Fake San-Pellegrinos, the good and the mid [@NLi10]

 I do like having a San Pellegrino while out at the Italian restaurant - it feels more authentic even though it's just Orangeade (or lemonade).  So when the opportunity for discount versions at home arose I was happy.

Aldi sells both varieties in their Ridge Valley range - and while I can tell that they aren't the 'real deal' they are both nice enough that I shall continue to have them as long as they exist.

The pub yesterday had very few decent soft drinks - everything they had was just not that sugary. So I opted for a safe, but low cal, Fever Tree.  They are great at tonic, but somehow this just didn't hit the spot.

I had a much nicer grapefruit beer instead as my second - it was only 2.5% but because it's alcohol they can make it as sweet as they like without the Police getting involved.

I wish they'd stop ruining social drinks, otherwise I'll have to go back on the bottled water.

Vimto Zero Fruit Drops (Morrisons) By @Cinabar

I found the Vimto marshmallows that I wrote about the other week at a petrol station, and after that blog post went up, Vimto very kindly sent me a box of their new boiled sweets, Vimto Zero Fruit Drops, to try too. I love Vimto, we regularly buy it at home, and it is one of our favourite drinks. I’m really pleased to find them moving into the sweets market, and I absolutely loved the marshmallows, so I was keen to try this packet of sweets.

The Vimto Zero Fruit Drops are in a small box, so they're perfect to fit in a pocket or handbag. They are pink-coloured oval-shaped sweets. I gave one a try, and the initial flavour seemed a little muted, but quickly developed into the yummy Vimto flavour that I associate with the drink. There were lots of berries, and the sweets were sweet and super refreshing. They're also sugar-free, which makes them ideal for a January treat if you're watching your calories after Christmas but still have a sweet tooth like me. 

Tango Berry Peach (Tesco) By @cinabar

Here we have new summer flavours, but if only we had the weather to match. Today is a Bank Holiday in the UK, which means an extra day off for those of us with office hours. There is a tradition (or running joke) in the UK that it always rains on a UK Bank Holiday and today it has been grey and drizzling, so it is living up to its reputation. We still managed to have a nice day though; lunch out and board games in the afternoon. To go with the gaming, I’m trying out this new drink; Tango Berry Peach and it is a very Summery sounding flavour.

I poured the contents of the can into a glass and it was a seriously pink and fizzy concoction. The drink looks quite pretty in the glass. I have to point out that this is a sugar-free drink because I know that will put some people off. The drink is sweet though, seriously sweet, but my sweet tooth was fine with it. There was a lot of raspberry taste, with the peach as the after flavour adding a mellower taste to the zing berry. This Tango Berry Peach is a lovely and refreshing drink and would be perfect on a hot day, if the British weather could just organise that it would be perfect.

Limited Edition Intergalactic Coca-Cola (Ocado) By @Cinabar

We have had some strange flavours of soft drinks over the years, and several we have had to guess. The latest limited edition from Coca-Cola is this new Intergalactic flavour. You do sort of have to guess what that means in terms of taste as it isn’t too easy to work it out from the name. I’m not sure it even inspires a vague hint of what it might taste like. So the question is what does Intergalactic mean in terms of a flavour, and I’ve got nothing.

I poured some Intergalactic Coca-Cola out into a glass and realised the drink had a fun red tinge to it. Was that a clue to the flavour? I gave it a sip and the first taste was sweet, I know cola is always sweet, but this was sweeter. Then there was a lot of creaminess, like vanilla. Finally, the flavour ends on a burnt sugar note, just like candy floss. I think the mystery flavour must be candy floss. That is my best guess. That flavour at the end of the sip is just so distinctively sweet and reminds me of the fair ground rather than space. Why is it red, why is it space themed? I don’t think I have the answer.

Have you tried it? What are your thoughts?

Diablo - Vanilla Cookie's - Sugar Free, Fake, Blonde Oreos by @NLi10

After the failure of the Diablo boiled sweets I was very worried that I had three boxes of biscuits to eat too!

First up - the Blonde Oreo, but Sugar Free.

 

Conveniently in mini packs I took these to the beach

I needed rocks to keep my Sitpack from sinking but it worked well enough.  

The biscuits are a little too light, they lack the substance of a sugary biscuit, and consequently feel a little insubstantial. This means I can eat all 4 in a pack without any guilt like it suggests on the box. Hooray!

The flavours are pretty decent though - not as strong as the real blonde Oreo (which does over-rely on the sugar hit from the creme) but I'm not sure why. Cocoa without sugar - real dark stuff - could have gone in the middle and given this a fighting chance.  Better than the sweets then - but not something to rush out for.  You'd happily give this to people avoiding sugar though and not feel too bad for them.

The cookies are very similar- the crumb just isn't hardy enough - but here the additions work much better. The choc is pretty choccy and the cranberries add some natural sweetness.

I didn't get the aftertaste problem as much with the biscuits (they spend a lot less time in the mouth!) but I'd still shy away from giving them to people who dislike sweeteners.

We didn't try the peanut ones but I suspect the base is the same as the other cookies.  We will keep those sealed for freshness for another time.

Diablo - Strawberry & Cream Sweets - Sugar & Guilt Free! by @NLi10

 Opposite Harlech castle in Wales was a lovely little place that made me a fab coffee and sold loads of goodies.  I couldn't go home empty handed so stocked up on these Diablo treats 

Diablo is a sugar-free brand that I'd seen before but never picked up, and as I have Diabetic family members I figured I'd take some with me.

Perfect hiking sweets!

Pangs of fruit flavour - not guilt!

Lovely views

Pretty sweets...

...but they have that funny aftertaste that some sweeteners give.  I know this is a genetic thing (my Mom's side can't stand these) but the fruitiness isn't really present either and it's just an odd sensation instead.  They are edible - but a strawberry & cream sweet usually has the deep creamy flavours, and the high fruity mixed in. This just tasted like a flat single taste with two colours.

Very disappointing, but potentially an option for health reasons.

Oddly the best way to get the flavour out of this was to crunch it - but then the aftertaste really hits so it's still not for me.

And we have three boxes of the biscuits left to open!

Halloween Fanta-Sees - pretty pictures, boring drinks (@NLi10)

It's Halloween and this means all the blogs make a special effort!

For me the special effort was going round to my Sister's house.

All of the pictures today were taken using all the wonderful Halloween stuff set up for my sister's Instagram! You should all go follow her and double her followers because she doesn't know I'm mentioning it and it would freak her out!

While there were lots of ghoulish treats on offer today we are talking about this - zero sugar Fanta Blood Orange.  It's £2 for 6 because the bottles are special and interesting.

It tastes like regular Fanta Blood Orange but with a spooky aftertaste of artificial sweeteners! ghost emoji

Here is another Fanta - this time it's zero sugar grapefruit.  This smelt and tasted just like all the other grapefruit drinks - but with more artificial sweeteners! skull emoji

This one does have a snapchat thing which once you've figured it out gives you this!

It looks quite good in motion on the camera, but in stills it just looks a bit messy.  Happy Haloween!