M&S Lemon Metingue Mini Bites

I don't typically review supermarket brands, I'm not entirely sure why but I am going to start to now because I couldn't not share this delicious treat with you all! Lemon Meringue Mini Meringues. They are perhaps the most magical thing I have ever eaten. If you like lemon then you will love these, they were chewy, crispy and so deliciously sweet. They had a slight tang from the lemon sherbet topping. I can't put into words how good these were, I can only urge you all to go out and buy them to try for yourselves!

Rating - 9.75/10

Vegan - No

Calories - 395 per 100g

Buy Again - Yes!

Two Chicks Chirp Snack

I am currently on a bit of a health kick trying to eat more protein and do a bit more exercise so my attention was instantly grabbed when I came across these high protein snacks called 'Chirps', which is one heck of a cute name if you ask me, but only fitting from a company as fabulously named as 'Two Chicks'. As you will have worked out from the name, they specialise in egg based products, they have found a niche in the market and utilised it brilliantly. They describe these snacks as; 'A snack with the bite of a crisp that was high in protein and lower in fat and carbohydrate. Chirps contain egg white which is one of the highest quality protein sources available.'

Now, onto the review.

Sea Salt and Cracked Black Pepper

I rather enjoyed these, the snack itself was very crunchy so if you have dodgy teeth I would be careful! The flavour was good, the black pepper was evenly distributed so every bite had flavour. The salt was very subtle but you could taste it so it was overall an enjoyable snack.

Rating - 8/10

Smokey Jalapeño 

These were definitely my favourite! The smokey flavour reminded me of a  spicy barbecue which was really nice, the jalapeño added a good kick to the snack which helped to set it apart from the regular crisp offerings. The spice was perfectly balanced, not too hot but not too mild.

Rating - 8.5/10

Sour Cream & Chive

I let my brother try this flavour because I'm lactose intolerant, I trust his opinion so hopefully he will be on par with me! 

He said that these were rather nice, he also commented on how crunchy they were. Overall he said that they had a good flavour to them and were evenly coated.

Rating - 7/10

Yushoi Snappea Rice Snacks

The ever so kind people at Yushoi sent me a pack if each of the new flavours of their unique, healthy and nutritious snack. Yushoi Snapea Rice Sticks are baked, free from nuts and dairy, suitable for vegetarians and vegans, high in protein and fibre and have no artificial colours, flavourings or MSG….And there are less than 99 calories per bag or per serving!  Incredible but true

Lightly Salted
I really enjoyed this flavour, the salt was very subtle and worked really well with the slight hint of pea. I know that sounds like an odd combination but it really worked very well. They were so light and crispy. These honestly have to be the most innovative snack I have had in a long time! It is so unique and work brilliantly.
Rating – 9/10

Smoked Salt & Szechuan Pepper
Salt and pepper is a flavour combination that is rarely well done. It is either far too peppery and completely unpalatable, or it is so salty and you cannot taste anything else. But this is perfectly balanced. I really enjoyed this flavour and it was well done, a great take on a classic combination.
Rating - 9/10

Sweet Chilli & Lemon
I was initially a little concerned with trying this flavour, mainly because I'm not the biggest fan of spicy food- or at least food so spicy that you can't taste and enjoy the actual flavours because all you can feel is this burning and tongue numbing agony. Anyway, these chilli and lemon snacks were actually really good. I was very impressed with them. I could clearly taste the chilli and there was a very subtle hint of lemon there too which cooled it down.
Rating – 8.75/10

Soy & Balsamic Vinegar
I was intrigued by this flavour combination, never before have I seen. Perhaps I am just ignorant and oblivious to the world around me and this is a classic flavour pair. I suppose this is a high class version on salt and vinegar? Anyway, moving swiftly on…
These tasted lovely, I am really glad that they used balsamic vinegar rather than malt vinegar because it added a nice sweetness. Overall, this was really well done and was a good snack to enjoy with my lunch.
Rating – 9.25/10

Apple & Blackcurrent Bear Paws

These have quickly become a staple part of my diet because of how delicious they are, how low in calories they are and, just how cute they are! Because come on, how can you not love these little paw shaped fruit bites!? The natural fruit flavour really shines through, it is easy to distinguish between the two flavours and they are easily identifiable rather than just merging into a single flavour, a problem that is frequent amongst most products claiming to have several flavours... Overall they made for a tasty treat containing only natural sugars. Okay I know that they are aimed at children, but you know what, they taste absolutely delicious and I am not ashamed to eat them! So stand tall and embrace you inner child with these healthy, fruity, cutie paws! 

Rating - 9/10

Vegan - Yes 

Calories - 54

Buy Again - Already bought another ten packs...

Nudie Coconut Chips

Coconut is such a delicious flavour and there is nothing better than getting a whole coconut, cracking it open and eating the flesh whilst it is still fresh with the coconut juice on it. Coconut is often thought of as a bit of a superfood because all of the nutrients and good fats in it that supposedly speed up your metabolism (how true this is I don't know but we can live in hope).

So anyway, when I went to the free from and allergy food convention a few weeks ago I bought a few bags of these 'Nudie' coconut chips and they were absolutely delicious! They were sweet and slightly salted which just amplified the sweetness. They weren't oily or greasy at all which was lovely, basically I loved them and I can't wait to get more bags! Where from I am not entirely sure but I will make it my mission to find even more!

Rating - 8.5/10

Vegan - Yes

Calories - 180 per Bag

Buy Again - Yes!

Metcalfes Chilli Tweet Corners

I absolutely adore the Metcalfes range, the products are healthy yet full of flavour and make a perfect snack in replacement of the typical crisps so when I saw these in Boots I quickly stocked up on them before they were gone. I picked up the sweet chilli flavour because I have a bit of an aversion to cheese and anything cheese flavoured.

Anyway, moving on to the actual review, upon opening the packet I was greeted by a lovely heated chilli flavour, and I couldn't wait to actually try them. The base flavour is quite tomatoey which I really enjoyed and worked brilliantly with the chilli to help tone them down so as to not burn your mouth off! The texture was a little odd at first but I personally preferred this to the more traditional nacho style crisps. Not incredibly crunchy but still very good.

Overall I enjoyed these and would have them again as they are a healthier and in my opinion tastier version of Doritos 

Rating - 8/10

Buy Again - Yes

Calories - 130

Vegan - I don't know, ingredients wise it is but on the website it says that there may be traces of milk. 

Metcalfes Skinny Dark Chocolate Mini Rice Cakes

Now I do love a good bar of Galaxy or Dairy Milk but my favourite type of chocolate is dark so I snapped up a bag of these Metcalfe dark chocolate mini rice cakes on offer for a pound in Sainsburys! 

They were a good size to munch in one or two small bites and left you feeling quite satisfied after, but the bag intended for it to be eaten in two servings of 25g but I decided to have a bit of a YOLO moment ( did I really just say that?...) and eat the entire bag in one go. And it was quite easy to do without feeling sickly or too full and it was an easy way to eat 240 calories. 

The rice cakes were crunchy and light with a good covering of nice quality dark chocolate on one side and overall I really enjoyed them, it is just the serving size that I have a bit of a problem with because it is a bit small, but that is me being greedy rather than anything else!

Rating - 8.5/10

Calories - 118 for 25g

Buy Again - Yes

Vegan - Yes

VegFestUk Competition and Metcalfes Chocolate Crackle Popcorn Review

Before I write my review I thought that I would share this competition with you all! I have two sets of tickets to give away for the VegFestUk event that is to be held on the weekend of 23rd May in Bristol. 

This festival takes place on May 23rd 24th 25th at the Amphitheatre in Bristol city centre. It traditionally features a vegan food fayre during daytime, and headline music in the evenings, and has attracted 20,000 – 25,000 visitors in the past 2 years.

This year's headliners are:

- Boney M ft. Maizie Williams, Gwen Dickey's Rose Royce, Abba Gold on Friday May 23rd
- Peter Hook and the Light, Ruts D.C., Goldblade on Saturday May 24th
- Zion Train, Black Roots on Sunday May 25th

Full admission info and advance tickets for the evening part of the show are at www.bristol.vegfest.co.uk/ticket-information

a Rafflecopter giveaway

I love popcorn, I truly do. It has to be one of my favourite snacks because it can be sweet, savoury or a bit of both! I decided to try the Chocolate Crackle flavour of the Metcalfes range. The bag contains only 230 calories which although much higher than the other flavours but it is a larger bag, plus it contains chocolate too which is always a nice addition to practically anything.

The coating on the popcorn is a little uneven so the flavour was a bit hit and miss which was sad because when you got a hit of the chocolate toffee flavour it was simply divine!

Overall I am a little on the fence because despite it being tasty It is rather filling so makes a really good afternoon snack that doesn't leave you wanting more. But I must say that the price is rather off putting at £1.50 a bag it is quite pricey, especially when there are other brands that are just as nice if not better in bigger bags for less.

Calories - 230

Rating - 6.5/10

Vegan - No

Buy Again - Maybe 

Braw Raw Food Bars

So I received this lovely package from the kind people at Braw. Braw are a company that make vegan raw food bars, a bit like Nak'd bars if I were to compare them to anything.

And I can honestly say that they were absolutely delicious! So fruity and natural tasting, obviously due to all of the ingredients being totally natural. There was a lovely oaty flavour that was present in all of the bars. My favourite had to be the apple and pear, it was so morit would have been a lovely pudding with the addition of custard! 

The black current flavour reminded me of Ribena with its sweet yet slightly tartness (which worked perfectly in my opinion). 

The cocoa orange flavour was also lovely, and so was the strawberry. 

Calories - 111 per Bar

Buy Again - Yes!!!

Vegan - Yes

Rating - 9.5/10

Sweet Coconut and Vanilla Propercorn

Whilst I was wandering around Boots looking at all the items in the sale, I couldn't help but notice this bright pink package out of the corner of my eye and was instantly drawn to them! And I am rather glad that I did, because it combined two of my favourite things. Popcorn and coconut. Now I know that this sounds like a bizarre idea but I promise you that it works, and very well at that.
The flavour is sweet and mildly coconutty so that it doesn't overwhelm you, with vanilla being the predominant flavour here.
The popcorn is of the high quality that is to be expected from a brand such as Propercorn and it is relatively low in calories, coming in at only 109 per bag.

Calories - 109
Buy Again - Already have and will do again!
Rating - 9/10
Price - 80p
Vegan - No

Garbanzo Bean Snacks

This week I was sent a package with three packs of delicious yet ever so healthy Garbanzo Beans. When I first heard about them I was intrigued as there doesn't seem to be anything else like this out at the moment in the UK and I wasn't really sure what garbanzo beans actually were but with a little research I found out that Garbanzo beans are just another name for chickpeas, I think that it is actually what the Americans call them.

Now onto the actual review, all of the flavours were absolutely delicious, they were crunchy, filling and very satisfying. The portion size is pretty huge at 65g which is even more impressive for the amount of calories in them, and it isn't as though they are lacking in flavour because even with a heavy cold I could experience the taste sensation that was inside each pack.

The Thai and the Bombay flavours were both quite spicy but not to the point that it is painful, and the Tomato and Herb flavour was quite rich in flavour, with a lovely hint of rosemary probably my favourite of all of them!

I look forward to all future products released in the Garbanzo bean range because they are absolutely deliciously nutritious and perfect for an afternoon snack or with lunch to replace crisps.

Calories - 88

Rating - 9/10

Buy Again - Yes!!!

Price - £1.25