Choc Affair Peach & Raspberry White Chocolate (Online)

Peach Melba is a flavour combination that is rarely appreciated nowadays. Whilst Black Forest occasionally makes a welcome appearance, Melba seems to be the even less cool cousin that's been left in the 80s. But why? Raspberry and peach is a beautiful pairing -never more so than during these summer months. It therefore filled me with delight to discover that Choc Affair have created a chocolate bar featuring the classic flavour and -even better- it's white chocolate too! 

"What a combination, our peach & raspberry chocolate is like a dream come true. This chocolate is easy to eat, as it’s almost yoghurt or icecream like in its profile. When we do our tastings, even those who don’t usually choose a white chocolate try this and are  light and are nicely surprised with the result."

They say not to judge a book by its cover, but this bar was beautiful inside and out. The wrapper was undeniably attractive, as was the pink flecked bar within.

I have had a bar of Choc Affair's white chocolate before; last time it was the Mango bar and I mentioned that I'd have preferred a touch more fruitiness. However, this peach and raspberry bar ticked every single box. There was no escaping the smooth creamy nature of the white chocolate base, but the freeze dried raspberry pieces shone through, breaking up the sweetness in the most wonderful way. The only other time I have tasted a peach infused chocolate I found the peach to be completely redundant, however Choc Affair have not half hearted the fruit and it was noticeable against both the chocolate and raspberry flavours. Bravo Choc Affair.

The only problem with this bar is that it was completely moreish. I made myself save half the bar so that I could enjoy it in two sittings, but found myself constantly thinking about it. Let's just say it didn't last very long. There's a link to a recipe for peach and raspberry cookies on Choc Affair's website which sounds incredible, and I have the utmost respect for anyone who manages to refrain from eating this bar long enough to make cookies with it! 

Fancy a summery white chocolate bar that's like no other? Look no further than Choc Affair's Peach & Raspberry bar. At £2.50 for 100g bar (or £1.50 for a 50g bar) it's affordable, and you'll also be supporting cocoa farmers in Colombia with your purchase. What are you waiting for? Go go go! 

10/10

Thank you to Choc Affair for the chocolate bar! 

NEW! Discover Milk Chocolate with Peach and Mint (Sweets Without)

Last week I was invited to try a very unusual sounding chocolate bar by Sweets Without. I've been lucky enough to try some very interesting chocolate of late, but no low-sugar flavoured bars as yet. Peach & mint makes me think of sipping iced tea in the summer sunshine, but I'd never thought of it as a milk chocolate flavour. I was more than willing to give it a go though, so gladly accepted Sweets Without's kind offer to try Discover's chocolate bar.

But who are Discover? According to their website, they're a small team in Exmoor who produce handmade chocolate. They say: 

"Discover was launched with two goals, we needed to remove sugar from the ingredients and bring a range of flavours to the chocolate market which had not been done before. We achieved this using all-natural ingredients in the innovative and exciting varieties of healthy no added sugar, stevia sweetened, palm oil and Gluten free chocolate bars we have on offer. We also ensure that our chocolate is ethically sound and environmentally friendly."

I loved the wrapper to the 50g bar, and could smell the refreshing mint from beneath the brown paper. Uncovering it I was further impressed by the colour and glossy sheen to the chocolate. 

I then turned it over and discovered that the flat side was completely covered with peppermint leaves, giving it a grassy appearance. Embedded within the chocolate were a few dried peach slices too. I'd never seen a bar quite like it!

Biting into the chocolate I was met with a creaminess that I really hadn't expected. I thought that the Cavalier bar was good quality, but this was far better. The chocolate was every bit as sweet as its full-sugar compadres, however there was a big problem with the bar...

I just couldn't get over the gritty texture from the mint leaves, which although flavourful, completely counteracted the wonderful velveteen chocolate. It's a shame because the mint flavour was good and worked well as a combination with the chocolate. As for the peach slices, they offered very little to the bar apart from a slight chewiness and sweet edge. I couldn't really taste them against the chocolate and mint combination -such a pity.

I feel very glum to be writing such criticisms of what sounds like a wonderful company. I love their ethos, but for me this just doesn't quite work. Sweets Without are selling all sorts of their exciting sounding bars though so please do check out their website if you like the sound of no-added sugar fig & cashew/coffee & cardamom dark chocolate or rose petal & lavender milk chocolate. I think the cherry & walnut and cinnamon milk chocolate bars sound particularly special!

6/10

**Thank you to Sweets Without for the sample!**

Multipower 40% Protein Bars: Peach Yogurt, Chocolate Almond, & Blueberry Vanilla (Online)

Last week Multipower's PR company got in touch with me to ask if I'd like to try the new 40% Protein Fit Bars. To be honest, Multipower is a company that I hadn't come across before, but I was informed that their new bars are 'low in sugar, a great source of fibre and come in three amazing flavours'. As you know I'm always keen to try new bars and supplements, so I gladly accepted the offer.

By Monday a parcel arrived containing a selection of bars in all three flavours: peach yogurt, blueberry vanilla and chocolate almond. The protein bar market is already exceedingly saturated and so I was pleased to see that not only have Multipower brought out slightly more unusual flavours -no cookie dough in sight- but also that they're a completely different size to most of the bars currently available. At 35g, each bar contains less than 135kcal whilst delivering 14g of protein -not bad! For info they're also aspartame free (they're sweetened with sucralose instead). 

Peach Yogurt

Well it's not the most appealing looking bar I've ever seen, I don't buy protein bars for their aesthetics. I did give it a little squidge though, and instantly appreciated just how soft this bar was -there's nothing worse than a jaw-breaker. 

Just as I hoped: what the bar lacked in looks, it made up for in taste. It's hard to spot the freeze dried peach pieces in the photo but they packed a delicious punch (surprising considering they only constitute 3% of the bar). The nougat-like texture was remarkably soft too, which made it very easy to eat -sheer relief for my clicky jaw. Perhaps the biggest surprise came from the bar's casing though, which was in fact white chocolate and not yogurt. Lord knows why Multipower doesn't shout about this, white chocolate is always a winner in my book, and would certainly make me much more likely to pick a bar up from the shelf!

Macros: Kcal: 129 P: 14/C: 9.4 F: 4.7

9/10

Chocolate Almond

Having enjoyed the peach yogurt bar so much, I decided to try the chocolate almond bar for dessert last night, warmed up in the microwave with a good helping of Salted Caramel Oppo and sugar-free caramel syrup. Once again I appreciated how soft the bar was, and the addition of real almond pieces was evident once I sliced into it.

The first thing I noticed was an odd, synthetic taste, but this soon abated and fortunately only a moment later I was revelling in one of my favourite combinations of chocolate and almond. In fact, the softness and flavour of this bar reminded me of the utterly delicious Côte-d'Or FudgeNut -high praise indeed. Of course, it's low sugar and high protein so therefore not a chocolate bar, but it's a scrummy alternative. 

Macros: 134kcal P:14/C:8.4/F: 5.9

8/10

Blueberry Vanilla

I'm not sure why, but I expected a white chocolate covering to compliment the blueberry. Again, this was super soft, and I decided to enjoy this one just this morning with a cup of coffee.

Just look at those freeze-dried blueberries! Unfortunately the primary flavour of this bar was the chocolate. The artificialness of it couldn't be escaped without the ice cream and caramel sauce, and I simply wasn't keen. Luckily the inner filling was pretty good -although nowhere near as tasty as the peach bar. It's the only bar of the three that I probably wouldn't buy again.

Macros: 126kcal/ P:14/ C: 8.5/F: 5

5/10

Summary

On the whole I'm impressed with these Multipower 40% Protein Fit bars. They're soft enough to serve as the perfect on-the-go protein hit, or as part of a healthy low-sugar dessert. You can find more information on the bars and order your own from Multipower's website, simply click here. 

I'd like to say a huge thank you to Multipower/their PR agency for sending me the samples to review. 

NEW! Milbona Skyr Pots (LIDL)

If you look into our 'drinks fridge' (aka the skanky fridge that we inherited with the house, but worked fine so we couldn't throw it out) you'll find a rather impressive selection of yogurts. My other half and I love the stuff -his shelf contains Muller corners, mine Skyr. I'm a happy girl with a bowl of yogurt so thick I can stand my spoon up in it. The trouble is, my preferred brand -Icelandic Skyr- is so much more expensive than the ARLA big pots, so I end up buying the cheaper version most of the time and then flavour it -at the moment I can swap between: banana, salted caramel, white chocolate, almond and tiramisu. With that in mind you can imagine my animation whens spotting the photo Alex posted onto Instagram of a selection of flavoured small pots he'd found in LIDL this week, and I made a beeline for the discount retailer after work. Everyone else must have seen Alex's pic too, because they had sold out the first day, but thankfully I was in luck the second! Each 150g flavoured tub cost 49p, and the plain 45p. 

Strawberry

So keen was I to try this new Skyr that I even took my first pot to the cinema with me that very afternoon (together with a generous supply of popcorn and sweets). I had assumed that the strawberry flavour would be amalgamated within the yogurt, so I was shocked -and excited- to find that in fact it formed a separate fruity layer at the bottom. The layer was also thick, and even better... it contained whole strawberries. I gleefully informed my fiance of this whilst we were watching the trailers, but I don't think he was as impressed! As for the Skyr, it tasted just like the ARLA stuff to me, and passed the thickness test.

8/10

Raspberry 

Unfortunately the thick layer of compote at the bottom of the raspberry yogurt wasn't quite as successful. It was very runny, and the natural tartness of the fruit didn't do enough to counteract the acidic yogurt on top; resulting in quite a bitter yogurt pot.

4/10

Blueberry

The balance of sweet-sour was better with the blueberry, but again the fruit layer was too watery, meaning that it was more like a sauce. The pot was pleasant though, and certainly much more enjoyable than the raspberry.

6/10

Peach & Passionfruit

The almost tropical flavours worked well with the Skyr in this pot, helped again by the natural sweetness. My only complaint would again be the thickness, but it was better than the blueberry.

7/10

Plain
As expected, I couldn't handle the acidity of the plain Skyr. I can't fault LIDL for that though, seeing as I'm not keen on the taste of any natural yogurt. Not to worry though, my trusty tiramisu syrup came to the rescue!

 7/10

Summary

These little pots from LIDL make a welcome change to ARLA, and are handy to pack in my lunchbox. They're not even close in deliciousness to the premium Iceleandic Skyr -but then I didn't expect them to be either. For anyone interested, the macros for the fruity are roughly: 6.6C/13.4P/0.3F (83Kcal) and the plain: 6.2C/17.7P/0.3F (98kcal).

NEW! Danone Light and Free Greek Style Yogurts (Tesco)

I have to admit that I was rather excited at the prospect of these new yogurts from Danone. As a regular Greek yogurt eater (yes I know it's worse for the environment than the traditional kind, but it's also delicious!) I am always pleased to be able to choose from a wider variety of flavours and brands. 

The 'Light and Free' yogurts look attractive, complete with cardboard wrappers an minimalist design, and come in in five different fruity flavours: strawberry, cherry, blueberry, peach & passion fruit, and raspberry. They're also fat free, low in calories -each 115g pot contains less than 61 calories- and contain no added sugar. 

Cheapskate Amy struck again I'm afraid, I refused to pay the £2.00-£2.50 full price and waited for them to come on offer. Luckily my patience served me well as the full range is now available at Tesco for half price (£1.25 per four pack).

Cherry
The yogurts may look pretty, but the foil tops are a pain! Don't you hate it when they refuse to come off in one clean sweep? I haven't managed to open one pot yet without ripping the lid, gah.

The pretty pink yogurt was teeming with chunky cherry bits -I do love a good bit of real fruit. It became immediately evident however, that these were less set than other Greek yogurts, and were more like a thick standard yogurt. Hmm. The taste, well, it wasn't great either I'm afraid. It was perfectly eatable but there was no escaping the omnipresent back note of sucralose... one sweetener that I'm really not keen on. 

Peach & Passionfruit

I picked up the peach & passionfruit at the same time as the cherry. Admittedly If I had tried the cherry flavour first, I probably wouldn't have made a repeat purchase. Different flavour, same lid problem, dammit. Again, these were more of a thick-set rather than Greek style yogurt, but were packed with fruity pieces. I tried to enjoy this flavour sat in the sunshine, but I just couldn't get away from that nasty artificial taste. 

Conclusion
I'm afraid that these new yogurts from Danone are a bit of a non starter. It's a crowded market place full of tastier fat-free Greek yogurts such as ALDI's own (the best I've tried yet) so I can't see the 'Light & Free' range sticking around for very long.

5/10

NEW Knickerbocker Ice Cream Cones at Tesco

Tesco, thank you for creating yet another new ice-cream in the British Gelato drought season that is otherwise known as winter. Hidden in the freezer aisle, these new additions were modestly situated amongst the other own-brand cones, at the very reasonable price of £1 for the box of 4.

Knickerbocker Glorys have become somewhat of a a retro dessert- something you don't often see on menus anymore- and indeed it seems to be open for debate as to what the dish consists of.

For example the Telegraph's recipe calls for 'vanilla ice cream, raspberry ice cream and raspberry coulis' whereas the Cambridge Dictionary defines it as 'a ​sweet ​dish consisting of ​layers of ​ice ​cream, ​fruit, ​jelly, and ​cream, ​served in a ​tall ​glass.'  

Tesco have taken a completely different route altogether, and their take on the Knickerbocker Glory cones are 'Peach & strawberry and cream ice creams in a biscuit cone coated with chocolate flavour coating, rippled and topped with peach sauce and sugar balls.'  I guess that Knickerbocker Glory sounds much more enticing than Peach and Strawberry-  in fact I don't think I would have purchased them if I had realised that's what it was!

The sprinkles were a pretty addition, and there were also generous dollops of peach sauce drizzled on top. The ice cream tasted more tutti fruity than strawberry & peach, as the flavours muddled together within the cone. The sauce offered an enjoyable contrast, providing a tartness that cut through the sweet ice cream, and the biscuit cone had a lovely dark chocolate rim which added an extra depth of flavour.

These are much more refreshing than the standard flavour cones, and if you're a fan of fruity ice cream I'd suggest giving these a go!  I'll probably stick to chocolate in future...

7/10