Kev's Snack Reviews

Recently, I spotted a totally new vegetable/fruit (not sure which it actually is!) in Asda called Banana Blossom in a tin. It was next to the tins of Jackfruit which is a well known vegan meat alternative. I assumed it was a similar thing so happily bought some to try - it’s £1.50 a tin. The image on the wrapper looked innocent enough - battered fish pieces, only vegan! Surely this stuff must be good? Turns out that packaging was very misleading because nothing could prepare me for the horror that was lurking inside...when I opened the tin it was like opening something from a horror film, discovering the mouldy body of an ancient alien creature or other such evil. It looked hideous!! “Surely this is not meant for human consumption?!”, I thought. Heck it’s not even suitable for bird consumption....I think flies would even turn their nose up at this thing, which looked like rotten infested seaweed. When I posted this on my  Instagram  page the responses were pr...

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 ...

Recently I was sent some of the new Limited Edition Kettle Chips Baked Camembert & Oak Smoked Garlic to review, which is certainly the welcoming sight at the end of a long, cold day! I have to be honest, Camembert is not a cheese I've tried before, so I had no idea what to expect from these. The crisps also came with a Camembert cheese dish, which isn't particularly edible so I won't be reviewing that...I'm sure it will come in handy though! The crisps have been launched for the Winter season and are the brainchild of Kettle Chips chef Phil Hovey, who says: "I chose this winning combination which has been enjoyed during Winter nights for years - rich and gooey, creamy French Camembert enhanced by the tantalizing depth of oak smoked garlic". I have to say, I think Phil is right to choose this flavour; these are some delicious crisps! They're pretty full on with a strong yet creamy cheese flavour, and every crisp is generously coated. I couldn...

Whilst perusing Asda recently and looking for a "healthier" snacking option I came across some new products from a company called Great Food. They make "seriously tasty vegetarian food", a lot of which is vegan, dairy free and gluten free too. These Delicate Tuscan Vegetable Bites fall into the latter camp and are also soya free, nut free and even legume free. Woohoo, they've catered for pretty much every allergy! There's 9 bites per pack, which look a bit like falafel. They're baked not fried and are ready to eat, although you can put them in the oven for 4-5 mins or microwave for 30-60 seconds to enjoy at their best. The ingredients consist of butternut squash, potatoes, spinach, potato flakes, carrot, onion, rapeseed oil, and spices. Can't get more #cleaneating than that! I didn't have a microwave handy unfortunately so I ate them as they were. They're very flavoursome and filling for something made purely from vegetables, wit...

Alpro have launched a new range of Vegan Society approved, Dairy Free ice creams onto the market, all of which should be appearing in most Tesco stores soon. I've already reviewed the Hazelnut Chocolate variety, and today it's the turn of the Coconut. Like the Hazelnut Chocolate one this is gluten free, soya free and is made with soluble gluco fibre (I still have no idea what that is!) and 13.3% coconut cream. I was hoping the addition of coconut cream would improve the taste and texture of this compared to the Chocolate Hazelnut, and it has...but not by much. This does have a vague coconutty flavour, and is creamier than the Chocolate Hazelnut variety. It reminds me of Carte D'or Coconut flavour ice cream that was available yeeeears ago, but sadly, it's again ruined by a weird stale taste presumably coming from the soluble gluco fibre. I didn't feel like eating much of it, which is rather unusual for me. Overall, I appreciate that Alpro are br...

There's some new Dairy Free Vegan ice creams on the block...and this time, they're Soya Free too! Which is unusual considering they're made by Alpro, Kings of the Soya Milk market. I'm glad they're soya free because I'm a little sensitive to the stuff myself...and no doubt so are many others who are vegan, dairy free etc, so it's nice to have an alternative. Unlike most new Dairy Free products this one isn't made with coconut milk or legume protein, instead it's made with water and "soluble gluco fibre"...whatever the heck that is! If anyone knows, please feel free to enlighten me in the comments! Here, you can see the ingredients list for yourselves: Hearing the words Chocolate Hazelnut had me thinking this would be like Nutella in ice cream form...foolish, I know, but one can dream! Sadly it's nothing alike... It didn't taste very nice at all to be honest. It reminded me somewhat of Christmas Calender chocolate, ...

I've been on the hunt for this new gluten free pizza from Pizza Express ever since I heard about it...it's very difficult to find a good gluten free pizza, there's very few on the market and no other brand makes fresh ones like this. The prospect of a decent pizza had me very excited! Luckily my local large Sainsbury's store now sells these, in the fresh foods section along with the other Pizza Express pizzas. It cost £4, obviously quite a lot for a regular sized pizza, but I don't mind paying extra in this case. The pizza is vegetarian, certified gluten free by coeliac UK and comprises of Pizza Express' signature free from base, with tomato sauce, mozzarella cheese and herbs. A simple, but classic combination. Removing it from the box, it looked like any other basic thin and crispy style pizza. I sprinkled some extra herbs and olive oil on top before cooking...it takes around 10 minutes but I got distracted and left it in the oven a bit too long and...

It's mighty difficult to find sweets that are not only vegetarian, but dairy and gluten free to boot, but luckily Candy Kittens have come to the rescue with their delicious natural gourmet candy range, which can be found in Sainsbury's and Waitrose stores, or online. I saw this sweet pineapple variety for just £1 in Sainsbury's recently so had to give them a try...I'm a sucker for anything pineapple flavoured, quite literally! These are of course gelatine free, which is always a plus because I really don't like the thought of mushed cow skin (aka gelatin) in my sweets. Yack! No, these are friendly to all animals and not even kittens were harmed in the making of these... They're quite simply delicious...the texture is just the right amount of soft and chewy, and the pineapple flavour has a wonderful tropical tang. I couldn't help but eat these by the handful...they're so moreish. I demolished the bag in record time! Overall, Candy Kittens a...

My last review of Walkers new sandwich-inspired is finally here...and I've saved the "best" til last, it's Bacon & Tomato Ketchup! Now some people prefer Brown Sauce with a bacon butty...but Walkers don't care about that and went with tomato ketchup aka Red Sauce. These are vegetarian, strangely enough, but not vegan as they contain dairy. They're in most supermarkets for around 50p or so right now and you can win £10,000 in their online competition. On eating them I first could taste the traditional bacon flavour, they were pretty much like regular Bacon flavour Walkers crisps...but then there's the sweeter tomato flavour in the aftertaste, and it's quite strong. It's a bit too sweet actually and kind of detracts from the bacon. I enjoyed these but they're not one of the best of the new flavours. Overall, these are okay but they're not as good as regular bacon flavour walkers crisps. They're a nice novelty for the time ...

So I've been gradually making my way through the new "sandwich inspired" range of crisps from Walkers, from the unusual but tasty Cucumber Cheese and Salad Cream, to the more ordinary Ham and Mustard...and finally I've arrived at a great combination of brown sauce and sausage; a classic British Butty combo! I found these crisps in WH Smiths on offer of two bags for £1.50, although they're also in Boots much cheaper at two for £1. Amazingly, these crisps are vegetarian...the wonders of modern technology! They're even dairy free and vegan, although they are made in an environment that processes dairy. They tasted as you'd expect, with a punchy, spicy and slightly fruity brown sauce flavour and vague meatiness that obviously isn't real sausage. I'd say the predominant flavour was brown sauce, which is kind of meaty all by itself. I enjoyed these crisps but I didn't feel they were the best, they tasted like something I've had before...

There's a lot of new healthier snacks in shops nowadays, most notably Nakd bars are everywhere...but one healthy bar I've never tried is this "9Bar". I'm not a huge fan of seeds in bars, I prefer fruit and nuts, but I thought I'd see what this is like anyway. The bar is gluten free and dairy free, vegan and even nut-free. It's made up of various seeds like sunflower, pumpkin and hemp, with dried fruits like apricot and dates, bound with rice syrup and with a carob topping. Opening the wrapper it looked pretty much like a chocolate covered flapjack...although chocolate-free in this case! It tasted...okay. It was fairly solid and substantial to chew on compared to the likes of Nakd bars, but I can't say I enjoyed it all that much to be honest. I'm not a big fan of seeds at the best of times and they didn't really provide much enjoyment to chew on, healthy though they may be. The apricots and dates saved the bar, making it more pala...

Walkers recently unleashed a new range of sandwich inspired crisps upon the public...and I've alreday tried the unusual but tasty Cucumber, Cheese and Salad Cream variety as well as Ham and Mustard. This time around I just had to go for Chicken and Mayo, as I've always loved Walkers Chicken flavour crisps since I was a kid. I was curious what the addition of mayonaise flavouring would bring to the mix... Well, turns out it doesn't add much flavour-wise to these crisps. They taste pretty similar to regular Walkers Chicken flavour crisps, but perhaps with a creamier, sweeter edge. It's not particularly obvious but I suppose I can see how it's suppsoed to be chicken and mayonnaise flavour. They're nice, but nothing that stands out amongst the other flavours in the range. Stay tuned for my review of the Sausage and Brown Sauce variety...I may even give the Bacon & Ketchup ones a go too! 7.5 out of 10.

Whilst in Sainsbury's recently I fancied something a bit different to a regular ice cream, something light and refreshing. So instead of the usual Ben and Jerrys or Haagen Dazs (which are always on special offer making it hard to break my addiction to them!) I went for this dairy free frozen yogurt alternative. It's dairy free because it's made with coconut yogurt instead of regular milk yogurt. Yes...for those who may be unaware you can now get yogurt made from coconut milk! I sneakily ate some at the Sainsbury's cafe, which I know is strictly  verboten  but I had paid for a coffee so I wasn't totally taking the Mick! Anyway, I can report that the ice cream...er...frozen yogurt was very tasty indeed! It's definitely not as full on as a tub of Ben and Jerry's, it tasted light and refreshing, and not overly sweet either. It didn't feel "heavy" like regular ice cream, which is no doubt due to it being dairy-free. It doesn't contain sugar...

I've been on the hunt for this "Coconut Bliss" variety of Nákd Fruit & Nut Nibbles ever since I first heard they were available. They must be pretty popular, as Asda are almost always sold out. Luckily I finally managed to nab a bag, probably thanks to shopping very early in the morning! They're pretty similar to the other Nibbles in the range, but with the addition of some toasted dessicated coconut and natural coconut flavouring. They have a slightly more speckled appearance than the other nibbles. They tasted very nice, although maybe not quite as coconutty as I was expecting. I'm often making my own desserts with dessicated coconut so I suppose I'm used to having a more intense coconut flavour. They were nice, don't get me wrong, but I do think they would've benefitted from a greater ratio of coconut. The other ingredients are dried dates, raisins and cashew nuts. Overall, these are a tasty, healthy snack and do give a nice coconut...

I recently reviewed Nákd Fruit Salad and Tooty Fruity Nibbles , and as well as those flavours there's several more. I'm yet to find the Coconut variety, but whilst in Sainsbury's recently I came across the other flavours: Strawberries & Cream, Salted Caramel and Toffee Treat. Nákd Fruit & Nut Nibbles are basically healthier snacks in various sweet flavours. I think theyre a great idea and a good way to help folks reduce sugar intake and eat more "real" food. They're also vegan, raw, dairy-free, gluten-free and contain no artificial nasties. All whilst being very tasty...no easy feat! They're made with a combination of dates, raisins and cashew nuts. Strawberries & Cream Nibbles: The strawberries and cream variety tasted lovely; the nibbles had a strong creamy strawberry flavour. I'm not sure how they achieved this as the ingredients only list "natural flavours" and they contain no strawberries or dairy, but the taste wa...

Nákd Foods produce snacks made from all-natural ingredients, usually consisting of dried fruits and nuts, which are cold-pressed and never baked with no added sugar or syrups. They're suitable for vegans and are gluten-free and dairy-free. They recently announced the launch of a new "Fruit & Nut Nibbles" snacking range, and luckily I happened to spot some in Asda recently. There's quite a few flavours but today I'll focus on Fruit Salad and Tooty Fruity. If you're like me then the mention of Fruit Salad takes you back to those sugary orange sweets from childhood, often found in Pick & Mix with Black Jacks. They were full of sugar and chemicals, but highly addictive. They had a unique flavour, and to be honest I've never had anything else fruit salad flavoured...until now! These "Fruit & Nut Nibbles" are a much healthier way to get a sweet fix, and as an adult trying to reduce my sugar intake I am grateful for them...now I don...