Wholesums Fresh Veg Popped Crisps (@DegustaboxUK) By @SpectreUK

I'm always on the lookout for alternative snacks to crisps. Okay, so these Wholesums Salt of the Earth do seem to be crisps. However, these "fresh veg popped" crisps look particularly healthy. They are made from carrots, peas and potatoes. They are low in fat at 1.2g per 22g bag, because they are popped crisps and not fried. They are gluten free, are a good source of fibre, and have 86 calories in the packet. They are also Vegan friendly. Not that I'm a Vegan, but that's what it says on the bag.

On opening the packet the small oval crisps inside looked a little like crushed coins from one of those press-machines at a fairground. There were slightly beige ones that were obviously potato crisps, which ironically tasted like very lightly salted popped potato crisps. The carrot ones were a slightly orange colour, had more of a crunch than the potato crisps, and still tasted like very lightly salted popped potato crisps. The greenish pee crushed flat popped crisps tasted a lot different to the other two flavours. They had yet more of a crunch to them and tasted a bit more like a green vegetable popped crisp. These pee crisps were not unpleasant in flavour and still tasted very lightly salted like the popped carrot and also popped potato crisps. Unfortunately I found that these popped vegetable crisps weren't very tasty though. When the packet stated "Salt of the Earth", I just expected a little more salt than I received. I do like Ready Salted crisps, but I'm afraid not this lightly salted.

Information on the packet;
At 22g the bag has 86 calories, with 1.2g of fat, 0.5g of sugar, and 0.3g of sugar. Please see photograph for the ingredients.

Mr Lee's Zen Garden Vegetables (Degusta) By @SpectreUK

Okay, this might sound mean, but for me putting the word "Zen" in front of Garden Vegetables doesn't make them sound more interesting. I like garden vegetables. I like being relaxed and having that peaceful feeling that the word Zen is associated with these days, but using it to spruce up something that otherwise would sound quite boring makes me feel like more of a grumpy old man!

I'll try to stop being mean and look more at the product… These Mr Lees Zen Garden Vegetables Noodles read very healthily when looking at the plastic pot. They're a fairly good source of protein for helping to repair my muscles after a session at the gym with 6.8g per pot. They're gluten free, and low in sugar and in fat, and also low in calories. However, as far as I'm aware, calories are important as we need them for energy to help the protein fix the muscles. These miso rice noodles also have diced asparagus, green beans, spinach and ginger added in.

On opening the pot there was a big blob of stringy miso rice on top of a lot or diced vegetables. I added freshly boiled water, left the pot to stand for a while, then stirred. On sniffing the mixed noodles and vegetables I passed the pot to Cinabar. She said it smelt of greens, which I guess she was right, but the contents of the pot just didn't smell very strong. There wasn't much to taste either. I could imagine a hint of asparagus, and maybe a little onion, and after a few mouthfuls of noodles and diced greens I caught a mild flavour of ginger. There was this mild taste of ginger throughout the rest of the pot, but this noodle pot was unfortunately more frustrating then Zen I'm afraid!

Information on the pot;
The 57.9g pot contains 208 calories, 1.4g of fat, 4.6g of sugar, and 3g of salt. Please see photograph for ingredients.

UFIT Crunchers Sea Salt & Vinegar (@DegustaboxUK) By @SpectreUK

I had a UFIT Chocolate Flavour High Protein Milkshake back in September last year that I remember wasn't big on taste, but it was useful for fixing muscles after a long workout. However I'm hoping these UFIT Crunchers Sea Salt & Vinegar Popped Protein Chips will be big on saltiness. I do like salt and vinegar flavoured crisps, especially if they're pretty salty, so I am interested to see if these protein chips will match other crisps brands on the market for tastiness.

These UFIT Crunchers Sea Salt & Vinegar Popped Protein Chips are made with soya pieces rather than potatoes, so they're also an alternative snack to regular crisps and also nuts. I had a rogue nut that must have fallen in with my steak meal in a pub the other day. I haven't eaten a nut for years due to dietary reasons, and it shouldn't have been there. It strangely took me a moment to realise what it was, as I thought it had broken off the end of one of my thrice cooked chips! Even though it was pretty much half a peanut it showed that I still can't eat them…

Anyway, on opening the packet these high fibre, high protein popped chips have quite a strong salt and vinegar aroma, with a hint of soy. They look like little rounded poppadoms in the packet. They have a very good crunch that compliments the name of these 'Crunchers' popped chips. On taste these protein chips have an initial dominant soy flavour, followed by a decent saltiness and then vinegar into the aftertaste. Cinabar said that she would have preferred them to have a stronger vinegar flavour, but I prefer more saltiness than vinegar in salt and vinegar crisps. I would definitely have these UFIT Crunchers Sea Salt & Vinegar Popped Protein Chips again, especially on the side of my already protein packed tuna sandwich and protein yoghurt lunch after a good long session at the gym.

Information on the packet;
The 35g packet contains 150 calories, with 3.7g of fat, 1.4g of sugar, and 0.61g of salt. They're Vegan and Vegetarian friendly, gluten free, as well as high in fibre (3.2g) and protein (8.1g). Please see photograph for the ingredients.

Upbeat Blood Orange & Mandarin ((@DegustaboxUK) By @SpectreUK

I think I probably needed to be 'down with kids' to be able read the title of this vitamin enriched Blood Orange & Mandarin protein water. 'Upbeat' is not what I read the first time I looked at the label. On seeing the orange images, I then read 'Up Be At' and commented to Cinabar that it was a bizarre name to call an orange flavoured zero sugar protein drink! I then realised it wasn't for early mornings, but could be useful for fixing muscles. Been as though I spend a great deal of time maintaining muscles at the gym now, I instantly hoped that this could be the perfect drink for me.

It states on the label that Upbeat is 'drink positive' with 'enriched hydration for strength, energy & mental performance'. I have noticed lately that no matter how much I drink and sweat out during exercise, as well as try to manage my calories to keep my weight down, I'm more than a little zonked out in the afternoons. Unfortunately I am getting on a bit, and we have been gaming late most nights, so lack of sleep isn't helping with my high exercise, high protein, and low calorie diet. So I'm hoping this high protein, zero sugar, real fruit drink, with energising vitamins will help me out.

On opening the bottle there was a strong mandarin smell, with the protein and vitamins aroma combined. I'm a big fan of mandarin jelly, so this was a big plus. I couldn't smell much on the blood orange side though, and there wasn't much blood orange in the flavour. This is definitely a predominantly mandarin flavoured high protein water drink. The protein and vitamins not only added to the aroma, but also to the taste. That 'oh, mandarin… but what's that faintly weird flavour,' never got old throughout the 500ml bottle. I guess I'll keep looking…

Information on the bottle;
The 500ml bottle contains a stinking 226 calories (approximately 75 calories higher than your average beer), 0g of fat, 12g of protein, and 0g of salt. See photograph for ingredients.

Broccoli Crisps (@DegustaboxUK) By @SpectreUK

I must admit that I have mixed feelings about the three flavours of Broccoli Crisps that Degusta very kindly sent to me to try from the Growers Garden, of The Farmers Collective. I know I often strive to find alternative snacks to crisps and nuts, mainly because for dietary reasons I can't eat nuts anymore, and there's always something to try that isn't just crisps. However, Broccoli Crisps?

After the excess of Christmas this is supposed to be the healthy time of the year, where many people join gyms and try to lose a little fat, well at least for a while until they break their New Year's Resolutions. Broccoli is high in protein and fibre, and has lots of vitamins and minerals. I noticed on the three packets that almost 30% of these crisps are broccoli so they are not completely alternative but are healthy(ish) crisps!

The three flavours I have been sent are Broccoli Crisps, which are a plain flavour, I guess; Broccoli Crisps with Cheese; I'm not going to explain that one; and also Broccoli Crisps with Chilli, likewise. I'm mainly interested in the Chilli flavoured Broccoli Crisps, but I'll eat the plain flavour and cheese flavour first and let you know how they taste before I move onto the possibly hotter version.

On opening the plain flavoured Broccoli Crisps there was a rounded popadom look about the part broccoli part potato crisps inside. These are very crunchy crisps and have a very definite broccoli flavour to them. They were certainly flavoursome, but you really have to like broccoli to eat them. Trouble is that I thought I like broccoli more than I actually do!

The cheese flavour Broccoli Crisps had a strong cheesy smell on opening and were actually very tasty. The cheese didn't overpower the broccoli, but seemed to work well with the flavour instead.

So, the last but not least flavour was Broccoli Crisps with Chilli. On opening the packet I could smell a mixture of chilli and broccoli from the red tinted rounded crisps inside. On taste the vegetable flavour of the chilli seemed to work well with the vegetable flavour of the broccoli, bizarrely well in fact. The chilli had quite a burn to it and left my mouth tingling after a few crisps. Out of the three flavours I'd probably buy the chilli flavour the most, with the plain flavour the least. Plus the chilli flavour was the only crisps that didn't leave me with 'Broccoli Breath" breath by the end of the packet!

Information on the Chilli flavour's packet;
The 22g bag had 96 calories, with 3.25g of fat, 0.35g of sugar, and 0.4g of salt. Ingredients included; Fresh broccoli (27%), potato flakes, rapeseed oil, potato starch, flavouring (6%), salt, spinach powder, vegetable oil, and pea fibre.

Cadbury’s Boost Protein bar (@DegustaboxUK) By @SpectreUK

So I finally went to see the surgeon who fixed my knee yesterday. He patted me on the back (so to speak) for all the hard work I've done in the gym to regain most of the muscles around my knee, and also for losing roughly three and a half stone since January. Then came the bad news. He said that because of the damage to the bones inside my knee I will have to keep my weight down and keep up with the exercises in order to maintain the muscles in my knee, then and only then would the likelihood of a replacement knee in twenty years time be low. That's good as I don't want to have further surgery and a bionic knee or whatever, but the hard work I've put in so far continues for the rest of my life. So rather than a completely fixed knee and back to work and play, it'll be exercise, a good healthy balanced diet, and also work and play. Many or all of us should probably be doing such a balance, but we all know that work generally tries to take over from everything else…

Anyway, the good balanced diet continues with calorie counting as well as exercise. I usually allow myself crisps and a mini malt loaf with my lunch after the gym, both of which I like very much indeed. It's important to like what you're eating even if some of it, like the crisps, aren't so healthy. Though without the naughty snack food and a little booze now and then, I might as well just blow my head off! So you can imagine I'm a little miffed at having to drop both crisps and malt loaf to try and shoulder the calories that come with this Cadbury's Boost Protein bar, especially when the surgeon tells me that maintaining the muscles is key now, rather than growing them. However a high protein diet as well as a mostly balanced diet with it has got me this far. I still need to fix my muscles after I've been to the gym, so the protein yoghurts and other protein packed foods help with that.

So this Cadbury's Boost Protein bar has layers of Cadbury's Milk Chocolate, which is my favourite chocolate, as well as Cadbury's Caramel, which is my favourite caramel and also protein crisps within it. I don't know whether I like protein crisps, but I guess I'm just about to find out… On unwrapping I found the bar is also covered with Cadbury's Milk Chocolate, so this just gets better and better. However you may need good teeth to eat this bar as biting into it was pretty tough. The protein crisps seem to be wrapped in a gooey Cadbury's Caramel underneath the covering of Cadbury's Milk Chocolate. Both the Cadbury's Milk Chocolate and Cadbury's Caramel in the bar are two of my favourite things - did I already mention that? These in my opinion are two of the greatest flavours on Earth. However and most unfortunately neither flavour could seem to mask the slightly weird taste of the protein crisps, which tasted slightly chemically orientated. Try as they might and they almost succeeded they didn't mask the chemical flavour. Both Cadbury's Milk Chocolate and Cadbury's Caramel flavours were there to start with, unfortunately the chemical flavour was dominant into the aftertaste. This made for a slightly unpleasant after-flavour in my mouth, which convinced me to stick with my potato crisps and malt loaf with my usual protein packed yoghurt to finish!

Information on the wrapper;
There are 249 calories in the 49g bar, with 13g of fat, 17g of sugars and 0.11g of salt. Please see photograph for ingredients.

Kolibri Cardamom & Chilli (Degusta) By @SpectreUK

Keeping with the theme of trying to warm myself up with food and drink, I thought I'd try this Kolibri Cardamom & Chilli drink. This carbonated spring water drink is blended with Cardamom and Chilli natural extracts, and lemon juice. There is also a fun, or a slightly complex, depending on how you look at it, Kolibri Drops container to tailer your drink with added syrupy sweetness. As you can see from the photo below, you have to use the screw top of the glass bottle to push down on the top of the Kolibri Drops container to release the syrup. Make sure you tip the carbonated blended water from the bottle into a glass first and then tailor it with the amount of Kolibri Drops you want to add. As you may have guessed, I'm an all or nothing kind of person, so I dumped the whole container into my waiting blended spring water filled glass.

I tasted the transparent blended carbonated spring water first before adding the syrup, and it tasted like liquidised curry. Or rather like those weird shaped things that flavour the rice before you add the curry sauce. I have a habit of burying the cardamom pods in the rice by mistake and then biting into them when I least expect it. The intense flavour always catches me and makes my face twist and I always say "Blurrgh!" when it happens.

The transparent blended spring water changed into a rather pleasing golden colour once I had added all of the Kolibri Drops. The added syrupy sweetness changed the flavour markedly to a much sweeter curry type flavour, which was instantly rather refreshing. Being alcohol free and at only 36 calories with all the Kolibri Drops added, this drink would be really ideal to wash down a good curry and popadoms meal. I can see myself routing out another bottle or two to try that out.

Pip's Hot Chocolate Coins (@DegustaboxUK) By @Cinabar

Part of the inspiration for the start of this blog was an at-work quest for a decent hour chocolate, and it has always remained a keen topic for us here at Foodstuff Finds. I actually had started to believe I was super fussy with hot chocolate and have even been known to tip mugs of the stuff away as I didn’t think the drink was worth the calories. I know, proper drama queen. So when I found a selection of these Pip's Hot Chocolate Coins in my latest Degustabox I have to admit I was cautious about being too excited.

My first thought was that they looked too small to flavour a mug of milk but as I took the wrapper of i realised they were actually quite chunky, think the tardis or something. I heated some milk and when it was hot added in the Pip's Hot Chocolate Coin and stirred. It took a little while to start dissolving but did and once it began to then melted and mixed in easily, I gave it a little whisk with a fork too. The drink looked dark enough and I hoped for good flavour too.
When it came to the taste test it passed with flying colours. The flavour of the drink was rich and chocolatey, there was lots of soothing cocoa and just enough sweetness for my tastebuds. It is soothing rich drink which is what I think a hot chocolate should be. I found myself looking forward to the other Coins included in the box and even checking out the other flavours available on their website, to see what they do. Black Forest looks like it will be in my Christmas list!

UFIT Chocolate Flavour High Protein Milkshake (@DegustaboxUK) By @SpectreUK

After a long session of weights and swimming at my local gym there's nothing better that a protein packed lunch, and often followed by something sweet for a treat. This UFIT Chocolate Flavour High Protein Milkshake could be both protein packed and a sweet treat. I've certainly got my fingers crossed…

With no added sugar, low in fat, made with nutritious milk and milk proteins, as well as vitamins and minerals, this chocolate milkshake sounds very good for me indeed. Especially after my longer than usual and pretty torturous session at the gym today. I'm working harder to get my knee muscles back into shape, as they are feeling stronger by the day, but I've possibly been going a little easy for a few weeks now. Time to grow the muscles more to match the other knee. Plus my abs are looking pretty good, but need further work to get rid of a little more fat, and my shoulder is improving after its surgery some years ago.

Like every morning, I started working out at 5.30am and then finally left the gym for lunch at 1pm. So, you can see why I need this milkshake! After a good shake, on opening the bottle there was a fairly milky chocolate aroma from the mid brown creamy liquid inside. On taste this UFIT Chocolate Flavour High Protein Milkshake is pretty heavy on the milk and a little light on the chocolate side. It's milky, slightly creamy and mildly chocolatey sweet. It's certainly not unpleasant, but personally I have a sweeter tooth. Having said that, with the fairly low calories and the sheer amount of protein packed inside this little bottle, not to mention all the vitamins and minerals. This protein packed chocolate milkshake will be helping to fix my tired muscles for some time. I'd certainly have one of these after a workout just for that reason alone!

Information on the bottle;
The 310ml bottle contains 170 calories, with 3.2g of fat, 10.4g of sugar, 0.3g of salt, and 22g of protein. Suitable for vegetarians. Please see photograph for the ingredients.

Savoursmiths Truffle and Rosemary Crisps (@DegustaboxUK) By @SpectreUK

When I'm trying to cultivate a six-pack the last thing I want to do is to eat a bag of crisps that are 201 calories. Although these Truffle and Rosemary Crisps from Savoursmiths sounded too pretentious not to blog about. So after a gruelling session at the gym I now have the packet in front of me. Fortunately with the amount of exercise I'm doing I have been able to drink and eat what I want from day one. I have now dropped down to four sessions a week at the gym instead of six, and I'm still slowly but surely losing weight.

I'm not counting calories, I'm just eating less on the non-gym days and I max out on protein on the the gym days. I look forward to my tuna sandwich afterwards, plus a piece of cheese, crisps, pickled onion, tomato, apple and a high protein yoghurt to finish. I believe in a balanced diet, and it's working… Okay, so I eat two packs of pork scratchings occasionally after the gym, and also a beer on the evening too. This is the life… I'm lighter in weight than I have been in twenty years (so nah-nah to my surgeon) and the muscles have finally almost come back around my knee. I have to be careful though, I don't want to damage my knee or anything else, and also my abs routine every morning is pretty tough.

Anyway, back to these Truffle and Rosemary Crisps. Apparently Black Italian Summer Truffles are a natural aphrodisiac. This coupled with the rosemary is said to arouse the tastebuds and "leave you pining for more." I'm now slightly worried about eating these Truffle and Rosemary Crisps. I'm supposed to be seeing my Physiotherapist this afternoon and the last thing she needs is a rusty old guy being flirty!

On opening the bag the smell of these crisps was exceptional. Okay, so the flavour is original (in my books), but I wasn't expecting a delightfully strong smell of rosemary, some saltiness and the slightly peppery smell of the truffles. The taste is like no crisp I've ever tasted… Oh, yes… Truffle and Rosemary Crisps! These crisps really do taste amazeballs! The flavours of the Black Truffle and the herby rosemary washed around my mouth with every crisps. Gosh, I'm glad I went to the gym for these! Don't worry, I'll try to calm down before I see my Physio!

Information on the packet;
The 40g bag contains 201 calories, 11g of fat, 1.2g of sugar, and 0.56g of salt. Please see photograph for the ingredients.

Mystery Crisps (DegustaboxUK) By @SpectreUK

I'm not sure I should blog about these mystery crisps. They have no information on the packet asides the ingredients, so I can't give you a name or manufacturer or anything really. Therefore I apologise if this blog is a little short.

There's been no pressure on us to write about them either, just curiosity is slowly itching away at me. Like a Pandora's Box. I'm just staring at the packet and wondering. The ingredients don't even look that interesting. They sound pretty healthy, but no chilli heat or even pepper. Just corn, lentils, beans and peas. My curiosity may have got the better of me here, as I really don't like snacks that don't taste of anything. It's supposed to be tasty at least… that's why it's a snack!

I can see through the packet and these tortilla shaped crisps look a little sat on and crushed… On opening the packet the rather strong smell of corn oil hit my nostrils, there was a little pea and bean in the aroma also, but mostly oil. They aren't crunchy at all. Perhaps a little rubbery in texture. They taste mainly of corn with a heavy hint of oil… I have to admit that I ate one crisp and then threw the bag away. I'm not wasting (or waisting) the calories. Whoever made them and whatever they are supposed to be, these mystery crisps need a serious rethink!

Information on the packet;
Per 100g there are 424 calories, with 11.8g of fat, 0.4g of sugar, and 1g of salt. Ingredients include; corn, red lentils, green peas, yellow peas, black beans, corn oil, and salt.

Say Aloe (@DegustaboxUK) By @SpectreUK

I have a confession. This Say Aloe, Aloe Vera drink with reduced sugar has sat in the fridge for the best part of a year or more. It's now on date. I meant to write about it some time ago. I really did… but it's never appealed to me. I was checking the dates on my beer cans and bottles within my cavernous beer fridge the other day with my administrative assistant (Cinabar) adding date labels on them for me. I had to literally dust off this bottle of Aloe Vera drink. I checked its date and it ends today. So here we are…

On opening the 500ml bottle this Aloe Vera drink smells slightly floral and with grape at the back of the aroma. On pouring the liquid is slightly yellow, which is discouraging to say the least, and has small pieces of diced Aloe Vera floating ominously within it. This drink does not look appetising. What with the off yellow colour and the little pieces that look like pond life floating around in it, I'm not sure why I'm about to taste it…

... Oh yes, I've already written quite a few words so it's just too late to go back…

Wow! On taste this drink tastes completely different to anything I expected! It actually tastes like a liquid form of children's grape sweet, mixed with Aloe Vera. Not the grape sweets that taste of weird chemicals though… but actual grape favour. The bits of Aloe Vera somehow add to the liquid children's sweet texture too. Say Aloe is also packed full of vitamin C, which battles tiredness and helps to keep you healthy from colds. I seriously don't know why I didn't drink this Say Aloe before now!

Street Food Teriyaki Crisps (@DegustaboxUK) By @SpectreUK

I like to watch a lot of food and travel programmes on the TV. I like to see people in far off places I'll probably never go to eating food I'll possibly never try. Of course we have lots of diverse restaurants in the UK, so I can always dabble. For instance there's a Vietnamese restaurant in Grand Central Station, in Birmingham, I like to go to on the odd occasion. The street food in those far off places on the TV, even in any market here always looks inviting, but my weak tummy only lets me browse and maybe have a sniff rather than full on eating anything.

London Flavours have brought out these Street Food Teriyaki flavoured potato crisps. They sound a good alternative snack to actual street food. I can get the flavours of Teriyaki I always love and am used to from various restaurants in a packet of crisps. On opening the packet there was that unmistakable blend of soy and ginger from the Teriyaki seasoning. On taste the greedy side of me was instantly glad that these Street Food Teriyaki flavoured crisps came in a 40g packet. There's a sweetness that hit my tastebuds first from the muscovado sugar and molasses, then there's a tastiness from the garlic in the ingredients and towards the aftertaste there's a decent salty bite. These crisps do have a Teriyaki flavour running almost right through them, however there's a heavy flavour of garlic added in the middle and that unusual saltiness towards the end, reminding me that I'm eating potato crisps. They're certainly very tasty though and I'd enjoy them again.

Information on the packet;
The 40g packet contains 507 calories, with 27g of fat per 100g, 3.2g of sugar, and 0.85g of salt. These crisps are gluten free and Vegan friendly. Please see photograph for ingredients.

Fusian Sweet Chilli Noodles (@DegustaboxUK) By @SpectreUK

I do love a good pot of hot noodles with a spicy sauce. I like to boil myself some eggs to have on the side and also dip some bread and butter into the pot to soak up the sauce. I've had a few particularly explosive experiences with Fusian before. Namely trying to cook their noodle packets without them boiling over in our dodgy old microwave. To be honest there has been absolutely no success there whatsoever and it usually takes quite a while to clean the microwave afterwards. Part of that time taken is me begging Cinabar just to buy another microwave!

This Maggi Fusian Sweet Chilli Noodles is finally in a pot. I'm not sure how long they've been out, but whoohoo! Now I get to add boiling water rather than stare at an overly bright TV dinner until it explodes everywhere when I blink!

On opening the pot there was two sachets; one for seasoning and one for diced vegetables, such as carrot, leek, onion, parsley, and chives. These two sachets were sitting on top of a solid block of stringy noodles (I'm sure they're not called that, but whatever!). I'd take a photograph of the contents, but believe me they're not that interesting. No bendable plastic fork under extreme temperatures either… which was slightly disappointing. I always enjoy putting that in recycling and finding a metal fork from the draw!

After adding the contents of the sachets into the pot and adding boiling water, as well as boiling some eggs, and buttering some bread, this reddish coloured Fusian Sweet Chilli Noodles looks pretty packed full of diced vegetables. It smells like a mild sweet chilli, no nose tickling chilli burn here, just a gentle tasty smelling noodle pot. On taste there is something very different about this Fusian Sweet Chilli Noodles than any noodle pot I've tasted before. It's the caramelised sugar. It really complements the warming spices and chillies, and peppery flavours. Caramelised sugar is the predominant flavour here and makes every medium chilli hot and sugary sweet mouthful absolutely delicious. I'll definitely be having these Fusian Sweet Chilli Noodles on a regular basis with my other favourite noodle pot varieties!

Information on the pot;
Each 64g pot contains 307 calories, 14.2g of fat, 3.8g of sugar, and 1.08g of salt. There are no artificial colours or preservatives, and it states there is 25% less salt in this product. See photograph for ingredients.

Clearspring Seaveg Crispies (@DegustaboxUK) By @SpectreUK

I'm trying a little bit of a health kick. Don't worry it probably won't last, but during this prolonged period of rehabilitating my knee after it's second surgery, I find I need to lose more weight. I've been exercising like crazy and have toned up a bit and lost some weight, but still I look in the mirror and things wobble that probably shouldn't.

Produced in Korea these Seaveg Crispies are a Toasted Nori Snack. 'Nori' is the Japanese word for edible sea vegetables. These Seaveg Crispies are Turmeric flavoured. Although not scientifically proven to have the long… long… long list of benefits Turmeric is vaunted to have, such as being good for the heart and it lessons swelling (around my knee), it does taste pretty sweet and is a member of the ginger family, so should be good for my tummy if nothing else. I have recently got used to drinking a Turmeric tea first thing in the morning, much to Cinabar's 'scientific chagrin'!

Trying not to think of where fish pee, I decided to open the packet of Seaveg Crispies. There are three 4g packets each having 18 calories, which is just shy of two minutes on the exercise bike the physiotherapist insists I slave on at least three times a week. I'm now going to the gym six times a week, so I'm sure she'll be proud of me in a few week's time during our next appointment. Okay… on typing this I realise I'm filling space and actually avoiding opening the packet…

There was a bizarre smell on opening the packet I haven't quite smelt before. It made me want to go and smell a Victoria Sponge Cake to get over it! Even more bizarrely the more I sniffed these vegetable(ish) smelling, mixed with grass, mixed with salt, mixed with turmeric Seaveg Crispies the more I started to get used it.

As you can see from the photograph, they are quite long and very thin pieces of very dark green seaweed. They look a little like Kermit the Frog had an argument with a steamroller, only to be chopped into rectangles. Be careful how you put them in your mouth as they shatter. And they shatter everywhere! There's a strange almost grass-like taste to begin with, then sea salty with a touch of sweetness to finish from the turmeric. They actually don't taste that bad. They smell a bit weird. They look even weirder, but they don't taste that awful. I could get used to these… if only I could get the image of a fish peeing out of my head! ;-D

Information on the packet;
3 x 4g packets, each having 18 calories, with 1.2g of fat, 0g of sugar, and 0.1g of salt. They are organically grown, gluten free, have no additives or preservatives, are high in fibre (at 1.2g) and Vegan. Ingredients included; toasted nori sea vegetable (62%), sunflower oil, sea salt, and turmeric (2%).

Hartley’s 10 calories Flavoured Jelly (@DegustaboxUK) By @SpectreUK

In my life I have met two types of people. There are those that like jelly and ice cream in the same bowl, and those that like jelly or ice cream in a bowl on their own. I'm a jelly or ice cream kind of person. Don't get me wrong, I do like jelly and I also like ice cream, just as long as they don't meet in the same bowl. Now you'll be able to tell which type of person you are by determining how crazy I sound. If I should perfectly reasonable, then you are not a jelly and ice cream in the same bowl type of person either!

Black Forest Gateau Jelly

Cinabar asked me why I choice to try this jelly. "You don't even like Black Forest Gateau!" She exclaimed. It's true I don't particularly like cherries for a start, which doesn't help with liking the cake itself. Many years ago whilst staying in Lumley Castle, near Newcastle Upon Tyne, there was nothing on the pudding menu I liked, but I went for the bowl of cherries, because it came with shortbread. I figured it would be a tiny bowl of cherries with some biscuits on the side. I'm telling you that I never seen such a big bowl of cherries in my entire life!

On opening this 175g plastic pot there was an unsurprising and yet also unsurprisingly unwelcome smell of cherries. This chilled deep red almost liquid jelly smelt of Maraschino cherries, and strangely a little creamy. I wasn't particularly fussed by tasting it at this point, but this is what us hardy bloggers have to do, so I reluctantly dug a spoon in. The only thing that tasted more of cherries than this jelly was the monstrous bowl full that I started and almost threw up at Lumley Castle. I couldn't really pick up on any chocolate flavour though. Although there was a slightly odd taste of cream at the back of the flavour, which didn't bode well with my half crazed jelly or ice cream persona.

Lemon Cheesecake Jelly

Before you say it, yes, with the whole jelly or ice cream ideology this is probably not a good idea! However, I do love lemon cheesecake, unless, of course; it's baked! There are two types of people… Oh, never mind… I just don't like baked cheesecake! Anyway, even Hartley's would have a job on baking jelly flavoured with lemon cheesecake. Surely?

On opening the pot there was a decent smell of lemon. This was to be expected for a Lemon Cheesecake Jelly. In fact if I almost stick the pot up my nose I would say it does smell of lemon cheesecake, and not the baked variety. Phew! There is that creamy flavour again after a initial fairly sour taste of lemon. Here the creamy flavour is more pronounced, however it does actually taste pretty good… well, if you like that sort of thing! I'd certainly say that this was my favourite out of the two jellies… Mainly because no matter how many cherries a hotel can try to force feed me, I'm just never going to like them!

Jack Daniel’s Lynchburg Lemonade (@DegustaboxUK) By @SpectreUK

I've recently found out that I like certain distilled spirits in a glass of lemonade. This Jack Daniel's Lynchburg Lemonade is a Crafted Cocktail with probably a shot of the traditional Tennessee whisky, a dash of Triple Sec and then filled to the top with zesty lemonade. At 5% volume this drink should be pretty potent. It has the original Old No. 7 Jack Daniels Tennessee in it, which I've recently found I like in lemonade, so I probably won't mind a little Triple Sec added in too.

On opening the can there was the tangy Triple Sec smell to start with, and then the Jack Daniel's aroma in the background merging with the lemonade. This cloudy lemonade concoction does smell really nice, sweet and zesty after pouring. The fizzy excitable bubbles almost popping out of the top of the glass. On taste the flavours merge almost immediately. There was the Jack Daniel's slightly ahead of the tangy Triple Sec in the race to my tastebuds, whilst the zesty lemonade seems to balance out these two flavours into an all round excellent flavour filled drink. This is very nice indeed and will probably become a regular in my beer fridge. I'd recommend you give it a go…

Pipers Matar Paneer Crispeas (@DegustaboxUK) By @SpectreUK

I'm always on the lookout for alternative snacks to flavoured nuts, and these Pipers Matar Paneer Crispeas are made from marrowfat peas. They have a green colour to them in the image on the front of the packet. This sort of snack always reminds me of mashed and chopped up cooked Gremlin!
Matar Paneer Crispeas are seasoned based on a traditional North Indian recipe. I'm not going to pretend I know what it tastes like, because I'm fairly predictable and usually go for a Lamb Balti at the local curry house. From the ingredients it seems to have mostly every herb and spice I could just about think of if they whizzed passed me on a Generation Game conveyor belt, and these Matar Paneer Crispeas also have a touch of heat from Cayenne Chilli.

On opening the packet considering the Cayenne Chilli seemed to be almost an afterthought towards the end of the ingredients list, there was quite a thwack of it in the aroma of the multitude of greenish sticks. This was quite bizarre as there was barely any chilli flavour on eating, except a very mild chilli heat. I could also pick up on cinnamon, cumin and parsley in the smell, and also a touch of onion. The sticks were nice and crunchy, and there was plenty of mild curry flavours in these Matar Paneer Crispeas, which made them quite moreish. However, I did get the feeling that these are pretty heavy on the garlic and onion, so not good for kissing without a breath mint or two!

Information on the packet;
The 21g packet contains 91 calories, with 3.5g of fat, 0.7g of sugar, and 0.25g of salt. Please see photograph for ingredients.

Emily Veg Crisps Sweet Potato Sticks Chilli and Lime (@DegustaboxUK) By @SpectreUK

Always on the lookout for alternative snacks to crisps and nuts, I've tried a few of Emily's Veg crisps in the past and usually like them. I have a habit of avoiding sweet potato chips in restaurants, even though they're Cinnabar's favourite chips. I've never particularly been keen on them myself, as I prefer thick cut regular potato chips or fries dipped in tomato sauce or a hot sauce. I noticed these Sweet Potato Sticks are seasoned with Chilli and Lime. Frank's Chilli and Lime is one of my favourite hot sauces, so I figured I'd probably like Emily's version. There were plenty of chillies and limes in amongst the sweet potato sticks on the front of the packet, so I was expecting these to have the same chilli burn I'm accustomed to.

On opening the packet there was certainly a heavy predominantly chilli and then lime aroma. The orange coloured sticks looked like short thick cut fries. The sweet potato sticks had a decent crunch to them. There was a chilli flavour mixed with a tang of lime, and then with tomato, onion and parsley into the aftertaste. They were moreish, but only with a mild chilli heat to them. Classed as one of your five fruit or vegetables a day, which has recently been recommended as nine a day, these Sweet Potato Sticks Chilli and Lime may not make my required chilli and lime heat combination, but the flavour was good and I didn't mind in the least that they were sweet potato sticks. In fact, I thought chilli and lime went particularly well with sweet potato and may try my favourite hot sauce with some sweet potato chips as soon as I can find them both in a room at the same time! Unfortunately I just finished a bottle and I can't remember where we bought it…

Information on the packet;

The 35g bag contains 178 calories, with 9.6g of fat, 13.2g of sugar, and 0.4g of salt. Ingredients included; sweet potato, RSPO-sustainable palm oil, rice flour, sugar, salt, spices, cayenne chilli, tomato, onion, garlic, natural lime flavouring, parsley, red pepper, yeast extract, paprika extract, and rapeseed oil.

Indie BaySpelt Pretzel Bites Smokin' BBQ (@DegustaboxUK) By @SpectreUK

Indie BaySpelt Pretzel Bites Smokin' BBQ

Always on the lookout for alternatives to nuts and crisps, these Spelt Pretzel Bites Smokin' BBQ from Indie Bay seemed to fit the bill. There was a lot of information on the little packet. For instance these spelt and wheat pretzel bites are an all natural source of fibre and protein, being GMO (genetically modified) free, they have no trans fats (so good for your heart) and are vegan friendly. Vegans are pretty strict, I'm slowly learning, so it should mean that definitely no animals were even slightly put out of sorts during the production of these pretzel bites!

On opening these Spelt Pretzel Bites Smokin' BBQ had a pretty smoky sweet barbecue smell to them. As you can see from the photograph, they were spherical balls around one centimetre in diameter. The bag was a good shape for tipping as many pretzel balls into my mouth as possible, so these would be good for a gaming snack between death-matches or Battle Royale or races or whatever you may like to play. They do taste of a smoky salty sweet barbecue sauce to start with, until you bite in and then they taste of pretzels, with a touch of onion, garlic and paprika in the aftertaste. They can be a little dry whilst eating, so I would recommend some sort of beverage be close at hand, or alternatively one of those beer hats if you have one! I just filled my beer mug with a dark ruby ale to wash them down with. They went very well together!

Information on the packet:
The 26g bag contains 99 calories, with 1.2g of fat, 1.2g of sugar, and 0.6g of salt. Please see photograph for ingredients.