Tyrrell's Coconut and Caramel Popcorn

The popcorn popularity seems to show no sign of halting as more and more interesting flavours appear on our shelves. I never used to eat popcorn when your choices were either sweet or salt bytes after embracing Propercorn with its vanilla and coconut and Waitroses Ginger and Wasabi flavour, I now am firmly team popcorn.

Tyrell's who I always associate with innovative and exciting flavours of crisps do some interesting popcorn too such as a sticky toffee popcorn version. But this version, with coconut, was always going to be my first choice.

Opening the bag, the smell is fairly indistinguishable. Slightly sweet but no real overpowering scent to speak of. The pieces are all delightfully fluffy and light. No kernels here. And like all popcorn is a guilt free snack. You could pretty much eat the entire bag and it wouldn't be more than the average muffin. And per third of a bag, there's only about a teaspoon and a half of sugar.

But of course, anything guilt free is never quite as nice as something naughty and that's true here too. The taste is nice but it's quite mild without a really good hit of coconut. It's addictive and you want to eat more but it's not a proper sweet treat. As something to mindlessly graze on or to curb a sweet tooth on a diet, it's brilliant but I wouldn't choose it over a lot of other snacks.

Score: 6.5/10

Waitrose Ginger and Wasabi Popcorn

Popcorn is one of my go to healthy snacks. So long as you pick the right one and it's not utterly bathed in sugar, then it's a really light snack that makes you feel like you're getting a lot and satisifies that need for mindless grazing we all get sometimes but without all the calories you'd get if you did it with a box of chocolates or a sharing bag of crisps.

However, whilst I want low calotie and goodness, I also want it to be exciting. I never buy plain salty ot sweet popcorn as it's like eating air with nothing particularly striking. Things like Propercorn's Vanilla and Coconut popcorn are much more my style - exciting, modern flavours that tickle the tastebuds.

This ginger and wasabi popcorn from Waitrose was right up my street. I've had wasabi popcorn before - M&S' delicious one they had out this summer - but I was interested to see what ginger would add to the table.

It's an unusual but tasty take on popcorn. The wasabi on this had significantly less heat than the M&S one. I personally adored the M&S' nose clearing version although everyone else who tried it found it too hot. This might be more suitable for those who want a subtle and tempered spice. Ginger gives it a lovely, warming feel and the whole thing has a very subtle sweet edge that curbs those afternoon cravings. It feels very fresh and really awakens your senses. You notice every mouthful, which is just what I want from snacks.

Marks and Spencer Wasabi Popcorn

Another wasabi themed product from M&S! This popcorn was a really interesting snack that hopefully sticks around permanently. The entire bag is only 139 calories and believe me it's a pretty generous portion. You feel like you've had loads to eat but it's still very light so you don't feel bloated or guilty.

Now this can be said of loads of popcorn - it's generally a light and healthy snack. But the flavouring of this is genuinely innovative and has a wonderful taste that kicks every tastebud into touch.

It's got a real nice kick of wasabi heat that's fairly spicy that is made even more interesting with a touch of sweetness and sugar that balances it out for a real savoury and sweet edge.

The corn texture was light and airy and every piece was fully coated in the intense, delicious flavour so there were no bland pieces in the entire pack. It's a really stimulating eat that makes you sit up and take notice. It's not often packaged snacks genuinely capture your complete attention with every mouthful but the lively and uplifting flavour of this really awakens your tastebuds.

Price: 80p
Available: Marks and Spencer

Score: 8/10

Propercorn Sweet Coconut and Vanilla

I always look out for interesting popcorn flavours. Popcorn makes the perfect healthy snack as I feel I get so much in a bag that there really is a substantial amount to munch on and yet it is so low in calories. However, the regular sweet or salty variants are a little boring for me so anything promising new and exotic flavours always garners my attention.

This Propercorn popcorn ticked all the boxes intially. It's only 109 calories for a pretty big bag, the flavour is new and not done by anyone else and I think the packaging looks so cool. It's very bold and bright and brings to mind the tropics but in a funky pop-art style.

Opening the bag, they certainly smelt the part. The aromas were absolutely heavenly. A very sweet and mild, authentic vanilla scent was infused with a real strong coconut smell. It actually smelt very similar to both Nice biscuits and also the coconut ring biscuits you can buy in the supermarket.

This bowl I poured literally only used up half the pack so you certainly do get a lot in the packet! Eating the popcorn, I was a little disappointed. It was certainly flavoursome and did taste of coconut and vanilla but it is very subtle indeed. The popcorn is light with a great, airy texture but I would have enjoyed it more if the coating of coconut and vanilla was more pronounced. It did taste a little plain to me and wasn't as indulgent as both the packaging and smell would suggest.

However, because of the thin coating of flavour, this is a very low sugar sweet snack, which is always nice. It certainly curbs a sweet craving and has enough flavour to provide a healthy snack that you can enjoy without the guilt. But for a real treat or for sharing in front of a movie I would probably look for other brands of popcorn that are a bit more treaty (albeit a little bit naughtier).

Price: 79p
Pros: Healthy, low calorie, low sugar, lovely smell, sweet, light and airy so you don't feel weighed down after eating
Cons: Flavouring isn't as strong as I would like or as strong as the delicious aroma

Score: 7/10

Boots Meal Deal: Santa Fe Salad, Metcalfe's Skinny Cinnamon Popcorn and Apple & Elderflower Vitamin Still Water

This rather brief review is a 3 in 1. Whilst travelling and on the hunt for something for lunch, I decided to give the Boot's meal deal a go. I'm a pretty big fan of its range because it offers so much more variety and some really cool and quirky brands in its selection unlike places like Tesco and Sainsbury's, which force you to choose from a more limited selection.

I also love how most of the Boot's options are slightly more healthy and, in my opinion, this coupled with the breadth of choice more than justifies the additional 29p it costs compared to other meal deals. It was a tough choice (especially when choosing from the wide variety of snacks) but I eventually settled on the Santa Fe salad, a bag of Metcalfe's Skinny Cinnamon popcorn and the apple and elderflower vitamin water.

Intially the salad looks slightly underwhelming and not that appetizing with a lot of lettuce. However, hidden beneath this is actually quite a generous layer of deliciously sweet mixed bean salad with a little bit of a kick to it.

There's a good helping of tomatoes and sweetcorn too and lots of lovely shreds of creamy cheese that is slightly salted and works well with the crisp freshness of the leaves. The cheese is in quite thin strips that help keep this under 200 calories yet still packs a subtle punch. My only criticism was the scant supply of Mexican spiced chicken, which was full of flavour and I would have liked more of.

Score: 7/10

The cinnamon popcorn was nice but didn't exactly blow me away. I do like Metcalfe's but felt this didn't live up to what I was expecting. I love anything cinnamony so was sure I'd love this but felt the coating wasn't strong enough.

Every now and then you'd get a piece fully smothered in the sweet spice, which was really delicious with a lovely warming sensation but, on a lot of the pieces, the scent and taste was too underwhelming. It still made a healthy snack though at only 117 calories and isn't as sugary as most treats.

Score: 6.5/10

The apple and elderflower vitamin water I chose more for taste than health as I'm pretty sceptical about these type of claims and realise plain water is probably the best thing you can drink. It's a lovely vivid green colour and has a really nice smooth apple flavour that has a subtle tang but is mostly refreshingly sweet. Elderflower, which can be quite a tricky flavour to get right, was distinct and provided an interesting, sharp aftertaste. The whole drink was also pretty thirst quenching.

Score: 7/10

Overall, I really liked the Book's meal deal. It offered value, a great choice with some hard to find brands and was a healthier alternative to a lot of lunch deals out there.

Price: £3.29
Available: Boots