Strawberry Flavour Meringue Bar (M&S) By @Cinabar

I have a sweet tooth, so when we stopped at a service station on the way home from an event for fuel, both for us and the car, I couldn't resist a wander around the M&S Food store. I picked up a few bits, and this looked like the perfect pick-me-up. It was sweet, but at only 100 calories it wasn't going to spoil my appetite for dinner later.

Inside the wrapper was a pink meringue bar coated in a thin layer of white chocolate. When I broke it in half, it snapped nicely, revealing an appealing pink centre. The flavour was sweet and pleasantly strawberry, but not overly strong or artificial like some strawberry sweets can be.

The texture was definitely the highlight. It combined a satisfying crunch with a soft, gooey centre, while the white chocolate held everything together nicely. I absolutely loved it. It was just the right treat after a long day on the road, giving me a little boost without putting me off the takeaway that was waiting for me once I got home.

Choc Cone Ends (M&S) By @Cinabar

When this product says Choc Cone Ends, it means exactly that: the chocolate-filled ends of waffle cones, like the bit at the bottom of a Cornetto. The cynical part of my brain wondered if a waffle cone manufacturer had simply found a clever use for broken cones. However, I can confirm they're all neatly shaped and uniform, so probably not... although it would have been a genius idea!

I opened the bag and was pleased to see that the Choc Cone Ends contain a generous amount of chocolate filling. The packaging suggests enjoying them straight from the bag, using them to decorate an ice cream sundae, or even dipping them into sauces. I'm quite simple at times, so I opted for eating them straight from the pack. The bag is also resealable, which is always a bonus.

The texture was really enjoyable, with a crunchy waffle cone shell surrounding a sizeable chunk of smooth chocolate. They were satisfyingly crisp and packed with good-quality chocolate, making them very easy to snack on.

That said, my favourite part of a Cornetto is probably the ice cream itself, so I'm not sure I'd choose these over the real thing. Still, they're a fun novelty and I think they'd look particularly cute scattered over an ice cream sundae.

This Drink IS Metal - Robinsons Mandalorian & Grogu Beskar Berry Blend Squash [@NLi10]

 My partner got some discount squash because she'd 'never seen a grey drink before'.  And she was right - this is an odd one.

Look - there is Mando - with his hat on of course. And Grogu's name is on there too.  But why is it flavoured after a fictional metal?

This is the old sparkleberry J2O mix turned up to max - it shimmers and shifts like mercury

Double pic to hopefully show this.

Diluted it's harder to see.  You have to shake it first as the flavour floats and the metal sinks but if you do you end up with a nice mix like this.  A metallic grey that TVs struggle to do justice.

It does settle into a more cloudy grey eventually, but what is it like?

It's a vague fruity berry flavour.  Maybe a mix of citrus and berries.  I'll have to look at the ingredients for clues.

It's very nice though, and just crazy enough that it's interesting.  No idea how they'd ever tie this mix in to other brands (terminator maybe?) but hopefully I can sneak some more in before it returns to it's home planet.

Wotsits Golden Balls Smokin’ Cheese (Ocado) By @SpectreUK

FIFA World Cup 2026 has now started. With matches in three different countries; USA, Mexico, and Canada, it should be quite a show. I don’t know which country you are supporting, however, I hope your teams do well. I might catch the odd match here and there if I stay up late.

Walkers have brought out these Wotsits Golden Balls Smokin’ Cheese as a limited edition for over the football season. On opening the bag there was indeed a smoky cheesy aroma from the golden football shaped maize balls inside.

These Wotsits Golden Balls Smokin’ Cheese were super crunchy. Cinabar certainly loved their crunchy texture, whereas I focussed on the smokiness of the cheese flavour, which was a great deal different from the original Wotsits.

If you want a very crunchy snack to share with your friends and family whilst watching the matches, these Wotsits Golden Balls Smokin’ Cheese could be perfect for you.

Information on the bag; The 130g bag contained 526 calories per 100g, with 28g of fat, 6.6g of sugars, and 1.7g of salt. Suitable for Vegetarians, please see photograph for the ingredients.

Bonne Maman Pear and Chocolate Mousse (Ocado) By @Cinabar

Today I fancied a bit of a chocolatey treat after lunch and decided to pick a Bonne Maman Pear and Chocolate Mousse from the fridge. I think pear is one of those flavours that is underrepresented in desserts, and this reminded me of a dessert my mum used to make called Pears Belle Hélène, which combines poached pear, ice cream and hot chocolate sauce. It definitely deserves to come back into fashion.

This is a much simpler affair, consisting of a creamy pear mousse topped with a layer of chocolate sauce. When I opened the pot, I could see it had been shaken up a bit during the online grocery delivery, so the layers were not quite as neat as intended.

I tried the chocolate sauce first. It was pleasant, with plenty of chocolate flavour and a good level of sweetness. Then I sampled the pear mousse, which had a mild, lightly sweet and refreshing pear taste. There were pear pieces too for texture. Combined with the chocolate sauce the pear mousse gained a little extra sweetness and the two flavours worked well together.

It made for a nice lunchtime treat, although it definitely left me craving a proper Pears Belle Hélène. Perhaps that's a project for the weekend.