Kev's Snack Reviews

I'm always on the lookout for new gluten free treats, and luckily M&S have just launched a boatload...such as Made Without Wheat Cheesecake , Trifle , Apple Pie , Rhubarb Crumble and more, and as it's currently Coeliac Awareness week (click here for a list of the 11 Best Gluten Free Foods from The Independent), I thought this would be the perfect time to review some of them! Today's treats are these Made Without Wheat Chocolate Hazelnut & Praline cakes. For £3.50 you get two mini chocolate cakes, with a fudgey praline ganache, topped with chopped hazelnuts and caramel, and a salted caramel centre. Opening the pack I have to say the cakes looked lovely, very presentable and they had a welcoming chocolatey aroma. I cut one in half, expecting the salted caramel centre to ooze out, but alas it wasn't to be. I was a bit surprised really! Still I didn't let that stop me from promptly taking a bite... The cake is lovely and moist, and very cho...

One food I really miss since being gluten-free is doughnuts. I used to love them in every shape and form, but now, I can't find one for love nor money :( So when I spotted these "Feel Free" Mini Donuts in Tesco I got ridiculously excited! I promptly bought a pack and rushed home to scoff them... These cost £1.50 for a pack of 10 mini donuts, and you can find them in the free-from freezer aisles in most Tesco's. They're really dinky and come with a fine dusting of icing sugar. They're meant to be left at room temperature for about 30 mins before eating so I did just that. When I took some out to put on a plate I found that one of them was a little misshapen, see above! I wonder if they were having a laugh when making them... I took a bite, and found the donut to be rather dry and crumbly. There were instructions on the pack suggesting to warm them up and top with syrup to make a dessert, so I popped them in the microwave for a bit. This di...

Being gluten free, it's always difficult to find good biscuits that taste like the ones I used to remember. Thankfully there's new companies springing up all the time with gluten-free options, and one that you can find in many discount stores now is Gullon. They appear to be a Spanish company that produce dairy, egg and gluten free biscuits, cookies and crackers. They even do some sugar free ones too. As well as being gluten free, these Digestives are also suitable for vegans and anyone with dairy and egg allergies. They're nut-free too...that's quite impressive!  They're basically like a gluten-free version of McVitie's Digestives, with a similar shape, and are made with high oleic sunflower oil and corn starch. So they're even healthier than regular biscuits too (oleic oil is a healthy monounsaturated fat).  Taste-wise, they were very crunchy and reminded me more of Rich Tea biscuits than Digestives, this isn't a bad thing though, they...

There's been a rather extensive load of new products at M&S recently, it's all a bit overwhelming especially with their Spirit of Summer range. One new product that caught me eye were these Belgian Milk Chocolate Covered Cashews. I'm a big fan of cashew nuts (although my nut allergy does sometimes flare up with them), but I've never tried them coated in chocolate...this could either be very wrong or very yummy...I had to find out! They're basically honey caramelised cashew nuts rolled in milk chocolate, and some of them are quite hefty in size! I took out a handful for a good munch, and I'm pleased to say they were very yummy indeed. I've never had honey caramelized cashews before so this was a first, but they were very tasty; the honey brings out the natural sweetness of the cashews perfectly, with the creamy milk chocolate finishing it off beautifully. Overall, these are a very tasty treat indeed, and one I'd buy again! They certainly bea...

Many thanks to Bring Back Banjo Bar for alerting me to this Meridian Peanut & Banana bar on Instagram recently, after seeing her pic of this I decided I had to give it a try...I'm a fan of all things peanutty, but the combination of both Peanut and Banana together sounded fantastic.  I found this bar in Holland and Barrett...I can't remember the cost exactly but it was just shy of a pound. The ingredients consist of peanuts, rice syrup, rice protein, and of course...bananas! The bars are gluten free, dairy free, high protein and suitable for vegetarians and vegans.  The texture is chewy and fudgey, similar to Nakd bars but with a more robust bite. The peanuts bring that unmistakable savoury nuttiness, with the banana bringing a delicious sweet creamy flavour. I have to say, this is the perfect combination of flavours, they work perfectly together! I felt very satisfied and happy after eating this, it's filling but not overly sweet or sickly, yet yo...

Whilst out in the sun recently and in dire need of refreshment, I thought, why not try those new coffee lollies from M&S...they've got to be better than boring old mineral water! I must admit, I'm getting a bit leery of Marks and Spencer's Spirit of Summer range; they've started labelling regular products like Cheese & Tomato pizzas as "Spirit of Summer"...which I think is pushing it a bit...but I'll leave that rant for another day!  These lollies are made with a mixture of water, coconut water, coconut milk, sugar, colombian coffee extract, and pectin. They're dairy free although not suitable for nut or dairy allergy sufferers due to manufacturing methods. Boo! I want to say I loved these lollies, but I was a bit underwhelmed. I was expecting them to be creamy, but they were a bit watery for my liking. I also felt there could have been a stronger coffee flavour - the coffee extract is only 1% of the ingredients. They're k...

It's always a batle trying to stay healthy when you love novelty snacks...which is why I'm glad there's so many companies out there these days making the transition to healthy eating easier. There's people like Nakd, Primal Pantry, Meridian and others creating lots of healthy treats, and also joining the party is Beloved. Beloved are known for their Date Syrup, which I haven't tried yet, but I've heard good things about these Date Fruit Hearts from fellow bloggers, so I thought it about time I see what the fuss is about. I must admit, I wasn't expecting a lot since dates are...well...dates...but these snacks really surprised me! They're basically cute heart-shaped sweets made from raw pressed dates, and that's it! Each pack comes with a little tray of hearts, 5 in total. They can be found in Asda stores at the end of the fruit & veg sections amongst similar products such as Nakd Nibbles etc. There's two varieties: Original and Zesty O...