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.

Mr Filbert’s Sweet Chilli Rice Crackers (Ocado) By @SpectreUK

It states "Snacks beyond expectation" just underneath Mr Filbert's on the packet. I've eaten plenty of sweet chilli rice crackers in the past. I hadn't had any for ages, and so I asked Cinabar to find me some out. The rice crackers I've had in the past have been various sizes with varying chilli heat. With so much variety, it's difficult to know what to expect beyond.

On opening the packet of these Mr Filbert's Sweet Chilli Rice Crackers, there was a chilli aroma from the reddish rice crackers inside. At around a centimetre in diameter, there was a multitude of these little crackers inside the bag.

On first very crunchy taste, I noticed the almost honey sweet glaze on top, followed by spicy paprika, and a mild to medium chilli heat. Very moreish indeed, I had these on the side of a beef and noodle TV dinner, instead of the ubiquitous prawn crackers. They fitted in rather well with their sweetness and spiciness. I'd definitely have them again, as their paprika and mild chilli heat didn't distract from the flavours in my main meal.

Co-Op Irresistible - Hand Cooked All Dressed Seriously Saucy Crisps (mystery flavour?) [@NLi10]

Co-Op have their own range of a couple of posh things - including crisps! Here we have an unusual one - because it doesn't really have a flavour!

These are All Dressed Seriously Saucy crisps.  This is not sufficiently descriptive. 

There has been talk about this online - which I have a suspicion is the idea.

The potatoes are standard

The flavours are mysterious and important.  It does feel like these are the crisp equivalent of the everything bagel - they just put all the herbs and spices in.

They look decent and smell nice

And there isn't too much on the crisp itself.

Best I can describe them is 'herb and spice and vinegar' - a little hint of posh ketchup, brown sauce, sweet vinegar and a finish of paprika.  No real chillie kick, but otherwise like the shakers I use to liven up food.

So - nice - but confusing - and you'll eat the first 10 or so crisps just to figure out if you like them or not.

We did!

KurKure Masala Munch (Tesco Express) By @SpectreUK

Dal, corn and rice for a snack food doesn't sound like a good combination to me. I haven't had an alternative snack for some time though. So Cinabar brought me back this KurKure Masala Munch made with Dal, Corn and Rice from the local store. I have to confess that I left it on the Foodstufffinds shelf for quite sometime. Although one of the snacks I miss the most was a Balti Bombay Mix I used eat regularly before I was advised not to by a Nutritionist for dietary reasons.

We choose to share these out during a cheese and cold meats meal. Although I usually enjoy a glass of port, I opted for a double Southern Comfort and Diet 7UP for a change. I tried other lemonades with Southern Comfort, but found 7UP to be the most complementary. Anyway, I digress.

As you can see from the photograph, on opening the bag of these KurKure Masala Munch these crisps looked almost identical to another favourite crisp brand of mine. They have a slightly crunchier texture though. There was a strong smell of curry spices mixed with a fiery aroma of chilli pepper. On tasting there was a strong flavour of cumin that came through first with other curry spices quickly following. There was then quite a blast from fiery hot chilli into the aftertaste.

These KurKure Masala Munch crisps were very tasty indeed, and I rather like the fact that they looked like Nik Naks, and had almost the same texture. Their curry spices and hot chilli flavour left a decent burn in my mouth after finishing the packet. I certainly enjoyed them, and so did Cinabar and her mom after sharing them out. I asked Cinabar if she could get another packet or more for the next few cheese and port meals.

Information on the packet; The 100g bag contains 165 calories per 30g portion, with 9.8g of fat, 0.4g of sugar, and 0.56g of salt. Please see photograph for the ingredients.

Cheeky P’s Punchin’ Chilli & Lime (Ocado) By @SpectreUK

I haven't written about many alternative snacks to crisps and nuts lately. Mainly because we haven't found much of anything new in the online supermarkets. Although I do love crisps, and probably a little too much, I can't eat nuts for dietary reasons. So Cinabar often buys me flavoured peas as an alternative. They generally have the crunchiness of the flavoured nuts I miss so much, so at least I have some reminder of their texture. 

These Cheeky P's Punchin' Chilli & Lime flavoured chickpeas suggest themselves as an alternative snack to crisps on the back of the packet. They are high in protein, which will help with my lengthy workouts and weights sessions, as well as gluten free. Habanero chillis were used in the seasoning, as well as tomatoes, garlic, onions and spices.

On opening the bag there was a multitude of slightly reddened chickpeas inside. There was a whiff of chilli about the angry looking little fellows staring back at me. On taste there was a touch of lime just before the medium Habanero chilli flavour, and then the lime returns into the aftertaste.

I didn't feel that these Cheeky P's Punchin' Chilli & Lime flavoured chickpeas had much of a punch or kick to begin with. After a good few of them were shoved remorselessly into my ever hungry maw, I started to feel the chilli burn, by then I'd started to eat my ubiquitous and always particularly messy and overloaded tuna and mayonnaise sandwich, which cooled my mouth down no end.

I'd have these Cheeky P's Punchin' Chilli & Lime flavoured chickpeas again, as I liked their crunchy texture and flavoursome chilli and lime tang, even if it was a bit of a tickle rather than a punch or kick!

Information on the packet;
Each 40g packet contains 160 calories, with 5.3g of fat, 1.1g of sugar, 8.8g of protein, and 0.32g of salt. Suitable for Vegans. Please see photograph for the Ingredients.

Space Raiders Pickled Onion Potato Shapes (Iceland) By @Cinabar

I saw a picture of this bag of Space Raiders Pickled Onion Potato Shapes shared with me on Twitter and I have to admit to spending several minutes trying to work out why it was supposed to be interesting. Space Raiders crisps have been around for a long time, and although I haven’t bought any in a while their existence didn’t surprise me. I had miss seen the pack and thought it was just a multipack of the regular crisps. These Space Raiders Pickled Onion Potato Shapes aren’t crisps these are actually more of a chips style product that you bake, I ordered a bag!

 

The pack is really very similar to the multipack packaging, but I did manage to put them in the freezer for storage. The potato shapes simply bake, and look pretty smart when I poured some onto the baking tray. Once cooked they kept their shape and still looked neat. The coating was very lightly crispy and the filing was soft fluffy potato, the problem was the flavour. There was no wow factor just the mildest mild hint of onion, really not that exciting. These Space Raiders Pickled Onion Potato Shapes are a nice idea, fun shapes but they were noncommittal on the whole pickled onion flavour opting for a child friendly mildness that missed the point. I wanted more zing.

Snyder’s of Hanover Jalapeño Pretzel Pieces (Germany) By @SpectreUK

I could see my breath this morning as I took the rubbish to the bins outside after feeding the local birds. It's that time of year when we're starting to look for food that warms us up a bit. These Snyder's of Hanover Jalapeño Pretzel Pieces seem to fit the bill. Not only that, but they meet my usual criteria of trying to find alternative snacks to nuts and crisps.

I received these "flavoured sourdough hard pretzels" with a bottle of beer and some peppered steak sauce for a birthday present a while ago. The sauce has been enjoyed with a few steaks and other meals, and the beer drank, and now for the Snyder's of Hanover Jalapeño Pretzel Pieces. Besides I've always been a big fan of jalapeños. I like them on meaty sandwiches to give them a bit of a kick, and also meaty pizzas, and flavouring other foodstuffs. So I'm pretty confident that I shouldn't go too wrong with flavoured pretzel pieces!

On opening the packet there was a nose hair tickling smell of jalapeños. It cleared my sinuses and I almost sneezed. I immediately started to worry that this was one of those snacks that would be too hot for me to eat and enjoy. They are rare, but it has happened. There was also a bit of a whiff of garlic, so don't expect a kiss after eating these alone.

There were a few green flecks on the bright orange coloured pretzels pieces. On first taste, these pretzel pieces are pretty spicy. They are very tasty too. However, they made me wish I hadn't spent so long in the sauna and steam room at the gym earlier. Or at least had a longer cold shower. Snyder's of Hanover Jalapeño Pretzel Pieces are very moreish, even if they are a little steep on the calories. They made me sweat a bit too. Though at least they warmed me up a bit more than I thought they would!

Information on the packet;
The 56g packet contains 264 calories, 10.4g of fat, 2g of sugar, and 1.8g of salt. Please see photograph for the ingredients.

Heinz Creationz Mexican Beanz Chipotle Style with Chorizo (@DegustaboxUK) By @SpectreUK

It's baking hot outside. I've had a good long session at the gym and a swim. I've had a bit of a sunbathe, and spent too long in the sauna and steam room. Yet for some reason I'm just not hot enough… I can't be otherwise why am I trying this Heinz Creationz Mexican Beanz Chipotle Style with Chorizo? Well, I may have forgotten about it at the back of the cavernous Foodstufffinds' cupboard…

On the front of the packet it states that you can cook this Heinz Creationz Mexican Beanz Chipotle Style with Chorizo in 90 seconds in an 850W microwave oven. Our microwave is 1000W, so I'll adjust a little. I have a bit of a specialist diet whereas I can't have too much insoluble fibre. So this mixture of Red Kidney and Haricot beans in tomato and chipotle sauce with chorizo sounds right up my street.

It gives you a serving suggestion on the back of the packet on how to "transform tacos" with a salad adding this Heinz Creationz Mexican Beanz Chipotle Style with Chorizo. I'm too hot and bothered to mess with that though or whatever idea Heinz may have had to "brighten up burritos". I'm just going to heat it up and eat it in a bowl with some bread and butter on the side.

As you can see from the photograph, it doesn't look too bad in the bowl. There was a smoky slightly understated chilli taste from the chipotle sauce, with a slight tang from the tomato. The assorted beans went well with the odd piece of chorizo. I wouldn't recommend it for a new taste sensation, but it wasn't bad either. I wouldn't split it in half between two people unless they're child sized portions, and it may be a little lost in a taco or burrito. If I was to eat it again, I reckon I'd wait for colder weather!

Information of the packet:
The 250g packet contains "one of your 5 a day", with 135 calories per 125g serving, 2.4g of fat, 4.9g of sugar, and 0.6g of salt. Please see photograph for ingredients.

Shore: Sweet & Smoky Seaweed Puffs (@DegustaboxUK) By @SpectreUK

I was going to write about a huge bag of pork puffs I have in the Foodstufffinds cupboard today, however, I've been for a checkup at the Dentist and I'm having my rest day from the gym instead, so Seaweed puffs it is. Don't worry, I'll get back to the huge bag of pork puffs soon.

These Shore: Sweet & Smoky Seaweed Puffs are made by the Scottish Seaweed Co. They are marketed at being "under 100 calories", which is ideal for a rest day from exercise. Apparently a good handful of seaweed from the shore around Wick, in Scotland, is used to make a bag of these Seaweed puffs. I don't envy whoever has to pick the seaweed. I visited Wick for the day when I was a small child and all I remember was howling wind and sheets of rain. I'm sure the weather is nice there on other days though…

On opening the packet there was the initial smell of maize puffs with sweetness from the molasses in the ingredients, as well as a little seaweed aroma, with smokiness at the very end. That smell transcends to the taste. There is more sweetness to these maize puffs to start with, but there is then a heavy hit from the seaweed, which pretty much overpowers everything else. This isn't that bad in itself, but takes away the sweetness replacing it with thoughts of that rainy rugged Wick coastline. A little smokiness pops through the seaweed flavour towards the aftertaste, but is immediately drowned out again by the overpowering slightly salty seaweed.

I kind of like these Seaweed puffs, but would have preferred a little more Sweet & Smoky flavour. In fact the more I ate of these Sweet & Smoky Seaweed Puffs the less I liked them and couldn't finish the packet in the end, which is almost unheard of for me.

It was then I realised that the pork puffs were almost on date, so I tried them. They were too much "puff", too much salt, and barely any pork flavour for my liking. So, I didn't finish them either. I blame the dentist…

Information on the packet;
The 22.5g bag has 94.3 calories, with 3.6g of fat, 1.1g of sugar, 5.7g of protein for fixing those tired muscles, and 2.02g of salt. These Seaweed puffs are high in iodine and fibre which helps with your body's "energy yielding metabolism". They have no preservatives, are dairy free, gluten free, with no trans fats, and are Vegan friendly. Please see photograph for the ingredients.

Tempura Seaweed Crisps (@Wasabi_UK Grand Central Birmingham) By @SpectreUK

I'm trying to be a little more healthy while I rehabilitate my knee after surgery. Cinabar has bought me these Tempura Seaweed Crisps to try. Tempura vegetables are one of Cinabar's favourite starters in a Japanese restaurant. The other being Sushi. I prefer a bowl of Miso soup.

I'm always interested in alternative snacks to crisps and nuts, so these seaweed crisps sound pretty 'interesting'. Don't get me wrong I do love crisps, but due to an intolerance to insoluble fibre I can't eat nuts and seeds, as well as I have to avoid some other foodstuffs. Still, seaweed crisps sound pretty weird…

As my surgeon keeps reminding me that I still need to lose some weight, I'm starting to count my calories a bit… not too much… just a bit. I don't want to become obsessive with diaries an such, but just keeping an eye on it, whilst also keeping an eye on how much I'm burning off whilst at the gym. It's best to stay with a balanced diet, so the instant someone says 'seaweed' to me, I think 'superfood'. The instant someone says 'Tempura' to me, I think 'fat'. Unfortunately there is a high amount of fat in these Tempura Seaweed Crisps, as well as they're pretty high in calories.

On opening the packet there was a deep fried salty smell mixed with seaweed. The Tempura crisps were battered on one side with the dark green seaweed was showing on the other. The crisps had a good crunch and tasted of deep fried battered seaweed (funnily enough!), but there was more to them than that. You see, the pepper was the key to these Tempura Seaweed Crisps. I love the flavour of Black Pepper and Sea Salt crisps in general. Here we have the deep fried batter flavour, with the sea salt, a little seaweed flavour, and a spicy heat from the pepper to finish off with. These Tempura Seaweed Crisps were delicious. Calories and fat be blowed - I workout! I'm definitely having some more of these again!

Information on the packet;
The 20g packet contains 122 calories, 9.4g of fat, 0.5g of sugar and 0.40g of salt. For ingredients please see photograph.

Oloves Chili & Oregano (@DegustaboxUK) By @SpectreUK

I always have a tomato with my sandwich and crisps at work, so this makes for a change! And no it’s not a spelling mistake. Believe me I stared at the packet for quite a while. These “Oloves” natural green pitted olives are flavoured with chilli and oregano. Although it does sneakily mention garlic on the back of the packet, so people may regret sitting too close to me in meetings after lunch! They are naturally free of gluten and an all-round low calorie snack in a small packet that’s easy to fit into a lunchbox.
On opening there was quite a few green pitted olives filling the packet, which were covered in sunflower oil, and an oregano, garlic and chilli type flecked sauce. On taste there was the instant finely oiled green olive flavour mixed with the herby oregano taste followed by a subtle sweetness and the garlic. This mild garlic taste was quickly merged with a medium heat from the red flecks of chilli. The chilli left a pleasant medium tingle in my mouth during the aftertaste.
These Oloves made for a very tasty alternative to my regular tomato. Also being ‘pitted’ means they’re not too messy with having to spit out stones in front of your colleagues in the canteen, however if you don’t want to get your fingers oily, I’d recommend a small spoon, fork or cocktail stick..

Information on the packet;
The 30g packet contains 53 calories, 18.4g of fat, 0.3g of sugar, and 2.5g of salt. Ingredients included; pitted green olives (96%), sunflower oil, chilli (0.6%), oregano (0.3%), garlic powder, garlic aroma, salt, distilled vinegar, lactic acid, and citric acid.

Titbits Gourmet Bites: Tomato, Cheddar, Basil and Oats (Yorkshire Crisps) By @Cinabar

These new Gourmet Bites from the Yorkshire Crisps company are not potato based, instead these are flavoured biscuit “titbits” of flavour. Like the crisps they are presented in a posh drum, and also have luxury flavours. I was trying out Tomato, Cheddar, Basil and Oats.
The Titbits Gourmet Bites are small, round but still quite chunky. You can tell from the colour of them that they had plenty of tomato in the ingredients, as there is a very distinctive orange colour to them. We used them in place of crisps with a sandwich to nibble on while watching TV.
The flavour was mild, there was sweet tomato and herbs, and a pleasing hint of cheese. I loved the basil, and these had such a good Italian taste. They are very easy to munch on and the flavour is nice, and easy going. I was impressed that the oat taste came through as strongly as it did giving these a good wholesome flavour, and they had a buttery after taste. They are easy to munch on, but posh enough to save for when guests come over. It is worth having some of these in a cupboard for the start of the Christmas season and when visitors start appearing.

New Peperami Tex-Mex By @SpectreUK

I do like the odd stick of Peperami with my lunch. The odd bite of meaty salami in between crisps, sandwich and chunks of tomato really mixes things up. I do miss the Peperami adverts. Now they were odd, but rather funny. They should do more… Or they may still do, but I have a bad habit of recording everything and winding through adverts so they still may be doing them and I just don’t know it? Maybe I’m a little odd too…?
Anyway, this is the New Mexican flavour salami stick from Peperami promises spices and smokiness. On opening the packet there was a very spicy smell, possibly mainly paprika and a smoky salami smell. On first bite I found this New Peperami Tex-Mex really very tasty indeed. There are lots of spices, there is the strong beechwood smokiness, and there are hints of onion and citrus in the flavour. Each bite is mouth-wateringly delicious. Each bite I couldn’t help sucking the salami (now hang on… that doesn’t sound right) to bath in all the sumptuous flavours. You can tell I like this. I know there are another two of these in the fridge, so they better watch out!
Information on the label;
25g stick of 100% pork having 127 calories, 11g of fat, 0.4g of sugar and 1g of salt. See photograph for ingredients.

Forest Feast: Crunchy Coated Peas [By @SpectreUK]

My alternative snack radar was alerted when Forest Feast sent us these Crunchy Coated Peas a while ago. There are three flavours; Smokin’ BBQ Flavour, which I blogged about a few weeks ago, Hot & Sour Sriracha Flavour, and Spicy Chilli Lime Flavour of which I shall blog about both today. I still don’t know what the Manga type characters are on the front of each packet, and guess unless Kestrel Foods give me a nod I may never know…

Hot & Sour Sriracha Flavour

There was a hot sweet chilli smell from the reddish peas that seemed to be slowly boiling in the packet as I tore it open. I poured out the angry looking peas next to my lunchtime sandwich which seemed to visibly back away. On first bite these chilli peas gave a lovely burning chilli blast to start with. For a while this flavour toiled around my mouth and then the sour almost honey sweetness kicked in like a velvet glove thrown into a furnace. That coupled with the flavour from the roasted peas, wheat flour and rice bran oil provided a flavoursome hot and sour treat that made my mouth and eyes water a little. Lovely peas, hot enough to melt plastic, you probably won’t want to stop eating these once you’ve started. And if you do, it’ll probably be to open another packet or dive for some yoghurt out of the nearest fridge!

Information on the packet;

40g at 416 calories per 100g, having 10.4g of fat, 20g of sugar, and 1.9g of salt. Ingredients included; green peas, sugar, wheat flour, chilli sauce powder (chilli, garlic, paprika, acidity regulator (citric acid), and salt), glutinous rice flour, modified starch, maltodextrin, and rice bran oil.

Spicy Chilli Lime Flavour

There was a particularly angry looking kid starting at me from the front of the green packet. He looked like he was going to try to beat me to death with a skateboard or stick his finger up my nose. I couldn’t tell which so ignored him and tore open the packet. There was a chilli and lime smell from the red roasted peas inside. Instead of the chilli heat and then sweetness that I’d experienced from the other two Crunchy Coated Peas flavours, there was an initial strong zesty burst of lime followed by a sweet chilli heat that washed cheerily around my mouth with every finger full of peas. This flavour left a rich chilli and lime burn in my mouth.

I was impressed with all three flavours and to be honest with you I couldn’t pick a favourite flavour. I liked the sweet barbeque heat from the Smokin’ BBQ Flavour, the chilli burn and sweetness from the Hot & Sour Sriracha Flavour, and the completely different tack of lime a sweet chilli burn from the Spicy Chilli Lime Flavour. As I can’t eat nuts I’ve been waiting for alternative flavours in an alternative snack such as this for years, so these will become a regular in my snacking duties.

Information on the packet;

40g at 403 calories per 100g, having 12.1g of fat, 10.8g of sugar, and 2g of salt. Ingredients included; green peas, sugar, wheat flour, corn starch, sugar, lime chilli sauce powder (lime, chilli, garlic, dextrose, maltodextrin, paprika, acidity regulator (citric acid), paprika powder, pepper, and garlic powder) salt, glutinous rice flour, modified starch, soy sauce (soybean, wheat, salt, water) and palm oil.

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Forest Feast Smokin’ BBQ Flavour Crunchy Coated Peas [By @SpectreUK]

These Crunchy Coated Peas were sent to us from Forest Feast, by Kestrel Foods, in County Armagh, Northern Ireland. There are three flavours; Smokin’ BBQ Flavour, Hot & Sour Sriracha Flavour, and Spicy Chilli Lime Flavour. We undertook a package unboxing video for these alternative snacks, of which you can see here. I wasn’t sure what the Manga type characters were on the front of each packet, and after a brief look on the internet I still can’t find anything. However, if anyone can let me know that’d be great, because it’s bugging me! Their imagery certainly supports the “Peas with punch” slogan. I’ve tried plenty of wasabi flavoured coated peas in the past, so I was quite looking forward to a break from the norm and dived straight in…

Smokin’ BBQ Flavour
A fairly stern blonde Manga hero stared back at me as I picked up the packet. He seemed to be doing some kind of magic with the image of the coated peas in front of him. A magic Manga hero delivering Smokin’ BBQ Crunchy Coated Peas can’t be bad. On opening the packet there was a mild paprika and chilli smell to the reddened coated green peas. There was an initial paprika taste mixed with chilli, which morphed into a sweet barbeque sauce flavour on biting into the crunchy coated peas. These are a really tasty treat, full of the sweet and lightly salty barbecue taste of summer, with a mild chilli burn with each handful of peas. I am glad I have a few more packets of these to enjoy. I’ve been craving barbeque chilli nuts for years so these are a magic alternative and will no doubt become a regular snack for me on gaming nights. I’m looking forward to trying the other two flavours and writing up about them too.

Information on the packet;
40g at 376 calories per 100g, having 8.2g of fat, 14.4g of sugar, and 1.6g of salt. Ingredients included; green peas, sugar, wheat flour, glutinous rice flour, modified starch, barbeque powder (salt, maltodextrin, chilli, onion, garlic, pepper, and paprika), soy sauce (soybean, wheat, salt, and water), and rice bran oil.

By Spectre

Dilli & Wolf Super Snacks: Roasters [By @SpectreUK]

I’m always on the lookout for alternative snacks to crisps and nuts. These Sea Salt & Cider Vinegar Roasted Fava Beans seemed to fit the bill. Based in Norwich, Dilly & Wolf use Hodmedod’s British-grown pulses. I haven’t had fava beans for ages, and always remember Hannibal Lector’s quote from Silence of the Lambs with regards to eating someone’s liver with fava beans washed down with a nice Chianti. At work I don’t have a bottle of wine with my lunch (funnily enough) or the chance to have a liquid lunch of a couple of beers to wash down these fava beans with my corned beef sandwich, but I do have a nice mug of tea! There was an intense smell of salt, cider vinegar and roasted fava beans on opening the plastic tub. The fava beans had a decent crunch with an explosion of cider vinegar to start with followed by a lashing of sea salt into the aftertaste. This was a tasty alternative snack that begged for beer or more likely a nice dry cider. If I wasn’t so greedy and these weren’t so moreish, I’d have resealed the tub and washed the rest down with some cider that night. However….!

Information on the tub;
80g with a recommended 25g serving having 98 calories, with 3.1g of fat, 0.5g of sugar, and 0.4g of salt. Ingredients included; Fava beans (broad beans) (86%), rapeseed oil, cider vinegar powder (7%), and sea salt.

By Spectre

Channa Dall (Tesco) [By @SpectreUK]

Finding alternative snacks to crisps and nuts is a bit of a pastime of mine. I do love crisps and I really miss nuts. I absolutely love nuts, but they unfortunately disturb my digestion. Other people are just plain allergic to nuts and can have profound reactions even if they are in the same room as them. Fortunately I'm not like that, but I do avoid them at all costs. Finding these Channa Dall: Savoury Indian Snacks looked like a perfect treat. They were produced by Cofresh, which is a favourite brand of mine. I poured out the huge bag of Split Chick Peas into a sealable tub and decided to nibble at them over the next few days. The little curry flavoured Split Chick Peas filled the tub quite cheerfully and trying not to think of bird food I scooped a few into my palm. They tasted of a mild Turmeric curry flavour, with a hint of chilli heat to them. At first I thought these were not a very interesting flavour, but noticed pretty quickly how moreish they were. Then it happened. Something I've never found before in any alternative snack to crisps and nuts packet. No, I didn't find a crisp... But what I did find was half a peanut.

"What's the problem with half a peanut?" I hear some jest... Probably enough to harm someone with a serious allergy if they didn't notice it. The warning on the back of the packet does state that there may be traces of peanuts, but I'm suspecting that doesn't mean half an actual peanut. I can't be bothered to sieve through the whole tub to see if there are any chunks of almonds, cashews, sesame seeds or ruddy great monkey nuts, so I guess the birds will have to enjoy the rest...

Information on the packet;
325g bag with 28g suggested servings containing 134 calories, 1g of sugar, 0g of salt and 6g of fat. Ingredients included; Split Chick Peas, Rapeseed oil, chilli powder, Turmeric powder, and salt. Suitable for vegetarians, but certainly not for people with nut allergies!

Birds Eye Stir Your Senses Spanish Paella (Morrisons) [by @cinabar]

We've had a hectic few days and it is only Tuesday. This did give us the chance to try something quick for tea, the new Birds Eye Paella. It is frozen so happily sits as an emergency quick meal until you need it. All you do is snip open the bag, heat up a pan, add a couple of tablespoons of water add the bag, heat it up and simmer for ten minutes. Easy, and this is done straight from frozen.
Now although this is a quick meal, you can't microwave it as the prawns in the bag are raw and do need cooking, but they soon switch from grey to pink when the heat is on. To be honest that is the beauty of this bag everything is all prepared for you, but the prawns are lovely and moist and freshly cooked.

When you are letting it simmer the aromas are lovely too, all fresh and with a fab hint of paprika and mediterainian warmth. Inside the bag are pinkish sauce droplets which are the source of the flavour, these melt in to give the dish is fragrance whilst it cooks.
Flavour wise it was fabulous. The seasoning included paprika, onion, and oregano and it went well with all the ingredient. There was the slightest hint of chilli and this gives a gentle warmth, and holds it all together. The textures were lovely too, the rice was soft, the veggies had just were perfectly firm, the chicken was soft and moist and prawns were spot on. I love a mix of textures, so I found this very enjoyable. I like that each mouthful has a slightly different combination of ingredients keeping the mix of textures and flavours interesting.
The only negative comment is I wanted more, okay not a second bag more but for a main meal I'd recommend some crusty bread as an addition. I loved the flavours and the simplicity of the dish so it's safe to say I'll be buying some more to tuck away for a quick meal when things get busy.

By Cinabar

Walkers Melty Crackers in Sweet Chilli (Tesco) [By @cinabar]

We have reviewed a lot of Walkers crisps on this blog, with an amazing array of flavours that have been on offer over the years, from Walkers Cajun Squirrel through to Lime With Thai Spices. They have usually been potato based snacks, so it was interesting to find something a bit different from Walkers aimed at the snacking market.
These Melty Crackers sounded very intriguing indeed. Perhaps I was having a moment when I picked them up in the shop but the word Melty seemed to have a different meaning to me than what it turned out to be. I thought they were going to have soft centres, ie melting in the middle, but they don't. They are just soft crackers with a light crunch with a consistent texture all the way through. They don't seem melty to me. They are thick wheaty and pleasant. Spectre thought they were going to have their topping melted on top, but there is just the red/orange seasoning powder.

Flavour wise they are perfectly fine, the seasoning is sweet but with a gently spice. They didn't blow my mind they just sat in the nice category, but something I probably won't pick up again. For me the texture of crackers is such that it needs something to contrast them. Cheese and biscuits work, but these aren't those sort of crackers. They are small and seasoned and these just wouldn't work like that, nor is it what they are intended for. On their own I felt they were a little dry after I had a few, I didn't need a large portion. Think I will be buying a sharing bag of Walker Sensations crisps next time.

By Cinabar

Wasabi & Horseradish Roasted Peas (@DillyandWolf) [By @SpectreUK]

I haven’t eaten any wasabi flavoured snacks for quite some time and then Cinabar showed me lots of snack pots that had recently been sent to us from Dilly & Wolf, in Norwich. Of all the little snack pots these Wasabi & Horseradish Roasted Peas struck me as a 'first to try'. There was a roasted pea smell with a nose tingling wasabi after aroma on peeling back the top of the plastic pot. The little inoffensive almost innocent looking peas looked like butter wouldn’t melt on first opening. Grabbing a finger or two full I proceeded to dump them fairly casually into my mouth. The little dried roasted peas had a decent crunch to begin with, then the wasabi flavour struck like an instant hot hammer from a forge on the anvil of my tongue and instantly made my nose hairs stand on end. I managed not to sneeze. I did have to wipe my nose a couple of times! The additional horseradish flavour gave my tastebuds an extra kick at the end of the flavour too. These roasted wasabi and horseradish peas were certainly an afternoon pick me up and kick me around treat. They were very moreish and dangerously nose tingly. Try them as they were great for a couple or more days’ worth accompaniment with my lunchtime sandwich.

Information on the tub;
100g has 378 calories, with 12.3g of fat, 1.5g of salt, and 1.8g of sugar. They are suitable for vegetarians and vegans. Ingredients included; Hodmedod’s British-grown green peas, rapeseed oil, wasabi and horseradish flavour seasoning, natural mustard flavouring, natural chilli flavouring, chickpea flour, sea salt and colour chlorophylls.
Other flavours available are: Fava Beans, Sea Salt & Cider Vinegar; Thai Chilli & Coconut Roasters; Soy & Ginger Roasters; and Sweet & Salty Roasters.

By Spectre