Kev's Snack Reviews

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 sy...

A big thanks to Tony’s Chocolonely UK for sending me some bars from their newly launched UK range to review recently. They have quite an impressive assortment indeed and more impressive still is the annual report booklet on their fair trade mission, that they sent along with the chocolates. I haven’t read it fully yet but am very keen to do so! I firmly believe ethical chocolate is the way forward, in fact it’s the only way forward if we are to continue enjoying the treat. Tony’s are on a mission to make it the norm - so bravo to them and to help in their mission you can spread the word about their tasty chocolates! First up for review is this Almond & Honey Nougat Milk Chocolate, their take on that classic combination otherwise known as Toberone. The ingredients are pretty similar to Toblerone but of course the chocolate is better quality - Belgian fairtrade Chocolate with 32% cocoa solids, with almond and honey nougat pieces. I do love the bar design  - it’s haphazard...

Just a quick spot of Snacks News today - Cadbury UK are going to launch a new Chocolate bar in September called Darkmilk! Already available in Australia in several flavours, this is a richer take on Dairy Milk with 40% cocoa and 14% milk, compared to Dairy Milk which is 23% cocoa and 20% milk. It will cost £1.49 for an 85g bar, with smaller bars launching later. There's an Original variety plus Roasted Almond: Are you excited to try this richer version of Dairy Milk? Are you willing to pay more for a higher cocoa percentage? Let me know in the comments!

A bit of a different review today; something super healthy and suitable for most allergies but still a snack nonetheless, and a very tasty one too! Who knew butternut squash could be turned into crunchy snacks, but apparently it can thanks to Innate "Food In Tune", whose Squares range is now available in Sainsbury's, currently on special offer for £1.35 a pack. As well as Butternut Squash Squares there's a Beetroot variety. They're described as "A well-rounded concerto of heavenly flavours featuring Butternut as the star performer. Butter-nut miss this performance!" - ooh, theatrical snacks! Made with a mix of butternut squash, onion, yellow pepper, almonds, coconut, garlic, lemon juice, salt, turmeric and herbs and spices these snacks are vegan and gluten free, but definitely not for those with nut allergies. They're also Vegetarian Society approved. Opening the pack reveals yellow squares with a curry-like aroma. I took a bite, and w...

Innocent, famous for their bottled smoothies have attempted to branch out in a few areas in recent years. They've done things like vegetable juices and Fruity Spring Waters , but now they've launched their own range of vegan and dairy free Nut Milks, made with just three ingredients, and no stabilisers or thickeners. This is certainly a good move, since many who buy nut milks are tired of all the weird things added in brands likes Alpro. I picked up this 750ml bottle for £1.99 in Waitrose, I think it was an introductory offer but I'm not sure. There was also a Hazelnut variety there and I believe Innocent make a Coconut version too. Consisting of just almonds, sea salt and spring water, I didn't think there was much I would be able to say about this and I was right - it tastes as you would expect. If you've ever made nut milk at home this is pretty much the same thing, just pressed nuts and water. It has a slight marzipan-ish taste from the almonds and is goo...

As well as the Nestle L'Atelier Salted Caramel bar I reviewed the other day, I also picked up this 100g bar of Milk Chocolate with Cranberries, Almonds & Hazelnuts in Sainsbury's Express recently. It was on offer for £1.50 - usually it's £2. It comes foil wrapped which I love, since most chocolates are plastic wrapped nowadays and I'm sure it makes a difference in the taste. It's described as "Smooth milk chocolate with dried sweteened cranberries and whole hazelnuts and almonds", and the chocolate contains 30% minimum cocoa solids and 18% milk solids. Like the other bars in the range, the cranberries and nuts are clearly visible in each block which is nice as it means you know exactly what you're getting. Breaking a piece off, it had a nice chunky feel and reminded me a little of the Nestle Double Cream bars from many many years ago. Anyone remember them? The chocolate tastes pretty creamy and melts in the mouth nicely, but definitely...

Another Spotted In Shops, and today it's the turn of M&S with some of their interesting new chocolates - first up one that will no doubt excite many, it's their new Blond Swiss Chocolate! It seems that 2018 is the year of blond chocolates, what with Nestle also selling their L'Atelier Blonde Hazelnuts & Almonds bar at Sainsbury's...I wonder how long until Cadbury's follow suit? (they recently launched a  blonde chocolate called Cadbury's Caramilk in New Zealand and it looks amazing!). This M&S variety is made with caramelised sugar, cocoa butter, milk and dried whey...see the ingredients list above. Do want! M&S are also doing some new filled bars such as this  White Chocolate Cappuccino , with a creamy coffee ganache filling. Plus there's  Milk Chocolate Stracciatella , with a creamy filling and dark chocolate pieces: And this  Italian White Chocolate with Whole Pistachios ... And Italian Milk Chocolate with Whole Almonds :...

I've been skeptical of this new "Velvet Edition" range from Green & Blacks since it suddenly started popping up on shelves over the last month or so. It seems to be a ploy to move away from the Organic ethics of regular Green & Blacks bars, since these are not organic or fairtrade certified. Instead they are part of the "Cocoa Life" program, that supposedly invests in sustainable farming and improves the lives of communities. Exactly how much they pledge towards such projects is anyone's guess. Velvet Edition chocolate is supposedly crafted by "Taste Specialists" using the delictate character and soft texture of the finest Ghanian cocoa balanced with sweet Madagascan vanilla. It has "a rich cocoa content yet exceptionally smooth flavour". This variety is combined with Sicilian blood orange oil and chopped caramelised almonds. It contains no soy lecithin, which is a plus for those with soy allergies. I found it in Waitrose o...

A big thankyou to the team at Kind Snacks who recently sent me a couple of their bars to review with updated packaging. The particular varieties are Coconut and Almond and Mocha Almond - two of my faves from the previous lot they sent to me! Kind Almond & Coconut: Containing a mixture of almonds, coconut, honey and rice flour, this bar was full of chunky almonds which made it very satisfying to crunch. The coconut gives it that nice mellow tropical flavour, with the honey bringing a light natural sweetness. Overall, a very satisfying and tasty bar! Compared to the previous packaging for this one I do prefer this updated version a lot more - it stands out nicely with the blue colours. 8.5 out of 10. Kind Dark Chocolate Mocha Almond: This is one I didn't get around to reviewing from the last batch that Kind sent me, so here it is! With funky updated purple packaging, the colours certainly fit the flavours on offer. This contains 58% almonds, 18% dark chocolate coating, c...

Poundstretcher sure do sell some interesting snacks. I've had quite a few gems from there over the years, from the likes of D'aim Orange Minis , various imported Marabou bars, and other random European chocolates. My most recent snack find was from even further afield - a land down under, in fact - Coles is an Australian supermarket, and if you've been following me on Instagram you'll know Poundstretcher has been stocking some of their spreads recently. They had Salted Caramel, Cookie Dough, and this - White Chocolate Almond spread, which were all reduced to just 50p recently - what a bargain! This is made with a mixture of vegetable oils, milk solids, 10% roasted almonds, cocoa butter and flavourings, and has a "Health Star Rating" of 0.5 out of 5...hmm doesn't sound too healthy. Thankfully such things don't worry me; as long as you're not eating a tub in one sitting this can happily fit into your daily macros allowance, and certainly be...