Oreo Strawberry Creme (The 99p Store)

We do seem to be a bit limited with the variety of Oreos available in this country. Over in the States, there seems to be multi types, including fudge, peanut butter and many others I would love to get my mitts on. Over here we have regular Oreos, chocolate ones, and at Christmas white chocolate and that is it. I do keep my eyes open at the expensive food halls and the import shops, but strangely they seem to import regular Oreos. It was a bit of a surprise then to find these lovely looking Oreo Strawberry Creme biscuits in a discount pound shop. Don’t get me wrong, it was a really nice surprise, especially as there were eight packets of three biscuits bundled together for 99p!
The biscuits have the usual rich dark Oreo base, with a baby pink filling, instead of the usual white cream. They had a lovely strawberry smell, but the flavour wasn’t as intense as the aroma made me think it might be. The taste was well balanced though and gave a gentle sweet creamy strawberry flavour, which went with well with the dark biscuit. The strawberry may not taste one hundred percent natural, but the juicy flavour compensates and I don’t think it really matters. The strawberry works well with Oreos, the flavours blend well, and they were an unexpected but rather pleasing find.

Tyrells Alternatives: Habas Fritas (Nisa)

To be honest I don’t normally do to well with alternative products, it clearly states ‘alternative’ in the title, and I thought it was supposed to be a nut replacement. I’m usually quite happy with the original! The sub text on the packet didn’t exactly fill me with excitement either: “Lightly Spiced Cooked Broad Beans”. The word broad beans doesn’t normally fill you with the concept of a dream snack, but oh my, it really should.
Despite everything, these broad beans are fantastic. The coating is thick, uneven and has the most wonderful spice, it is not overly hot but there is a hint of chilli and a little garlic mixed in. The beans are also uneven, but crunchy, and this curious mix of textures and odd shapes just made them wonderfully rustic.
The taste was surprisingly similar to pork scratching, despite them not containing any meat. They were moreish, full of flavour, full of texture and an absolute pleasure to eat. This should not be an ‘alternative’ as the label suggests, this should be your first choice.

Elizabeth Hurley: Orange and Cranberry Fruit Bar (Selfridges)

I am relieved to start this write-up by saying that this bar looks fairly normal under its wrapper. After discovering the slightly gory Strawberry and Cherry edition, I did wonder what I would find when I opened this, but thankfully inside was a slightly too soft golden fruit bar with cranberries pressed into it.
It was similar to the strawberry version though in that this too was far too sweet. There is a sharp taste of orange, natural though like orange juice followed by a yummy cranberry kick. This bar may be a bit overpowering for some, but I enjoyed the strong juicy flavour. I thought it was a bit like eating jam from the jar with a spoon, nice but a flavour overload all the same. Actually the consistency of this bar is such that it isn’t much thicker than jam - bet it is damn good spread on toast!

Kellogg's Krave [Chocolate Hazelnut] (Waitrose)

It isn’t often you see a new breakfast cereal on the market. Sure there are the impressive variations of the same products Cocoa Pops - Rocks, Weetos – Meteors etc, but not a whole new item. More to the point, a whole new item which contains both chocolate and hazelnut, my two favourite breakfast ingredients.
Inside the box are pillow shaped small cereal rectangles filled with a chocolate hazelnut soft centre. Each item is surprisingly golden in colour, and rather appetising. I added the necessary milk and waited a few moments. They maintained their crunch rather well, and the filling was absolutely lovely. It was similar to chocolate nut spreads you can buy, such as Nutella. Despite the fact that the product didn’t officially contain any, I also thought there was the subtlest aftertaste of peanut. I’m not complaining, in fact it may have been wishful thinking.
All in all I thought these were a great new product, and thoroughly recommend them. They meet my essential requirements for a breakfast cereal i.e. contain chocolate and exceeded my expectations - by containing nuts too!

Elizabeth Hurley: Strawberry and Cherry Organic Fruit Bar (Selfridges)

As I said last week when I tried the Banana and Chocolate variety, I have more of these Elizabeth Hurley bars to try. Next up on the list is this Strawberry and Cherry edition. I unwrapped the pack, and couldn’t help but think that this was one ugly looking bar! Seriously, I thought it looked like a dog chew, only it was too soft. For some reason the blood red nature of the bar and its squishy texture momentarily triggered a squeamish nerve. Thankfully, appearances aside, it smelt fruity and sweet, so I proceeded.
I was very glad that I did. The bar is very soft, too soft in fact; it isn’t far off being able to spread it on toast. In flavour though, it was a pleasure for the taste buds. It is a very sweet, predominantly strawberry, with a sharp strong aftertaste of cherry. The flavour could easily make it as a children’s sweet, it is in no way shy when it comes to flavour.
I could see why some people may dislike this bar, its appearance is unappetising and it is almost as if there is too much taste. To be honest, I put aside how it looked and I loved the full sweet juicy flavour. But then, I have a very sweet tooth!