NEW! Häagen-Dazs Salted Caramel Ice Cream Bars (ASDA)

There's one flavour of Häagen-Dazs that appears to be the clear favourite amongst fans, and that is salted caramel. As a recent newbie to the world of HD, and still an avid fan of Ben & Jerry's, I couldn't see how this could be so amazing. I mean it's just a caramel ice cream with caramel brittle. Surely it can't compete with B&Js incredible Karamel Sutra? I mean it doesn't have the chocolate ice cream, nor the chocolate chunks, let alone the almost-orgasmic caramel core. 

Yet I inadvertently ended up trying a mini tub of H-D's salted caramel when I bought their new caramel collection (for the speculoos flavour), and was struck dumb. Eating my words in conjunction with every mouthful, I found myself revelling in the sheer indulgent creaminess. Then I discovered the salt caramel brittle and my world slipped off its axis. It's unbelievably good: salty, sweet, soft, yet crunchy. If it's not part of your life at the moment, you need it to be.  

After that singular experience I found my original indifference towards the new H-D sticks polarised. I now needed to try their Salted Caramel sticks, ASAP. Luckily ASDA have them on offer for £2 for 3 bars, so I didn't need to remortgage the house either. 

"Our signature salted caramel ice cream enrobed in a rich Belgian chocolate coating for a truly indulgent treat."

I couldn't tell whether the chocolate coating was milk or dark from either the description or its colour. I soon realised that it wasn't very thick though when I tried to snap a small segment off for the photo and a whole side came off! 

The ice cream was every bit as delicious as I remember it being in the mini tub. I love the contrast in textures, and the luxuriousness of it is undeniable. Unfortunately the chocolate wasn't my cup of tea, it was darker than a milk chocolate* and very thin. I would've much rather a thicker coating made from milk chocolate studded with the caramel brittle. Now that might be enough to convert me to H-D for life. 

As it stands, these are delicious bars, but I just about prefer the tub version of H-Ds salted caramel ice cream. Perhaps I should try the white chocolate and almond bars next time... Have any of you bought them yet?

9/10

*but probably no darker than Bournville, I just don't like dark.

New Treats' First Birthday Round Up!

Happy Birthday to meeeeee! Well, my blog at least! Yes, Amy Seeks New Treats turns one today, and I want to thank of all of you who have read one, some or all of my 324 reviews. I genuinely didn't think that the blog would attract so many readers, and I'm touched that any of you feel like returning to the site and viewing my rambles about the various foodstuffs I've discovered. As such, I thought it might be a fun time to look back at some of the highlights and low points of my blogging journey thus far....

The treat I can't live without
Oh my days, I still remember that very first bite of the White Chocolate Reese's Cups back in January and the sheer salty-sweet heaven that changed my life for the better. If you remember, the cups were part of my epic peanut buttery Christmas present parcel from my other half (which also included 40 -yes four-zero- bags of Nutter Butter bites). Fast-forward a few months, following the discovery of the bargain bags of white chocolate Reese's hearts, and they've easily become one of my diet staples. What would I do without Reese's now eh? 

Favourite new ice cream

This was a hard one! I've reviewed 40 different ice creams this year, including some fantastic new lines, and I've given full marks to 8 of them!

• Co-Op Peanut Butter & Jelly Tub
• LIDL Tiramisu & Cream Tub 
• ASDA Salted Caramel & Peanut Butter Sticks
• Walls Gingerbread Sandwiches
• Ben & Jerry's 'Wiches (Cookie Dough, Brownie & Minis) 
• M&S Salted Caramel & Belgian Chocolate Sticks

I think my all time favourite has to be Ben & Jerry's Chocolate Fudge Brownie 'Wiches, although that might just be because I spent so much time trying to find them, and they're still my ultimate ice cream treat. I'm keeping everything crossed that they'll return next year in multi-packs too! 

Best new chocolate bar

Perhaps unsurprisingly 'chocolate' has featured in at least 137 of my reviews (that's just the ones I remembered to tag correctly!). I made a New Years Resolution to eat chocolate and peanut butter every day this year, and I'm proud to say that I've still not broken that pledge, so I've made the most of the opportunity to try lots of new bars. There are four that have really stood out to me: the white Reese's, the American Take 5 bar, M&S's 'The Nutty One' and Godiva's Chocolate & Creme Bar. My absolute favourite out of them? Probably the Marks and Sparks bar, but only just! 

Favourite new healthy food

I can blame my good friend and fellow blogger Laura (A Daisy Chain Dream) for introducing me to the best Skyr on British Supermarket Aisles: Icelandic Skyr. The creamy pots don't have the aciditity that the ARLA and LIDL brands do, and taste far more indulgent than they actually are. Every week I check Mysupermarket.co.uk to see if they've come on offer at Waitrose. 

Most disappointing Item

I reviewed so many products which showed so much potential but were poorly executed over the year, from the gelatinous Bonne Maman's chocolate creme brulee, to the limp KitKat ice cream cones and Boot's bland velvet cake. The 'treat' that I remember resulting in the biggest chasm between expectation and reality however has to go to the Peanut Butter Feasts.  Feasts were my all time favourite ice creams as a child, but the non chocolatey core, off-the-stick, un nutty new feasts are a disgrace to their title. 

You couldn't pay me to eat this again

Alongside the dozens of delicious indulgences I've found this year, my tastebuds have been assaulted on a few occasions. I've learnt to give Boots' Popcorn (and many of their baked goods) a wide berth, and that Cricket Protein Bars just aren't to my liking. The worst of the worst has to be the Jumbone looking B'Jammin PB&J. I know protein bars often aren't the prettiest -unless we're talking Carb Killas- but they shouldn't look like dog food either.

Here's to another year, cheers!

My life has considerably changed since starting the blog, and I admittedly have far less time now to scout out new treats and then write about my honest thoughts and opinions. This issue will get somewhat worse in a few weeks when I attempt to return to uni, continue to work my job, look after the dog, and run the household. I promise to review as often as I can. In the meantime I'd love to know if there's anything you'd like to see me reviewing more (or less) and if there are any reviews that were your favourites?

Lots of love to you all xx