Vita Coco Peach and Mango Coconut Water Review

Whilst I may be trying birch water nowadays, I still enjoy coconut water and vita coco is probably my most regularly bought brand - the lemonade one in particular is utterly delicious, very refreshing and zingy. Although this peach and mango one has been around for years now, I've only just got round to trying it.

There's not much point trying to convince you of the benefits of coconut water - you either love it's taste or you find it too earthy - although you can't knock its hydration and potassium benefits and it's certainly more delicious than water.

Simply coconut water, peach puree and mango puree with a little vitamin c, you expect it to be very tropical tasting and as always I love the vita coco packaging - it's just so colourful, cheering and makes me feel good just looking at it as it does to drink it.

This version has a more tropical taste and certainly seemed sweeter and more sticky than the other versions I've tried. You definitely get the mango taste with maybe a peach hint but you also get the taste of coconut water as the fruits don't override completely although they are pretty dominant.

The lemonade version is probably still my favourite but it's a nice refreshing drink as good after the gym or a run as it is sat outside on a hot day.

Price: £1.69
Bought at: Ocado
Nutrition per 100ml: 25 calories, 0g fat, 6gsugars

Graze Mini Strawberry and Banana

I tend to often buy the graze punnets as part of the Boots meal deal, particularly the veggie protein power and punchy protein nuts. They're nice sized snacks, much healthier than most snacks and tend to do something a little bit different. This mini strawberry and banana box is essentially just a punnet of dried fruit but whilst typically such packs are mostly raisins and sultanas, this is a little more interesting with chewy banana coins and dried strawberries, blueberries and cranberries.

It contains no added sugar with the dried fruit sweetened with juice instead. It's a lovely mix of colours and a good spread of all the different ingredients. All the fruit is good quality and nice and juicy and sweet with no dried out bits.

However, it's hard to get overly excited about it. Whilst nice, it's just dried fruit. The blueberries are sweet and bursting with flavour, the cranberries nice and tart with a good sour hit, the banana chewy and sweet and the lovely juicy strawberries are refreshing. But I know Graze do more interesting mixes and there are more interesting snacks out there. This is great for sprinkling on yogurt or cereal but a bit dull on its own.

Price: £1.19
Bought at: Boots
Nutrition per punnet: 120 calories, 0g fat, 0g sat fat, 21g sugars, 0g salt

Score: 6.5/10

O'Coconut Lightly Sweetened Coconut Treat Hemp and Chia Review

I think we've reached peak saturation of the coconut trend but I still cannot get enough of it. Literally any product I see in a health food shop with even the nearest hint of coconut and I jump all over it. It's not even the good fats in it that draws me in, they're just so blooming delicious! So when I spotted this little coconut treat in Wholefoods market at the relatively cheap price of 69p I of course bought it simply because a) it was new b) coconut was involved c) so was hemp and chia.

It's made up of tapioca syrup, coconut, hemp and chia with all natural ingredients and sugars and is organic. It looks pretty small and even in the packaging but when you open it is really is a bite size treat. At 60 calories and just 3g sugars it was always going to be pretty small as coconut is pretty calorific anyway. Nevertheless it had a pleasing coconut smell and looked attractive with all the chia seeds dotted throughout.

The texture is pleasingly squidgy - akin to a soft cookie rather than the density of a bounceball or even a Nakd bar. Although very small I manage to get 4 bites out of it and each one was really tasty. In many ways it's similar to a gluten free macaroon due to the high desiccated coconut content and the texture is similar. It's not crumbly but still very soft with a mild coconut taste that is definitely not over sweet but balanced with some cereal type notes. It's definitely not going to fill you up or give you energy for a workout but it is a very simple, healthy little sweet treat.

Price: 69p

Bought at: Wholefoods Market

Nutrition per ball: 60 calories, 3g fat, 3g sat fat, 3g sugars

Score: 7.5/10

Fage Total 0% Greek Yoghurt with Cherry

Greek style and thick yoghurts are pretty much the main yoghurts I eat now. Once you're used to that thick 'stand a spoon in it upright' texture and the fillingness you get from higher protein yoghurt you can't go back. I've always been a fan of the Fage Total brand. It's a proper authentic Greek yoghurt made in Greece rather than Greek Style. It's high in protein and if you pick the plain range there's no added sugar in it either making it a perfect nutritional choice.

Fage Total also have a range of snacks with come with a side compote - a posh Muller Corner if you like. They've recently expanded the range with this new cherry one and as a big fan of all things cherry, I had to buy it.

Opening it up it was your typical perfect Total Yoghurt. For something that is fat free it's really remarkable just how thick and creamy this is. It's probably the thickest yoghurt I know and could easily pass for something like clotted cream! The main yoghurt itself is sugar free and really rich and creamy tasting with a pure and natural taste.

In the side compartment is the cherry compote, which is made up of actual cherries (40% much higher than your cheaper yoghurt brands) and then sugar, corn starch, lemon juice and natural flavouring. It's a beautiful deep dark red and the texture is a complete contrast to the yoghurt - runny but not thin and nice and easy to stir in and mix.

I also tried a little bit of the cherry compote on its own. It's not too sweet and just has an absolutely amazing cherry flavour - both kind of sharp and tangy but sweet and pleasurable with not a hint of sourness. It almost had the taste of those Haribo Cherry Tangfastics but in a more natural way!

When mixed into the yoghurt it was just divine. What I love about these split pots compared to other thick yoghurts with the compote on the bottom is that you can control the sweetness, flavour mix and sugar content. I probably mixed about half the compote through my yogurt and it just ripples through so smoothly and easily. With the lovely fresh and tangy cherry flavour complementing the creamy mouthfeel and thick texture of the yoghurt it just tastes like a really nice, natural dessert. It's extremely easy to eat and quite refreshing at the same time.

The ingredients list is all recognisable, it's fantastic to eat, 0% fat and 14g protein per pot so fills you up nicely. Absolutely love it and will definitely buy more.

Price: £1.09
Bought at:Waitrose
Nutrition per 170g pot: 141 calories, 0g fat, 0g saturated fat, 14g protein, 20g sugars

Panda Natural Strawberry Liquorice Sofite Bar

I do love a bit of liquorice now and again and with Holland and Barrett having a buy one get one half price sales on at the moment this was a nice little cheap treat. This Panda bar is a liquorice softie bar with a juicy strawberry centre running through its core. Its ingredients list is pretty short and it’s made with natural colours and flavours and is a sweet treat suitable for vegetarians and vegans.

Opening it up you can’t fail to notice the strong aniseedy aroma. The bar is nice and squidgy but with enough firmness as well. I was surprised to see just how core the strawberry centre was – it’s literally protruding out of both ends as a little ball of juice and runs right throughout the bar.

The bar made a perfect little sweet pick me up this afternoon. Big enough to feel I had something but at 84 calories per bar. The texture was chewy but also easy to eat with no sticking to the teeth and the strawberry centre was really gooey and oozy with a nice fruity flavour that was slightly refreshing and paired really quite well against the dark, tangy taste of the liquorice with all its molasses flavour. The strawberry centre was a little too sweet but not overly so and the dark liquorice helped temper it down. I worked out the sugars to be about 13g per bar which is still lower than most sweets so it’s a pretty guilt free snack.

Price: £0.69 for a 26g bar

Bought at: Holland and Barrett

Nutrition per 100g: 324 calories, 0.3g fat, 51g sugars, 0.49g salt

Score: 7/10

Marks and Spencer Spirit of Summer Quinoa, Brazil Nut and Avocado

Another one from the M+S salad range and the new Spirit of Summer – I can’t recommend these salad pots enough. They’re just a nice easy, simple, healthy lunch that is light, full of flavour and with lots going on. This quinoa, avocado and brazil nut salad pot was my latest lunch from the range and again there’s so much going on in this.

It’s just so colourful and vibrant and fresh looking with so many different ingredients for different tastes and textures. As well as the title ingredients there’s spelt, kale, sweetcorn, coriander, raisins plus a whole host of things I can’t remember! This one comes with a mango and Amarillo chilli dressing, which is deliciously. Slightly sweet with a good burst of chilli, it is a very summery feeling burst of flavour.

Everything about this worked for me – with so many different flavours and textures, each mouthful just was packed full of flavour and it just tastes healthy and good for you. Another winner from the Spirit of Summer salads!

Price: £1.99

Bought at: Marks and Spencer

Nutrition: 126 calories per half pack

Score: 8/10

Moma Plain Porridge Review

I always prefer making my own porridge from pure unrefined oats but somehow ended up with this Moma Plain Porridge instant pot. It’s your typical porridge pot for those who can’t be bothered to make their own. One thing that makes it slightly better than the likes of most marketed porridge pots is that it’s a decent serving size and when made gives over 200 calories rather than those skimpy 100 calorie ones which are not in any way an adequate start to the day. You can’t knock the cleaner ingredients vs other brands as well – this is just oats, skimmed milk powder and sugar. I was disappointed to see sugar in this especially as it’s caused plain and I never add sugar to any cereal or porridge.

The pot feels nice to hold and is certainly convenient for taking out and about. Opening it up I could see the oats were chunkier and more whole than the likes of Quaker which was appealing. I followed the instructions and added boiling water, stirred, put the lid on and left it.

When I came back it was done to a decent consistency, fairly thick and creamy but not solid. I do prefer porridge very thick but this was perfectly acceptable and I could have easily have left it a bit longer or put less water in. 

The porridge was very creamy, milky and comforting but I did just find it a little too sweet. Certainly it’s much less sweet than every other porridge pot I’ve tried and definitely the best one I’ve ever had. However, I just don’t see the need for sugar in this kind of product and the sweetness was too noticeable for me. Fairplay though it’s gluten free and uses British oats so has a lot more going for it than the likes of Quaker

If you buy porridge pots, I would recommend it – it’s a more premium and less adulterated version. However, why not just buy a bag of plain oats and make your own just the way you like it

Price: £1.49

Bought at: Waitrose

Nutrition per pot: 257 calories, 4.2g fat, 0.7g sat fat, 14.3g sugars, 10.9g protein, 5.3g fibre, 0.1g salt

Score: 6.5/10

 

Bounce Energy Ball - Cacao Orange Protein Burst

I'm pretty much utterly obsessed with bounce balls at the moment. On the one hand I feel they make a great pre or post work out snack or even just a filling healthy option if I'm out and about and need a hit of good energy or feel my blood sugar levels dropping. More importantly I just love the texture of them - so compressed and dense and extremely tough and chewy they just feel so satisfying.

The almond one is probably my current fave but decided to give the cacao orange a go for a change. Like all the bounce balls, nutritionally it's pretty solid. High in protein at 9g, high fibre with over 4g per ball and a great source of vitamin E - over 100% of the RDA per ball which helps combat oxidative stress. This one is made from sunflower seeds as well, which are a great source of copper, maganese and magnesium.

Opening it up it's another squat, pretty solid compact ball of energy. Don't let the small size fool you, they take a good time to eat with their density and almost date and fudge like chewiness, which makes them incredibly satisfying and filling. It looks attractive with all all the little bits of seeds and cacao nibs studded to the outside. It all stays together exceedingly well and nothing crumbles or falls off as you eat it.

Both the raw rich bitterness of the cacao and the zestiness of orange come out to play along with the typical maltiness of bounce balls. I won't lie and say this has that classic Terry's chocolate orange flavour because it's not overly sweet and cacao is less sweet than chocolate and less creamy. But it is really delicious and feels wholesome and nourishing. It's another winner from Bounce.

Price: £1.99
Bought at: Health Food Store
Nutrition per ball: 181 calories, 8.6g fat, 2.4g sat fat, 10.7g sugar, 9g protein

Score: 8.5/10

Holland and Barrett Open Sesame Sticks Review

At work, it's nice to just have a bag od something savoury for nibbling on or for grazing on. Nuts are always a good option and very nutritious but sometimes you want something a bit different. I found these open sesame sticks in Holland and Barrett and initially whilst I did think they looked rather bland and boring, I nevertheless bought them to have at work.

An alternative I guess to crisps these are sesame noodles that are essentially made out of chickpeas. The ingredients list is very pure and simple, consisting of gram flour (from chickpeas), rapeseed oil, sesame seeds and salt. So all very natural and clean.

Pouring them out there's lots of different sized pieces ranging from long to short. They feel nice and firm in the hand and have a hard, crunchy texture that I really enjoyed. Harder than crisps but not as hard as say the roasted chickpeas I tried from garbanzo, they had moreishly addictive quality I get from satisfyingly crunchy snacks.

The flavour although fairly neutral is deliciously savoury and whilst the ingredients list is so short and they look a little dull, I have to say I really enjoyed them. There's a slight mild chickpea nuttiness along with a more dominant sesame flavour but they are quite savoury in a really unidentifiable way. I managed to get 3 servings out of the bag but it would be very easy to demolish them especially as a nibble with drinks.

As an added bonus because they're made of gram flour, they're actually 18% protein, which can't be a bad thing either. I will definitely buy these again.

Price: £0.89
Bought at: Holland and Barrett
Nutrition per 100g: 499 calories, 30g fat, 3.5g sat fat, 1.3g sugar, 18g protein, 1.6g salt

Jordans Swiss Style Muesli Review

I practically live off muesi and granola - it's my go to breakfast along with porridge. If you pick the right brand they can be made of natural ingredients with only natural sugars from fruit , a good source of fibre and I just find them utterly delicious. There's something just so comforting about muesli and frankly it's as much a bedtime snack as my morning first meal.

Jordan's are a brand I don't usually buy - generally their granolas and mueslis are a little too high in sugar - though they are very tasty. However, this new Swiss Style muesli is a good healthy option. Essentially it's Jordans take on the no added sugar version of Alpen. A mainstream Swiss muesli with sweetness only coming from natural sources. However, the Jordans one is a little lower in sugar at 11.7% but essentially it's pretty similar - made up of British oat flakes, toasted malted wheat flakes, raisins, skimmed milk poweder and almonds.

Pouring it out it looked very similar although I think the raisins are more noticeable in the Jordans one as they looked more plump and juicer than Alpen. The bag is also pretty good value at the same price as Alpen no added sugar but for 800g not 560g.

I had mine with cashew milk and it was just so soothing, refreshing and delicious. The skimmed milk powder is dusted all over the flakes and initially you think it looks a little dusty as you pour it into the bowl but once wet it just adds a real creaminess and just makes everything so delicious. The raisins are extremely sweet and succulent and it's just utterly delicious.

If you like Alpen, you'll like this and it's great to have another healthy no added sugar muesli option for breakfast made of natural ingredients.

Price: £2.80
Bought at: Sainsburys
Nutrition per 45g serve: 168 calories, 2.4g fat, 0.4g sat fat, 5.3g sugar, 5.7g protein, 3.7g fibre, 0.02g salt

Score: 8/10

B-Fresh Green Warrior Cold Pressed HPP Juice Review

I do a love a green smoothie. I regularly add kale, cucumber or spinach to my nutribullet smoothies and have even gone as far as to include broccoli and peppers. I also love some of the ready made green juices on the market like Savse. Green juices and smoothies are a nice way of getting a real hit of goodness and nutrients into you and so long as you buy the right brand are natural and lower in sugar than pure fruit juices.

Some green juices are mostly apple juice with a token percentage of green veg to allow them to get away with marketing it as green but this Green Warrior juice from B-Fresh is a proper green juice. It's cold pressed and (HPP) high pressure processed to ensure every drop is bursting with nutrients and vitamins with this being a good hit of vitamin A and K.

It's also genuinely made from veg with over half of the contents being spinach and cucumber, 35% apple and then some kale, lime and ginger for a bit of added flavour and goodness. As a result it's only 4.2% sugar which equates to just over 10g per bottle. Considering a bottle of tropicana in the same size bottle is 25g sugar, that's a pretty big difference and you're getting a mix of fruit and veg in this. It's also one of your five a day.

It's vivid green colour might put a lot of people off and intially I was a little taken aback by how 'green'' it tasted. It's a little more earthy than the Savse green smoothie (although that's 7% sugar so a little sweeter). However, as I continued to drink it I got used to the taste and enjoyed it more and more. It's really refreshing, very clean tasting and quite a palate cleanser as well with a nice little end kick of zingy lime and a little mild ginger spice.

It's very much like the taste of my nutribullet green smoothies which are quite veg heavy. It might not be to everyone's taste but I enjoyed it and to repeat myself as I so often do, it's great to see these kind of products just becoming easier to get hold of. I bought mine at a Boots in a railway station - a much better choice than fizzy drinks.

Bought at Boots:
Nutrition per bottle: 50 calories, 0.5g fat, 0g sat fat, 10.5g sugars, 0g salt

Score: 8/10

Co-Op Butternut Squash Noodles Review

So big is the trend now for spiralised vegetables and vegetable rices that even little Co-Op stores want in on the action with butternut noodles. There's not really a huge amount to say about these - it's literally just a packet of butternut squash that has been shredded into ribbons and nothing else. Sure it's an expensive way of buying butternut at £1 for 250g when you could get an entire squash for that price but frankly I hate cutting up butternut squash with their hard skins, stringy pulp and the seeds flying everywhere. I'm lazy and I admit so was quite happy to buy these to have an easy ready done butternut squash.

The 'noodles' were very attractive and unlike other supermarket ones I've tried looked fresh, colourful and vibrant rather than wet and limp. I have to say these will never replace spaghetti in bolognese in the same way that cauliflower rice really isn't the same as basmati for your tikka masala. If you're having a proper treat people, enjoy all the elements properly rather than compromising with something that frankly does have a very different texture and taste.

However, these noodles are absolutely perfect for a load of other uses. One evening I cooked them along with some proper noodles and other veg and seafood for a stir fry and they worked perfectly adding colour, texture and a boost of veg to my dish. I also had them cold in a salad and again they're just a really great way to make a salad instantly look more visually appealing and add interest. Both warm and cold they tasted great.

Yes I could be accused of buying into trends with these but I just find them a really nice way of incorporating more veg into my life and they're great for jazzing up meals. So much less hassle than faffing aroud with a proper butternut squash and frankly tastier too.

Price: £1
Bought at: Co-Op
Nutrition per half pack: 30 calories

Score: 8/10

Waitrose Aubergine and Feta Burgers

It's easier to cut down on meat nowadays with pretty much every supermarket actually having rather a lot of choice and high quality vegetarian options. Vegetable burgers aren't exactly the most innovative of vegetarian foods but they are usually pretty tasty and make a nice speedy meal. These aubergine and feta burgers from Waitrose caught my eye and so ended up in my basket for dinner.They're what I expect a vegetarian burger to be - actually made of vegetables including potato, sweet potato, lentils, aubergine, chickpeas and spring onions. All of the ingredients were recognisable and there wasn't any added sugar. They were also pretty low in salt - some veggie burgers can be incredibly salty.

They looked fairly standard but were a nice decent size. The cooking instructions were spot on - a quick 15-17 min bake in the oven and all I needed was a bit of couscous and veg to round off the meal.

Texture wise they're great - they don't crumble all flake apart and are nice solid burgers you can cut into bitesize pieces. The outside crisped up nicely which contrasts well against the soft middle which is a mish mash of veg and spices. Although there were a lot of spices in there such as chilli, garlic and cumin they're not very noticeable and it's really the taste of lentils and pulses you get -which isn't necessarily a bad thing.

There's also a slight hint of mint which complements the odd little burtsts of feta you get. It's not a very cheese veg burger by any means but I felt it added a little fattiness which was nice against the starchy pulses. They weren't the most exciting veggie burgers I've had but they were enjoyable and I'd buy again.

Price: £2.39
Bought at: Waitrose
Nutrition per burger: 238 calories, 12.8g fat,  2g sat fat, 5.2g sugars, 0.65g salt.

Score: 7/10

Marks and Spencer Coronation Coleslaw

The fact I am posting a review of coronation coleslaw the same weekend of the Queen's 90th birthday celebrations is purely coincidental. Whilst I am a sucker for anything new, I don't start buying things just because of an event - Halloween, the World Cup or Queen's Birthday, I won't start changing what I would buy just because the retailers tell me. M+S as a sponsor of the patron lunch have a few new bits and bobs to mark the occasion but this cornation coleslaw is just part of the normal salad stuff.

During the summer I can be quite lazy lunch with lunches (that's a bit of a lie I'm generally a pretty lazy cook and tend to 'assemble' things on a plate) and like to just have fresh salad and a few cold picky bits so this coleslaw was perfect for one of these lunches.

Opening up the tub it looked really appetising - no wateriness but also not fatty or claggy either. The consistency is the perfect kind - not loose and runny but fairly substantial and the cabbage shreds are nice and chunky and also fresh tasting. M+S always do their salad stuff well and don't compromise on ingredients so the ingredients list is all pretty natural.

I had with some fresh salad and a little frittata and it made a nice, light lunch. The coronation flavour really uplifts normal coleslaw. It's not heavy or mayonaissy but rather fresh with a nice very mild spiciness. The curry flavours cut through any richness and the use of a few sultanas and apricots adds further freshness and a mild sweetness that contrasts nicely with the savoury spice.

It made a nice easy lunch but also one that was a bit more interesting as well.

Bought at: Marks and Spencer
Price: £2.00
Nutrition: 280 calories per 1/2 pack

Score: 7/10

Holland and Barrett Good Stuff Nicely Spicy Pumpkin Review

Everytime I go into Holland and Barrett, I just can’t help but come out with more than I need. It’s one of those places I always enjoy having a browse and come out feeling good due to all the healthy snacks. Whilst I can happily eat nuts on their own, I tend to only eat seeds if they’re mixed into muesli or porridge or with yogurt as I find them a bit dull for grazing on.

These pumpkin seeds however are coated in chilli and paprika, which sounded a bit more intriguing and I thought they would make a good bag for just diving into at work as I’m trying to not always go for a sweet snack. Nutritionally pumpkin seeds are full of good stuff – loads of magnesium, high in plant protein and good fats and some studies have linked them to lowering cholesterol as well as being a natural inflammatory.

Like most H+B products, they’re good quality – no dry or stale bits in here with a nice crunch. The coating helps make them a lot nicer to eat. They have a very gentle heat that is sweet and mellow with a bit of back burn too. There’s other herbs and spices going on – some garlic, some coriander, some cumin. It all just makes a nice savoury snack.

It’s a nice little 85g bag – I hate massive sacks of nuts and seeds. The only thing I would like to see and this goes for all H+B products like this is help make it resealable – even just provide a sticker or something to close it and make it easier to open so you don’t end up ripping a big hole making  it even harder to reseal. It’s also low in sugar and salt is pretty good at 0.7g per bag – often savoury snacks can be really quite high in this. Packed full of flavour, this is a winner with me

Price: £2.49
Bought at: Holland and Barrett
Nutrition per 100g: 510 calories, 35g fat, 6.2g sat fat, 4g sugars, 0.9g salt

Score: 7.5/10

Waitrose 1 Wheat and Rye Sourdough Review

Anyone who’s shopped at Waitrose recently can’t have failed to notice the big push on the new ‘Waitrose 1’ range. This is Waitrose revamping their premium range (as if Waitrose could get any more premium!) and adding a load of new luxury products to this range as well. They’re currently running 25% off all Waitrose 1 products to MyWaitrose card holders so provided me a chance to treat myself to some luxury food.

The Waitrose 1 covers all kind of things from the most decadent treats like Tanzanian Chocolate Ice Cream with blood orange and Chocolate lava cake to wood fired pizza, ready meals you could serve to guests and also premium basic staples like high quality cheeses and bread.

I love a bit of sourdough anyway – it just has so much more flavour than standard bread and I like its dense chewiness. There’s also some claims that sourdough is slightly better for you as it’s given more time to develop but it’s the delicious taste that sells it to me. There are a few sourdoughs in the Waitrose 1 range, both packaged and from the in store bakery.  I bought this wheat and rye sourdough because I also enjoy the dark flavour of rye bread.

The ingredients list is exceptionally clean for this – various flours including rye flour, water and salt and that is literally it. It’s what bread is supposed to be with no sugar, no preservatives and no weird ingredients. I think there is so much bad bread around we just get used to it but this is what real bread should be.

The slices are attractive dark colour , soft and dense with a lovely chewy crust dusted in flavour.  I love the fact that this has come from a larger bit of bread so the slices are different sizes. Some might find this a bit annoying and the larger pieces didn’t fit in my toaster but this didn’t bother me, I just kept rotating them.

I tried the bread in a number of ways – both cold and toasted. Simply cold on from the pack by itself, it’s really nice and the quality and simplicity of the ingredients shines through. A dense, chewy, nutty taste with that sour tang so characteristic of sourdough. The rye flavour also comes through strongly with a really strong punch of that dark flavour you can in Scandinavian breads.

It worked well with tuna and sweetcorn as an open sandwich but frankly this bread is so nice, it seemed a shame to spoil its flavour by smothering it in a topping. I imagine it would go lovely with cream cheese and smoked salmon or even mashed avocado.

Toasted, it’s possibly even nicer but that’s not much to call between the two. Toasted lightly enhances the tanginess and adds a nice bit of crispness and also make it slightly less dense. It’s pretty versatile bread and would also be good toasted with sweet toppings like honey.

The £1.99 price tag is more than your standard cheap supermarket bread but worth every penny. Natural, real , proper bread with bags of flavour.

Price: £1.99

Bought at: Waitrose

Nutrition per slice: 113 calories, 0.4g fat, trace sat fat, 0.5g sugars, 0.39g salt

Score: 8/10

Arla Protein Warm Ginger Snack Pot Review

After really enjoying the Arla Mellow Vanilla Proteinsnackpot, I decided to give the ginger one a whirl as well since I adore anything gingery, have enjoyed every Arla Protein pot product I’ve tried and was looking for a high protein snack option.

I won’t run through in as much detail about the product this time – in a nutshell it’s 20g protein, just over 200 calories, filling , pretty low in sugars and I like the natural ingredients list. This time around I wasn’t surprised by the thinner consistency vs the standard Arla Pots as I already knew this was a blend of quark and yogurt, which allowed me to concentrate on the flavour.

Just like the vanilla one I can’t just how tasty the yogurt is by itself without any sugar. It’s sweetened with grape juice but the overall taste you get is just a really mellow but warming ginger. It’s just so fragrant and smooth without being overpowering and delicious to eat on its own. For someone who find so many yogurts nowadays too sweet, this is perfect and there’s no artificial sweetners in it either.

The topping for the version contains pumpkin seeds, cashew nuts, dried apple and dried carrot pieces. The carrot pieces sound off but don’t really add any vegetable flavour as they’re sweetened with apple. To be honest you can’t really taste them once mixed in bar getting a little bit of sweetness which works perfectly well with the ginger. I guess ginger in things like carrot cake work pretty well and that’s just as much the case here. 

The cashew nuts and pumpkin seeds add texture but are so finely ground you don’t need to chew them allowing you to really enjoy the thick, smooth creamy yogurt with all its fresh ginger.

I think this maybe has the edge over the vanilla one for me but I’m pretty converted to both of them – I just wish they were a little cheaper!

Price: £1.00 for 4 for £3 Asda

Bought at: Asda

Nutrition per pot: 224 calories, 8.6g fat, 1.8g sat fat, 13.8 sugars, 20g protein

Score: 9/10