Ghostbusters Doughnuts (Krispy Kreme) By @Cinabar

Halloween is very definitely on the horizon. There are a few interesting Halloween products around; there are tins of sweets for sale, and one of our neighbours has already decorated their front door and garden. I did buy some Halloween light-up plastic ghosts for the window and a tub of sweets for any callers. This is probably as far as I’ll go.

We were on our way back from a Comic Con and stopped at a service station and spotted the Krispy Kreme kiosk and these wonderful-looking Ghostbusters Doughnuts, so obviously we picked up a couple. 

We bought the Slimer and the Ghostbusters Chocolate Icing. The Slimer is a wonderful, rich, sweet, and fresh flavour. The taste is lemon, which always works well; even the filling is green in colour. I would have thought they would choose lime instead of lemon, as it is green and is part of the word slime. Oh well, either way, I love the funky purple icing and the gorgeous flavour. The chocolate one starts with an original doughnut, but it is covered with chocolate icing, cookie crumb, and of course a rather nice Ghostbuster logo. It was sweet, and there was loads of chocolate; the crumb gave it a crunch too, which gave it a bit of texture. Another yummy doughnut. 

Both of these doughnuts were just perfect after a busy day after Comic Con, but get them while you can as they are a limited edition for Halloween. 

Kallo Beetroot & Balsamic Veggie Cakes (Tesco) By @SpectreUK

In between entire packets of biscuits and gorging on beef chip-sticks, I like to try to give an air of healthiness. This is one of those moments. Whilst these Kallo Beetroot & Balsamic Veggie Cakes aren't exactly enthusing me to try them, they are new, and I haven't tried them before. We've been having problems for some time with finding new and interesting things to write about. Besides, I could probably do with a healthy kick after the entire packet of fruit shortcake biscuits I ate last night.

These Kallo Beetroot & Balsamic Veggie Cakes are high in protein and low in calories, which is great for me whilst I'm working out. The 4.9g of protein will help to fix my muscles afterwards, whilst the low calorie content at 81g per packet ensures that I can still have more bad for me stuff later for my evening dessert.

I rarely have beetroot. I like it in a salad, although it has a habit of turning everything else dark red, I like it's earthy flavour. The 'cakes' part of the 'Veggie Cakes' concerns me though, if it's what I suspect it may be, those can be exceptionally dry. It's difficult to chew when whatever you're eating soaks up the moisture from your entire body, and also the surrounding area for at least ten square miles.

On opening the packet there was an aroma of beetroot and balsamic vinegar to the reddened lentil cakes, which had flakes of green peas. Very flavoursome and moreish, I was vaguely disappointed that I couldn't find anything to moan about with these healthy Kallo Beetroot & Balsamic Veggie Cakes. They certainly weren't dry and didn't suck all the moisture from my body and the surrounding area. I rather liked them, and I wouldn't mind having them again at all.

Information on the packet; The 22g bag contained 81 calories, with 1.6g of fat, 0.7g of sugar, and 0.3g of salt. Please see photograph for the ingredients.

Buxton and BritHop Brewery: Girl From Mars - Session NEIPA (Morrisons) By @SpectreUK

I have roast lamb, roast potatoes, and mint sauce for dinner tonight. I've been known to eat my way through entire jars of mint sauce, so I need a good beer to complement the flavours. This Girl From Mars may be able to help wash down evening meal.

Produced by Buxton Brewery in collaboration with BritHop Brewing Company, a new Harlequin Hop has been used in the brewing of this Girl From Mars. It's a nod to Ash's song of the same title back in the 90s. An out there flavour with an out there title. Harlequin Hop is a British hop from the Charles Faram Hop Development Programme.

Strong for a session ale at 4.8% in volume, Girl From Mars, is a NEIPA, or New England India Pale Ale. Misty golden in colour, this NEIPA had a herbal bitter and sweet pale malt aroma on opening the can.

On taste there was a heavy herbal bite to begin with, followed closely by sweet pale malts into the aftertaste. Girl From Mars was gorgeous and washed my perfectly cooked roast Lamb meal down a treat. There was only a little mint sauce left in the jar by the end of my dinner, so I'll have to have some lamb chops at some point to finish it off.

Opal Fruits - They are back! (Iceland) By @Cinabar

Firstly, a shopping trip at Iceland brought me the wonders of Caramac (back for a short time only), and on this visit I was even more excited to find Opal Fruits. They are back! If you are over a certain age, then this is what those Starburst sweets are supposed to be called. Once a name is known in childhood, it sticks, and yes, I’m still looking for Marathon bars. 

Opal Fruits haven’t been called that since 1998, so I'm loving a few retro throwback moments and enjoying this bag. Inside there are four flavours, but part of me thought there should have been a blackcurrant too. Perhaps that was in a pack of Fruitellas; my mind was playing tricks on me?

I opened up the bag and drank in the wonderful sweet aroma. I couldn’t wait to tuck in. I unpeeled the sweets and found the wrappers were tightly packed and needed unpicking. The four flavours were:

• Lemon: super juicy and sharp
• Lime: fresh and zingy
• Orange: sweet and juicy
• Strawberry: is and always was the best, super sweet and fruity

These are a lovely blast from the past. If you grew up with them and want to relieve the retro goodness, or indeed the proper name, I would advise picking up a bag. Sadly, they are a limited edition, so another of those where you need to get them while you can. 

Takis or Taqueritos - Costa Rica Style [@nli10]

 Ola from Costa Rica!

We are over here for a few weeks trying all the local foods, but also finding familiar friends. They get original recipe Takis Fuego here! A lot of the English stores are using oddly muted imports, but here the lime and fire is in tact - and it has competition 

The biggest seems to be Taqueritos (which may even predate Takis) and it’s a fairly close contest. The flavours are similar enough, but the texture and crunch is much harder (like a Nik Nak) so some will prefer these

They appear to have a lot of the flavours here too so if I can find normal supermarkets and pay under 1000 colones per bag (£1.50) then I might try more - but it’s far too hot really!