New York Bagel Co Soft Knot Cinnamon Raisin Pretzels

I would like to start this review off with a bit of rather interesting information regarding cinnamon and its impressive health benefits. The lovely people at Nutri Inspector. (http://www.nutriinspector.com/) has written a fantastic and comprehensive article concerning the health benefits of cinnamon. It includes details such as the complete history, benefits, nutrition, side effects and different types of cinnamon. I strongly urge you to give this a read! 

http://www.nutriinspector.com/health-benefits-of-cinnamon/

I'm going to be honest, I haven't ever had a proper pretzel before this week, only the crunchy little bite size ones, never the proper American style one, mainly because they haven't really been available in the UK before. So when I spotted these in Asda I couldn't help but pick up a pack, especially in my favourite combination of cinnamon and raisin. 

They have an absolutely amazing texture, thick and chewy and doughy, they feel indulgent and are surprisingly filling. I felt satisfied for hours after having one as a snack. The flavour was perfectly balanced, there was just enough sweetness in the dough to work with the warming cinnamon spicy and soft gooey raisins. I absolutely loved these, they were perfect for breakfast with a cup of coffee, or even as an afternoon snack to keep you going until your next meal!

They were best when toasted for about twenty seconds just so they are warmed through and the dough is soft and chewy.,

Rating - 9.25/10

Vegan - Yes

Calories - 147

Buy Again? - YES!!!

New York Bagel Co Soft Knot Cinnamon Raisin Pretzels

I would like to start this review off with a bit of rather interesting information regarding cinnamon and its impressive health benefits. The lovely people at Nutri Inspector. (http://www.nutriinspector.com/) has written a fantastic and comprehensive article concerning the health benefits of cinnamon. It includes details such as the complete history, benefits, nutrition, side effects and different types of cinnamon. I strongly urge you to give this a read! 

http://www.nutriinspector.com/health-benefits-of-cinnamon/ 

I'm going to be honest, I haven't ever had a proper pretzel before this week, only the crunchy little bite size ones, never the proper American style one, mainly because they haven't really been available in the UK before. So when I spotted these in Asda I couldn't help but pick up a pack, especially in my favourite combination of cinnamon and raisin. 

They have an absolutely amazing texture, thick and chewy and doughy, they feel indulgent and are surprisingly filling. I felt satisfied for hours after having one as a snack. The flavour was perfectly balanced, there was just enough sweetness in the dough to work with the warming cinnamon spicy and soft gooey raisins. I absolutely loved these, they were perfect for breakfast with a cup of coffee, or even as an afternoon snack to keep you going until your next meal!

They were best when toasted for about twenty seconds just so they are warmed through and the dough is soft and chewy.,

Rating - 9.25/10

Vegan - Yes

Calories - 147

Buy Again? - YES!!!

Alpro Go On Dairy Free Yogurts

If you have been reading my reviews for a while then you will know how much I absolutely adored Greek yogurt, but obviously when I gave up dairy it became but a distant memory because unfortunately there aren't actually any dairy free products which accurately mimic the texture. 

That was, until today when I discovered these new Alpro yogurts! They are described as a plant based alternative to quark which is a thick and creamy dairy product, so it is great that Alpro have decided to create their own vegan version. 

They have a creamy yogurty top which tastes sweet but not too sweet, just like the Plain flavour of their yogurt range, but it is significantly thicker. Then at the bottom there is a generous layer of fruity compote, they come in three flavours; blackcurrant, mango, and passion fruit.

Blackcurrant

This is definitely my favourite of the three flavours as it had the perfect balance of sour tartness with bits of actual Blackcurrant in which I really enjoyed as it added a bit of texture to it all.  

9.5/10

Mango

I wasn't looking forward to trying this flavour because I think that mango is a flavour which is rarely well done, but Alpro proved me wrong because this is simply delicious and amazing! I loved it!

9/10

Passion Fruit  

This flavour was nice but I felt that it could have been a lot better if they would have let this be more sour rather than just sweet. It was certainly still enjoyable, but the contrast of sweet and sour would have been simply amazing.

8/10

Beloved Date Fruit Hearts with Zesty Orange

I'm always excited to try new things, so when I spotted these new little vegan treats in Asda I couldn't help but pick up a pack in each flavour! 

They are made almost entirely from dates with just a little bit of natural flavourings, in this pack there are five good sized hearts for you to munch on (I feel a bit like Hannibal Lector writing that but I assure you I'm not). 

They are a lovely idea and further carries on the theme of beloved, which I really like. I think I is really clever when companies actually commit to their branding, plus it adds a nice little bit of whimsy to the whole eating experience-or at least it does for me! 

The flavour is rather nice, it was sweet enough for you to feel satisfied, yet far from tasting unnatural which was good. The date flavour was a bit over powered by the orange I think, which was a little disappointing but in all fairness it wasn't bad, I just would have personally preferred for the dates to shine through a bit more as I absolutely love them!

The texture was squidgy and stodgy, and quite reminiscent of most other raw food bars, so a very pleasant experience over all! 

The packaging and presentation is absolutely incredible, seriously, I cannot fault any of it and I am really impressed with it. Fantastic product development from Beloved!

Rating - 7/10

Vegan - Yes

Calories - 105

Buy Again? - Yes

Douwe Egberts Vanilla Coffee

Yet another coffee review from me! I really enjoyed the caramel coffee so I thought why not give the vanilla flavour a chance? 

I absolutely love the smell of coffee anyway so when combined with something as sweet and delicious as vanilla how could I resist? The vanilla flavour was far more subtle than that of the caramel, it sort of added a smoothness to the whole experience and worked well with a bit of sugar to bring out the flavour properly. The granules dissolved quickly and mixed very well with my almond milk so I can't complain there. 

The smell was simply incredible, so good that even my mum who hates coffee was temped to have a cup, my brother who had it in the typical style with regular milk also thoroughly enjoyed it.

Rating - 8/10

Vegan - Yes

Calories - 2 per cup when served black

Buy Again - Yes!

Sunbites Sweet and Salty Wholegrain Popcorn

Popcorn is probably one of my favourite snacks out there. It is healthy, moreish, filling, versatile, and generally low in calories, so obviously when I saw this new offering in my local Tesco I couldn't help but pick up a bag. 

The packaging is really nice, I quite liked the bag, but if I'm honest, that is where my compliments end. The flavour itself was pretty awful, it was far too salty and the balance of sweetness was totally off, I had several friends and family members to try it and give me their opinion in case it was just me being horribly biased with my sweet tooth, but no, they all replied with the same thing. Too much salt! I even bought another bag in case I had a dodgy bag, but unfortunately I was faced with the exact same issue! I couldn't even finish a bag, which is a very rare thing for me as I normally persevere and suffer through it. I honestly would not recommend this to anyone and would urge you to instead buy a better brand such as Propercorn or Portlebay!

Rating - 2/10

Calories - 127

Vegan - Yes

But Again - Never!

Boots Moroccan Style Roasted Vegetable Salad

Does anyone find that their lunch can quite easily become monotonous? The same thing day in and day out. Same sandwiches, same couscous, same crisps, and same fruit. Well I am fed up of eating exactly the same thing everyday, so today I decided to venture out of my comfort zone and get a salad from Boots. Okay, that doesn't sound too exciting when I put it like that, but this salad is something special.

It is a Moroccan style roasted vegetable salad with couscous and a delicious dressing to go with it. It is vegan as it surprisingly contains no animal products! I thought that there may have been honey in the dressing but no, thankfully not!

The vegetables in this are perfectly roasted, they are soft and smoky in flavour, I particularly enjoyed the butternut squash that was in it because it added a lovely sweetness to it. 

There was a good variety of texture from the different salad vegetables, like the fresh, crispy lettuce and the crunchy steamed green beans. 

The couscous itself was quite mild in flavour with a slight spice to it, this was enhanced by the lovely dressing which came with it. 

Overall I absolutely loved this salad and it is only 145 calories! It is very filling and leaves you feeling very satisfied, plus it is in the meal deal so you can get a yummy snack and refreshing drink to go with it! 

Rating - 9.5/10

Vegan - Yes

Calories - 145

Buy Again? - Definitely!

Douwe Egberts Caramel Coffee

I absolutely adore coffee, I used to have a really bad addiction and was drinking about three or four large mugs(equivalent of two regular mugs) of the stuff every day, but then I decided that I should really give it up because I was drinking it with about two sugars each time and I no longer slept. So I went about five or six years without a cup of the stuff, until I saw this little jar of Douwe Egberts Caramel Coffee. I was intrigued, it was the same calories as regular black coffee but with a caramel twist, could it really combine two wonderful flavours together to create a taste sensation or was it merely advertising to make you buy the same coffee that you always do for a higher price in a smaller jar?

I was wary of this but decided to treat myself regardless, when I got home I thought that the best way to sample it would be black, but if I'm honest it just tasted like regular black coffee, with perhaps the smallest hint of caramel, but I wouldn't say that it would be worth it to get, so I decided that to be fair I would try it with milk and sugar as I would normally take it. 

So I decided to make it with 200ml of almond milk, and a teaspoon of sweetener. It was actually quite delicious, the smell was so enticing and wonderful, even my mum who hates coffee said that the smell was amazing. It was rich and sweet with the warmth of coffee. The caramel shone through very well when combined with milk, and you could actually appreciate the taste much more. I now have a small cup of this every morning with my breakfast in order to perk me up enough to face the day!

I have a cup of this to someone who generally only drinks plain black coffee and he genuinely couldn't tell the difference, except that it had a slightly richer after taste, he said it didn't particularly make him think that there was anything different, just maybe a different brand to what he usually had.

Rating - 8/10

Vegan - Yes

Calories - 2 when served black

Buy Again - Now a weekly staple!

Vegan Quorn Pieces

If you are vegetarian, quorn will most likely play a massive part of your life, but unfortunately as a vegan your options quickly dwindle down to absolutely nothing. But thankfully quorn has heard our pleas and answered our prayers! 

They have brought out two items that are vegan friendly, there are these simple and versatile, easily to use in a variety of different meals. The other product is a hot and spicy chicken style burger, perfect for those craving a big of spice and excitement in their meal.

Today I am reviewing the Quorn pieces, these are chicken in style and when incorporated into a sauce or curry type of thing it is quite difficult to tell the different taste wise, the texture is different to chicken but that's not a bad thing, it is firmer and a bit denser but by no means dry because of how it absorbs flavour so well. Personally I couldn't tell a difference between these and the regular non vegan Quorn pieces and these so I see no reason for anyone to have qualms with this progression. 

They are easy to cook and take about ten minutes in the frying pan with a bit of oil, or just cool throw it in with the sauce and put it in the oven if it is like an oven cooked thing.

Rating - 9/10

Vegan - Yes

Calories - 104 per 100g

Buy Again - Indeed!

Inspiral Raspberry Coconut Pecks

Okay, I have been absolutely rubbish recently as my life has been crazy to say the very least so I have decided to write about twenty review that I can keep on back up and anything new that come out I will make it a priority to write about. So I am sorry for being useless, but this time I am back and committing! 

Today, the first of many review are these Inspiral Raspberry Coconut Pecks, initially I didn't really know what to expect at all if I'm honest, was it just going to be bits of coconut flakes with a few bits of freeze dried raspberries in it, I wasn't particularly excited by that prospect and as a result put off trying them for a while, but when I finally got round to them, oh how I regretted not trying them sooner!

They were such a unique flavour and concept, I have never had anything quite like this, it is like little coconut clusters combined with raspberry pieces and it is quite magical. They were crunchy and just really a delight to eat, now, the most important thing, the flavour is divine, it is sweet with a slight tartness from the raspberries, there was a lovely natural vanilla flavour coming through which I really liked. I let my friend have a try of them and he agreed with me, initially he thought it was a bit weird but after having a second he said they were really nice (or maybe he just wanted a sneaky extra piece haha!)

These are quite expensive for what they are but they are a delicious treat and are fabulously healthy so I can't complain!

Rating - 8.75/10

Vegan - Yes

Calories - 149

Buy Again - Yes

Good 4 U Super Bites

I am such a massive fan of Nak'd, they provide healthy, sweet, tasty, and nutritional products perfect for vegans and non vegans alike, but I am always open to trying new products who boast to have similar qualities. 

I had seen quite a few reviews on these from my favourite people, and I had seen how negative they had all been, and me being a fool thought, 'sure they can't be that bad'. Oh goodness me how I was wrong. They have to be some of the worst things I have ever eaten, they taste like dirt, there is no real sweetness, just this strange and unpleasant dirt like flavour to it. I understand that it is all natural and healthy but that doesn't mean that it has to taste horrible! 

It is things like this that give vegan food a bad reputation and it is infuriating because these are such a great and simple concept, they do different flavours from Nak'd so there is a gap in the market for these little 'treats' (a term I use loosely because these are anything but a treat to eat...)

Personally I wouldn't even bother buying these, they are only a few pennies less than Nak'd and with Nak'd you know that what you are getting is absolutely delicious and full of yummy goodness! Overall, I didn't enjoy these at all, I was tempted to give them to my vegan friend but I felt that would be cruel because of how awful they were. I am now somewhat regretting buying several packs of these now.

Rating - 2/10

Vegan - Yes

Calories - 160

Buy Again - NEVER