Kev's Snack Reviews

Following my review of Ape Vegan Cheese Coconut & Rice Puffs , I thought I'd review their Thai Chilli and Lightly Salted varieties. All are super tasty, but which flavour would I recommend the most? Read on to see my thoughts... Like the other varieties the Thai Chilli is sugar free, vegan, not fried, gluten free and contains coconut oil, as well as coconut flour and rice flour. It also contains spices like chilli, onion, bell peppers and apple powder to give it a natural sweetness. They've definitely nailed the Thai Chilli flavour with this; it tastes authentic and flavoursome, and not sickly sweet like some thai chilli flavoured snacks can. It's subtle and the perfect seasoning for the light crunchy puffs. Taste-wise I would rate this equal to the Vegan Cheese flavour, although I might just prefer these a little more! 8.5 out of 10.  The Lightly Salted variety is also vegan, gluten free, sugar free and not fried. The only added flavouring is Sea Salt, so natu...

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...

A big thankyou to Ape Snacks for today's review, they kindly reached out and offered me some samples from their new range of Coconut & Rice Puffs to try, and as a big fan of their snacks I certainly wasn't going to say no! The last new product they launched were the Chocolate Crunchy Coconut Bites I reviewed over Summer, but I had no idea they had plans to further expand their range. So it was a lovely surprise to see these new Coconut & Rice puffs appear recently! They're like a healthy, vegan, gluten free version of puffed maize snacks without added sugar, vegetable oils, dairy or artificial flavourings - just clean ingredients! You can buy them from Ape Snacks website , plus they're available from Sainsbury's, Ocado.com and WH Smiths. I thought I'd start with the Cheese Flavour, which is special because it's actually dairy free and vegan friendly! How is that possible I hear you ask?! Well, like many cheesy flavoured crisps it uses yeast extr...

I'm a big fan of Ape Snacks Crunchy Coconut Bites . When I tried them initally I was a bit iffy but since then I've bought a fair few packs, in fact they're my go-to snack now when I'm looking for something healthy and low in sugar. So I was excited when I saw this new Chocolate variety appear in Sainsbury's Express stores recenelty. It's pretty much the same recipe as the original plain bites, but with the addition of coconut nectar and cocoa powder. Like the original bites these are £1.50 and suitable for vegans, gluten free and the packs says "no added sugar", which I don't really agree with since they contain coconut nectar, which is pretty much a sugar. But hey ho, they're still healthy and lower sugar than most snacks of this nature. They tasted pretty good, with a nice cocoa flavour and a subtle sweetness from the coconut nectar. I wouldn't say they were better than the original variety but they're a nice change and certain...

As well as the new Ape Crunchy Coconut Bites , I decided to try these new Ape Salted Chocolate Crispy Coconut Curls whilst in Holland & Barrett this week. They sounded potentially quite exciting for a coconut snack! I've tried Nudie Snacks Chocolate Coconut Chips before, which were delicious, so I had high hopes for these. The ingredients are simply coconut, coconut nectar, cocoa and sea salt. They're gluten free, vegan, high fibre and 96 calories per bag. Pouring the bag onto a plate, I was a bit disappointed in the amount - just 20g of coconut chips for £1.49 (although no doubt this is down to Holland and Barrett's pricing rather than Ape Snacks themselves). They tasted okay, although not quite as chocolatey as I would have liked. The salt muddles up the flavour a little bit and masks the small amount of cocoa there is. They're simply just not chocolatey enough. Overall, I have to say for a chocolate variation of coconut chips these are a bit of a ...

It's been a while since I've tried Ape Snacks Coconut Curls now, and when I saw this new snack from them I just had to give it a try. These Crunchy Coconut Bites are gluten free and high fibre, and made with a mixture of coconut, tapioca and sea salt. They're also suitable for vegans and under 150 calories a bag. I found these in Holland and Barrett. They look like mini rice cakes. There didn't seem to be a lot in the bag, which was disappointing since it cost £1.99. They tasted quite nice, very coconutty and fibrous and very crunchy. If you're on a lower carb diet these might be a better option than the likes of rice cakes. They're very filling. Overall, they make for a very satisfying and healthier snack that is allergy and gut friendly! Nutrition (per 30g): 148 calories, 11g Fat, 9.3g carbohydrates, 3.6g sugars, 6.3g fibre, 2g protein.  Also available in sesame seed and chia seed varieties. 8 out of 10.