Nestle Ski Mousse Lemon Meringue review

Having had a crazy amount of work going on I haven't been posting as often as usual but hopefully now that will be finished. Fruity desserts are a summer staple and lemon is probably my favourite summer flavour. Having previously been impressed with Ski mousses, I as only too tempted by this lemon meringue mousse.

These came in 60gram pots and the addition of meringue to the name made them sound even more appealing. I lifted the lid and saw the pale yellow mousse with the meringue style swirl throughout. These each had only 67 calories which is pretty impressive for a dessert which made me doubt how great they would taste.

I took my first bite and was pleasantly surprised. These were light and fruit and the perfect summer dessert if you just fancy something a little sweet. I can't say that the meringue element was particularly noticeable but the swirl throughout did make it a little sweeter and slightly more indulgent feeling. I'm sure I will be buying a few more of these while the sunny weather is about!

Kallo Sundried Tomato & Herbs Corn & Rice Snack review

Kallo are a well established brand that are becoming increasingly popular but I can't say that I have tried any of their products before. They are probably most well known for their corn and rice cakes so I decided I would start with their tomato and herb flavour which came in an individual bag at only 91 calories. These snacks were gluten free, contained wholegrains and had no added MSG or artificial additives.

On opening the bag I saw plenty of small rice cakes with a slightly red colour dusting. There was a subtle smell of tomato and I could detect some herbs but it wasn't overpowering. I took a bite and was pleasantly surprised. The rice cakes had a good crunch and were gently seasoned. There was a mildly sweet tomato taste but the herbs added an extra depth of flavour.

I really enjoyed these snacks and am now eager to try other products from the Kallo range. If I'm completely honest then I probably would have liked these to have a little more flavour but I can't say that these were bland and overall I really did find them quite tasty. These make a nice alternative to your standard bag of crisps, especially seeing as tomato and herb isn't the most common of flavours so these are well worth a try if you fancy something a little bit different.

Marks & Spencer's Butternut, Spinach & Ricotta Lasange review

Browsing the vegetarian isle in M&S this week, this butternut squash, spinach and ricotta lasagne caught my eye. This meal was topped with a goats cheese sauce which is what really interested me because of my love of goats cheese and the fact that I have never seen it featured in a lasagne so was eager to see what this meal would be liked cooked.

After approximately 25 minutes in the oven I took it out and was really impressed by its appearance. I cut through and saw the layers of creamy melting goats cheese, pasta, a thin layer of spinach and butternut squash which seemed to have some seasoning. The layers of spinach and butternut squash were smaller than the ricotta but overall I thought this was delicious. The goats cheese want particularly noticeable but even so I really enjoyed this addition to the lasagne. The pasta was perfectly thick, chewy and soft and almost melted in with the cheesy flavour.

I thoroughly enjoyed this meal and was very impressed especially being a meat eater. I cant recommend this enough to any vegetarians as I actually preferred this to a lot of beef lasagnes which is really saying something considering this maybe my favourite meal. The cheesy flavour, thick chewy texture and the addition of the spinach and butternut squash made for the perfect combination of flavours. Once again M&S have done an excellent job with this meal and I will deffinitley be picking this up again.

Tesco Mint Chocolate Ice Cream Mini review

I usually only buy more luxury brands of ice cream. This honestly isn't me just being a bit of a snob but due to the fact I find it always tastes so much better. Despite this, I previously tasted and reviewed Tesco's caramel and vanilla ice cream and was surprised how much I enjoyed it so I thought I would give their mint version a try.

Mint ice cream isn't my favourite and so I rarely buy it but I decided that I fancied a change and so this seemed like as good of a time as any. I lifted the lid and saw the small plastic spoon which makes this the perfect little treat to eat out on the go. There were dark chocolate swirls on top and I could see the mint chocolate sauce evenly swirled throughout. It tasted minty and refreshing and I really enjoyed the sauce as it added a sweetness to the overall flavour. The ice cream texture was creamy and the slight bitterness from the chocolate worked really well with the mint flavour.

This wasn't as sweet as most ice creams but that is to be expected of this flavourof ice cream. It tasted a lot more luxurious than the price would of had me believe and it was perfectly creamy. I would recommend this to anyone who is a fan of mint flavoured ice cream and I can't think of any more higher end brands that produce an ice cream with this flavour that I prefer. Tesco ice cream continues to impress me and I will be on the look out for any other flavours to see if I can save myself some pennies.

Mr Kipling Strawberry Milkshake Slices review

Mr Kipling is without doubt one of the men I would most like to marry. As I have said before I feel like his products are classically British and I have grown up with them in the cupboard. Some of the newer varieties of his cakes however weren't around when I was younger but that doesn't mean that I am not prepared to try them now! These strawberry milkshake slices are described as having strawberry flavoured sponge with a vanilla flavour filling and strawberry icing. There is no picture of the packaging I'm afraid as I was too eager to tuck in however they came individually wrapped like the rest of the slice range.

It was pale pink in colour but my goodness was the sweet strawberry smell strong! I took a bite and was surprised at how much the flavour did resemble strawberry milkshake. As I suspected these are incredibly sweet so I would only give them a try if you have a very sweet tooth but after the initial shock of the sugar hit I actually really enjoyed it. These are far from the most sophisticated cakes on the market but the sponge was soft, light and moist and the icing was sticky and smooth. The flavour was very sweet and with a quirky strawberry milkshake taste. These were a fun little treat that I'm sure any kid would love to have in their lunchbox.... or any big kids like me who just fancy something a little bit different.

Magnum Mini Black Espresso review

It is probably pretty obvious by now that I am a lover of both coffee and Magnum ice creams, so it was only a matter of time before I got around to trying these black espresso Magnums. I went for the mini version because I find this size doesn't feel to heavy and they came in a multipack with the pink raspberry version which I have previously reviewed.

I opened the packet and saw the dark chocolate coating which had that perfect "crack" when I bit into it that you always get with good old reliable Magnum ice creams. The ice cream inside this version is the classic vanilla but I had forgotten how lovely this is. The ice cream tasted luxurious and creamy with just the right amount of sweetness. There was a coffee sauce swirled through the magnum which was equally delicious. It had a sharpness that was noticeable however the overall taste was still quite sweet.

I really enjoyed these Magnums and I think the mixture of the coffee sauce and dark chocolate balanced out perfectly, resulting in an overall sweet flavour that isn't quite as sickly as some of the other varieties. I would definitely recommend these to any Magnum lovers out there as even if this doesn't replace your favourite flavour, it will certainly make a nice alternative in this warm summery weather.

Shapers Crunchy Onion Flavoured Rings review

Onion rings are some of the smelliest, old fashioned crisps around yet they are a staple of every alcohol filled night in around my friends. I saw these in Boots and they basically looked like the Shapers version of onion rings but they were only 56 calories a bag! I wondered how these would compare to other brand so decided to give them a try.

I opened the bag and straight away understood the low calorie count. There were very few orange coloured snacks in the bag but I could still detect the smell of onion so I was pinning all of my hopes on the taste. Unfortunately I was left feeling slightly flat. The flavour wasn't too bad in all honesty and actually not too different to your typical bag of onion rings. What let these down was the texture which was "crunchy" but as soon as it got slightly wet from touching my mouth it turned almost chewy and had a slightly stale feeling to it.

These weren't as bad as I have probably made them sound and if you love the flavour of onion you might actually enjoy them but I personally just couldn't get past the texture. I would definitely rather have a more pungent flavour and a good crunch to my crisp and worry about the calories another day and recommend that you do the same!

Costa Soy Cinnamon Latte review

Cinnamon is one of my favourite flavours and being a coffee addict a cinnamon latte is one of my ultimate treats. Anyone who has had a Costa coffee before will know that the coffee flavour is much milder than other luxury brands. I opted for a soy latte purely out of personal preference for the taste and when it was presented to me on a glum morning when I was in desperate need of caffeine I couldn't wait to take a sip.

It was like perfection! Warm with a warming hint of cinnamon spice which was delicious alongside the comforting coffee flavour. The soya milk had the usual nutty/vanilla taste that is quite hard to describe unless you have actually tasted it. Despite being the wrong time of year for a spice-y warm coffee I thoroughly enjoyed it and with the British summer rarely being reliable, I am sure I will still be ordering a fair few of these throughout the summer.

Hippies In Herbs We Trust review

These organic chickpea puffs caught my eye when browsing the crisp isle because I don't think I have had chickpea snacks before. I chose the "In herbs we trust" flavour because I thought this would allow me to notice the chickpea base. I didn't really know what to expect but for only 91 calories and considering that they are high in protein and fibre, I thought that I had nothing to loose.

I opened the packet and was surprised at what I saw because they looked nothing like chickpeas! In fact they looked a lot like large Wotsits but the smell was incredibly strong. There was an almost overwhelming herby/garlic-y smell and the puffs were covered in tiny green specks. I bit in and the texture was light and crunchy but I can't say that any aspect of these snacks reminded me of chickpeas. That's not necessarily a bad thing and I wouldn't have known that they were a healthy snack so even better!

The flavour of these puffs was very similar to the smell and the herby taste was prominent, for me personally however I thought that they were delicious. I have never had a snack made from chickpeas before but the flavour was also unusual. These had a strong herby flavour that was without a doubt the best part of these puffs. I hope to see more snacks like this available and am eager to try the other flavours from the Hippies range.

Greggs Iced Ring Doughnut review

I have tried multiple brands of doughnuts including the big named more expensive brands but I always end up back at Greggs. I find that the price of Greggs is much more reasonable and I actually prefer the doughnuts too. This version was the iced ring doughnut which was topped with a white fondant with a chocolate flavoured spin.

I took the doughnut out of the box and it was quite substantial in size and weight. This made me think that it might taste quite heavy and stodgy but I was wrong. The doughnut had a lovely vanilla flavour and although had a lovely chewy dough-y texture, it still somehow managed to be quite airy. The fondant icing was sweet and sticky and was perfectly in proportion to the thickness of the doughnut. The chocolate spin was also really tasty and added an extra flavour to the doughnut which stopped the fondant icing from being too sweet. I thoroughly enjoyed this doughnut and I can highly recommend trying any of the doughnut range from Greggs as I am yet to be disappointed.

Joe's Ice Cream Cappuccino Flavour review

Joe's is a welsh brand of ice cream that has been around since 1922 and initially was only available in Swansea. If you have ever been to a Joe's store then you will know that the line will always be out the door and due to its popularity it is now available throughout the country. It is incredibly popular and known for having a milky, high quality taste. Having a sweet tooth as bad as mine means that I am probably the only person I know who prefers alternative luxury brands to Joe's but this is just because of the creamy quality of Joe's. I decided since I am a massive coffee addict, if any flavour was going to change my mind it would be cappuccino.

I lifted the lid of the small pot that I had bought and saw a creamy brown coloured ice cream as I expected. I took a bite straight away as it seemed to melt a lot faster than other luxury brands. The flavour was just as milky as the rest of the flavours that I have tried but the coffee flavour was quite strong. However like I predicted, it wasn't very sweet which for me personally is a bit of a problem. The ice cream did certainly taste high quality and I can understand why it is so popular but it did lack a sweetness that meets my personal taste.

This was a tasty ice cream and if you have never had Joe's then I insist that you seek it out if you are ever in Wales, however I can't honestly say that it is my favourite. Joe's has a large range of flavours and I would recommend the classic and popular vanilla over this but every variety that I have tried has tasted of an extremely high quality. Nevertheless, if you like a strong coffee flavour and are after a creamy ice cream treat then you will most likely love this dessert.

Tesco Healthy Living Strawberry Trifle review

Trifle has never been my dessert of choice, in fact I have never really liked it very much but I fancied something sweet that was a bit different. This trifle from Tesco caught my eye and actually looked quite nice so I thought it would be worth a try especially since it was a part of their healthy living range and had only 154 calories. It was quite substantial in size and weight and was made up of a layer of strawberry sauce that had small whole strawberries in, sponge, a thick layer of vanilla custard and topped with a vanilla mousse.

I was really surprised at how much I enjoyed this dessert! Now this maybe because it is not something that I regularly eat but I loved the vanilla custard which was smooth yet thick enough to get a good dollop on the spoon. The mousse was exactly like a vanilla-y cream and the sponge was incredibly light despite there being a very small amount of it. The strawberry sauce was sweet and not too sticky and I was pleased to discover so many strawberries throughout. This made a welcome treat when I was in need of a sweet and fruity treat and tasted much more luxurious than the healthy living label would have lead me to think. I can't wait to pick one of these up again, especially since the Wimbledon season is upon us!

Smiths Frazzles review

Now many people will think that I am mad but I have always found bacon flavoured snacks a bit over rated. I think that this is mainly due to the artificial Smokey flavour that usually comes with bacon snacks. I do however remember having Frazzles when I was younger and finding them quite addictive. These are crispy bacon corn snacks that are made by SMITHS which is a British-Australian company.

I opened the pack and was hit with a strong bacon smell but it wasn't overly "Smokey" which was my main worry. The crisps themselves looked like small bacon rashers with dark red stripes going down them. They had a light and crunchy texture which is common of these corn type crisps and although there weren't a huge amount in the bag this is probably because they were from multi-pack.

I have to admit that I was pleasantly surprised by these crisps. They had a strong bacon flavour that wasn't too artificial which made these surprisingly moreish. They were crunchy and salty and as soon as I tasted the first crisp I remembered why I enjoyed them throughout my childhood. These were nothing earth shatteringly amazing but they were tasty and comforting and gave me a warm nostalgic feeling. If like me it has been a while since you had your last bag of Frazzles, you might be surprised at how much you enjoy them if you pick up a bag.

Meridian Peanut Bar review

Being a lover of anything peanut butter I was surprised that I have never tried this Meridian peanut bar. This bar is made from 55% nuts and contains 8grams of protein. It is also made from Meridian's peanut butter which is a brand that I have never tried before. The aim of these bars is to make it easier to eat a healthy snack on the go but for me the aim was to get a peanut butter fix whilst out and about.

I opened the packed of the 40g bar and the smell of peanut butter hit me instantly. I took a bite and the texture want as chewy as I expected and it sort of just broke. The flavour was full on nutty goodness. It definitely tasted like a healthy snack but the strong peanut flavour was enough to win me over. There were tiny pieces of nut spread throughout which were noticeable and added a little extra crunch to the bar.

This was a handy bar to grab whilst out and the peanut butter taste was authentic due to the inclusion of Meridian peanut butter. The simplicity of the natural ingredients meant that there was no guilt whilst consuming this bar and I probably would pick this up again if I felt in need of a nutty snack out on the go. This Meridian bar is certainly one for the peanut butter lovers out there and I can recommend this to anyone trying to clean up their diet.

Costa UK Chicken & Bacon Toastie review

I like to treat myself to lunch out on the weekend and todays outing was to Costa. The lunch range from Costa is hugely popular and todays choice was the chicken and bacon toastie which is one of the most popular items and it has been recommended to me by multiple people. This toastie also contains mozzarella and béchamel sauce which all sounded good to me.

The toastie came with béchamel sauce and mozzarella oozing out of the middle which made my mouth water. I took a bite and it was really tasty but if I'm completely honest I was disappointed with the lack of filling. There was a very small amount of both chicken and bacon inside. The béchamel and mozzarella inside were very flavoursome and prevented this toastie from being dry or bland but if you are looking for a meaty flavour then you might be slightly disappointed.

I did enjoy this lunch and as toasties go it was pretty good but the lack of meat inside meant that I wasn't overly impressed or raving about it. If I hadn't been promised chicken and bacon I probably would have been saying how delicious this was but it just wasn't what I was expecting so I was left craving a bit more meat. Overall this was a decent lunch but it ended up being more cheesy and creamy than chicken and bacon-y!

Marks & Spencer's Roasted Mushroom and Onion Pie review

I found this pie in the vegetarian range at Marks and Spencer's. This pie is topped with parsley mash and the roasted mushrooms and onions are in a type of gravy. The mash was piped on top and the pie took approximately 20 minutes in the oven. As post types of dishes like this contain meat I was a little worried that I would feel like it was lacking something but I popped it in to cook and hoped for the best.

The photograph does not do the pie justice and is entirely due to my inability to get the pie out of the metal tin. It was initially very neat in an oval type container but I care a lot more about the taste of the meal than the presentation so I slopped it on the plate and if I'm honest I actually thought it looked really comforting.

Taste wise I was really impressed as I usually am from M&S food range. The roasted onions and mushrooms had a lovely sweet flavour and the sauce that they were in was flavoursome and thick. The parsley flavour to the mash was subtle but added a little extra flavour that was more than welcome. I needn't have worried that I would miss the meat aspect of this pie as the flavours were so tasty that I didn't even give thought to the fact that it was a vegetarian dish. I thoroughly enjoyed this meal and would happily eat it again despite not being a vegetarian myself.