Kev's Snack Reviews

So I thought it about time I do a Free From version of Spotted In Shops (with a side dose of Vegan Snacks News), featuring some of the latest Gluten/Dairy/Egg Free & Vegan products, since the demand for these foods is ever-growing. Without further ado, let's take a look at what's come out in recent months... First up - Freaks of Nature, makers of Dairy Free desserts, have launched into the Dairy Free Yoghurt market with Blueberry and Strawberry flavours. These are made with Cashew nuts and are currently available from Sainsbury's for £1.50 a pot. It's not available in the UK yet (Sweden and Finland will get them in September), but a Vegan Magnum now exists in both Classic and Almond varieties! No doubt these will be on sale here soon if they're popular - I personally reckon they'll be on shelves by next year. The Coconut Collaborative are still going strong with their Dairy Free desserts, and have added a Mango and Passionfruit Panna Cotta to...

When I'm avoiding sugar I do like a good 100% cocoa dark chocolate bar. They're hard to find in most shops, but luckily thanks to Sainsbury's the Montezuma's Absolute Black is becoming widely available - handy for anyone on a low carb diet. But now M&S are here to challenge it with their own version of 100% cocoa chocolate, a Single Origin Fairtrade bar made in Peru. This bar costs £2 for 100g and is available in most of their larger stores. There's a Taste Profile inside the case, which mentions notes of red fruits and honey, as well as a whisky that pairs well this chocolate. Steady on M&S, are you trying to get me drunk?! Make no mistake about it, this is a very, very dark chocolate and one that I imagine is just too much for most folks. It's intense, and has that fruity acidic flavour that is common with unsweetened chocolate. The description of red berry flavours is quite accurate; this does indeed taste strongly of berries, and is quite com...

A huge thankyou to Montezuma's for sending me this Absolute Black Easter egg to review recently! Since I first heard of it I was eager to try it; I do enjoy Montezuma's Absolute Black bars - they're a godsend when trying to cut back on sugar intake and still enjoy some chocolate. So in Easter Egg form it makes the perfect treat for anyone wiahing to stick to a sugar free diet over the Easter period! Not only is it made with 100% cocoa chocolate, the shell contains cocoa nibs and there's a sachet of 100% Dark Chocolate buttons with it too. The egg was silver foil wrapped, a nice touch compared to some of the shiny plastic wrappers found on many Easter Eggs. Ripping open the foil, the egg looked super shiny - I didn't want to break it! But it had to be done...for reviewing purposes! The shell is nice and thick with the cocoa nibs peeking out in places. Biting into a piece, there's the classic rich cocoa flavour of the Absolute Black Dark Chocolate punc...

Being on a low sugar diet it's hard to find many interesting chocolates, yes there's the lovely Montezuma's Absolute Black but sometimes you want some added crunch or flavour. Luckily Montezuma's have come to the rescue with not one, but two new Absolute Black varieties - the first 100% cacao bars on the market with added flavours. These are not available in major supermarkets just yet, but you can get them online from www.montezumas.co.uk . Luckily Montezuma's kindly sent me boith to review. Absolute Black 100% Cocoa Solids with Almonds: This bar is sugar free, vegan, and contains 80% chocolate and 20% almonds. Opening the wrapper the bar has the standard Montezuma's design - blocks make up half of it, with a thicker piece on one end with the Montezuma's logo. I've said it before but I do love the block design, it's nice to have the smaller pieces as well as a nice thicker piece to munch on! The almonds are clearly visible when you sn...

Today I'm reviewing an Easter Egg I was gifted that sadly will not make it to the Easter Weekend, being the chocoholic that I am. I know, I know, I'm a pig! I was really excited when I heard about this 100% Dark Egg from Hotel Chocolat, because back in my sugar-free diet days it was so hard to find anything to have at Easter without sugar. There's always a need for such products on the market and the fact Hotel Chocolat have made this is surely a first - I've certainly never seen anything like it in shops before anyway.  The egg weighs 170 grams and has Turkish raisins and Californian roasted almonds embedded within the shell. It's suitable for vegans, although made in a factory that handles dairy products. I was excited when I split it apart to see an abundance of raisins and almonds hidden beneath: The egg also comes with two small trays of 100% St Lucia chocolate panned Piedmont hazelnuts, which reminded me of a richer and more refined Ferrero Rocher in ...