Wotsits Bag of Bones (Tesco) By @Cinabar

Can I start by saying Happy Halloween! I hope you are enjoying spooky season, whether you are going trick or treating for snacks or staying in to watch a seasonal film. We are staying in and snacking, and one of our choices is this great sharing crisp bag, Wotsits Bag of Bones.

The pieces are essentially cheese Wotsits, but this time they are shaped to look like various skeleton parts. There are skulls, bones and rib cages, and yes, the photo does show my attempt to make a little skeleton. Because although I look like a grown-up, I clearly am not!

The flavour and texture of these are interesting because they are cheese Wotsits, but they are somehow better. I can't explain why. They have the same cheesy flavour powder, but they just taste better! I think the different shapes add more crunch, and perhaps the unusual shapes trap the flavouring powder, making them a little more intense.

They are Wotsits with the volume turned up! It might all be in my head, but I'm convinced they are better. I would totally recommend these if you are looking for a last-minute sharing snack to enjoy during a Halloween film.

Wishing you a fab Halloween!

Halloween Wicked Pickled Worms (Marks & Spencer’s) By @SpectreUK

Marks & Spencer’s have brought out a lot of different snacks for Halloween this year. These Halloween Wicked Pickled Worms are potato snacks with pink pickled onion flavour seasoning.

I do like pickled onion crisps with a cheese and cold meats meal, so that’s what I’ll have with these. I will eat my dinner whilst watching Bake Off. It’s not very scary, but a cheese and cold meats dinner is very tasty especially with a glass of port, or rum and lemonade.

On opening the bag it was full of pink dusted wiggly worm shaped potato crisps. Very crunchy to the taste, there was a saltiness begin with, quickly followed by a tangy pickled onion flavour, which was also quite heavy on the vinegar, seemingly to make these Halloween Wicked Pickled Worms more sour. 

I certainly liked these wiggly worms and would have them again, especially with a cheese and cold meats meal. Yum.

No real worms were harmed during the writing of this blog.

Information on the packet; The 125g packet contained 469 calories per 100g, with 21.8g of fat, 2.8g of sugar, and 1.8g of salt. Please see photograph for the ingredients.

Golden Wonder Thai Sweet Chilli (Home Bargains) By @SpectreUK

Believe it or not, but this is my breakfast. I have a pub meal out tonight which takes up all of my calories for the day, so I don’t usually eat beforehand. I like a really good pub meal, like a mixed grill with a gammon steak, and sticky toffee pudding with custard to finish it off.

So, these limited edition Golden Wonder Thai Sweet Chilli crisps are to keep me going before I go out tonight. Besides, it’s a bit cold and damp outside, so hopefully these crisps will warm me up a bit.

Thai Sweet Chilli crisps can often come flavoured with chicken, so it’s nice to see Golden Wonder concentrating on the flavour of Thai sweet and chilli spiciness. On opening the bag there was a chilli aroma to the reddish crisps inside.

On first crunchy taste, these Golden Wonder Thai Sweet Chilli crisps had a familiar flavour, but with more of a chilli burn to follow. I have been complaining for some time that I couldn’t find a hot and spicy bag of crisps anymore, and here it is.

They were so moreish, and they warmed the back of my throat with chilli as they went down. Certainly an Autumn and Winter warmer. I hope Golden Wonder decide to make them a permanent flavour. They are so good.

Information on the packet; The 25g bag contains 131 calories, with 7.7g of fat, 1g of sugar, and 0.25g of salt. Suitable for vegans, and made with no artificial flavours, preservatives, or colours. Please see photograph for the ingredients.

Walkers Grilled Cheese & Chilli Jam flavoured crisps (Ocado) By @SpectreUK

If there’s one thing in life that I have discovered, it’s that I have a lot of favourite sandwiches. One of my favourites is the all time classic; ham and tomato sandwich. Add a bit of salad cream or mayonnaise, a lot of Colman’s English Mustard, and a little pepper and I am well away. Even if it always gets really messy.

I generally have some sort of bacon flavoured crisps to accompany my ham and tomato sandwich. Today, I found these limited edition Walkers Grilled Cheese & Chilli Jam flavoured crisps to review. I like a bit of grilled cheese on an sandwich, and chilli jam can have quite a kick to it. So, I wonder what these taste like.

On opening the bag there was an aroma of sweet chilli and a cheesiness to the red chilli flecked crisps inside. On first taste these Walkers Grilled Cheese & Chilli Jam flavoured crisps had a strong grilled cheese flavour to begin with, and then a mild sweet chilli tang followed. I could feel that sweet chilli heat building the more crisps I ate, and they were very moreish indeed. Yum.

Information on the packet; The 25g bag contained 128 calories, with 7.3g of fat, 0.8g of sugar, 0.16g of salt. Please see photograph for the ingredients.

Crusties & Bugles - Denmark Snacks [@NLi10]

 We recently went to Denmark for the week - but surprisingly didn't pick up many branded snacks.  I gravitated towards the pastries and cafes - and it wasn't quite hot enough for the icecreams.

I did spot these Crusties

Like a store-brand version of the Knopper this comes as a multi pack.

Very affordable, not quite as creamy or rich as the originals, but still a nice snack.  Really not that filling though

My partner opted for a single bag of Bugles for a similar price.  These have crept into the UK but never seem as good as the Lay's version - guess it's like Takis not being as good as the Spanish ones.

These look and taste fantastic.

They don't photograph well - this is a tiny crisp, not a samosa.

They lasted ages, and worked out as much better value than the tasty wafer squares (I think we still have one of those left!) -  we did a lot of walking so big meals, sugary drinks and bags of bugles should be the way forwards.

McCoy’s Yellow Mustard Flavour (Ocado) By @SpectreUK

Pork is probably my favourite sandwich. I say ‘probably’, because I love so many different sandwiches. I may have a little apple sauce on a pork sandwich, or more likely a little English Mustard, or French’s Classic Yellow mustard.

I don’t want to distract from the taste of the pork in the sandwich, as it is a fairly delicate taste. Too much hot or sweet mustard, and the flavour of pork may quickly be overwhelmed, and the sandwich a bit of a dud.

These new McCoy’s Yellow Mustard Flavour crisps may help with not overwhelming my pork sandwich. On opening the bag there was a sweet mustard aroma to the yellowish orange ridged potato crisps inside.

On first crunchy taste, these McCoy’s Yellow Mustard Flavour crisps had a tangy mustard flavour, followed by sweet fiery horseradish and a little spicy paprika. They certainly were tasty, maybe too flavoursome for my pork sandwich, but definitely very moreish indeed. I’ll have to get some more of these.

Information on the packet; The 25g bag contained 132 calories, with 7.8g of fat, 0.9g of sugar, and 0.12g of salt. Please see photograph for the ingredients.

Walkers Salt & Pepper Chicken Multipack Crisps (Tesco) By @Cinabar

Walkers invited people to suggest new flavours for their crisps, and two of the winners have now been made. The one with the most sales will be deemed the winner and the flavour will stick around. We have found both, but first up we are trying Walkers Salt & Pepper Chicken Multipack Crisps.

I opened up the bag and the aroma was lovely. I am biased, as chicken crisps are my favourite, but these had all of that lovely chicken aroma along with lots of seasoning too. There was even a slightly paprika tinge of red to the seasoning.

I gave them a taste and the flavour was so me, it is untrue. They are like chicken crisps, but with the volume turned up. I loved all the spices and the pepper, along with lashings of roast chicken meaty goodness. They were amazing. It would be hard to imagine anything beating these.

So I will be buying another multipack of these, as purchases are essentially a vote for this flavour to win. But I will also be trying the Chilli Jam ones too. It will take something special to beat these, though!

McCoy’s Hot Kick Ketchup Crisps (Ocado) By @SpectreUK

When I am out and about looking around the shops and I see a Caribbean supermarket, I’m straight in there looking for one sauce only. There may be a shelf of sauces of all sorts of flavours, but Grace’s Hot Tomato Ketchup is the one I’m looking for.

So, when I saw these McCoy’s Hot Kick Ketchup, I thought maybe they’ll be able to sate my hunger for Grace’s Hot Tomato Ketchup a little, during my never ending search. After all, it’s a rare day I find a packet of McCoy’s crisps I don’t like.

On opening a packet, there was a chilli aroma from these McCoy’s Hot Kick Ketchup crisps, and perhaps a little tomato. On first taste there was a medium chilli warmth from the reddish potato crisis, but not much of a tomato flavour at all. On looking at the ingredients, dried tomato seemed to be more of an after thought mixed in with a multitude of other ingredients.

Don’t get me wrong, these McCoy’s Hot Kick Ketchup crisps don’t taste bad at all. However, to my tastebuds there wasn’t a hot chilli kick, and there wasn’t much of ketchup flavour either. I’ll continue looking for Grace’s Hot Tomato Ketchup then, shall I?

No tomato’s were particularly bothered during the making of these crisps. 

Information on the packet; Each 25g bag contained 132 calories, with 7.8g of fat, 0.7g of sugar, and 0.12g of salt. Please see photograph for the ingredients.

Seabrook Disney Winnie the Pooh Honey Flavour Lentil Puffs (Ocado) By @SpectreUK

To celebrate Disney Winnie the Pooh‘s 100th birthday, Seabrook have brought out these Honey Flavour Lentil Puffs. Written by A.A. Milne for his son Christopher Robin’s toys adventures, Winnie the Pooh has been popular with people of all ages ever since.

Seabrook’s origin story is also quite interesting. Mr Charles Brook phoned the shop to arrange pick up of his photos, whilst leaving the name Mr. C. Brook in 1939. When he went to pick them up, they had written down Seabrook, as his name. War happened, Charles was in the navy, and afterwards he decided to buy an old chip shop in Bradford, and call it Seabrook. He also made snack food with the fryer, and delivered it to the locals.

Anyway, on opening these Disney Winnie the Pooh Honey Flavour Lentil Puffs had a very sweet honey aroma. In fact they made me think of a sweet breakfast cereal. On taste though, there was an initial sweet honey flavour, followed by lentil.

For me, I’d say they needed a bit more salt to balance the sweetness and detract from the lentils. Eating two of these Disney Winnie the Pooh Honey Flavour Lentil Puffs at a time seems better, as the honey flavour lasts longer. I think they will go well with a cheese meal, so that’s what I’ll do with my next packet.

Happy birthday Winnie the Pooh!

Information on the packet: Per 18g bag is 74 calories, with 2.4g of fat, 0.7g of sugar, 0.07g of salt. Please see photograph for the ingredients.

Salt & Black Pepper Mix (Waitrose) By @SpectreUK

Salt & Black Pepper flavoured crisps are one of my all time favourites. I can eat them with just about anything; on their own with a beer, or dipped in sauce, with a sandwich or any meal I’d usually have bread with.

We couldn’t get out to buy a French Stick today to have with our lasagne, as Cinabar has a cold. So, I suggested having these Salt & Black Pepper Mix from Waitrose. I was hoping for a bit of pepper spice with my lasagne, mushrooms and broccoli.

There was a mild saltiness on opening the packet of various potato crisp shapes. Some had more black pepper flavour than others, such as the waves and wagon wheels.

Although altogether this sharing party bag was pretty mild in salt and almost nonexistent in spicy black pepper flavour. Whereas I prefer my Salt & Black Pepper flavoured crisps with a bit more umph.

Information on the packet; The 150g bag contained 121 calories per 25g, with 5.7g of fat, less than 0.5g of sugar, and 0.51g of salt.

McVitie’s Penguin Bites - Salt and Vinegar (Ocado) By @Cinabar

What is going on here with these McVitie’s Penguin Salt and Vinegar Bites? I mean, when you think McVitie’s Penguin, you think thick chocolate biscuit bars. We’ve written about quite a few McVitie’s Penguin products over the years, but one thing has always been consistent: they’ve been chocolatey and biscuit flavoured. This is about as far away from that as I can work out. Salt and vinegar? And I think they’re crisps?

Well, we decided to open them and have them as a snack while watching The Devil Wears Prada (the first one, as a reminder before the new one). I opened up the bag and was surprised that they’re tiny too. From the image on the packet, I assumed these would be crisp-sized. In fact, the Penguin pictured on the front are a few centimetres tall, while the actual ones are finger nail sized! They’re teeny tiny and, consequently, not that easy to share. They are at least Penguin-shaped, just baby Penguins. Maybe premature.

I gave a few a try. One on its own doesn’t feel like it’s worth it. Now, here are the positives: they have a nice crunch and a taste of a cream cracker, but with lashings of salt and vinegar. And that’s where they win me over. They’re full of flavour and really nice. We ended up pouring them out into our own bowls, though, just because scooping them out of the bag when they’re so small was kind of awkward.

So, I’m not sure the connection to the Penguin brand is that strong, but as a cute salt and vinegar snack, they’re all good.

Pringles Minis - BBQ Flavour (Iceland) By @Cinabar

You know the whole “once you pop, you can’t stop” thing? Well, that has always been true for me when it comes to Pringles. They are incredibly moreish, and I always end up eating far too many.

In fact, I once ate far too many from one tube, worked out afterwards how many calories I’d consumed, and realised (without too much of a spoiler) that after the shock had worn off, those big tubes are clearly meant for sharing! So Pringles tubs are definitely a treat for us. These, however, are Pringles in individual packs, and they are much more about portion control and the ability to pop a bag into a lunch box.

These Pringles Minis BBQ Flavour are smaller versions of the usual curved shape. The seasoning is plentiful too, which is great. It isn’t completely evenly distributed, but every crisp has a good sprinkle of flavouring.

I gave one (who am I kidding, I finished the whole bag) a try. I loved the BBQ flavour, which was sweet and smoky. The crunch and potato base were fab, and all that Pringles magic was packed in there.

I could have eaten more, but I didn’t, because that would have meant physically opening another bag! For me, these worked perfectly. I can’t wait to pick up the Ready Salted flavour too and have them at lunchtime with a sandwich.

Skips Salt and Vinegar (Asda) By @Cinabar

I have been eating Skips crisps since I was little. I do love the classic prawn cocktail flavour, and as I got a bit older I also appreciated that they are tasty while still being fairly low in calories. I don’t think I’ve seen many special editions or new flavours from the brand over the years, so when we spotted these new Skips Salt and Vinegar in Asda, we just had to give them a try.

Once home, I poured some out and the first thing that struck me was that the Skips looked wrong. Where were the pink veins on each one? It slowly dawned on me that the pink colouring must come from the prawn cocktail seasoning, and as these are a colourless salt and vinegar flavour, the familiar pink lines aren’t there. I’m not sure why that surprised me so much!

Anyway, on to the taste test. The salt and vinegar flavour packs a lovely punch. They are full of flavour, with a great balance of salt and a proper vinegar kick, making them very moreish. The texture is the usual light, airy crunch, thankfully that hasn’t changed, and the flavour works really well with that classic Skips texture.

I do wonder if they will bring out any other varieties. I’m picturing Roast Chicken (my favourite crisp flavour) Skips. Can we make that happen?

These also still have the lower calorie count per bag, with just 73 calories, so they’re a great option if you’re looking for a lighter treat.

Hot Peperami Cheezy Bites (Home Bargains) By @SpectreUK

It’s rare these days when I bite into a snack and I’m surprised by it’s chilli heat. So, when I saw these Hot Peperami Cheezy Bites I figured they would just have a light chilli warmth. I haven’t tasted any really hot snack food for such a long time.

These Hot Peperami Cheezy Bites are ‘Hot BBQ Flavour Mini Biscuits’. I haven’t had Peperami for a long time, so I can’t recall what they taste like, asides being spicy and meaty. I had the green one, I think.

I opened the packet and there was quite a good chilli aroma from the round reddened biscuits inside. The first crunchy biscuit made my tongue tingle with chilli. It took me aback a bit. There was a meaty barbecue taste and a slight cheesiness too. I really enjoyed these Hot Peperami Cheezy Bites with my messy tuna sandwich.

Information on the bag; Per 6 x 30g bag is 152 calories, with 8.7g of fat, 1.9g of sugar, and 0.6g of salt. Please see photograph for the ingredients.

Viva Chips Chicken Style (Asda) By @SpectreUK

I miss KFC. Ever since they “withdrew from the better chicken commitment”, we haven’t gone back. Not just for ethical reasons, my opinion is that the quality of the meat is just not there anymore. It’s such a shame, as KFC has always been my favourite fast food restaurant. Now, I’ll just stick to Burger King.

So, I was quite amused when I found these Chicken Style chicken leg shaped wheat and potato waffle crisps, by Viva Chips. There was a chicken aroma on opening the packet. The chicken leg shaped waffles had a decent crunchy texture. They had a moreish KFC style spicy chicken flavour, and were very nice indeed. Maybe not KFC, but I did lick my fingers afterwards.

Information on the bag: The 50g bag had 549 calories per 100g, 3g of fat, 2g of sugar, and 2.6g of salt.

Walkers English Bangers and Mash Crisps (Ocado) By @Cinabar

So far, so good for England in the World Cup. We topped our group and made it through to the knockout stages. We decided to have these crisps to help cheer them on during their last match. These were released as part of the World Cup 'Flavours of the World' range, and here we have Walkers English Bangers and Mash. For anyone reading from abroad, "bangers" is a very British name for sausages.

I opened the bag and was greeted by a lovely meaty aroma. We poured the crisps into a basket for sharing and I gave one a try. They really do have a distinctive sausage flavour, making for a wonderfully meaty bag of crisps. I love savoury, meaty flavours, so these were perfect for me.

They are supposed to capture the mash element too, and I think I was hoping for a stronger buttery flavour. Food critic and legend Jay Rayner has talked about mashed potato being 50% butter, and following that wonderfully indulgent philosophy, I was expecting a rich buttery hit alongside the sausage flavour. Unfortunately, it never really came through. Not to worry though, as the meaty taste was so good that these crisps still shone.

Fingers crossed England continue their World Cup journey. I hope you're raising a crisp for the team you're supporting! 

Seabrook Waffle Bites Chicken Shop (Home Bargains) By @Cinabar

I love chicken flavour crisps. They are my go to flavour of choice, so that is a bit of a disclaimer before I start this review, just so you know where I stand.

Here we have a new chicken crisp available, Seabrook Waffle Bites Chicken Shop. The “Chicken Shop” name makes me assume these are going for a fried chicken flavour, despite the crisps only coming in at 77kcal per bag.

I opened up the bag and found cute square shaped, thick, aerated potato snacks with a waffle pattern. The aroma was very herby. These felt more like a chicken dinner with stuffing than a chicken shop takeaway, despite KFC claiming to use 11 secret herbs and spices in their recipe.

I gave them a taste and the flavour was fab. I loved all the herbs and the meaty chicken taste. They are quite fragranced, with oregano seeming to be particularly prominent, which I really enjoyed.

The crunch is fun too. They are light, crunchy, and they melt away in the mouth. I love that texture. I thoroughly enjoyed these with my lunchtime sandwich, and I will definitely be back for more.

Walkers Max Portuguese Chorizo & Onion (Ocado) By @Cinabar

Here we have another flavour from Walkers' FIFA range celebrating tastes from around the world. This one is inspired by Portugal, specifically chorizo and onion.

As soon as I opened the bag, I was greeted by a lovely meaty aroma that reminded me of salami. We poured some into a bowl to share while watching Netflix, as we're still a little early for the World Cup itself. The crisps are ridged, which means they hold plenty of flavour in all those grooves.

I gave one a try and was impressed. You can really pick up the meaty chorizo flavour, complete with a nice smoky taste and a gentle hint of spice. The onion adds a slight sharpness that works well alongside the richness of the chorizo. Overall, these are very tasty, easy-to-eat crisps.

My first experience of the Walkers World Cup inspired flavours was the Walkers Wavy Spanish Queso Crisps, and those absolutely blew my mind. They were the cheesiest crisps I have ever eaten, packed with flavour and then some. So when I opened these Walkers Max Portuguese Chorizo & Onion crisps, I assumed the seasoning levels would be just as intense and that they too would deliver a full-on flavour overload. They don't quite reach those heights. The flavour is well done and they are certainly tasty, but I was hoping for a little more punch. To be honest, I could happily have handled double the seasoning.

Savoursmiths Desert Salt and Black Pepper Flavour Potato Crisps (Ocado) By @SpectreUK

Salt and Black Pepper is one of my favourite flavours of crisps. They go with pretty much any sandwich, cheese and cold meets meal, or just for a snack with a beer, or a cup of tea.

I tried these Savoursmiths Desert Salt and Black Pepper Flavour Potato Crisps with a Moussaka and veg, instead of French Bread as the store had run out. I’m a bit obsessed with French Bread, as it too goes with so many meals itself, from Spagbol, lasagne, cheese meals, Moussaka, picky-bits, and even a good curry.

On opening the packet there was a salt and peppery aroma from the crisps inside. These crunchy Desert Salt and Black Pepper Flavour Potato Crisps had a sweetness from the salt I hadn’t experienced before.

Usually salt and pepper crisps are sea salt. The desert salt seems to have a slightly sweet taste to it. After this sweet saltiness came the spicy warmth of black pepper. These Desert Salt and Black Pepper Flavour Potato Crisps were very moreish, and complimented my Moussaka and veg very well indeed.

Information on the 150g bag; Per 100g there were 501 calories, with 27g of fat, 1.3g of sugar, and 1.20g of salt. Gluten free and Vegan friendly, please see photograph for the ingredients.

Mini Cheddars Cheeselets – Intensely Cheesy (Iceland) By @Cinabar

I do like cheese and crisps, so I couldn’t resist picking up this bag of Mini Cheddars Cheeselets in the new Intensely Cheesy flavour. They’re a new addition to the Mini Cheddars range, this time square shaped and extra crunchy.

This is a multipack and the bags inside are fairly small, although that may just be me being greedy. Either way, I opened one straight away and the first thing that stood out was the texture. These are properly crisp and crunchy, which I really enjoyed.

The flavour is nicely cheesy too. It’s definitely stronger than regular Mini Cheddars, although I’m not sure I’d personally call it “intense”. Still, they’re very moreish and easy to snack on.

These would be perfect for lunch boxes, picky bits, or an afternoon snack with a drink.