Limited Edition Gingerbread Hot Chocolate (Whittards) By @Cinabar

I think my hot chocolate problem may be getting out of hand. I am running out of space in the Foodstuff finds cupboard. I can’t stop myself from buying a new tub if I see a new flavour, and I went into Whittards and I found two new flavours. Now I’m rethinking where to put the jar of coffee in the cupboard.

The only solution is to increase the amount of hot chocolate I drink to bring back balance, and I’m up for that challenge. The first new flavour I’m going to try is this Limited Edition Gingerbread Hot Chocolate. I heated up some milk and stirred in 3 teaspoons per mug. The powder dissolved easily, and the hot chocolate was a nice dark colour. I gave it a sip, and the flavour was rich chocolate and soft ginger. It was sweet, and the spice was present but not hot; instead, it was also a treacle-like flavour with the spice. This did recreate gingerbread, and it was a lovely warming drink for the autumn. I love Whittards hot drinks and can’t wait to try my other new tub too. I do have to finish a tub before I buy a new one, but that sounds like it shouldn’t be a problem now that the evenings are drawing in. 

Tortilla - Burrito meets Burger - Beef Smash Burrito [@NLi10]

 We had time before a show in Birmingham (the band Texas) so decided to take the family for Burritos.  Most went with a standard set of things, but I decided to try the new Beef Smash Burrito

Smash is essentially just taking a burger and cooking it on the grill as if it was mince and then putting it back together a bit - it just means that its all a bit more charred.  This is essentially how you cook Quorn mince so it's not exactly revolutionary but it is nice.

And there are loads of options!

It also seems to basically be a beef burrito but where the contents were grilled first

I got the meal deal with the nice lemonade and the salty salty tortilla chips.  These have a fun texture too like they are freshly made each day.

The large is a chunky beast and certainly filling enough

And sure enough is essentially just a beef Burrito with crispy mince.  You can customise whatever you like, but the default smash was pretty good.

Al La Mexicana needn't be worried about their business, but as an updated and healthier version of the Subway custom sandwich (and nicer hot) then this is great and I'm happy that I joined the loyalty scheme for the free guac and burrito next time I visit!

Bornem Double Belgian Abbey Beer (Van Steenberge) By @SpectreUK

I have a takeaway from our local curry house tonight. I haven't had a curry takeaway since I don't know when. I've been at toy fairs and comic cons for some weeks, and don't have a takeaway beforehand after a couple of unfortunate incidents.

I fancy a brown ale to wash down my Lamb Rogan Josh with chips. I was told by a waiter in an curry house once that they call chips 'English rice', as we often order it instead. This Bornem Double (Dubbel) is a Belgian Abbey beer, which has been produced since 1789. At 7.2% in volume it should have a strong kick to it to go with all those spices. I love my starters of Lamb Sheekh Kebab and Onion Bhajis before I get to my huge main course.

It was stated on the bottle that this beer was brewed with re-fermentation. This dark brown in colour Bornem Dubbel should have a warming flavour, with a soft fruitiness reminiscent of grain. On opening the bottle there was a deep fruitiness mixed with strong brown malts. On taste Bornem Dubbel had a crisp bite of herbal hops that merged immediately with autumn fruits followed closely by further sweetness from the brown malts. Oh, this was a gorgeous flavoursome beer and a lovely curry takeaway. Those Belgians really know what they're doing.

Swiss Nutty Clouds (M&S) By @Cinabar

They had me when they said nuts and chocolate. I spotted this in our M&S Foodhall, and I haven’t seen it before. It doesn’t say ‘new’ on it, but I love nuts and chocolate, so I would have bought them before if they had been in our local branch. I’m loving the name Swiss Nutty Clouds too; it makes them sound fun.

Inside the bag are plaques of chocolate filled with nuts and looking bobbly. They are all different, a little like clouds, I guess, but still keeping up that fun but rustic feel. 

I gave one a try, and they are good. I know I’m biassed with nuts and chocolate, but these are yum. The first thing you notice is the thick chocolate is fab. It is rich and creamy and not too sweet; the cocoa flavour is spot on; the nuts are crunchy and full-flavoured and add to the mix of textures I really like. This is simple chocolate with nuts, but it is done very well and in a lovely sharing bag. These Swiss Nutty Clouds are a perfect treat and definitely something I’ll be purchasing again. 

Planted - not chicken - Lemon & Herb vegan fry-up [@NLi10]

 I like having a back-up veggie protein option to chuck into meals when they look a little sparse.  I added these to the basket and kept them for a rainy day.

The Planted range appears to have a few options, but Lemon & Herb felt the most versatile

Decently nutritious, and seems to have all the eco credentials you'd expect

Comes all sealed up

And it looked far too realistic for my partner to want to eat so I get the whole tasty box!

Essentially its got a lovely light smell and taste which is perfect for Italian food so I mixed it up with some pasta and sun-dried tomatoes from the Lidl Spanish range and it was great.

No one is going to confuse this with cooked chicken - but it crisped up really well when lightly fried and still kept the texture and taste.  I think that it'd work really well in a sauce too so I'll be trying that another time too.

Great to have more quality options!