NEW! Cadbury Eggciting Layers of Joy (Co-Op)

Twelfth night is over. Christmas is done, the decorations are back up in the eaves, and I'm no longer nursing a pine-needle carpet. Does that make it OK to start reviewing Easter products? I'm not sure. That said, I did write my first Christmas review back in October, so why not eh?

Today's review is of the new Creme Egg inspired Layers of Joy, Having previously experienced mixed success with the Cadbury's desserts (from the wonderful Caramellionaire and Snowy Delights to the disastrous Bubbles of Joy Duo) I hoped for the best and picked up this pack from the Co-Op for £1.

The top layer was very very sweet and syrupy, rather like a watered down version of the fondant Creme Egg centre. I should probably point out at this point, that although I adore chocolate, I am not a fan of Cadbury's iconic Easter treat. I find their sugary filling far too cloying, detracting from its creamy chocolate casing. So as a non-egg-lover, I found this top layer sickly, much preferring the standard whipped cream topping that all their other 'Layers of Joy' pots are topped with. 

The next layer was the sponge disc, and I expected it to be chocolatey like their existing products, but it wasn't. Instead it was a plain sponge,which I thought was an odd choice considering that there's no cake (chocolate or otherwise) in a Creme Egg. To make things worse it was rather hard and dry, and probably would've made a good frisbee.

Luckily, the bottom layer was the chocolate mousse, which saved the day somewhat. It was light and fluffy whilst rich and chocolatey, and by far the best part of this dessert.

If you -or your children- are Creme Egg-o-holics, and you've been eagerly awaiting their (December!) return, then give these 'Eggciting' pots a go. 

If like me however, you find them just too sweet... then you might want to give these desserts a miss too.

5/10

Protein Active Peanut Chia Blast Bar (Home Bargains)

I can't think of a more unusual shop than Home Bargains. It's the only place where you might find Emma Bridgewater wellies for less than a tenner, LED Gnomes, Matrix Hair Oils, and Heinz Worcester Sauce (which for info tastes like chinese!). On a recent store exploration, I spotted this Peanut Chia Blast bar. In the same way that Magpies are attracted to all things shiny, I'm drawn to anything with peanut in...

'Healthy Protein Snack made with Carob, Roasted Peanuts & Chia Seeds'.

The bar came in slab form, covered in what looked like chocolate, but was in fact Carob. Biting into the bar, the texture reminded me of a powdery Nougat. The sweetness greeted me with my first mouthful, and although it tasted unlike anything I'd had before, I thought I'd hit the flavour jackpot. I couldn't really detect the peanuts, which was disappointing, but I was enjoying it so I didn't really mind. By the time I'd made my way half way through, the bar became cloying, and I felt queasy. Not wanting to quit, I carried on -ignoring the alarm bells ringing in my head- but it was a mistake: a BIG mistake. The bar had turned my stomach to the point of no return... 

I'm not sure if it was due to the high levels of Whey protein in the bar, but my body couldn't handle it. It was the worst thing I've eaten in a long time (it was even worse than the Beetroot yoghurts). I've tried looking on their website for this product, but I couldn't find it; so I don't know if other people have felt the same and its since been discontinued. All I know is, I won't be buying this, or any of Protein Actives's other products ever again. 

0/10

NEW! Cranberry & Raspberry Oaty Bakes (M&S)

I popped into M&S the other day to pick up some lunch and spotted a range of new 'Eat Well' snacks, including this little grab-bag of 3 Cranberry & Raspberry Oaty breaks. I regularly buy oaty style breakfast biscuits (especially the divine peanut butter granola bars from ASDA!) and so I thought I'd give M&S' versions a go. 

They pack contained 3 Oaty bakes, which resembled Shrewbury biscuits with their little fluted edges. Their colour gave a hint to their healthier nature however, as they appeared a similar tone to oatcakes. 

The biscuits had a decent snap, and were plentifully adorned with dried cranberries -although I couldn't detect any raspberry.

That was were the positives ended though I'm afraid. The bakes lacked sweetness, despite containing 5g of sugar. I also felt that were also very dry and claggy (even following a good coffee dunking) which I guess is due to their 'low saturated fat' content.

For anyone looking for a lower-fat biscuit to the standard office biscuits I guess they're a good swap... but for me, I'd much rather have a granola bar. 

3/10

Peanut Butter Cookie Dough Bites

The lovely Nibs'n' Scribs sent me a lovely parcel of peanut infused goodies for Christmas, including a box of these American peanut butter cookie dough bites. I've seen them dotted about the place, popping up every now and then in an array of random shops -from Tesco to Poundland- but I hadn't tried them, until now.

'Bite Size Peanut Butter Cookie Dough in Creamy Milk Chocolate'

The bites were irregular little nuggets, with a chocolate coating that was darker than typical British milk chocolate. Biting into my first cookie dough bite, I discovered the chocolate to be a similar standard to most American chocolate- with a greasy almost synthetic taste. The centre had a gritty peanut-buttery texture, but that's unfortunately where the similarity ceased. I couldn't even detect a hint of nuttiness. Worrying that my taste-buds were failing me, I gave one to my other half to try (who absolutely detests peanut butter) and he couldn't taste its presence either.

I'm not sure if my box missed the peanut butter step in the production process, but these bites didn't live up to expectations. I sound terribly ungrateful Nibs (sorry) but I'm grateful for the thought, and so thank you again for giving me the opportunity to try them!

2/10

NEW! Kellogg's Ancient Legends Cereal: Spelt, Apple, Sultana & Chia Seeds (ASDA)

So apparently, Kellogg's have created the 'Breakfast of Legends'. Unfortunately it's not a Full English, Eggs Benedict or Pain au Chocolat, but a instead range of cereals containing a mixture of healthy grains.

'Help get set up for the day ahead with our brand new range of wholesome Kellogg's mueslis, cereals and granolas. Made from a carefully prepared blend of nature's finest ancient grains such as barley and spelt with oats, chia and flaxseeds, one bowlful of delicious Kellogg's Ancient Legends gives you the nutrition you need to help you perform at your best* – just like the legendary champions of ancient times.'

ASDA are currently selling the entire range at the offer price of £2 per bag, and so I chose to try the cereal version.  I wasn't sure what to expect -I'm certainly not one of the clean eating brigade- and my cereals are either normal chocolate-y, sugary or ultimately a mixture of both (although I am partial to a bowl of Fruit 'n' Fibre every now and then).

Pouring myself a bowl, it looked strikingly similar to Fruit 'n' Fibre. I could see plenty of apple slices, and what looked like puffed rice amongst the wheat flakes. The sultanas were very sparse, and I could see little nutty looking clusters dotted about too. 

On to the tasting... It was very similar in flavour and texture to Fruit 'n' Fibre, but without the sweetness that usually comes from the sweetened banana chips and coconut flakes. The wheat flakes were just as bland and cardboard-like as one would expect, whilst the 'puffed rice' (actually the toasted spelt) offered an extra textural depth, but not much in the way of flavour. Again, the 'nutty clusters' (Chia Seeds) contributed some crunch, but were pretty bland. The apple and raisins were sweet, which was truly needed to help make the non-sugared cereal more palatable. 

The cereal was OK: It tasted healthy, and would probably offer some variety for regular consumers of Fruit 'n'Fibre/Bran Flakes/Raisin Bran. I think I'll try it with (sweetened) yoghurt tomorrow to see if that makes it tastier.

6/10

Update:

This morning (Tuesday) I had the Ancient Legends cereal with blueberries and forest fruit yogurt, and the extra sweetness made it far more enjoyable.

8/10

NEW! Mr Kipling Dark Chocolate & Coconut Oat Slices (ASDA)

Mr Kipling have hustled into 2016 with a couple of new products to their well established range of individually wrapped cake slices. The new treats are different to their existing confections, as they are Oat based, and come in two flavours:  'Dark Chocolate & Coconut' and 'Cranberry & Orange.' If you've ever even glanced at my blog before, you'll know that (as a dedicated chocoholic) of course I opted for former variety. 

Unwrapping the slice, I couldn't smell the tropical aroma that I hoped for. I bit into it, and felt the rustic, chewy texture that was half way between cake and flapjack. They were dense and sticky, which made the slice satisfying to munch on.

The taste however was lacking- the cake missed out on the rich cocoa tones, whilst the coconut flavour was very understated - certainly not reminiscent of a retro dessicated covered sponge! I broke the slice apart, and searched for the dark chocolate chips but they were very far and few between. I microwaved the second half of my slice for 20 seconds to see if it fared any better warm, and it did, the chips melted into the cake slightly, bleeding out the promised cocoa flavour.

These cakes weren't as special as they could have been, but at the current offer price of only 75p for 4 at ASDA, they're not bad little lunch-box treats. 

7/10

NEW! Good4U Banana & Cocoa Super Bites (ASDA)

Happy New Year! May your 2016 be healthy, happy and full of mischief!

Have you got any New Years resolutions? Are you joining the gym, the clean eating brigade or giving up alcohol? I'm bucking the trend and starting an anti-diet, which will include munching on lots of my favourite foods! However if, unlike me, you're on a bit of a health-kick, I've got a food review for you today.

ASDA have recently started stocking the complete range of the new Good4U Super Bites: Banana & Cocoa, Cocoa & Orange and Coconut. They are are all raw seed & fruit bites which are wheat free, dairy free and vegan. I chose the banana and cocoa due to my love of both flavours -anyone agree with me about the utter food perfection and heavenly nature of a banana & nutella toastie? 

The snack size pack contained 30 nuggets which convincingly resembled miniature cocoa-dusted truffles. They were squidgier than expected, and slightly chewy. The cocoa tasted dark and bitter, but much need sweetness came from the dates and raisins. The banana flavour however, was underwhelming and was completely overshadowed by the intensity of the cocoa. There was no doubting its inclusion in the ingredients, it just felt more of an afterthought than the star of the show -missing the mark in a similar way to the Meridian peanut & banana bar I reviewed at the beginning of November.

Good concept, but for a healthy chocolate hit I'd rather have the Cocoa Chaos Trek Bar (which the delectable Erin informs me is even tastier microwaved).

5/10