Mighty Pea M.LK - vegan and nut free (@NLi10)

So. You don’t want to use dairy milk, but you also want to avoid nuts - what options are there? Well - soy milk exists but tastes like the water used to recycle paper. How about you pea on your cornflakes?

I’d not seen this before, and I figured it would be worth a few cheap pea jokes so gave it a shot - and actually it’s pretty decent.

It’s white not green, and it tastes like a really mild pea soup might. I’ve not poured that on my crunchy nuts yet though.  It’s an enjoyably different flavour too, and I need to try it in more drinks before I pass judgement on that angle.

It’s got things in that are good for you

And it’s got friendly messages about how it’s good for animals, and actually uses less water than almond milk - but I’d have to do research on that.

And it’s similar enough to skimmed milk in texture and looks that the pictures of the stuff itself were not very exciting.  We don’t go to Sainsbury’s very often so I’m not sure that I’ll become a regular (almond milk is my default now), but it’s certainly made a fan out of me.

If you are looking for a dairy alternative then give peas a chance. 

Bachelor’s Super Noodles BBQ Beef (Tesco) By @SpectreUK

Being a snack food and beer blogger and also keeping my weight down with exercise and watching my calories can sometimes be a bit of a bind. I've just looked at the calories in this Bachelor's Super Noodles BBQ Beef and they're pretty high. I used to not care and overeat all the time, but since this second knee operation, my surgeon badgering me about keeping my weight down, and the fact that even after a year of rehabilitation I still have marked limitations on a knee that's muscles now look pretty much exactly the same as the other knee… I have to keep my weight strictly down in the future. There isn't a heck of a lot of fat anywhere anymore either, apparently muscles are pretty heavy too!

With this BBQ Beef Supper Noodles I'm just going to fry up some mushrooms in sunflower oil and have a piece of toast on the side, and then have my usual apple and high protein yoghurt for afters. Been as though my stomach seems to have almost disappeared after months of constant exercise, I can't eat half of what I used to anyway, as I get comfortably full really easily now.

On opening the pot there was some seasoning, dried peas and diced carrots on top of the block of stringy noodles. After preparation with freshly boiled water, stirring and leaving to stand for a while, there was a good smoky sweet barbecue smell from the reddish noodles in the pot. On taste I was actually surprised how good this Bachelor's Super Noodles BBQ Beef is. I guess I'm still stuck in the generational thinking of noodle pots being wet and relatively tasteless. There was a good smoky barbecue flavour from the noodles and sauce, with an almost caramel sweetness into the aftertaste. These noodles went perfectly well with my fried Mediterranean seasoned mushrooms and piece of toast on the side. I'd certainly recommend this for a quick and tasty meal for someone on the go!

Information on the pot;
The 75g pot contains 354 calories, with 15g of fat, 3.8g of sugar, and 1.49g of salt. Please see photograph for ingredients.

Cadbury Dairy Milk Orange Snowman (Ocado) By @Cinabar

There are quite a few Christmas chocolate novelties out this year but most of them I have seen in passed years. Chocolate Santas, reindeers etc, even Cadbury Snow Balls have all made reappearances. I’m not complaining, just looking for something different in amongst the crowd. This will be the first time I’ve tried the Cadbury Dairy Milk Orange Snowman, although I think I have had the non fruit version before now.

So the Snowman is quite smart looking under the wrapper, not that well defined in features but modern looking with a smart scarf. The filing isn’t light and airy like I had hoped it would be, it is quite a thick mousse filling, firm and chunky. I was pleased with the flavour, the sweet Cadbury chocolate coated a rich and fruity orange filling that was sweet and tasty with lots of citrus zing. Chocolate and orange is a classic flavour combination and it seems to be more popular than ever this year with Orange Twirls and quite a few other goodies coming out for Christmas, I can’t argue with it as it works very well.
This Cadbury Dairy Milk Orange Snowman is sweet and fruity tasty treat, and would make a nice seasonal pick me up as an alternative to a full size chocolate bar. As the filling is quite thick it is filling too and it makes it a more satisfying treat.

Limited Edition After Eight Mint & Mango-Pineapple (B&M) By @Cinabar

I think it is fair to say if you had asked me what flavour I predicted After Eight would launch in the run up to Christmas I would have guessed orange. With Orange Twirls and Terry’s Chocolate Orange Muffins at Costa orange is turning out to be the flavour of the season. Just to clarify by orange I mean just orange, as fruit and mint would be odd wouldn’t it. I was wrong, by quite a long way, they have launched After Eight Mint & Mango-Pineapple Limited Edition. It is a brave choice, and to be fair it sounds like quite an exciting new variety to try, let’s just hope it works.

The inside of the packet is the usual layout, with chocolate thins in dark envelopes decorated with a gold clock design. They look just like regular After Eights and don’t have a strong aroma. The texture too is identical to the normal chocolates but the flavour is far from the usual. The first taste is mint and it is quite strong, but close behind are the mango and pineapple and in there sweet juicy tones. I took a moment to allow my taste buds to adjust and found myself wanting a second chocolate. Mint and fruit both in strong proportions but the combination was fab.
Nowhere in my head did I think these After Eight Mint & Mango-Pineapple thins could possibly work but against all the odds they do. They are actually fantastic, with a new flavour combination that seems to mix tropical fruit and mint in a way that makes you think of an exotic fruit cocktail with a load of mint leaves stuffed into the glass. Refreshing fruity and I’m going back for a second box.