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!

Swizzels Squashies Drumstick: Despicable Me 4: Banana & Blueberry Flavour (Ocado) By @SpectreUK

I'm looking forward to watching Despicable Me 4. I've enjoyed all the movies and love the Minions. Swizzels have brought out these Swizzels Squashies Drumstick: Despicable Me 4: Banana & Blueberry Flavour. Of course, they had to be banana flavour. I'm not usually keen on banana flavoured snacks, although I do usually like foam banana flavoured gummies. I'm not sure about the added blueberries though, but I'll give these gummies a try.

 

On opening the bag there was a strong banana flavoured smell mixed with slightly acidic blueberries. On taste these squidgy gummies tasted mainly of banana with sweet blueberries following into the aftertaste. I really liked the texture and combined flavour of these Swizzels Squashies Drumstick: Despicable Me 4: Banana & Blueberry Flavour. I'd certainly recommend them, perhaps whilst watching Despicable Me 4, or another movie, or for snacking during a gaming night.

Information on the bag; The 120g bag contained 353 calories per 100g, with 0.2g of fat, 62g of sugar, and 0.07g of salt. Please see photograph for the ingredients.

Swiss Miss Cinnamon Toast Crunch (Amazon) By @Cinabar

I’m not sure what I’m drinking. I’m also sure it wasn’t what I thought it was when I bought it. I love Swiss Miss hot chocolate; it is sweet and flavoursome despite being made with hot water and not milk. I have a sweet tooth; their drinks are sweet; they are my thing. I decided to google what interesting flavours they make, and I stumbled across one called Cinnamon Toast, and I was in. My favourite spice is cinnamon. I ordered it without paying much more attention.

 

I was expecting a hot chocolate-based drink with cinnamon flavour. I thought that right up until the moment I opened the first sachet and poured a white powder into my mug. It looked a bit disappointing. 

I added the water; it didn’t have a particularly strong aroma; it was just sweet and milky. I was still a bit disappointed. I opened up the second sachet of marshmallows, and I got a massive hit of cinnamon powder mixed in with the marshmallows. I added it, and it changed the milk base to a cinnamon speckled drink.

I gave it a try, and oh my word, this drink is amazing, not at all what I thought I’d bought pure heaven in a mug. I have since googled and found that cinnamon toast is an American breakfast cereal, and this drink is supposed to be a hot version of the milk the cereal leaves. I had no idea, but the taste is sweet, milky, and has lots of spice from the cinnamon, so I thought it was heaven. All the disappointment was gone, and now I’m just hoping I can get another box. 

Mr. Kipling Delicious Chocolate and Fudge Loaf Cake (Tesco) By @Cinabar

There are new cakes from Mr. Kipling; I picked up both, and the first up to try was this Mr. Kipling Delicious Chocolate and Fudge Loaf Cake. There is something about the toffee flavour that does feel a bit autumnal; this sounds like a comforting cake for a cosy night in. 

I opened up the wrapper and found the cake in a card case. The first thing that bugged me was that the toffee pieces on top were not very evenly distributed; we shared the cake out, and some slices had absolutely no toffee on top. I couldn’t redistribute it either, as it was baked into the top layer. The second thing was that it was a little stuck to the card when I cut the pieces. So much so that I scraped the card and there was a good dessertspoon full there, which wasn’t exactly in the nicest format for sharing.

Once past those initial things, there was the lovely moist chocolate sponge underneath. I only had one piece of toffee on my bit, which was a little lost. The flavour of the cake was chocolatey and good; I liked the rich flavour. This Mr. Kipling Delicious Chocolate and Fudge Loaf Cake isn’t one I’d rush out to buy again, nice though it was. 

Cadbury's Top Deck 2024 - but it's not the same bus as in 1993 [@NLi10]

 In the early 90s Cadbury were innovators, and they tried loads of new ideas in a short space of time (or at least it felt like it as a kid).

One of these that I'd forgotten about but never ever missed was the Cadbury Top Deck - the bar was milk choc, the 'bumps' were white chocolate and the effect was that of a sweeter, lighter bar.  Cadbury's saved on their precious Dairy Milk Crumb (which back in the day was so limited that only certain products used it) and could sell something legitimately new and interesting.  I think I bought these as the one strip bars which were maybe 25g

This however is a full big Cadbury bar!

Oh wait - 95g - for £1.65 (from Poundland no less) - what's going on here?  This does mean that 61% of the bar is Dairy Milk so that's not so terrible really.

And they do have the lovely blended lumps - white in first - then Dairy Milk to make the base.

So why am I being cagey?

Oh - this isn't the same bus as it was in 1993 - this is the Top Deck of the Short Bus.

I mean, this is Bart Simpson putting the 'You Tried' cake straight into the bin levels of disappointment.

Cadbury get a lot of flack now that Kraft have taken over for entering the low-effort era of confectionary manufacture - but even for them this is a new nadir.

The point of this bar was softer, lumpier white choc on top of the Dairy Milk, now it's just a thin veneer and not really worth a mention. Stick to the cheaper (£1.35 instead of £1.65), still shrunken (95g!), bars of Dairy Milk and add some white Choc buttons to the top if you want this sensation again.

Siren Broken Dream Breakfast Stout (Morrison’s) By @SpectreUK

At some point everyone wakes up part the way through a dream, good or bad, and wonders what could have happened next. This Broken Dream beer is a breakfast stout brewed with lactose for added sweetness, a selection of malts for chocolatey goodness, and carefully selected coffee for added flavour. At 6.5% in volume this a serious wake you up stout dosed with nitrogen for extra smooth creaminess.

On opening the can there was a delicious aroma of chocolate malt and coffee. On pouring this deep dark almost black stout oozed with its creaminess into my waiting beer glass. On taste the roasted rich chocolate malts danced from the darkness over my palate, smooth creamy sweetness followed with a nibble of herbal hops and then closely behind by that wake me up coffee flavour. Gorgeous, I'm not sure about a stout for breakfast, but it certainly washed down my IKEA style meatballs a treat. Cheers.

Cookies With Chocolate M&M’s Minis (Tesco) By @Cinabar

When I first saw that there were the new Mini M&Ms available, I thought that they would be really good for baking. They are the kind of size that would work well as a cup cake topping or indeed baked into cookies. Obviously I ate the bag of Mini M&Ms straight, in handfuls. Thankfully, they have pre-made the Mini M&Ms Cookies for me, so no baking is required and there is no temptation to eat them straight.

I opened up the packet and found that these Cookies With Chocolate M&M’s Minis were quite chunky, and they were colourful too. I could see the colourful Mini M&M’s shinning through. The taste was lovely. These are firm, crunchy cookies (rather than the American soft style), but the texture still works. The M&Ms are crispy and add a lovely chocolate taste. These are super nice biscuits. They are effectively a chocolate chip cookie, really with a bit of candy shell, but with the the colour they do look a bit more special. These were the perfect treat with my cup of tea, and yes, I dunked. The chocolates melted a bit too when I did, which really worked for me too. 

Harry Brompton's British Lemon & Lime Iced Tea [@NLi10]

 

English garden centres are great - perfectly designed playgrounds for the older person to be tempted into buying luxury garden furniture, brightly coloured plants - and in this case expensive bottled water.

It feels a lot more justified when someone's though to turn the water into tea.  I was saving this for the weather to get hot again, but alas it's winter again now so might as well have it as an evening refresher.

Theres a wide variety, hipster-dads are a great target market.  The coffee isn't really my thing so I chose one of the many flavoured teas - deciding that lemon and lime was a safe bet.

They also had these soft drink cans with gravy and curry sauce in which looked excellent but I forgot to get my partner to select one so those will be grabbed next time.

And at home it all seems pretty normal. It's just an iced tea that is British (made with Kenyan tea, just brewed here) and contains one cup of tea's worth of caffeine per bottle - which is decent really.

They've put a little sugar in which is always odd as most people will want to add their own to taste in the real world - and then they've topped it off with sweetener just to make sure that it truly attempts to appeal to everyone and no-one at the same time.  If you've met anyone who in the real world puts both sugar and sweetener in their tea then let us know.  Just choose one (or preferably neither) and stick with it!

As a result the flavour is a bit all over the place, I'm not sure if it's the lime that makes it odd, or the sweetener profile.  The tea was never going to be strong enough for my taste - but the flavour is present and pleasant so rescues it a little.

As a nice little pick-me-up then its fine enough, but it's not destined to become a British classic.  

Either dump all the sweeteners (official and artificial) and let us sort that out at home, or go full sweetener so people can have it as a calorie free option.

I still might try the red fruit version another week though!

M&S Caramel, Shortbread & Chocolate Crispies Milk Choc Bar (Ocado) By @SpectreUK

I fancy being indulgent tonight. I had a night on Sunday I'd rather forget, or rather a tyre blowout in a city centre on the way home, which ended up with me soaked with rain, covered in oil and muck, and with a busted lip from slipping trying to dislodge a troublesome locking nut on a front wheel that had a bullet sized hole in the side of it. I don't know what I hit or what hit me, but I came off worse, that's for sure.

Marks and Spencer's Food Hall is a good place to find indulgent foodstuffs. This M&S Caramel, Shortbread & Chocolate Crispies Milk Chocolate Bar sounds like heaven in a heavy 180g chocolate bar for pudding. I've eaten less on the good for me stuff today so I can fit this chocolate bar into my calorie count.

On opening the wrapper there was a caramel chocolate aroma from the heavy milk chocolate bar. On taste there was crunchiness from the shortbread and crispies dotted throughout the bar, and some added caramel sweetness. Melt in the mouth once through the crunch and sheer thickness of the bar, this M&S Caramel, Shortbread & Chocolate Crispies Milk Chocolate Bar was a luscious indulgent treat indeed. Just what I needed after losing a punch up against a punctured tyre.

Information on the wrapper; The 180g bar contained 539 calories per 100g, with 19.2g fat, 51g of sugar, and 0.23g of salt. Please see photograph for the ingredients.

Jammie Dodgers Banana (Iceland) By @Cinabar

It is always fun to find a new flavour of Jammie Dodgers, and these ones are in bright yellow packs and look a bit different. Here we have Jammie Dodgers Banana Edition. This is what I would call an obvious flavour pairing, but I’m more than happy to give them a try. After all, Jammie Dodger’s made Cola Bottles work as a new variety, so there is no reason these shouldn’t work.

I opened up the pack, and the biscuits look like regular Jammie Dodgers except that they have a yellow-orange coloured centre. I gave one of the biscuits a try and have to admit it was a bit disappointing. It wasn’t that banana didn’t work as a flavour; it was that the banana flavour was a bit mild. It almost had a hint of sweetness and the slightest banana flavour, and that was it. 

The biscuits were just pleasantly sweet and not very exciting. I was hoping for a full-on blast of a banana milkshake-like taste, but the reality was so mild I would have struggled to name the flavour without seeing it on the pack. I realise this is because they want to have ‘no nasty stuff', as it says on the front of the pack. These Jammie Dodgers Banana Edition are okay, but not ones I’ll miss when the flavour disappears from the shelves. 

Walkers Roast Chicken and Mayonnaise Crisps (Iceland) By @Cinabar

I take chicken crisps more seriously than most. I, dear readers, am a connoisseur. Chicken crisps are my favourite of all the flavours, and as such, this new offering from Walkers totally caught my eye. Here we have Walkers Roast Chicken and Mayonnaise Crisps.

The first quirk here is the description of the flavour. The picture shows a chicken sandwich, which is significant because with the other new 'sausage sarnie’ flavour, you could really taste the bead. The flavour of these crisps is just Roast Chicken with Mayo; unlike the sausage variety, these crisps are missing the word 'sarnie’ from the title. 

I gave one of the crisps a try, and there was a very definite taste of roast chicken, then there was a little spice like black pepper and a creamy finish from the mayo. These were good, tasty chicken crisps. I still have to say I prefer the usual Walkers Chicken crisps, which I reckon is just because they are my go-to variety. I’m still unclear whether these Walkers Roast Chicken and Mayonnaise Crisps should have a bread flavour mixed in too, which I couldn’t pick up on. I do, however, have no regrets over buying two multipacks of this flavour, as they are really good crisps. 

Gosh - Falafacini - Basil Pesto & V'DUJA [@NLi10]

 We like the Gosh! range of vegan and veggie stuff, so I recommended we got a couple of these when I saw them.

We like Falafel, we like arancini, will we like this combo?

Easy and quick to cook - and 10/30 weekly plant points (which is the far more confusing version of 5-a-day)

And they do look exciting!

But my goodness were they dry!  We needed to put these in a sauce or similar to make them much more appetising.  They tasted great, and had an interesting texture but I could feel the moisture being drained from my soul so it wasn't as enjoyable as I hoped.

But - we had a back-up flavour to try.  Where as the other had delicate pesto flavours, this has a mighty spicy kick instead.

And in preparation I picked up a big tub of the premium humus we like and that helped - but still these would have benefited from a lovely rich sauce!

I can't imagine using these as falafel in a wrap, but as part of a hearty meal (with a large drink on the side) I think we can consider them again.