Kev's Snack Reviews

I'm not usually one for Protein bars, as I do find the taste off-putting at times, but one newbie that piqued my interest recently was this Grenade Carb Killa Salted Peanut White Chocolate Protein bar. People were going mad for it on Instagram and Grenade kindly offered me some to review so I couldn't say no to that! The bars contain 20g Protein and 2g Sugars per 60g bar. To reduce the sugar content a mix of sweeteners is used. I'm not usually a fan of such sweeteners but on this occasion I let it slide because these sounded so nice. The bars contain a protein blend of whey and beef gelatine, and to my surprise didn't have the off-putting taste that some protein bars do. Hurrah! This was actually delicious, chewy and soft with a lovely creamy taste. The mixture of caramel, chewy filling and peanuts all blends together perfectly to make a super tasty bar indeed. It reminded me of a White Snickers , but I actually enjoyed this more because it isn't quite...

Following my review of The Skinny Food Co #NotGuilty Hazelnut Spread , today it's a review for their savoury Skinny Sauces, which come in three flavours; Sweet Chilli, Tomato Ketchup and South West Sauce. These are available from The Skinny Food Co's website:  https://theskinnyfoodco.com/ The sauces contain zero carbs, zero dairy, zero gluten, zero calories, zero sugar and zero fat...so are suitable for a wide range of dietary requirements indeed! Instead of all the above, what do they contain I hear you ask? The South West Sauce is a mixture of tomato, citrus fibre, xanthan gum, spirit vinegar, mustard, spices, and the sweetener sucralose. So that's about the only true artificial thing in it, whether that's good or not I suppose depends on your feelings on artificial sweeteners. Personally I'd prefer stevia since it's more natural, but the world isn't ready for stevia sauce just yet I guess! This sauce is certainly very tasty, with a sweet, ...

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...

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...

Just a quick review today, and it's one for those who may be reducing or cutting out the sugar what with the news of the UK Sugar Tax coming into force. Most chocolate bars using sweeteners can often taste chemically or just "wrong", so how does Plamil's So Free Espresso bar fare? Made with xylitol, a natural sweetener derived from birch, I found this bar in Holland and Barrett. It contains 72% cocoa solids, is gluten free, dairy free and suitable for vegans. The bar has small segments you can break off. I went for the espresso variety simply because I was in need of an energy boost, and although the coffee only comes from flavouring I reasoned the placebo effect might still give me a boost! And it was just what I needed for a sweet coffee hit. The chocolate gives a rich flavour, with the coffee lingering in the aftertaste whilst the xylitol makes it sweet enough to be palatable. It's not the same as sugar of course, and it does take a little getting used...

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...

Today's review is for a bar not many may have tried due to its very high cocoa content. It can be somewhat bitter to those who aren't used to it, even lovers of 70% chocolate may find it overpowering, but it's one I often end up eating when trying to reduce my sugar intake but still need a little choccy fix. It's currently on offer for £1.50 in Tesco stores so I've been buying it quite a lot recently. It comes in the same style blocks as all Lindt Excellence bars, with the Lindt logo printed on and with a nice glossy finish. There's vanilla in the ingredients which gives it a subtle, smooth aftertaste. I have to say I do enjoy these bars for a richer chocolate fix, they're not quite as flavoursome as Green & Blacks but they're still pretty rich and smooth. The vanilla is the key ingredient that prevents these from tasting too bitter. A few squares is definitely all you need though, any more than that and it becomes a bit too much! Overall, ...

Aldi do a fine range of food nowadays, you can find pretty much the same things as most larger supermarkets, and oftentimes better quality. I'm a fan of their fresh fruit and veg in particular. But they also do some quality British meats, and by chance I was sent a voucher to review some of their steaks recently. My Aldi didn't have some of the fancier cuts in stock but they did have these 21 Day Matured steaks in, of which I chose Ribeye. Not something I eat very often so I was pretty excited to try it! I cooked it under the grill, not bloody, not medium rare, but well done. That's how I like my steak! Despite being well done is was still very juicy and bursting with flavour. I have to say it's one of the best steaks I've had in a while, and beats the quality of stores like Tesco, whom I've tried Ribeye Steak from before and wasn't too impressed. The price point of these is also ideal - less than £4 - so you don't need to break the bank for some...

I was recently contacted by Holy Moly, makers of a new range of Guacamole dips to do a review, and being on a reduced sugar diet lately these certainly fit the bill. They are all made with natural ingredients, vegan, dairy free, gluten free and sugar free. They're made using avocados grown on a family-owned avocado orchard in Mexico; the avocados are hand-picked, hand-scooped and combined with freshly sourced local ingredients. Saintly Original: The Saintly Original variety contains a mixture of garlic, jalapeno chilli, onion, avocado and spices. I dug right in and ate it straight from the spoon. It's super creamy, with a lovely kick from the chillis, perfectly balanced with the onion and garlic. I really enjoyed it, but I do wish I'd had some gluten free crackers to dip in it. Very tasty. 8.5 out of 10. Devilishly Hot: Containing Jalapeno chilli, red onion, red bell pepper and other spices, this was the fiery one of the bunch. And I loved it! The...

Today's review is something a bit different, not a snack as such but a sweetener that is fast becoming popular amongst the low carb, keto diet crowd. I've experimented on and off with low carb and sugar free diets and tried a variety of different sweeteners, such as stevia and eryhtritol, but I chose this one as it supposedly bakes like brown sugar. It's even been awarded "superior tasting natural sweetener" by America's top chefs. It's based on an ancient sacred fruit, but rather than explain I'll copy what is on the wrapper: "Over a thousand years ago, in remote mountain highlands of Asia, a group of Buddhist monks called the Luohan achieved enlightenment through meditation, prayer and pure living. On the slopes of a primeval forest, the monks discovered and cultivated a rare fruit prized for its sweetness. This sacred fruit was named Monk Fruit, or Luohan Guo, after its devoted caretakers and was used in elixirs to increase chi, or life ...

With this early Summer heatwave, I'm finding myself reaching for ice cold drinks a bit more often than usual, but it's hard to find one without any artificial sweeteners in. Luckily, Robinsons have come to the rescue with their new range of naturally sweetened drinks called Refresh'd, which contain fruit juices as well as stevia. If you've not heard of stevia before it's a sweetener extracted from plants, and tastes sweeter than actual sugar. Robinsons kindly sent me some drinks from the range to review, and below are my thoughts on each flavour. Raspberry & Apple:  Containing spring water, fruit juices, natural flavours and stevia this flavour was lovely. It reminded me somewhat of the raspberry juice drinks I loved as a kid, albeit without the artificial flavours and colours. It was very refreshing and had a light sweet flavour that was perfect on a hot day. 8.5 out of 10. Orange & Lime: A more citrusy variety this time, and again one that w...

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.

I'm a huge fan of anything coconutty, from chocolate to ice cream to coconut milk...but one new trend I'm a little unsure of is coconut "savoury" snacks. I've previously reviewed Ape Coconut Curls which were flavoured with salt and pepper, and although they were ok they were indeed a little odd as a savoury snack. So how does this Itsu version compare?  For £1.10 at Waitrose I got a box containing 17g of lightly salted coconut chips, which really isn't very good value for money. I was hoping they'd be very tasty and good quality for paying so much for so little.  Thankfully they were indeed very tasty. There's 0.5% sea salt which is just enough to give them a nice savoury edge, and they were very crunchy and moreish, but I have to be honest it did feel weird eating something that's supposed to be sweet as a savoury snack. I still think the Crisp Coconut chips from Holland and Barrett are the best around, they're excellent...

Last year I reviewed the Dark Chocolate Chocologic bar and was a bit down with it, but a lower sugar version of a milk chocolate bar? Now that makes a bit more sense! The Chocologic range, which includes a hazelnut bar as well as Dark Chocolate is on offer at the moment in Tesco for £1 a pop, so I decided to give this Milk variety a go and see what the fuss is about.   It contains 60% less sugar than standard milk chocolate, which is pretty good going. It's sweetened with a mixture of stevia and inulin fibres, as well as milk of course. I like that it's foil-wrapped, that's not something you see often with chocolate bars these days. Taste-wise it wasn't too bad for a lower sugar milk chocolate. It has a nice milky flavour and because of the lower sugar content isn't as throat burningly sweet, letting the milk shine through more. It's not exactly a luxury chocolate hit but if you're on a low carb diet this will definitely feel like a treat. The s...

It's no secret that I've been trying to quit the sugar recently, and to that end I've been trying a lot of different dark chocolates that contain none. They can sometimes be too bitter, so when I heard that Chocologic were launching in Tesco with their stevia sweetened chocolate I was overjoyed! In fact I nipped over as soon as I knew these were available! Glancing at the ingredients I noticed the chocolate contains "alimentary fibres" which consist of dextrin, inulin and oligofructose. Presumably these are a bulking agent, since the chocolate contains only 55% cocoa. 4 segments of the bar contain 2.5g of carbs and 0.4g of sugars. That's a very low amount of sugar for chocolate, although 4 segments is a very tiny amount of the bar so don't be fooled. Opening the wrapper, there was a faint whiff of cocoa but it wasn't too strong. As a fan of rich dark chocolate I was surprised by this. Snapping off the top layer of 4 squares, I took a bite. ...

As my readers may know, I recently quit sugar, and it's been tough to stay off it with so many new snacks in the shops, and so I've found myself in search of more healthier foods and snacks! One thing I've been getting into a lot recently is grass fed meat. Grass fed meat is popular with those following The Paleo Diet, as it contains more nutrition and healthy fats compared to meats fed on grains. It also tastes muuuuch better!  I was recently contacted by  Westin Gourmet  who actually deliver quality grass fed meats online, which is a great idea since it can be so difficult to find good meat locally. They do a nice range from poultry, beef, lamb, pork, burgers, sausages, steaks as well as seafood and cheese. All their meat is responsibly sourced, British and with high welfare standards and they've even won a Great Taste Award for 2015. The meat arrives chilled upon delivery, and is never frozen. To peruse Westin Gourmet's meats check out  http://www.wes...

I'm a huge fan of coconut products, so it's just as well they're the hot new food trend at the moment. There's an increasing variety appearing in shops, with the gem of them all being coconut butter. If you haven't tried this stuff you seriously need to invest in some - it's delicious! Coconut butter isn't the same as coconut oil or the butter you refrigerate; it's more like a nut butter that can be spread on toast or eaten from the jar. It's made from whole coconut flesh and tastes creamy and sweet, and is usually smooth in texture depending on the weather. In fact I would describe it as a coconut version of white chocolate spread...only much healthier of course! I've bought a few jars during the the heatwave and found it to be quite oily and gooey due to the temperature, but in cooler weather it sets to become a firm "paste". It can be rather chunky in it's natural state, as shown here: Unfortunately there's not mu...