Tesco FreeFrom Millionaire's Dessert

First Thoughts

Tesco, are absolutely on fire at the moment what with all their specifically designed and targeted Free From products. It is really quite refreshing to have quite so many vegan friendly, or gluten free (if that is indeed the issue you are faced with), items so readily available in supermarkets! 

I know what you are probably thinking. There are absolutely blooming LOADS of FreeFrom products available now, but the issue that I have with many of these, is that they are so difficult to actually get hold of, and really rather expensive a lot of the time for a one time try with the possibility of them just not being that great. 

So, for these to be so affordable and easy to get hold of, I must commend you Tesco, jolly good show! What I am even more impressed with, is the size of the whole range. Seriously, there is so much now available, and I am trying to get through all the various products available to review. 

On To The Review

Salted caramel layer topped with biscuit and a chocolate mousse.A rich and indulgent dessert of digestive biscuit made with oats, a rich salted caramel sauce and topped with a luxurious dark chocolate mousse

I like the packaging here. It is really snazzy how they have given it a luxurious feel with the clear plastic pot. It adds a nice edge to the dessert which quite you dont find often with FreeFrom products, with their packaging usually being pretty bland and boring if I'm honest. Tesco have totally created a fabulous overall appearance to the pudding. I love that you can see the layers of the pudding aswell with the clear pot, another lovely little touch from the Tesco product design team (seriously smashing it out of the park guys!)

The top layer is a super thick chocolate ganache. This was undoubtedly my favourite layer by far. It was incredible! The taste was rich and luxurious, it melted wonderfully in your mouth and you could really appreciate the quality of this vegan alternative. The harder chocolate layers worked wonderfully with the caramel. The caramel was rich, and I'm sure this was one of the coconut based parts of the pud, because I could definitely taste coconut undertones to it. 

Now, the biscuit base was a tad disapointing. I found it to be quite cakey, and it didn't really taste anything like shortbread beause it was simply too sweet. I think that it needed a slightly salty flavour in order to balance the rest of the sweetness. Perhaps that is my personal preferences, but I think that it needed a lot more crunch and substance to it, because this could have easily been a show stopper of a pud.

Final Thoughts

 

 

Overall, I really did enjoy this. Lets be honest, what isn't to love? You've got caramel, chocolate, and a somewhat biscuitey base. I am actually kind of craving this now after writing this review, so it must be good to manage that! 

I can't wait to see what else Tesco bring to their range, and I have my eye out for some very exciting new vegan goodies on the market, so stay tuned to find out more!

Rating - 8.5/10

Calories - 244

Buy Again? - Going to have to!

Hotel Chocolat Tiddly Pot Dark

First Thoughts

I'm going to be honest here. I have never actually tried anything from Hotel Chocolat before, despite having religiously used them as my go to for presents! Utterly ridiculous, I know, but as of today, all that has changed. I'm not entirely sure why I have put this off for so long. Perhaps because I wasn't quite sure what vegan chocolate they had on offer, and if it would indeed, be worth the hype or as wonderful as everyone says it is. 

I opted with something simple, an adorably named, 'Tiddly Pot'. The name alone had me won over if I'm telling the truth, well, that paired with the simply beautiful pakaging. I love the swirls and how they are quite fun and frivolous, whilst still being adult enough that I can feel uber sophisticated whilst munching these... Or maybe that is just me?

The little pot is a good size, not too large, so this could be a fabulous evening treat, or something to pop on your desk to munch throughout the day (or perhaps all at once). 

On To The Review

The pot was well filled, impressively so actually, no gaping voids where chocolate should be! There was a subtle smell of cocoa, I enjoyed this and quickly began to tuck in! The chocolate is undeniably of an excellent quality. The melt was almost divine, releasing flavour and a taste sensation as the chocolate melted more, and more. I am actually shocked at how well they melt, and how smoothe the melt was. The whole munching was completely and utterly luxurious. The subtle undertones of vanilla were wonderful, this managed to alleviate the bitterness which dark chocolate can have, and instead intensified the cocoa flavour. 

Final Thoughts

 

I really enjoyed that they were small drops of chocolate rather than a big bar type of thing, otherwise I end up eating far too much, far too quickly! I don't know why I haven't tried Hotel Chocolat before, but I am going to ensure that I try as much as possible now because if a simple tiddly pot can be so incredible, then I cannot wait to find out what other delights they have to offer!

Score - 9.5/10

 

Calories - 537 per 100g

 

To Buy or Not To Buy? - YES

Nush Almond M*LK Dairy Free Yogurt

First Thoughts

What an absolutely brilliant brand name! I could not help but smile when I saw the name, it is short and catchy, with a fun feeling to it. In other words, utterly delightful! 

Another little detail, that I couldn't help but notice and instantly love. Instead of using the typical astrix, they use a lovely little almond instead. This is done in order to legally get around calling it 'Milk' (Click HERE to read the article!). 

Nush keep their packaging minimalist and easy to take in. I personally am a fan of this, as it doesn't make it an effort to read, whilst still being aesthetically pleasing. I decided to find out a little more about Nush as a brand, because if I'm totally honest, I knew absolutely nothing. So I ventured onto their website and did a little reading.

The Milk

Our delicious rich and creamy Almond Milk Yoghurt is made using our own artisan almond milk, freshly prepared each day in our factory. We make our own almond milk so we could control how much almond the milk contains. Unlike shop bought almond milk that can contain as little as one percent almond, plus many unfavourable fillers. Our milk contains a very high concentration of almonds and truly lives up to its name.

We do not add anything but almonds and filtered water to our milk.

This is then mixed with vegan yoghurt cultures to ferment and produce a rich and creamy, live dairy free yoghurt that we believe to be one of a kind.

I know that I have prattled on quite a bit about the product itself, but I feel like this brand, seeing as it is quite new or unknown (at least to me), deserved a bit of explanation. I always enjoy things like that anyway, leave a comment down below if you would rather less prattle, and more review!

On To The Review

The yogurt was incredibly thick and creamy, something which you do not often find with vegan yogurts. I have found this to be particularly true when it comes to nut M*LK yogurts, so I am very impressed by the thickness alone. This thickness instantly created a luxurious feel, that worked beautifully with the naturaly rich flavour of the blueberry. The blueberry added a sweetness to the yogurt that balanced the ever so slightly tart base flavour of the yogurt itself. I enjoyed this because it prevented any hint of the yogurt tasting artificial (a major irritation of mine!). 

The serving size was quite hefty, and cdertainly left you feeling satisfied without the bloat. There is no rubbish in these, and only natural ingredients. I actually really enjoy this fact. I've noticed that quite a ot of vegan products recently have a lot of crazy sounding ingredients, and I do realise, that just because something isn't natural, does not mean that it is bad! 

 

Final Thoughts

Overall, I really quite enjoyed this yogurt. It was one of my favourite high quality vegan yogurts, which the price tag did indeed reflect. At £2 this is a bit of a pricey thing to try and risk not liking. Thankfully I thoroughly enjoyed this because it felt like a delicious treat to have every now and then. 

I would absolutely love to try their other flavours of yogurt because their Caramel and Hibiscus sounds incredible!

Score - 8.5/10

Calories - 125 per pot

To Buy or Not To Buy? - Definitely worth a try!

Nak'd Cocoa Coconut Bars

For frequent readers of this blog, you will all be aware that I am an absolutely, MASSIVE fan of Nak'd as a brand. They never fail to impress me with their innovation, their flavours, and their overall ethos as a company. They bring out new products and constantly expand their ranges on a regular basis, never letting anything become stale, but without releasing the same thing just for the sake of it.

 
This time they have brought out a Cocoa Coconut bar. A classic combination which we all know and love, found in various guises and forms. A simple partnership, but effective when done well. Nak'd have ventured into this flavour area before, with their immensely popular Nibbles range. I thorouhly enjoyed that interpretation, so I couldn't imaine not loving the bar version.

And indeed, I blooming well did enjoy it! It tasted utterly delicious. The bar looked like a typical Nak'd bar. Brown, quite squidgy, but somewhat firmer than some of their other flavours. I suspect that this is due to the coconut for some reason or other, obviously this wasn't a bad thing and it had absolutey no impact upon the lovely flavour.

The bar had a good amount of flavour in every bite, hitting you with the fresh coconut sweetness, mixed with the slightly bitter cocoa taste. This was perfectly balanced in the way that it prevented the bar from being too sweet. They are surprisingly filling, and kept me going on a traumatic eight hour train 'adventure'. My boyfriend, in a state of absolute starvation, accepted my offer of sharing my Nak'd bar. He was a bit confused, having never tried them before. He seemed surprised by the flavour, and how natural it was with the coconut tasting so fresh and delicious. He liked the texture and reluctantly stated that he wouldn't mind trying another flavour, maybe a sweeter one.

So basically, like almost every other Nak'd product, I absolutely loved this and can't wait to munch my way through another few boxes...

Rating - 9/10
Vegan - Yes
Calories - 133
Buy Again? - Another box is already in my stash!

Tesco Vegan Mini Milks

Was there anything better, than coming home from a long and tiring day of school, to look in the freezer and see a fresh box of Mini Milks in there ready to be devoured. But as I grew older, and my diet changed, Mini Milks sadly left my life, and in their place was a void. I tried various hings, convincing myself that this would be the same, or that drinking chocolate soya milk would be just as good. Alas, this wasn't quite the case. So instead i went without for many years, that was, until last week!

The incredible people of Tesco, have really stepped up their game, making vegan and free from food less of an anomaly, and a lot more exciting and fun! Finally, I no longer have to scour the Internet, searching for crazy recipes claiming to recreate childhood favourites (with the results often being less than great...) Now, on to the review!

The box is pretty simple, but still pleasant, Tesco seem to have gone with a no messing about kind of thing. I do like this, because it doesn't alienate any audience, it isn't too manly, feminine, or childish. Clear and too the point, that is the best way to describe it, and in this case, I really do thing that it works.
Unlike actual Mini Milks, these only come in two flavours: strawberry and chocolate. This is a bit of a shame, but in all fairness, the vanilla flavour was always a bit boring-delicious, but boring. I decided to go with the strawberry flavour first because, well, I like strawberries!
The faux Mini Milks looks identical to the ones from my childhood, the smell was subtle and sweet, again just as I remembered. This whole thing was like a nostalgic blast from the past, which I couldn't help but smile at. So I began my munching without any further delay.

It is actually unnerving how much these tasted exactly like I remembered. There was a natural strawberry taste that really cannot be beaten when paired with the creamy milk flavour. A bit like eating a frozen strawberry and cream kind of thing. I really loved this one and found it to be delightfully refreshing, especially during these random and unexpected heat waves that we keep getting in good old Blighty...

I have slightly less excited views on the chocolate one, mainly because I always find chocolate flavoured ice cream to be quite disappointing, with it tasting cheap or just plain rubbish. This however did exceed my low hopes, and had quite a lovely flavour to it overall. The chocolate was more cocoa, with it not being overly sweet, and the creamy milk flavour was what shone through. In this case I think that this was for the best, as it prevented the chocolate/cocoa from tasting cheap and uneventful. So good job Tesco!

Basically, I really blooming loved these, and think that they are absolutely brilliant! They don't taste like 'diet' food, or strange, as some people (wrongly) expect from free from food. Instead they are packed full of flavour, and an absolute delight to enjoy!


Rating - 8.75/10

Vegan - Yes

Calories - 30 for chocolate, 31 for strawberry

Buy Again? - DEFINITELY!

Vegan Candy Kittens

Vegan sweets. They are painfully hit and miss I must say, with them often resembling the texture of wax, and not really being a delight to eat. Yet every time that I hear of some new vegan friendly sweets, I cannot help but purchase them in the hopes that this time, they will be different! Often I am let down, and find myself either binning them, or giving them to someone else to munch on.

But, I had heard some excellent things about these Candy Kittens, and being a crazy cat lady, anything shaped, named, or even vaguely related to cats, is instantly a hit with me.

Here is a bit of background information on the company.

"In the Spring of 2012, Jamie Laing alongside his role on award winning reality TV series, Made in Chelsea launched Candy Kittens, an innovative, gourmet sweet range that set out to focus on quality. Using the best possible natural ingredients, and authentic flavours in beautiful packaging, the brand hasn’t looked back since.

Although slightly skewed young, our team have worked within various food companies and come from a variety of studying backgrounds. It’s a close group held together by a shared passion leading the change in confectionery, without compromise."

Now, I was initially a bit concerned, was this merely another soulless celebrity endorsement or adventure? Or perhaps simply all style and no substance? I prayed that this was not the case, because come on, these are too blooming cute not to be delicious!

The packaging is just brilliant. I love how they have the little clear window so that you can see the sweets inside, and then the more translusent and pretty design. They come in a resealable pack, which is good for those with any sort of self restraint (obviously I didn't actually get round to testing this feature out because I ate them all in one go...) 

The sweets smell simply delicious! They have a very naturally sweet pineapple aroma which is ridiculously enticing and I couldn't help myself from immediately diving in and biting into one of these cute little sweets. The flavour was simply divine. They tasted even better than they smelt, whic I didn't even think was possible. They are balanced to be sweet enough to counteract the slight tang of the fruity pineapple. This sweetness is probably what had me going back for more, and more, and more. They are incredibly moreish, but I was able to tell myself that they are healthy due to there being so much natural goodness in them, and them being totally vegan! 

I blooming loved these, and I am desperate to try the Hello Kitty Sour Apple flavour that they have done, if anyone knows where I can get them I would love to know so I could do a review!

Rating - 9.25/10

Calories - 337 per 100g

Vegan - Yes

Buy Again - Certainly will!

Ritter Sport Peppermint

Who doesn't love a good bar of chocolate? At the end of a rough day to cheer yourself up, after a success to celebrate, motivation to get you through a seven hour revision session, or you know, because you blooming well want it! 

I am guilty of all the above. My most recent favourite bar to munch on is this, Ritter Sport in Peppermint. I must admit, although seeing Ritter bars in various places on the web, and in stores, but I've never really known anything about the brand. So I did a bit of Googling to get a better idea, and this is what I found. 

"For us, the RITTER SPORT brand is both duty and capital in one. Supporting and building on its strengths and distinctiveness are vital cornerstones for maintaining the company's independence. 

Our brand messages communicate to consumers that they can be sure of purchasing a high-quality and high-value food item when selecting our products. We allude to the quality of our products without creating false expectations.

 The RITTER SPORT brand stands for a modern, high-quality and innovative chocolate brand for a broad consumer group."

 This sounds promising, and obviously, I was quite excited by the prospect of opening up the wrapper and testing this bar. The bar comes in a square shape, weighing in at 100g. I rather liked the novelty of a square bar, and thought that it actually looked particularly aesthetic overall. It was split into even smaller little squares filled with a mint cream, similar to that which you find in an After Eight mint, but with significantly more. 

The chocolate was dark and of a good quality. Not too bitter, with enough sweetness to work against the mint cream filling with its fresh and sharp flavour. The ratio of filling to chocolate has definitely been perfected here! Sometimes you can have a filled chocolate with nowhere near enough filling, which leaves you feeling cheated and totally unsatisfied! Something which is just unacceptable when eating chocolate! 

This was an absolutely delicious bar to munch on, but be warned, it is incredibly moreish! I brought my friends a bar to try and they agreed with me that it was both tasty, and dangerous to those on a diet! I would highly recommend and love to try all of the other flavours available. 

Rating - 9/10 

Vegan - Yes 

Calories - 491 per 100g 

Buy Again - I have about six bars in the cupboard

Quorn Vegan Nuggets

Quorn really are doing fantastic with their vegan expansion. Every time that I spot a new product added to their range, it instantly goes into my trolley as I hastily make my way home to try it! So as you can imagine, exactly that happened when I spotted these Quorn Vegan Nuggets. They are not exactly a vegan translation of their non-vegan range, as they are in batter, whereas these are in breadcrumbs. I presume that the egg white is a vital part of the batter mixture? Anyway, they reminded me more of rounded goujons rather than traditional battered nuggets. I wasn’t particularly bothered by this (surprisingly since I have gone on about it for about five lines). 

The nuggets were a good size, with a sturdy coating that thankfully never crumbled off everywhere, causing a massive mess! There was a very slight spiced flavour to the coating, which I enjoyed. The crunchy and crispy texture of the coating against the soft and tender Quorn filling. The Quorn filling had more flavour than that of the fillings, although I can’t quite pinpoint what this flavour is… But I think it is surprisingly convincing of chicken. 

These bring back a sense of childhood nostalgia, with a more sophisticated and adult vibe which helped whilst I munched half a pack with tomato sauce! Maybe not the most exciting or posh, but then again, I am a student and taste counts more than pretence! I really do love these, and thoroughly enjoy munching on these most nights, as do most of my family! 

So thank you Quorn for this fabulous expansion, and I cannot wait to see what other exciting products hit our shelves in the next few months!

Rating – 9/10

Vegan – Yes

Calories – 200 per 100g

Buy Again? – Already have another three bags in my freezer

Asda Vegan 'Chicken' Popcorn

I used to absolutely adore chicken popcorns. The spicy, crispy, crunchy coating, with the soft filling. Doesn't sound quite as nice when I think about what was actually in the filling now... 
But my woes have been answered by the fantastic product team at Asda! They have done the impossible and created vegan popcorn 'chicken'. I was as stunned as you are, my dear readers, when I came across this on the vegan chat forums (I assure you that this isn't as weird or as boring as it sounds!). Instantly my attention was captured, and I knew that I needed to try them. So, I ventured out to Asda, a woman on a mission, determined to find these almost unreal promise of vegan chicken popcorns! 

I quickly located them in the frozen section and grabbed three bags, praying they would indeed be delicious and I wouldn't be left with three bags of deeply unpleasant faux chicken balls... 
So I opened the bag as soon as I got home and popped them chickens in the oven (I'm extremely talented in regards to puns). And let the cook. They took only about twenty minutes, and the smell was rather enticing. They were good sized balls, with a good crispy coating that was even and didn't crumble or fall off. They cooked evenly which was good, so I didn't end up with half of them burnt. I took the plunge, and took a bite. I was not disappointed! The flavour was fantastic, it was quite convincing in regards to the chicken flavour, with a nice southern fried spice. It had enough of a kick to provide intrigue, without being unenjoyable spicy. The heat was perfect and I couldn't help but enjoy every mouthful! The texture was good and once again, was somewhat unnervingly reminiscent of actual chicken popcorns, after munching the first one though, I wasn't that bothered because the taste was just brilliant.

They do not remind me exactly of eating, let's say, KFC, but I honestly don't think that is a bad thing. My brother and mother both tried them, and gave them a massive thumbs up, saying that they were actually better than the meat version! High praise indeed I would say. Basically, vegan, vegetarian, or meat eater, I would certainly recommend these! I cannot wait to see what other delicious thins that Asda, and other supermarkets bring out for the summer! 

Rating - 9/10 

Vegan - Yes 

Calories - 188 per Third a Bag

Buy Again - Much Man

Nak'd Caffe Mocha

​Nak'd bars are an integral part of vegan life (although certainly not an exclusively vegan product!). As an avid fan, and a bit of a connoisseur of the brand, if you will, I pride myself in trying all of the flavours available. However, there are some bars which are notoriously more difficult to get your paws on! 

The elusive Mocha bar being one of them!

You can imagine how my little eyes lit up when I saw these sitting there in my local health food store. I found my feet toddling towards it, unable to resist the urge to purchase several bars at once.  'Matta's' is a fantastic little health store in Liverpool, that stocks an impressive range of products! If you are ever in the area, I strongly urge you to venture in!

I may have gone off on a bit of a tangent about how much I love Matta's, but it honestly is, a fantastic shop! Now, I best get onto this review, hadn't I?

The wrapper was in the typical Nak'd style. Simple, clear, and as enticing as ever. Upon opening the appealing wrapper, I was instantly hit with the deliciously enchanting scent of freshly ground coffee. The actual taste of the bar, believe it or not, was somehow even better. I was utterly shocked. How could Nak'd improve upon such a tasty smell? I loved the bar. The flavour was rich with a subtle nuttiness coming from the rest of the healthy and natural ingredients of the bar, then there was a hint of cocoa which just made the whole bar even more indulgent. 

I really did love this bar, it was absolutely amazing and it took an awful lot of willpower not to then eat the other four bars that I had bought, but somehow I did!

Rating - 9.75/10

Vegan - Yes

Calories - 130 per bar

Buy Again - Definitely already have

Go Ahead Oaty Breaks

Go Ahead are a pretty snazzy brand. They make a wide variety of biscuits and snacks all claiming to be somewhat healthy. They may not be truly healthy in that they have all sorts of health benefits, but they have very little fat in, and are quite reasonable in terms of calories.

Whilst mooching around the shops, as I so often do, I came across these bars. Initially I didn’t realise that they were new, as the packaging seems to blend in incredibly well with the rest of the range. Despite this I was drawn to them, perhaps for fatalistic reasons, I do not know. But anyway, onto the review itself!

The bars come in duo form, which are easy to break down the middle, a bit like a KitKat. They are supposedly intended for you to eat on two separate occasions as the calories on the pack state that one finger is considered a serving size! I found this to be quite sneaky of Go Ahead because the packaging proudly boasts of there being only 98 calories! This obviously was too good to be true… Unless you do have fantastic willpower and can reseal the pack to prevent the other half from going stale, this two-serving suggestion just isn’t going to happen. 

 So I began my munching.

They are ridiculously crumbly biscuit bars, so I decided it was best to break them up into easy to eat portions to create minimal crumbage. This didn’t really work as well as I would have hoped, but better than a face full of crumbs. I enjoyed both bars but preferred the Cinnamon and Raisin flavour.

The Cinnamon and Raisin flavour was packed full of dried raisins which helped to break up the crumbly dryness. The sweet spice of the cinnamon added something a little different, it worked to create a warmth and depth to the flavour that I thoroughly enjoyed! 

The Golden Syrup was also yummy, but did have a bit of a strange burnt flavour to it. I’m not sure if I did just get a slightly burnt pack, or if this is part of the whole intended taste experience. It certainly wasn’t unpleasant, just a bit odd. 

Both flavours worked perfectly with a cup of coffee and were surprisingly filling, leaving me feeling extremely satisfied. Overall I liked these and found them to be very moreish, good as a mid-morning treat, or simply because you fancy something sweet!

Rating – 7.5/10

Calories –190/200 per pack

Vegan – Yes

Buy Again? – When on Offer