Kev's Snack Reviews

I'm a quite the fan of plantain chips, and often buy the various flavoured varieties now available from the likes of Tesco and Morrisons, such as spicy, garlic etc. They're usually found in the World Foods sections, so it's nice to see Tesco bringing them more into the mainstream under their Tesco Finest brand. I assumed these were part of their Christmas range but they're situated amongst the other "posh" bags of crisps rather than in the Christmas aisle, so I'm guessing they must be permanent. They cost £1.25 for a 125g bag, are hand cooked, suitable for vegans and made with plantain, sunflower oil and sea salt. Opening the bag, the crisps are in a range of shapes, from the more rounded part of a plantain - which looks like regular potato crisps - to the longer part, which looks like thin strips. They're pretty tasty, but I found them inferior to the other bands of plantain crisps on the market. They're a little oily, probably due to th...

Recently, Tesco Express stores have been selling a range of snacks from Emily Crisps, and one that caught my eye were these Sweet Potato Sticks. They cost £1.10 for a 35g bag. The bag contains both purple and yellow sweet potato chips, sprinkled with sea salt and fried in sustainable palm oil. I opened the bag, and was a little disappointed there didn't seem to be much in it - little more than a handful. I wanted to like them, I really did but they were just somehow lacking. They tasted too greasy, and seemed like they had been overcooked, spoiling any natural flavour of sweet potato. I think they made a mistake in using palm oil rather than a lighter oil like sunflower, and it really shows in the taste. Overall, these were a let down for me and not something I would buy again. I feel they're overpriced for what they are - the larger bags are over £2.50. Have you tried Emily Veg Crisps? Are you a fan? Let me know in the comments! 5 out of 10.

Now that Summer is over, Kettle Chips are here to save the day with warming earthy flavours perfect for autumn snacking, with their revamped Veg Chips range. Joining the existing flavour "Lightly Salted" is "Honey and Black Pepper" and "Sea Salt and Balsamic Vinegar", all made with crunchy parsnip, sweet potato and beetroot chips. All varieties are suitable for vegetarians and free of artificial ingredients. As I've never tried any of these before I began with the original variety: Lightly Salted. These turned out to be some very moreish and flavoursome crisps, with definite warming earthy flavours from the parsnip and beetroot. They were very addictive but felt more satisfying than regular potato chips, thanks to the more wholesome flavours on offer. The Honey and Black Pepper variety were similar but with a honey twist, this enhanced the earthy flavours perfectly with the pepper bringing a nice warming spicy kick. Very moreish! The ...

It's January, so of course it's time for everyone to start eating "healthy" again for a few weeks, only to cave into junk food again (we've all done it!) Luckily Yushoi have come to the rescue to help us eat better with their low calorie, nut free, high fibre, high protein snacks made of peas and rice. These are Japanese inspired, and apparently the name Yushoi is an amalgamation of the words "Yushu" which means excellent, and "Shoi" which means act or deed. So do yourself a good deed and buy these excellent snacks ;) I bought a multipack for £1 in Morrisons, and they're also available in Tesco. They come in a few flavours but I chose lightly salted. Opening the pack revealed some "swamp green" colored snacks...I was a little scared! Despite the slightly off-putting colour, I'm pleased to report that they tasted nothing like they look! They were very crunchy, and reminded me of Chipsticks crisps...anyone remember tho...

As part of my healthy eating drive recently, I've been trying some healthier snacks from the supermarkets. Luckily, it's getting easier to find healthy stuff thanks to a stream of new products from the various new paleo/raw/vegan companies that are constantly springing up. It seems Tesco are getting in on the act too, not only have they recently ditched a lot of sugary drinks from their shelves, they've also increased their range of fruits and nuts for snacking. They're also promoting their new vegetable crisps, which you'll find near the checkouts in many Express stores. They include Beetroot slices, which sounded horrible to me so I went for these sweet potato slices...ahem...crisps instead. They're basically slices of sweet potato that have been baked until crunchy. There's no salt or oil added, just pure dehydrated sweet potato. I guess they thought these don't need any flavourings since the natural sweetness of the potato is flavour enough. ...

When Roots contacted me to review their Hand Cooked Vegetable Crisps recently I couldn't say no... I'm always on the lookout for healthier snacking alternatives and have never actually tried vegetable crisps before. Initially I wasn't sure the idea would work...after all aren't vegetables supposed to be a lump of mush served next to your Sunday dinner, rather than a tasty snack?! Well actually no... turns out they can be both! "Made using carrots, parsnips and beetroot, our vegetables are thinly sliced and cooked by hand in pure sunflower oil for a super-crunchy texture, before being lightly seasoned with sea salt. No artificial colourings, flavourings, preservatives or other additives are used." - Roots Crisps Press Release. The crisps were very tasty indeed, with a lighter, crunchier edge compared to regular crisps. Very flavoursome. They're not as full on as the likes of Kettle Chips which is actually a bonus - as much as I love Kettle Chips...