oregano. Although I usually like all of these herbs it is the only reason that I can to as to why these tasted so strange.

The crisps did have a good light and crispy texture but even so I couldn't get past the odd taste to them. I was really disappointed by these crisps and will definitely avoid them in future. Everything about these crisps should have worked but I didn't even want to finish the bag (which is not like me). I would suggest buying your vegetable crisps elsewhere if you like the light and sweet flavours that you usually get with vegetable crisps.

Tesco Caramel Vanilla Ice cream review

I adore caramel and ice cream is one of my favourite desserts and so these individually sized ice cream pots from Tesco seemed like the perfect summer time dessert. These mini ice cream tubs come with a plastic spoon so can be eaten on the go so are perfect if your out and about but want a cool, sweet treat. I have to admit I am a bit of an ice cream snob and so generally only buy luxury brand ice cream but these looked so cute I had to give it a try.

I opened the pot and the caramel flavour was quite strong in terms of smell. I took a bite and the caramel flavour hit me instantly which is anything but a bad thing. There was plenty of sauce which had a slightly chewy texture and the flavour of the ice cream was quite strong of vanilla. The fudge pieces on top, although scarce were delicious and I wished that there were more. The quality of the ice cream itself wasn't up to the same standard as say Ben & Jerry's as it was slightly more ice-y and much less creamy in the texture but I can't say that I didn't enjoy it.

I certainly enjoyed this ice cream more than I thought that I would and can highly recommend it to any caramel lovers. Although it was not as creamy as other brands it is also a fraction of the price. The generous amount of caramel sauce and sweet flavour won me over and I was really impressed with this ice cream.

Magnum Chocolate Almond bar review

I have eaten Magnums since I was a child but have never honestly taken that much notice of the taste of the coating chocolate. I have seen Magnum chocolate bars appearing in shops so thought I would see if one of their chocolate bars impressed me as much as their ice creams usually do. This almond bar is described as being an almond truffle covered in Magnum's milk and white chocolate which sounded pretty good to me.

I opened the bar and saw that it had a pretty rough texture which I presumed was from nuts (since it was an almond bar). It wasn't massive but it was certainly large enough to fill any chocolate cravings. I snapped the bar to reveal the truffle surrounded by a thin layer of white chocolate then a slightly thicker layer of milk chocolate.

I tasted the bar and it was pretty nice. The problem is that I don't really have much else to say. The almond truffle was the best part. I could taste the almond element but it was basically just a basic nutty flavoured truffle. The white chocolate wasn't really noticeable as it was overwhelmed by the amount of milk chocolate flavours in this bar. I didn't not enjoy it and if it was in front of me I would probably eat it but I cant say that I would go out of my way to buy this bar again. I personally think Magnum should stick to their amazing ice cream range and stay away from the chocolate shelves.

Ritz Breaks Smoky Bacon review

I have tried and reviewed other varieties of these Ritz breaks and have been really impressed with the other varieties of flavours that I have tasted. Smokey bacon however is a flavour that I couldn't imagine suiting these types of crackers and so I have put off trying them until recently when I had a craving for a snack with a meaty flavour (and they were on offer).

I opened the packet which contains 6 biscuits made up of 3 crackers. They are easy to break and so are perfect or when you are on the go. The smell was exactly what you imagine and Ritz certainly follow through with the "Smoky" part of the description. There was a surprisingly strong bacon-y scent and so I tasted these crackers unsure of what I would think. I actually did enjoy them and the bacon flavour came across very distinctively but it didn't overpower the buttery-ness of the cracker.

These Ritz breaks had a lovely bite to them and snapped just as well as I could have hoped for. The flavour was instantly recognizable as smoky bacon and these made a welcome change to my snack cupboard. I didn't expect the bacon flavour to work as well with this type of cracker as it did and although if I am honest I probably prefer other varieties of these Ritz breaks, that is just my personal preference and for any bacon lovers out there I can highly recommend that you give these a try.

Marks & Spencer's Skinny Lemon Muffin Dessert review

It has been a while since I had a dessert from Marks & Spencer's but since it was a lunch time when I was browsing for something sweet I only wanted something quite light. This is where their individual skinny lemon muffin dessert from their count on us range caught my eye. Lemon is always a popular flavour when the sun starts to make an appearance and the fact that it is only 144 calories is just an added bonus. However if I'm honest, I do often get a little worried when a product is low calorie that it is going to be obvious in the taste but I'm happy to give anything a try once - especially dessert.

The dessert was layered. There was a lemon mousse, sponge and a lemon type curd. There were also candied lemon pieces sprinkled on the very top. The mousse was the largest layer and it took a few spoonful's to get to anything else. I can't say I minded this too much though as I really liked it. The flavour of lemon was very strong and quite sharp but it had a fluffy texture and I enjoyed the candied lemon on top. The sponge was pretty typical of this type of dessert but there was nothing to complain about. It was soft with a subtle sweetness and it was nice to have the added texture. The lemon curd worked really well with the mousse and combined there was a good balance between the sweetness and tartness of the overall dessert.

This is definitely one for lemon lovers so if you are not a massive lover of lemon then this will probably be way too sharp for you. I however really like lemon flavoured desserts and so really enjoyed it and in all honesty I probably will pick this up again. It was surprisingly filling for 144 calories and made a welcome change to typical chocolate or caramel desserts, especially in the sunny weather. This was a pretty good quality product and lived up to M&S's high standards in my opinion.

Waitrose Sea Salt & Black Pepper Lentil Tubes review

Waitrose is a shop that I don't think I have ever bought anything from. The main reason for this is there isn't really one near me but I am also aware of how expensive it is and so I can't say that I would seek one out. However when I popped into some services this week there was a small Waitrose shop so I took this as an opportunity to try out some of their snacks.

These sea salt and black pepper lentil tubes caught my eye for two reasons. The first was the flavour is one that you don't see very often as salt is usually paired with vinegar and I do love a slightly unusual flavour. The second reason that I wanted to try these was because although I have had many different versions of lentil crisps, I don't think I have ever seen or tried a "tube" variety.

Inside the bag, I was slightly disappointed at the portion size as there were very few tubes inside. The tubes themselves looked like penne pasta but a crunchy version that maintained a good crisp when biting through. The black pepper was prominent in the taste and the sea salt, although noticeable did take a back seat. The flavour of these tubes actually worked quite well if you like black pepper and it wasn't overwhelming or too burn-y which was another one of my worries. Overall I did enjoy these tubes. The flavour was tasty and I would love to see more varieties of lentil tubes available especially in a larger portion. Although I wont be running to Waitrose to buy another bag of these snacks in a hurry I wouldn't say no to having them again.

Sainsburys Happy Birthday Cake Cubes review

Okay, so I recently had a birthday and cake is an essential part of the day. I happened to have a few birthday celebrations though so on one occasion some friends and myself went for a meal. Afterwards, I didn't really want the hassle of cutting a cake and portioning it out so these cake cubes from Sainsbury's seemed like a great option.

There were 15 cubes toped with icing and filled with a layer of jam and cream in between two madeira sponges. They weren't very big but birthday cake is usually more for a treat than to actually fill you up. I took out a cube which were each covered in cake wrap and cardboard for protection and saw that there was a surprisingly generous proportion of jam and cream.

Taste wise I was really impressed. I have to be honest, I didn't expect a lot from a supermarket cake but it tasted delicious. The sponge as soft and light with a slight vanilla flavour. The strawberry jam had a strong sweet flavour that worked really well with the light layer of cream which was also lovely and not overly sweet or synthetic like I was worried about. The icing on top was chewy and sweet and in perfect proportion for the overall cake. I would highly recommend these cake cubes for any party as they were not only convenient but also really tasty. They tasted of a surprisingly high quality considering they only cost £10 and everyone commented on how nice they tasted and how cute they looked.

Bella Italia Cannelloni Ricotta review

Italian food is without a doubt my favourite and I almost always go for a pasta or risotto. I went on a trip to Bella Italia which is an Italian chain. They have recently updated their menu and so I decided to try something new. I chose the Cannelloni Ricotta described as "Cannelloni filled with spinach & ricotta, baked with a tomato & bŽéchamel sauce". This sounded right up my street so I couldn't wait to taste it.

It wasn't as large as a lot of Al Forno pasta's but it wasn't small so I can't really complain. The pasta was well cooked and slightly crispy around the edges. The tomato sauce was sweet, thick and smooth and the bŽéchamel deliciously creamy but if I'm honest I would have liked a little more of them both. The spinach and ricotta filling was perfect. Mainly think ricotta with fresh spinach that wasn't soggy or stringy in the slightest which was my main concern. I would happily order this meal again as overall I thought it was delicious. I would have liked a little more sauce but I can't say that it really needed it so I am just being slightly greedy. The flavours of this dish were creamy and rich so I would recommend giving Bella's new menu a try.

Nestle Butterfinger Bites review

Being a lover of anything peanut butter I was surprised when I realised that I had never tried Nestle's Butterfinger bites. These are a famous American chocolate although as reputations go, it probably comes in second to Reese's peanut butter cups so I wanted to see how different they were. I found them on offer in Tesco's so this seemed like the perfect opportunity to review these chocolates.

The box contained bite sized pieces of chocolates and had a strong peanut butter-y scent on opening the packet. The box states that there are 180 calories for 4 pieces which I personally didn't think was too bad at all.

I bit into one of the bites and found that these chocolates were not what I was expecting. I thought that these would be very similar to Reese's peanut butter cups with a creamy filling but instead I was met with a hard crunchy honeycomb like texture. I was taken back at first so tried another piece. This time I knew what I was getting and actually enjoyed it. The peanut butter flavour was obvious and the crunchy texture melted slightly once on my tongue.

The chocolate itself wasn't anything special but then again American chocolate usually isn't that great. The initial surprise of what was inside these bites did stop me in my tracks slightly but I'm still glad that I picked these up. For peanut butter fans like myself these are certainly worth a try unless you have brittle teeth - in this case you will need a dentist afterwards because they are quite hard to bite into. I don't really know how to compare these to Reese's chocolates as the flavours are very similar, the main difference is that Reese's are creamy inside and these aren't but I would still happily snack on either!

Muller Rice Limited Edition chocolate & Caramel review

Muller Rice is my go-to dessert so I feel the need to try every flavour that I see and I am yet to be disappointed. This version is a limited edition addition to the range and is associated with the Olympics which can be seen by the "Going the distance" phrase printed on the pot. I can only assume this is because of the golden colour of the combination of chocolate and caramel.

I have had both chocolate Muller rice before and cant say that it has been my favourite but seeing as I love the salted caramel version my hopes were pretty high (even though the caramel in this version isn't salted). The reason I didn't love the chocolate variety is because it lacked a sweetness that most Muller rice's have as the focus was the rich dark chocolate flavour. Luckily, the addition of caramel was just what this needed and I really enjoyed this version.

The chocolate and caramel colour was a lovely golden brown colour and both flavours come through equally in the taste. This dessert still maintained the creaminess of the traditional Muller rice with a sweetness from the caramel and a hit of intense chocolate, what more could you ask for? The fact that this is promoting team GB in the Olympics is just an added bonus so I would recommend trying this variety while they are available.

Soreen Orange review

As I have stated in the past I love Soreen! There is just something about the squidgy, chewy texture that makes it seem really naughty despite it actually being low fat. I saw a picture of this orange variety about a year ago but haven't been able to get hold of it. Recently however, it seems to be appearing everywhere so I can only assume that this is an annual addition to the range that only makes an appearance throughout summer.

This loaf is much lighter in colour than the other varieties that I have tried but this made no difference whatsoever to the dense and sticky texture. I wasn't sure if I should eat this without butter so I tried it both ways. Both were a huge success (no shock really) and I am so glad that I finally got to try this orange version. The loaf isn't hugely different to the other varieties of soreen available and still contains plenty of raisins but the orange adds a sweetness that makes the flavour slightly less rich than the original loaf.

Overall this what exactly what I expected but that isn't a bad thing. If you are a fan of the rest of the Soreen range then I can certainly recommend giving this a try, however if the dried fruit and heavy feeling of the loaf isn't something that you particularly enjoy then I doubt you will like this. For me, this loaf was a hit and I will be stocking up on this variety of Soreen while it is around.

Hula Hoops Puft Salted review

Everyone knows that Hula Hoops are probably one of the most fun crisps to eat. There is a strange satisfaction from popping one on each finger like a ring and then biting it off. The only problem for me is they do sometimes end up cutting my mouth because they are so hard and difficult to bite through. These Puft Hula Hoops seemed like the perfect solution.

These Hoops are cooked with 100% sunflower oil and so are also a lot healthier than traditional Hula Hoops containing only 72 calories per 15g bag. Admittedly this isn't very big but then these probably are more aimed at children so I suppose they are a reasonable size.

The bag revealed the light and "puffy" texture of the hoops. They had the same texture as a lot of children's crisps so they were very "airy" and crispy and it didn't require a lot of effort (or pain) to bite into. The flavour was exactly that of ordinary Hula Hoops so there was a lovely salty yet slightly buttery taste. I did enjoy these Puft Hula Hoops and they are perfect for a light snack when you have a craving for something savoury but don't want anything too heavy.

Rolo Mousse review

Rolo desserts were something I used to love but haven't had for years. Milkybar desserts were however my favourite and having been slightly disappointed by the new mousse version, I have put off trying the Rolo variety. I did however fancy a change from my usual after dinner treats and so thought that I should at least try them.

There are only 80 calories per pot which is pretty impressive for any type of dessert. The smell was chocolatey when I lifted the lid but I could still detect the caramel flavour. I took a bite and was really impressed. The mousse was light and sweet with the caramel mousse layer shining through for me. The chocolate mousse was quite rich yet delicious but the creamy caramel flavour stopped this from being overly rich.

I didn't expect to like these anywhere near as much as I did and especially not more than the milkybar version but I have already re-stocked on these desserts. This felt like a luxurious mousse and was exactly like the dessert version but less sickly or heavy. These are perfect for if you ar having a chocolate craving this summer and I can imagine that kids will love them as well.

Veronica's Baked Potato Crisps Sour Cream, Herb & Chive flavour review

I have previously reviewed the tomato and paprika baked veggie crisps from Veronica's and although I found them pleasant enough, I have to admit I haven't picked them up again since. When looking for a new snack to taste however, I decided I would give Veronica's another try and bought these sour cream, herb and onion baked potato crisps. I was curious to see how the potato variety would compare to the veggie range so got them home and tucked in.

There was a mild sour cream and onion smell when I opened the bag which made me worry that they may taste quite bland. The bag was filled with crinkle cut crisps that were quite light and crunchy in texture. There were a fair amount of crisps in the packet which also states that these are gluten free. There were specks of herbs throughout the crisps which were quite large in size.

I really wish that I had tried these crisps before the veggie range as they were so much tastier. The flavour, although not very strong was lovely with the sour cream being the prominent ingredient. They did have a slightly unusual texture and were much lighter and "air- ier" than traditional fried crinkle cut crisps. I probably will buy this variety from Veronica's again as the mild sour cream flavour was really enjoyable and I actually quite liked the crunchi-ness of the large baked crisps.

Ambrosia Apple Rice review

This apple rice pudding from Ambrosia is something that I seem to have had in the cupboard forever. Having enjoyed other varieties of Ambrosia rice, I don't know why I have been putting this one off. As the best before dates on these type of products are generally very generous it was still safe to eat when there was nothing left in the kitchen for me to treat myself too so I finally decided to try it.

On opening the pot it looked exactly like all other forms of Ambrosia rice but digging to the bottom revealed a thick apple sauce. I mixed it all in and took a bite not expecting to be very impressed but I was very pleasantly surprised. The apple flavour was really tasty and I could taste cinnamon quite strongly. Being a massive lover of cinnamon, this was always going to go down well for me. The apple added a sweetness to the rice yet there was some tart-ness that you get with fruity desserts that stopped it from being too sickly.

I really enjoyed this rice and don't know why I waited so long to try it. Ambrosia products last for such a long time that these are well worth having in the cupboard for a rainy day when you fancy something sweet. The pots are quite small but will certainly fill a little whole if your feeling peckish. This apple rice may actually be my favourite from the Ambrosia rice range and I will definitely be enjoying it again in the near future.

Nairn's Snackers Caramelised Onion Flavour review

Nairns has always been a brand that I have avoided. They're products are generally found in the free from range and in all honesty, I have always expected them to taste like cardboard. I spotted these Snackers on offer in Sainsburys and decided that a bag of caramelised onion flavoured snacks for 30 pence would be worth a shot.

I opened the bag and saw a neat line of the Snackers. They were much thinner and crispier than I was expecting them to be. I have to admit that the smell was surprisingly good. It was a sweet yet strong caramelised onion smell but it wasn't so pungent that I found it offensive. I took a bite and couldn't believe how tasty these were. The flavour was perfect and tasted exactly of caramelised onion without leaving an after taste that was too strong. The texture was light and crispy and there were a fair amount of the snacks in the little bag.

I couldn't have been more wrong about the Nairn brand and am happy to admit it. These were a great find and I will certainly be picking these up again, especially if they stay on offer. I would recommend these to anyone who enjoys the taste of caramelised onion whether you require a free from diet or not.