PerfectTed Sparkling Matcha Strawberry Energy Drink (Ocado) by @cinabar

Gosh there is a lot to unpack with this PerfectTed Sparkling Matcha Strawberry Energy Drink from Ocado. It is a tea,  a matcha tea, a fizzy matcha drink, strawberry flavoured, sugar free, with added vitamins and extra caffeine. Basically it feels like an energy drink trying to be everything at once, I'm thinking this is basically an energy drink for Gen Z.

Fun fact, I have never had an energy drink before and I didn’t really know what I was buying. Not that surprising really, this is exactly the kind of product that is trying to tick a lot of boxes. I do drink coffee though, so I do have caffeine in my life. I checked the can and it has 80mg of caffeine, while a mug of coffee is around 100mg depending on how it is made, so I figured I was still in familiar territory. It is actually less than most energy drinks anyway. There are still the usual health warnings on the can though, which you don’t tend to see on coffee.

I gave it a try and the flavour is pleasant enough. I could definitely pick up a sort of strawberry taste, it is there but it is not very sweet. The matcha is quite subtle too, which surprised me a bit because that is really meant to be the main thing. It all feels quite light and a bit understated rather than bold.

It is not a bad flavour by any means, and it was quite refreshing. I have saved another can for Sunday night, which is a 1am kick off for the England game, so I’ll be half asleep at half time and probably questioning all my choices, but we’ll see if it actually does the job or if I just end up watching it half asleep with a drink in my hand.

Magnum Collection - Vegan Almond Amande [@Nli10]

While at RSPB Bempton - looking at the puffins we spotted one of the recently released Vegan Magnums.  These appear to be an updated range on the previous ones. 

Lots of lovely nuts, no irritating dairy, and dark chocolate

Tada! Looks good.

Looks good inside too - creamy without cream and stayed frozen enough to eat on a very hot day.

Well recommended - even for non vegans.

Viva Chips Chicken Style (Asda) By @SpectreUK

I miss KFC. Ever since they “withdrew from the better chicken commitment”, we haven’t gone back. Not just for ethical reasons, my opinion is that the quality of the meat is just not there anymore. It’s such a shame, as KFC has always been my favourite fast food restaurant. Now, I’ll just stick to Burger King.

So, I was quite amused when I found these Chicken Style chicken leg shaped wheat and potato waffle crisps, by Viva Chips. There was a chicken aroma on opening the packet. The chicken leg shaped waffles had a decent crunchy texture. They had a moreish KFC style spicy chicken flavour, and were very nice indeed. Maybe not KFC, but I did lick my fingers afterwards.

Information on the bag: The 50g bag had 549 calories per 100g, 3g of fat, 2g of sugar, and 2.6g of salt.

Marks & Spencer Rhubarb Tea Cakes (Ocado) By @Cinabar

Is there anything that says British summer more than watching a bit of Wimbledon with some Marks & Spencer snacks? Of course, the weather has now cooled down and everyone is already moaning that the sunshine has disappeared, which somehow makes it feel even more like a British summer!

We opted for these Rhubarb Tea Cakes from Marks & Spencer. They are similar to the regular tea cakes but with a generous dollop of rhubarb curd hidden inside.

There are six tea cakes in the box, each coated in milk chocolate. I cut one in half and you could clearly see the layers, with the big fluffy bubble of marshmallow and the rhubarb curd sitting in the middle. They certainly looked the part.

I gave one a try and have to say it was a more muted experience than I'd been hoping for. The rhubarb was pleasant, but it was quite a soft, sweet flavour. I had hoped it would be much zingier and really pop, but instead it was a gentle fruity curd. The chocolate and marshmallow were lovely and sweet, and the rhubarb worked well with them, but I couldn't help feeling it could have been bolder and really stolen the show.

These were still lovely to eat while watching the tennis, but next time I think I'd probably reach for the more traditional strawberries and cream instead.

Walkers English Bangers and Mash Crisps (Ocado) By @Cinabar

So far, so good for England in the World Cup. We topped our group and made it through to the knockout stages. We decided to have these crisps to help cheer them on during their last match. These were released as part of the World Cup 'Flavours of the World' range, and here we have Walkers English Bangers and Mash. For anyone reading from abroad, "bangers" is a very British name for sausages.

I opened the bag and was greeted by a lovely meaty aroma. We poured the crisps into a basket for sharing and I gave one a try. They really do have a distinctive sausage flavour, making for a wonderfully meaty bag of crisps. I love savoury, meaty flavours, so these were perfect for me.

They are supposed to capture the mash element too, and I think I was hoping for a stronger buttery flavour. Food critic and legend Jay Rayner has talked about mashed potato being 50% butter, and following that wonderfully indulgent philosophy, I was expecting a rich buttery hit alongside the sausage flavour. Unfortunately, it never really came through. Not to worry though, as the meaty taste was so good that these crisps still shone.

Fingers crossed England continue their World Cup journey. I hope you're raising a crisp for the team you're supporting!